Brisbane Ranges Bush Birds

Last day of winter today but it felt much more like spring, with mild sunny weather and a light wind, so it looked like a good day to visit the Brisbane Ranges. August is wattle month in the ranges with the Golden Wattle in full flower creating splashes of yellow all over the under-storey at many locations.

Golden Wattle, Brisbane Ranges NP

The floral abundance and nesting season for many birds meant that lots of the usual suspects were active and easy to find.

First stop was The Crossing Picnic Area and, immediately I was out of the car, the familiar twittery Red-browed Finch chatter surrounded me. Luckily, I had already assembled the camera, tripod and flash so I managed to fire off a couple of shots with and without flash.

 

Red-browed Finch, The Crossing Picnic Area, Brisbane Ranges NP

This was to be a familiar theme for the rest of the day as I tried shooting with and without flash whenever I could manage it.

Golden Whistler (female), The Crossing Picnic Area, Brisbane Ranges NP

I found this Eastern Yellow Robin while I was stalking a Golden Whistler at the next stop (Graham's Creek Picnic Area) after spotting a flash of yellow in the tree just in front of me.

Eastern Yellow Robin, Graham's Creek Picnic Area, Brisbane Ranges NP

I didn't manage to find the whistler but did see why the robin was so active right beside the path when, on my way back, I discovered its nest on the back of the same tree in which I'd photographed it on the way up the track.

Easter Yellow Robin, Graham's Creek Picnic Area, Brisbane Ranges NP

I took a couple of quick shots and then skirted around the tree leaving the bird in peace.

Stony Creek Road runs along the north-eastern boundary of the park and offers some great opportunities for birding in the roadside vegetation.

Eastern Spinebill, Stony Creek Road, Brisbane Ranges NP

White-throated Treecreeper, Stony Creek Road, Brisbane Ranges NP

Last stop was Anakie Gorge, where I found a Spotted Pardalote and then a White-naped Honeyeater stripping bark from a eucalypt trunk and they were both quite oblivious to my close approach

Spotted Pardalote, Anakie Gorge, Brisbane Ranges NP

White-naped Honeyeater, Anakie Gorge, Brisbane Ranges NP

and, of course, the ubiquitous Superb Fairy-wrens were noisily guarding territories and gathering food.

Superb Fairy-wren, Anakie Gorge, Brisbane Ranges NP

I still need to work on flash settings and when to use (and not use) the Better Beamer. The flash certainly makes the images clearer and more vibrant than natural light and freezes the action well but it appears unnatural on many occasions and with the Better Beamer on, the flash reflection in the eye needs post production work to remove the large catch light.

Hot afternoon at the You Yangs

I visited the You Yangs Regional Park this afternoon and despite the heat (38C at 4:00 PM) the birding was good.

First stop was the visitor centre where the Tawny Frogmouths were in their usual spot doing their best to impersonate branches.

Tawny Frogmouth, You Yangs Regional Park

I then drove around the Great Circle Drive, stopping at my favourite spot on the corner of Branding Yard Road and immediately heard the familiar sound of a Rufous Whistler. It didn't take long to find him

Rufous Whistler (male), You Yangs Regional Park

and, a few minutes later, a female appeared nearby

Rufous Whistler (female), You Yangs Regional Park

along with this Eastern Yellow Robin.

Eastern Yellow Robin, You Yangs Regional Park

A little further along the drive, a flock of White-winged Choughs emerged along the road (this photo shot out of the car window).

White-winged Chough, You Yangs Regional Park

So, ever the optimist, I pulled over and tried to stalk them to get close enough for some reasonable shots. Unfortunately, this is what they usually look like, foraging among the leaf litter and managing to stay about 25 metres away no matter how slowly I approached.

White-winged Chough, You Yangs Regional Park

The same goes when they are perched in trees. The only time you can get close is when they are at the top of the tree.

White-winged Chough, You Yangs Regional Park

I did mange to get close enough to this one for a half reasonable shot but I missed it flying off, the only time you get to see the "white wings".

White-winged Chough, You Yangs Regional Park

An added bonus at the same location was a very cooperative (and very scruffy) Scarlet Robin. I suspect this is a young male just moulting into adult plumage. I love shooting male robins because they are inquisitive and assertive - they'll come up to you and stay around showing off.

Scarlet Robin, You Yangs Regional Park

Back at the visitor centre I found a Restless Flycatcher having a drink from the old iron lid under the tap on the toilet block wall. I missed catching a photograph of it there (too slow) but it landed in a tree close by

Restless Flycatcher, You Yangs Regional Park

and then moved even closer.

Restless Flycatcher, You Yangs Regional Park

Just as I was leaving a Red-browed Finch flew down to the water for a drink.

Red-browed Finch, You Yangs Regional Park

Mt Richmond National Park

After the morning's seabird watching, I headed inland to one of my favourite places in SW Victoria: Mt Richmond National Park (see map). Mt Richmond is an extinct volcano that is a remnant oasis of mixed eucalypt forest and swampy heathland surrounded by farmland. It is a spectacular place for wildflowers in spring but also has a great diversity of birdlife year-round. The park is easily accessed from Portland-Nelson Road via Stephens Road and Mt Richmond Road but can also be accessed using a variety of tracks that are fine for 2WD unless very dry or very wet.

Old South Boundary Track, Mt Richmond National Park

The summit picnic ground, at the end of Mt Richmond Road, is a great place for bush birds and offers a range of short walks. The rainy weather diluted (pun intended) my enthusiasm for any extended walks so I spent time taking short strolls out and back along several of the walking tracks. With dark clouds overhead and dense vegetation, there was very little light in some areas so I pushed the ISO to 800 to give a bit more speed but even that was not enough to capture this Brown Thornbill that, a split second before, had been beautifully perched on the bracken frond.

Brown Thornbill, Mt Richmond National Park

I spent about 10 minutes trying to find a reasonable view of a small flock of Red-browed Finches that were very active in a dense patch of bush but this was the best I could do

Red-browed Finch, Mt Richmond National Park

I also found a White-throated Treecreeper feeding on tree trunks in the picnic ground.

White-throated Treecreeper, Mt Richmond National Park

As I was trying to get a better viewpoint to get a side-on shot, the bird flew to a puddle on the track for a drink.

White-throated Treecreeper, Mt Richmond National Park

It only stayed a few seconds before it was chased off by another customer who had an alternative use for the puddle.

White-browed Scrubwren, Mt Richmond National Park

While watching these antics, this little character landed in the tree right next to me - right at the close focal limit of the lens.

Superb Fairy-wren, Mt Richmond National Park

Heading home