The weather was supposed to be atrocious but it ended up being a very nice day. I had wanted to wander around Barrer Hill in the National Arboretum as it I thought there may be some interesting things to see. On this Sunday, the clouds started to clear but they were replaced by a fog around the hill. Despite the weather conditions I found a number of birds, and even some kangaroos to photograph. I really enjoyed the morning and I hope you like the photographs.
It was a nice walk in from where I parked the car at Coombs. I was having trouble getting any shots of birds but I did take some photographs of the scenery.
Looking north through the mist up to Barrer Hill where I was heading to
Looking south from Barrer Hill over a fog covered Coombs
Looking down from Barrer Hill to the south over a fog shrouded Molonglo River
Looking south and up from the Molonglo River to Coombs once the fog had cleared
Although this blog is about birds I also like over wildlife, so I am happy to photograph them when they present themselves. That happened this morning when the. first animal I really was able to photograph was a Red-necked Wallaby at the crest of Barrer Hill overlooking the ongoing restoration work.
Red-necked Wallaby eating some dry grass
There was also a group of Eastern Grey Kangaroos on the north facing slope who were not phased about hopping along the sloping ground.
A female Eastern Grey Kangaroo with a joey in her pouch making light work of hopping up the slope
It is not surprising the first bird I was able to photograph well was an Australian Magpie. This bird was not discouraged by my presence, flying to the lookout where I was, beautifully landing on a stake, looking into the sun for a lovely shot. Magpies are starting to breed and there are magpies on the ground all through the National Arboretum every morning looking for food. It almost seems to be a neutral zone with very little territorial fighting occurring despite the number of different groups of birds there.
I descended Barrer Hill making my way back along the fire trail towards the Molonglo River. In walking that route I had the opportunity to better view the artificial nesting boxes installed in the area. (There is a section on them in one of the articles I linked to in the paragraph on the Red-necked Wallaby.) While looking at the nesting boxes I saw a Crimson Rosella fly on to the top of one. I do not think it was breeding yet as it did not seem interested in entering a box. Later on in the morning, closer to Coombs, I photographed two juvenile Crimson Rosellas, clearly seen as juveniles because of their green plumage. They were in a dead tree overlooking the Molonglo River.
The Crimson Rosella at the breeding boxes departed when some Pied Currawongs arrived. They were everywhere, with their calls being sounded by birds all along the valley. In the photographs you will see a very alert currawong. I believe it was responding to a sound, whether it was from a competitor who had entered the territory or a perspective mate I am not sure. They did not stay long before they were flying out over the pine plantation.
When I reached a junction in the track I could hear a number of Superb Fairy-wrens, although it took me a while to actually see them. When I was able to obtain photographs I realised that I was looking at a male moulting as it developed the characteristic blue head of the species.
When I arrived back in Coombs I thought I would take a walk around the small artificial lake there to see what birds were around. Earlier in the morning, when I was parking the car, the lake looked devoid of life so I was not expecting much. I was glad I did stop as with most water sources around Canberra you can always be assured of finding waterbirds. The birds that really drew my attentions were the Hardheads. The name was given to it by shooters as they felt the bird was hard to kill. Other names are Brownhead, Copperhead, White-eye and White-winged Duck. The White-eye name is clear, as the male has a very obvious white ring around the eye, although in the female it is brown. In the photos you can see the ducks diving for food, normally small creatures as well as aquatic plants. They were also skimming the surface with their beaks.
There was this single Eurasian Coot that seemed to be coming near me. Normally they are in a larger group and there may have been more coot further along the lake but I did not go that far to confirm what species of bird I could see.
There was a single Black Swan on the artificial lake. I started clicking early but I should have waited. I doubt there is a single Black Swan in Canberra that is not semi-tame now. If somebody stands still beside a body of water with a Black Swan on it, the bird will swim over anticipating food. I cannot blame people for feeding these dignified birds. They are a graceful looking bird with that red beak set off nicely against the black plumage. Even though this bird appeared to be hoping I would feed it, there was still a stately dignity in the measured manner it swam towards me. It made no noise, no pleading for food. It also obligingly preened its feathers in front of me, allowing me to photograph that activity. It was just such a beautiful creature to photograph that I decided that should be the end of the shoot as it would not get any better than having that bird swim slowly, close by.
