It really was very misty on Monday morning. Here are some more shots of my walk at Birdsland Reserve.
I think this one is my favourite shot.
A Darterbird holds out its wings in the hope of drying them in the sun.
And this duck is bathed in sunlight as the mist swirls.
Went for a walk at Birdsland Reserve on Monday. It was 1.2C outside according to the Bureau of Meteorology site and I believed it! A bright but very cold Autumn morning. Rugged up with a woollen coat, gloves and hat pulled down over my ears. And as a reminder to how cold it was, my breath escaped visibly from me as I walked briskly along the path.
I had both my cameras with me, the long lens for close ups or longer distance and the short lens for wide angle shots. Glad I had both with me. Below are some of the views I saw on that morning as the sun rose.
Were you there yesterday? At the race in the Dandenongs?
If you were, I have a number of shots of people passing under the Trestle Bridge as the train was passing over at my Facebook page. Here are some to whet your appetite. If you are one in one of these photos feel free to contact me to get a larger copy for yourself.
I later found out who the winners were and looked back through my photos to find I did capture them both as they passed by me.
Winners Steve Kelly and Sarah Klein show their stuff below:
Steve Kelly takes the lead from the start.
Sarah Klein out in front
I’ve been spending the past month walking at Birdsland Reserve, Belgrave Heights, and gradually photographing all the birds I’ve been seeing there. I thought it would be good to create a gallery of the bird life there. I hope you agree. You’ll find the gallery here.
This is a male Australasian Darterbird.
And this is a female. Their feet almost look jelly like. Quite amazing.
This is the first time I’ve seen one of these in flight.
Still at Alfred Nicholas Gardens we read about the magnificent old disused home on the property. It is called Burnham Beeches and was originally built to resemble an ocean liner. It is three stories high and each of the second and third stories have balconies almost all the way around the building. It was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. You can read the story here of how and why the house was built. It has been occupied on and off after the Nicholas family had moved out of it but it is currently empty and looking in a state of disrepair. It is closed with a sign saying it is being rebuilt and renovated. I hope so, it’s a grand looking building.
Below is the stairway that leads from the house to the gardens below.
We didn’t see anyone else at the gardens at all this time round. Last time we came on Anzac Day, two years ago, there were photographers at the lake, catching the images and reflections. So we enjoyed the place on our own. Here are some images I caught at the lake at the bottom of the hill.
I was hoping to have photos of the Dawn Service but when my husband and I arrived, there was no way we could get anywhere near the front and we had to content ourselves with hearing what was being said and seeing the backs of heads, many rows ahead of us. So different to two years ago when we attended our first Dawn Service in Emerald, the day before my husband had his serious accident.
However, we did retrace our steps from two years previous, and visited the Alfred Nicholas Gardens and also Bourke’s Lookout. This time round the day wasn’t as crisp and clear as it was two years ago. We had a cloud cover, the sun only peeping through now and then. And due to a late Summer and what seems like an early onset of Winter we’ve not had much of an Autumn yet.
Remember this image from two years ago?
Well, this is the same bench seat and tree but it looked very different on Thursday of this week. Less leaves and different colours.
Definitely not as golden but I guess the lack of sun makes the colour a bit different.
I’ve recently begun walking through Birdsland Reserve on a regular basis. I still love going to Lysterfield Park, but Birdsland is closer, flatter, and I’m able to walk a longer distance in a shorter time as a result.
When I was there last Friday I noticed signs hanging in some of the trees, and while on my way back from a 5.2km walk, I had groups of runners passing me. I later found out that Oxfam was holding a 48 hour 100km walk/run through the area and Friday was day 1. So the first few of the teams of 4 had passed me. Below is an image of the trail marker, one of the teams of 4 (their singlet tops got my attention) and an image of one of the pathways they would have ran along.
Oxfam is about raising funds to overcome poverty and injustice around the world. If you’d like to know more, you can visit their Trailwalker site here.
Some interesting duck images I got recently at Birdsland Reserve.
I could hear these long before I could see them. Wood ducks all lined up on a dead tree. By the time I got to be closer, only a couple of minutes later, they’d all dropped to the ground.
On Golden Pond
In my day job I run the Secretariat for a NFP group that consists of tree loppers and arborists. It’s been interesting learning about their industry and their passion. One of the workshops they did last year related to tree habitats, and the creatures that live within the trees. An elderly neighbour was recently talking about microbats when I mentioned the number of dead trees she has on her property. She leaves them there for the micro bats and other creatures that might inhabit them. All of this has made me see things in the bush with fresh eyes and below are images of habitats in the bush at the nearby Birdsland Reserve.
Not sure what might live in this tangled mess.
This is an eagle’s nest (below). I saw two eagles circling round not far from here the other day.
That’s the nest high up there (below). The shot above is the closest I could get with my 70-300mm lens. I thought I’d show you just high up it really is.
A photo of a blue banded bee I took led me to a path of discovery. I began researching to find out what kind of bee it was. I've actually learnt lots of things since that day and can now name almost every bird in this region and identify it by its call too. Apart from improving my skills in photography and learning more about my camera, lighting, settings, etc, I've learnt so much more about the environment in which I live. Read More…
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