Sunday 23 August 2015

A Morning on the Gold Coast - Part 2: Emerald Lakes

After somewhat sparse experiences at Coomera and Coombabah Lakes Mangroves, I headed for Emerald Lakes in Carrara and was not disappointed. An hour walk around the lake on the corner of Birmingham and Nielsens Roads provided a great array of the usual suspects:

Dusky Moorhen, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/640
Eurasian Coot, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/640
Hardhead, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/640
Intermediate Egret, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/800
Little Egret, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/400 
Pacific Black Duck, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/400
Purple Swamphen, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/250
Royal Spoonbill, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/500
Royal Spoonbill, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/640
Royal Spoonbill, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/500
Willie Wagtail, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/500

...but, for a southerner, who doesn't get to see them very often, this flock of Magpie Geese was the highlight.

Magpie Goose, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11, 1/160
Magpie Goose, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11, 1/250
Magpie Goose, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/400
Magpie Goose, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/800

Even this Royal Spoonbill seemed to appreciate the show!

Magpie Goose + Royal Spoonbill, Emerald Lakes, Carrara, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/11, 1/250

A Morning on the Gold Coast - Part 1: Mangroves and Mudflats

After a bird free morning yesterday on the Sunshine Coast, I was out early this morning on the Gold Coast to see if I could find a few birds.

First stop was the mud flats on the estuary at the end of Colman Road in Coomera. There were a few gulls and an egret a long distance away but only this Black-winged Stilt close enough to be worth photographing.

Black-winged Stilt, Coomera, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/800

It seemed to be approaching me slowly so I had hopes it getting close enough for some portrait shots but a low-flying pair of gulls scared it off. I did manage to get this Crested Pigeon in the car park as I was heading back to the car so the spot was not a total dead loss,

Crested Pigeon, Coomera, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/500

although I did get some funny looks lying down in the dirt on the edge of the car park to get the pigeon.

Next stop was the Mangrove Walkway at Coombabah Lake. In hindsight, I would have been better coming here first as, by the time I got here, the tide had receded a long way leaving extensive mudflats and the bird life was all a long distance off, with only this Eastern Curlew close enough to photograph.

Eastern Curlew, Coombabah Lakes, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/640

Gull-billed Terns flew by providing a new focus. Photographing birds in flight is always fun but even more challenging from inside a bird hide with restricted viewing. With such a narrow angle of view out of the hide and between mangrove trees, you cannot track the birds as they fly past, waiting for the best angle to start shooting. I just had to keep the camera pointed near the edge of the tree, wait for a bird to appear and hope I could frame and focus before it disappeared on the other side.

Gull-billed Tern, Coombabah Lakes, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/500
Gull-billed Tern, Coombabah Lakes, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/800

I spotted a blue and white flash come out of the mangroves to my left and caught it just as it was landing, albeit a long way away (this shot is heavily cropped).

Sacred Kingfisher, Coombabah Lakes, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/800

As I walked back along the boardwalk through the mangroves, a cacophony of calls could be heard in the eucalyptus woodlands. It was not hard to find the culprits - a large flock of (probably more than 50) Noisy Friarbirds feeding on flowers in the treetops. This is an almost impossible scenario to photograph, moving birds, silhouetted high in trees with mottled light behind them. This is the best I could get of one bird that sat still long enough for me to focus and adjust the exposure to account for the bright backlighting.

Noisy Friarbird, Coombabah Lakes, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/8, 1/800

Saturday 22 August 2015

Mooloolaba Whale Watching

I spent the week at a conference in Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast and, before travelling to Brisbane and the Gold Coast for next week's events (life's tough but someone's got to take on the hard tasks...), took a morning whale watching tour to see the migrating Humpback Whales.

We boarded the boat, Whale One, at Mooloolaba Harbour at the very civilised hour of 9:00AM

Whale One, Mooloolaba
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/1600

and headed down the Mooloolaba River and out past the lighthouse into the Pacific Ocean.

Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/8, 1/2000

The weather was cloudy with the constant threat of rain (which, fortunately, did not eventuate) and windy so there was a continuous rolling of the boat, which had a few passengers revisiting their breakfast but the crew handled the sick passengers very well, leaving the rest of us to take in the view of the town

Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/8, 1/2000

and scan the ocean for signs of whales. The first whale was spotted breaching a few hundred metres out to sea. One of the challenges with photographing a breaching whale is that this is what you usually get...

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/3200

...by the time you frame and focus, all that's left is the end of the splash. However, it's usually a good signal that the whale is going to hang around for a while...and we got some good shows, albeit at a distance.

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/3200
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/2500

Another whale soon joined in,

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/2500

quickly followed by several more on the shoreward side of the boat

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/4000
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/4000

We soon had three separate pods around the boat, each with 2-4 whales, which stayed around for nearly two hours giving us some great views of them close-up and displaying various behaviours.

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/3200
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/4000

As the whales got closer, the skipper cut the engine and we sat for about 20 minutes watching whales all around us.

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/3200

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/2500
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/8, 1/1600
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/8, 1/1250
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/3200
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/5000
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/4000

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/4000
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/3200
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/3200

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/3200
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/2500
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5, 1/6400
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/8, 1/3200
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/8, 1/2000

Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/1600
Humpback Whale, Mooloolaba, Queensland
Pentax K-5, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/1600

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