Down by the river.
Jun 23rd, 2009 by Duncan
Birding in the bush has been quiet so far this winter, hardly worth the fuel to travel, so I’ve been down to the local riverside park twice to see what is on offer. It was surprisingly good this afternoon, with Brown and Yellow Thornbills, Blue Wrens, Striated Pardalotes, Grey Fantails, Eastern Spinebills, Brown-headed Honeyeaters, a Golden Whistler, Magpies, and Pied Currawongs. Thornbills are notoriously hard to photograph, being always on the move and pausing rarely as they fossick through the foliage. There was a flock of yellows working in a silver wattle that was in bud and will soon be clothed in yellow. I waited until one moved into the light, and with the camera set to continuous fired off a burst of six shots, this was the best.
The browns were harder, rarely giving me more than a glimpse as they investigated cover low down, but then one landed on a cumbungi seed head down the bank close to the river, giving me a brief opportunity. Another burst gave me one keeper, into the sun but pleasing nonetheless, a lucky pose.
The Brown-headed Honeyeaters were foraging in their characteristic sittella-like manner high in the foliage of the redgums, causing dead leaves to flutter to the ground. Much too far away for a photo unfortunately, as were the pardalotes. Still, I was happy to get the thornbills, and it just shows how productive some of our parks can be. Click to enlarge and toggle to full screen for the second picture.