Geoff 2018

[Geoff]

9. Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) female. I'll post this image now and add other images of breeding plumage males later.

Whilst unsuccessfully searching for another, very difficult salt marsh LBJ this individual allowed a close approach.

She looks to be a very young bird, not long out of the nest as the tail is quite stubby.

  

[Geoff]

10. Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) Very common. I occasionally see them in the 1000's. 

 

[Geoff]

11. Rufous Bristlebird (Dasyornis broadbenti). An enigmatic species. The eastern end of their range finishes about 1 K past my home. With very short wings they are atrocious flyers. I've never seen one fly higher than 1.5 metres off the ground and often for less than 20 metres. They prefer to run about in the undergrowth and are more often heard than seen hence a difficult species to photograph. I love their call, it is the ringtone on my phone.

[Geoff]

12. Satin Flycatcher (Myiagra cyanoleuca) Only in southern Australia for breeding during summer then they head north. I won't see them again until October.

Male.

Female.

[Geoff]

13. Leaden Flycatcher (Myagria rubecula). Much rarer than Satin Flycatcher on my patch so this was a good find. I did not see the female but they are very similar to Satin flycatchers.

Male.

 

[Geoff]

14. Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus) With buff edges to wing coverts and scaling on breast this bird is a juvenile.

[TonyQ]

All beautiful, but I especially like the Striated Fieldwren- a stunning bird.

[Tdgraves]

stunning additions @Geoff what camera setup are you using?

[Galana]

Love those flycatchers.

[Peter Connan]

Truly beautiful photos of truly beautiful birds!

[xelas]

As above, excellent photos of beautiful, and rarely seen, birds!

[Kitsafari]

stunning captures of beautiful birds, as always.

[Geoff]

Firstly apologies for my absence... family commitments, away & then a somewhat problematic computer glitch. I lost a few pics for this thread (no big deal) and also I have to reprocess the images for my unfinished Zambia TR.  

 

During the cold snap that hit the northern hemisphere the weather where I live was warm to hot. With little time available for photography I visited a small local waterhole (perhaps 4 metres by 10 metres in size) for a few hours on the hotter days. It can be a great location to see birds but difficult for good photography as the birds always land on shaded perches with a bright & cluttered background. So here I will present numerous species that used the same branch.

 

Many of these are juveniles but I will hopefully post adults of the species when I take an image. 

 

15. Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans). Juvenile.

16. Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris)- Adult male

17. Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops)

18. Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) - juvenile

19. White-eared Honeyeater (Lichenostomus leucotis)

20. Brown-headed Honeyeater (Melithreptus brevirostris)

21. New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)

22. White-naped Honeyeater (Melithreptus lunatus)

23. White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) - I suspect a young bird the white eyebrow is only beginning to show 

24. Striated Thornbill (Acanthiza lineata) - all thornbill species are tiny

25. Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)

26. Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)

27. Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)

28. Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) - young bird coming into adult plumage.

29. Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera)

30.  Crescent Honeyeater (Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus) - young male

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter Connan]

Beauties all @Geoff!

[lmSA84]

Glad you're back. Beautiful shots

[Galana]

Same here.

[elefromoz]

@Geoff, what a great waterhole, so much variety, beautiful. I would never have picked the Juv Golden Whistler

[Dave Williams]

Top quality as usual Geoff.

[Kitsafari]

You are totally forgiven for the long absence - your photos  and the birds are stunning. 

[PeterHG]

Absolutely wonderful set of pictures!

[Zim Girl]

All stunning and well worth the wait!

[Geoff]

After another hiatus I'll start again. I must admit to holding quite a few back so after chiding myself for being a perfectionist here's some more.

[Geoff]

31. Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris).  Juvenile.

 

I was hoping to get one of these hovering in flight. I have lots of that type of image and what I thought would be an easy task for the 2018 BY has so far not eventuated. There were 2 adults & 2 juveniles perched in a dead tree. One adult was eating a mouse and the juveniles were screaming for food. As I approached the adults flew off to the next tree but the juveniles stayed put for an extended period. This species and very similar raptors the world over are beautiful birds. 

[Geoff]

32. Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis) Adult female. I know this confiding individual quite well and check her favourite perches. She often used this tree but 3 days after i took this image the farmer knocked the tree down and dumped it over his fence into the adjacent wetland. There's a bit of branch clutter that for me lessens the image. 

[Geoff]

33. Little Grassbird (Megalurus gramineus)  Back in the post for bird #9 I alluded to another saltmarsh LBJ. Well this is it. They are a very hard species to capture a good image. There have been times when I've tried for hours and gone home with my tail between my legs. I was lucky with this image too, he literally popped up to the top of the plant for a brief moment and then disappeared into the bush again.

Edited May 10, 2018 by Geoff