I went out for another photographing trip to the Jerrabomberra Wetlands at the eastern end of Lake Burley Griffin on Monday, 11 June 2018. There were at least two other people out photographing birds, as well as a number of people with binoculars looking at the wildlife. The wetlands are a wonderful place to wander around while losing track of time, even on a cold Canberra morning. The bird life is always plentiful. As an example of the birdlife, I have started this post with a picture of some Eurasian Coots. I am not sure what it is about these birds but I find them a beautiful creature. Maybe it is the basic black plumage. In photographing them, I have really been drawn to their red eyes against the black plumage. I know it is wrong to anthropomorphise animals but those eyes make me think they have, what can only be described as, an evil eye.
A New Holland Honeyeater
The photo above is probably the Honeyeaterlooking to supplement its mainly nectar diet with small invertebrates, that will give it protein. These birds normally feed in groups but this one was feeding by itself, although I could certainly hear others around. It was hard to capture a good photo of this bird as it was moving quickly form spot to spot, which is a normal trait for this species.
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
There was a group of these lovely looking Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos feeding in a conifer tree. I was really happy to take these photos as they are magnificent looking birds. They were feeding with some of the shots showing them consuming food. In one shot below you can see a bird using its strong beak to cut into a branch, possibly in search of boring grubs. They tended to feed in one tree at a time, with then one bird moving to the next tree, while the other birds then followed. The bird above was the only one that flew to the dead tree, although the bird eventually returned to the conifer tree where the other birds were feeding in.
A male Red-rumped Parrot
I know advice about bird photography says you should always have the eyes in focus but I could not resist this shot. I find the Red-rumped Parrot to have the most extraordinary plumage with feathers that are almost luminescent. There was also a female around, although in a tree across the small creak from where the male was. These parrots are ground feeders so this one was not eating at the time of the photograph.
Eurasian Coot
I started this post with the Eurasian Coot, so I will finish it with the same bird. The photo above was an attempt to capture as many red eyes as possible. The photo below shows the splashes where Coots were diving, I was never able to catch one at just the right time. I did manage to photograph them eating the plants they pulled up from the lake bottom.
