It had been a while since I had been to Casuarina Sands Reserve so this Sunday seemed like a good time for a return visit. I was hoping I would see some Superb Fairy-wrens as I wanted to take a picture of a male in his blue breeding plumage. This was half achieved, as I did see a male in his blue but I did not get a chance to take a good shot. I will have to keep trying. I was not too upset as I had already had an awesome experience photographing a White-faced Heron who had no concerns about my presence. I sat on a rock across the river from the bird just enjoying the beautiful, placid morning with an amazing creature in front of me, birds around me, and occasional groups of cyclists on the road whizzing past oblivious to my presence. I also saw a Grey Currawong as well as watching Welcome Swallows gather mud for their nests. It was also yet another chance to sit besides a slow moving river in some lovely sunshine listening to birds around me. I could not have asked for a more lovely start to a Sunday. I hope you enjoy these photographs.
Looking north across the Murrumbidgee River
After getting out of my car and setting up my camera I walked down to the Murrumbidgee River looking for the first bird to photograph. I was excited to be at Casuarina Sands as it always held such promise for birds but my previous visits had been when the natural lighting was not conducive to good shots so the light of this Sunday had set my expectations high. Walking along the river I could hear birds and I could see some small fairy-wrens and thornbills across the water, on the far bank but too far to photograph. I was wondering if I was going to waste this light with no photographs of any birds. It was after that thought that my eye was drawn to a white object on the opposite side of the river. I initially thought it was some rubbish that had drifted down with the current and was now stuck in the mud. Bringing my camera to my eye so I could look through the telephoto lens I realised I was looking at a White-faced Heron freezing in place as it looked for food to eat. It was in front of a carcass of a large animal, which may have been drawing insects. My first photograph was at a distance in case the bird flew off. While the bird seemed happy where it was I edged along my side of the river hoping the bird would stay put. My next location for shooting was from inside some river-side trees that I used as a hide with me shooting out from a gap in the branches. As the bird was still staying in one location I pushed my luck by moving out onto some rocks that extended into the river. Again, the heron did not seem bothered by my presence so I sat down on the rocks to spend some time photographing this beautiful bird. This is probably a non-breeding bird given the lighter coloured eye as well as the slight reddishness to the underside plumage. This heron uses its body plumage to make a powder that it then applies to preen itself with. Photos two and three below show the heron hunting the insects possibly attracted by the dead animal. Photo four was when the heron stretched up to full height showing that it is not just a bent over bird. The other photos are just shots I liked, and there are many more of them, as I enjoyed just taking photographs of a bird at peace in its environment.
While photographing the White-Faced Heron my notice was caught by two birds that appeared to be playing with each other on a the stump of a dead tree. Looking through my lens I realised they were Grey Currawongs. One bird was moving along the bank above where the heron was but the heron was unperturbed by its presence. This species of currawongs has six sub-species, all of which were thought to be unique species at some stage. It is more of a ground feeder than its pied relative, it also eats a wide variety of food.
There were a group of about four Welcome Swallows flying over the. river to the shore on the far side from me. They would land on the far bank, then take-off, often disappearing for a while before returning. On looking at the photographs closely I realised they were gathering mud, probably for nest building, as they build mud encased nests under the eaves of buildings. I did not get a chance to check but I noted they were generally flying off in the direction of the house-sized water pumping facility, so I wondered if they were building nests there. The photos below show the bird on the far shore then a shot of the bird in flight with the mud in its mouth. The flight shots are still a bit blurry but they were good practice.
The Magpie Lark is a common bird here in Canberra. There was a pair down at the river. I was drawn to them as they moved between the rocks in the middle of the river. I was drawn to watching this female, with her white face marking her gender. She was flying between the more widely spaced rocks, as seen in photo three. I thought she was drinking but the second photo shows she also found some food. During the time I had her under observation she was moving backwards and forwards over the same group of rocks.
I also came across a pair of juvenile Crimson Rosellas feeding on the ground. They were easy to determine as juveniles due to their patchy green plumage. There were adults further to the west from where I saw these birds.
One of my original reasons for visiting Casuarina Sands again was to try to photograph a male Superb Fairy-wren in his blue breeding plumage. As you can see from the phots I was only half successful. I definitely saw a male but I was unable to shoot it well. The bird appeared to be by itself with no group of birds around it. It may have been a male just starting its breeding phase.
There was also a pair of Australian Wood Ducks swimming near the bridge.
While photographing at the river I heard the unmistakable calls of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos as they flew eastward along the river valley. They flew in groups of two or three at varying heights but always towards the sun. I love watching these birds. I find it easy to imagine them as some early evolved bird in a primeval landscape.
When I was almost back at the car I saw this Willie Wagtail using the fence as a viewing spot. It would sometimes fly in a circle to the the grass behind but return to the fence.
The last bird I saw was this Grey Fantail moving through the conifers at the car park. The photograph below is not great as the bird was in the shadow of the tree against a very bright sky. The fantail was going well into the foliage of the tree, moving around where the branches meet the trunk of the tree.
While photographing the White-faced Heron above I was able to get some shots of this Swamp Wallaby. This individual appeared out of some light bush on the bank above the heron. It looked like it would come straight down to the river to drink but then it started moving along the rocks beside the river. It was very cautious, stopping every few steps to smell. As I was directly opposite if, I suspect the light breeze was primarily blowing my scent away from the wallaby. It was great to shoot some reasonable shots of this animal as they are always so shy whenever I encounter them, making it hard to obtain good images.
