Canberra suffered a veritable heatwave this week with several days over 40º Celsius and some relief coming this Saturday in the morning, although the temperature was still in the mid-30s later in the day. Walking around Red Hill Nature Reserve Saturday morning seemed strangely quiet, with what felt like fewer birds than normal. The morning was very overcast so most photos below have a white, cloudy sky as a background. Still, it is always nice to get out for a walk on Red Hill, and I still saw some great sights, as well as enjoying the natural environment. I was really happy to be able to get some photographs to confirm two more Gang-gang nestlings on Red Hill and I also enjoyed my brief time watching a group of Grey Fantails. I hope you like the photographs below.
There is an area of the reserve behind some houses where I am always guaranteed of seeing Galahs (Eolophus roseicapillus) as well as other birdlife. I know the homeowner has a bird bath and I suspect there is also food. I saw these two Galahs on an overhead cable. I prefer more natural looking perches but I thought the shot was appropriate given how adept these birds are at living in an urban environment. These two birds were preening, although there was no mutual preening occurring.
Two Galahs on an overhead cable
This juvenile Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) was sitting in a tree making quiet, calling noises. There was another kookaburra around but I was not able to photograph it. The bird I did photograph was less certain about letting me approach, flying off if I got to close. I decided not to pursue it as I did not want to stress it. The indications it is a juvenile are the darker crown as well as dark bottom part of the beak. Seeing this young bird highlights the importance of Red Hill as a breeding location for native wildlife as well as the success of this year’s breeding season. I am so glad the Laughing Kookaburras are reproducing as they are a beautiful bird as well as being somewhat iconic in Australia.
The juvenile Laughing Kookaburra perched in a tree
I was again focussed on Gang-gang Cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum), and I was not disappointed. I saw my first Gang-gangs near the tree where the nestlings were last week, which look like they have fledged now. The two adult birds were in a tree near the tree where the hollow was. The male started chewing on bark around a hollow before putting half his body in. The male was occasionally calling but no birds appeared to answer back. The female remained silent in the same tree, only becoming apparent when she moved closer to the male. The male was very calm, allowing me to get reasonably close to him while I was photographing. The male possibly decided, eventually, I was too close as both birds flew off. They circled back around towards the tree with the hollow but did not go that far. I did not see any sign of young birds.
The adult male sitting in a tree
The same male chewing at bark
Moving further north towards the Deakin side of Red Hill there was an adult male and female preening themselves in a dead tree very close to where the hollow I mention immediately below. I suspect these are the adult birds who were away from the hollow tree but I cannot be sure. I did not see them fly from this location to the tree with the hollow.
The two adults preening each other
I was excited once again to have a chance to photograph some Gang-gang nestlings, as well as the adult birds, although there was no interaction between them. The adult male was high in the tree when I noticed a female head appear from the hollow, but with a light beak. I thought initially it was the adult female looking out form the hollow but I was confused about the beak tone. Shortly afterwards the adult female became apparent in the tree and there was now a female and a male head appearing from the hollow, both nestlings. It was great to see these birds, which means we now have at least four hollows on Red Hill that have been used for successful breeding.
The male and female nestling in the same hollow
Walking back towards the southern side of the hill, though an area of light eucalyptus timber I saw some Grey Fantails (Rhipidura albiscapa) flying in their excited, circular way between a tall tree, short trees and shrubs. Even though they are common birds I thought it would be a nice challenge to photograph these birds that seem to be in perpetual, erratic motion. I think I saw four birds in the end, although I am unsure how many were adults as the only birds I was able to photograph were juveniles. The first photograph shows a juvenile with no downy feathers on it. The bird was flying all over the place. Just after I took this photograph it flew directly at me before banking to its left just before my face, just like another juvenile did at Jerrabomberra Wetlands in December. Just after watching that first bird I noticed a fantail land in a shrub about a metre or two away on my left. I could have reached out to touch this bird if I knew it would not have flown off. I slowly put my camera up to my eye photographing, hoping the bird would stay where it was. There was not much light so I turned on my hot-shoe flash. Although the bird twitched at the flash, it did not flee. This bird appeared to be a younger juvenile, possibly from a subsequent clutch as these birds are capable of several broods per season. This bird still had downy feathers and leapt away from branch to branch rather than flying purposely off.
The first juvenile Grey Fantail with no obvious downy feathers but with significant amounts of brown
The other juvenile fantail, still with downy feathers
There were the usual amount of Eastern Grey Kangaroos on the hill. I enjoyed doing a head study of one of them. I watched it turn its ears independently one at a time, with one then another pointing backwards, while always keeping one pointing at me. These ears really amplify noise allowing the kangaroo to hear very well to a noise coming from the way the ears are pointing. I waited until they were both pointing forward to take my photograph. I am happy with the result. The second photograph is of two young kangaroos who were watching me walk past them as they were eating.
A head study of one of the Eastern Grey Kangaroos
Two Eastern Grey Kangaroos
This is a moth I have posted at Canberra Nature Map to try and confirm the species, with one moderator tentatively idenitying it as Dissoloba caseicolor. It was a small moth I observed on the ground amongst the leaf litter. It was by itself in an area surrounded by small trees and shrubs, under some of the larger eucalyptus trees. I will update this blog post if I find out the species’ name.
The unidentified moth, possibly Dissoloba caseicolor