We began the day with a drive through the northern part of the Whipstick Section of the Greater Bendigo NP, stopping at several locations where birds could be heard. This is a beautiful section of the park with mixed Eucalypt forest and Acacia understorey.
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| Whipstick Section, Greater Bendigo NP |
Lots of birds seen and heard but nothing particularly photogenic. It's always a challenge photographing birds in this sort of forest as they are mostly small, dull-coloured treetop-dwellers so are difficult to see and usually shaded by the foliage with bright sky in the background.
The afternoon was a different story. We went to Bells Swamp on the Maldon-Bridgetown Road (
see map). I am not misusing the word "on" here as the road is currently closed due to flood damage from the rains earlier in the year but it now provides a fantastic pedestrian access through the middle of the swamp
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| Maldon-Bridgewater Road, Bells Swamp |
offering views of the (currently) flooded River Red Gum forest
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| Bells Swamp |
and close proximity to the birds - in particular the parrots that became more and more active as sunset approached. This pair of Musk Lorikeets was continuously in and out of a nest-hole.
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| Musk Lorikeet, Bells Swamp |
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| Musk Lorikeet, Bells Swamp |
and this one posed on a nearby branch long enough for a classic portrait.
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| Musk Lorikeet, Bells Swamp |
There were also two species of Corella
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| Little Corella, Bells Swamp |
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| Long-billed Corella, Bells Swamp |
and the ubiquitous Galahs
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| Galah, Bells Swamp |
Large numbers of White-plumed Honeyeaters were doing their usual frantic rushing around but this one sat still just long enough for one frame.
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| White-plumed Honeyeater, Bells Swamp |
As I was leaving just before sunset, I couldn't resist this shot of Brooms Lane.
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| Brooms Lane, Bells Swamp |
For more:
The night before
G'day Ian,
ReplyDeleteNice shots. I like the final one of the ducks/Coots (?), swimming on the road - settings must have been bit of a challenge. Musks are a bit of a favourite around here too. They nest on the golf course next door and often feed and drink in our garden.
Regards,
PW
Thanks PW,
ReplyDeleteCan't beat parrots. These Muskies were nesting in this tree but far enough away that I was not disturbing them - at least I couldn't detect anything different in their behaviour. Maybe they knew I couldn't get any closer without getting wet :-)
The coots swimming on the road was just too good to miss. It was difficult getting the exposure right but I treated it as a landscape, spot metered on the grey road in the background, opened up 1/3 of a stop and voila. Took a few others at different exposures but my first judgement proved to be the best.