Lord Howe Island - Part 2: Search for the Woodhen

Following the boat trip to Balls Pyramid and photographing the birds around our accommodation, the one bird I was determined to see and photograph while on the island was the Lord Howe Woodhen, an endangered species brought back from the brink of extinction in the last 30 years. It is most commonly seen at the southern end of the island so one morning I took a walk along the main road past the airport and golf course.

Sacred Kingfisher were everywhere as they seem to have taken on the Kookaburra role on the island - frequently seen perched on almost anything.

Sacred Kingfisher, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens +1.4x adapter, ISO400, 1/640 @ f/5.6

Sacred Kingfisher, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens +1.4x adapter, ISO800, 1/8000 @ f/4 

Sacred Kingfisher, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens +1.4x adapter, ISO800, 1/4000 @ f/4

The only bird more common was the Magpie-lark, seen and heard anywhere there was open pasture or mown grass.

Magpie-lark, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens +1.4x adapter, ISO800, 1/4000 @ f/5.6

White-faced Herons were commonly seen on the beaches and in the pasture.

White-faced Heron, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens +1.4x adapter, ISO800, 1/1600 @ f/8

A small flock of Pacific Golden Plover was foraging in the pasture on the grassy hillside next to the airport. They were a long way away (this shot is heavily cropped) but it was good to see them.

Pacific Golden Plover, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens +1.4x adapter, ISO800, 1/4000 @ f/5.6

The only ducks I saw while on the island was this pair of what look like Northern Mallard-Pacific Black Duck hybrids.

Northern Mallard-Pacific Black Duck hybrid, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens +1.4x adapter, ISO800, 1/4000 @ f/5.6

I spotted Buff-banded Rail foraging in the mown grass along the road into the airport so took a detour to see if they were more photo-friendly than their Milky Way relatives. They were!

Buff-banded Rail, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 lens +1.4x adapter, ISO800, 1/4000 @ f/5.6

Roadside signs past the airport confirmed what the locals had told me about the most likely place to find woodhens

but, after an hour of unsuccessful searching, I gave up and headed back (a 6 km walk) to civilisation. My son and son-in-law passed me (riding bikes) on the road on their way back from a hike up to Goat House Cave on Mt Lidgbird and we agreed to meet up at Thomson's Store (self proclaimed best burgers for 600km) for lunch during which they told me (and showed me video evidence) that they had seen woodhens on a side road about 500m from where I had stopped searching. So, I borrowed my son's bike and rode back to the Goat House track. I walked the first few hundred meters along the track listening and looking for woodhens - to no avail - and gave up and decided to check out further along the main road, where I managed to find two birds right by the side of the road, one of which stood still long enough for me to get off one shot. Fortunately, I had already changed to a 24-70mm zoom lens while in the rainforest - a long lens would have been useless here.

Lord Howe Woodhen, Lord Howe Island
Pentax K-3, Pentax 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 70mm, ISO1600, 1/800 @ f/5.6

So, after a 13km walk and 13 km bike ride I managed to see and photograph my target species - tired but happy :-)

Lake Colac Serenity

Having taken the scenic route to Colac this afternoon (with stops at Breamlea and Wurdiboluc Reservoir), I arrived to find the Lake as calm as I have ever seen it.

Australian Pelican, Lake Colac

Black Swan, Silver Gull, Pacific Black Duck
Lake Colac

While Silver Gulls are common and frequently annoying, they are beautiful birds and usually photographically cooperative, so I couldn't resist this one...

Silver Gull, Lake Colac

A flotilla of Australian Pelicans, cruised past,

Australian Pelican, Lake Colac

the backlighting showed off the wake and bow wave

Australian Pelican, Lake Colac

and one flew in for some party tricks

Australian Pelican, Lake Colac

Black Swans hung out among the reeds,

Black Swan, Lake Colac

while an odd pair of spoonbills was feeding close to shore

Yellow-billed Spoonbill + Royal Spoonbill
Lake Colac

Royal Spoonbill, Lake Colac

Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Lake Colac

and a Magpie Lark was stalking the shoreline.

Magpie Lark, Lake Colac

There's a small swampy wetland just next to the lake (accessible by car from the end of Church St or by walking east along the track around the south shore of the lake) designated as the Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary. By the time I got there it was getting quite dark but I did manage to find this lone Cattle Egret.

Cattle Egret, Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary

but then a few of its mates flew in

Cattle Egret, Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary

to join the party.

Cattle Egret, Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary

On the return walk to the car, a family of Superb Fairy-wrens was hanging around the track but only this female sat still long enough for a photograph.

Superb Fairy-wren, Lake Colac Bird Sanctuary

but the photographic highlight for the day was this fox. I have rarely seen them this brazen in broad daylight - it was feeding on something in a paddock as I drove by and stayed long enough for me to stop, reverse, park, get out and grab the camera.

Cairns Pioneer Cemetery

We were given a tip about a pair of Brahminy Kites nesting in a tree in the Cairns Pioneer Cemetery. When we got back from our day at Kuranda there was about an hour of light left so I decided to go and investigate.

On arrival I counted five Bush Stone-curlew skulking around the graves.

Bush Stone-curlew, Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

More intriguing was the interaction between a Laughing Kookaburra, perched on a low branch and a Willie Wagtail that clearly objected to it being there.

Laughing Kookaburra + Willie Wagtail, Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

The Kookaburra refused to fly away and the Willie Wagtail persisted for at least 20 minutes giving me time for a range of shots. Mostly this is just luck as the action happens so quickly you just have to try and predict when things will happen and fire off a short burst, hoping to catch something interesting.

Having seen enough of this, and with the light fading, I went off in search of the kite nest, soon finding it in a fork of a large pine tree. One bird was sitting on the next, almost totally obscured from sight.

Brahminy Kite, Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

As I walked around the tree looking for a better viewing angle, a pair of Pied Imperial Pigeons landed in a palm nearby.

Pied Imperial Pigeon, Pioineer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

Just as the sun was setting and clouds came over the western sky, the second kite landed on a dead branch at the top of the nest tree. It was so dark, I popped the flash on to brighten up the bird.

Brahminy Kite, Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

Almost immediately, a Magpie Lark that had previously been feeding on the ground at the base of the tree, did it's best to discourage the kite from staying.

Brahminy Kite + Magpie Lark,
Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

As with the Kookaburra and Willie Wagtail, this interaction went on for some time with neither giving in.

Bellarine Peninsula

Having been away for the last few weeks, it was a joy to get out birding today. The weather was not great - dull, overcast and windy - so just did a quick run around some of the usual spots on the Bellarine Peninsula.

First stop was Lake Lorne in Drysdale. Lots of waterbirds here but difficult to photograph due to poor light so spent time trying to get some of the common bush birds.

Magpie Lark, Lake Lorne Reserve, Drysdale

Several of the gums are in flower so there were a lot of lorikeets around and I managed to find one tree with low hanging flowers so I could photograph the birds from eye-level

Rainbow Lorikeet, Lake Lorne Reserve, Drysdale

It started to drizzle with rain so I headed across the Peninsula for 13th Beach-Black Rocks to check on the waders. Only the usual suspects but they were busy feeding and allowed me to get quite close

Red-necked Stint, 13th Beach

Double-banded Plover, 13th Beach

Red-capped Plover, 13th Beach

Last stop was Pt Henry where a Little Egret was close enough to see some detail in the plumage

Little Egret, Pt Henry

 and two Crested Terns held a territorial dispute over a rock

Crested Tern, Pt Henry