Brisbane Ranges National Park

It has been several months since I've been out birding so I was very pleased to join the Melbourne BirdLife Photography Group in an outing to Brisbane Ranges National Park today. The weather was fine and slightly overcast but the high winds made it challenging for bird photography as most of the bush birds had hunkered down to get out of the wind. A couple did show themselves for a few shots though.

White-throated Treecreeper, Anakie Gorge, Brisbane Ranges NP
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 400, f/4, 1/200

Eastern Spinebill, Bert Boardman Recreation Reserve, Steiglitz
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x1.4 adapter), ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/500

Wenhams Camp, Warby Ranges

I spent this morning at Wenhams Camp in the Warby Ovens National Park on the way to Chiltern for a long weekend of bird photography with the Melbourne Birdlife Photography Group.

I made sure to arrive early to catch the Eastern Grey Kangaroos that frequent the open grassland adjacent to the picnic and camping ground.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/4, 1/4000

Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/4, 1/3200

Many of the females were carrying relatively mature Joeys.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/4, 1/1600

Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/4, 1/3200

The main avian attraction here was the promise of spotting Turquoise Parrots. "Spotting" was an apt description as the two pairs I found provided only fleeting glances as they flew from tree to tree, usually obscured, at least partially, by intervening branches.

Turquoise Parrot (male), Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1600

This female has a distinctly orange-red belly unlike the other three birds whose undersides appeared to be uniformly green-yellow.

Turquoise Parrot (female), Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1250

Eventually, one came out into the open for a few seconds but had its head stuck in a hole.

Turquoise Parrot (male), Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/640

I am not sure if this was already a nesting hole or if the bird was just inspecting it but I didn't take the risk of disturbing it any further so I left quietly.

There were plenty of other bush birds to see including Brown-headed Honeyeaters high in the treetops.

Brown-headed Honeyeater, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1600

Brown Treecreepers and White-throated Treecreepers were doing their thing up and down tree trunks.

Brown Treecreeper, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria

Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/400

Brown Treecreeper, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/320

Brown Treecreeper, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/500

White-throated Treecreeper, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/320

Dusky Woodswallows were flying around the treetops but one perched on a low branch long enough for this shot.

Dusky Woodswallow, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/2000

This Jacky Winter had been coming and going from this tree stump for about 15 minutes so I set up nearby to get a shot and just as I was pre-focussing on the stump to be ready for it next time it landed, the bird flew past without landing and I managed to fire off one shot of it in flight and in frame.

Jacky Winter, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/4, 1/4000

It did finally settle on a nearby tree.

Jacky Winter, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/640

and eventually allowed me very close.

Jacky Winter, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8, ISO 400, f/4, 1/2500

Similar to the Turquoise Parrots, this Speckled Warbler spent most of its time flitting from branch to branch, partially hidden by branches and foliage but I did manage a few shots of it mostly unobscured.

Speckled Warbler, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1600

Speckled Warbler, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1000

This White-browed Babbler was spooked by an overhead attack from what appeared to be either a Collared Sparrowhawk or a Brown Goshawk. It all happened so quickly, I couldn't identify the attacker but the potential victim remained still in this bush for several minutes.

White-browed Babbler, Wenhams Camp, Warby Ovens National Park, Victoria
Pentax K-3, Sigma 300mm f/2.8 (x2 adaptor), ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/400

All too soon it was time to move on the Chiltern for a walk around Lake Anderson.

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.

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