This is the Major Mitchell Cockatoo. I hadn’t seen one before visiting Healesville Sanctuary sometime ago. But my husband Graham tells me he remembers seeing them in South Australia where we used to live over 20 years ago. Anyway, here it is in flight and in its favourite perching place – a hollowed out tree trunk. Such a pretty bird don’t you think?
Regular readers will know that I’ve been trying to get closer shots of the white-faced heron at Lysterfield Lake Park. While my sister-in-law and her husband were visiting recently, I took her down to the park to see first hand the beautiful place I love to roam regularly. Imagine my surprise to see the heron very close by on the beach near the weir wall. My sister-in-law was quite happy to just enjoy her surroundings while I went in pursuit of some more shots!
I’d been hearing a bird song I’d not heard around here before, but remembered from many years ago. I went in hunt of it and found this bird which I followed to this tree before I could get shots of it. Easy to see how it can be missed sitting in a tree with its colouring.
The Grey Shrikethrush or Grey Shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica), formerly commonly known as Grey Thrush, is one of the best-loved and most distinctive songbirds of Australasia. It is moderately common to common in most parts of Australia, but absent from the driest of the inland deserts.
I can always be sure that at least one of these birds is going to pose for me whenever I visit Grant’s Picnic Grounds, a popular place for tourists to hand feed birds.
This one appears to have a cracked beak.
Recently I posted shots of a female lyrebird I was fortunate to come across quite close at 1000 steps in Upper Ferntree Gully. This week I was visiting Sherbrooke Forest and heard a male lyrebird singing. I thought I was going to miss seeing it as two very loud runners (both by sound and the colours they wore) came along the path and the bird stopped singing as soon as the people passed by. However the bird started up again and I was able to pinpoint where it was between the trees and bushes. This one was further away from me and I couldn’t get a clear front shot of it. However you can see its tail feathers. I hope one day to get a shot of one with its tail feathers up on display and it in full song.
It was pouring with rain a few days ago and I was thinking I’d not had the opportunity to go out with my camera. I decided to stick my nose out of the back door and risk going for a brief walk. But I didn’t have to leave my porch. Because only metres away from me was this Crimson Rosella perched on the top of our washing line. Another was on the lawn checking for seeds or something. I think the one on the washing line was enjoying the shower of rain.
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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