The birds on Red Hill Nature Reserve were fantastic this Sunday morning despite the overcast and cloudy conditions. There were so many Gang-gang cockatoos around, including a quiet male being a sentinel at the entrance to a hollow. I saw another Dollarbird on a different part of the hill to the one last week, as well as my first ever Cicadabird. I was also glad I had my macro photography set-up with me as there were some interesting insects, including from the day before when I went walking around my yard with the macro camera. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
A group of White-winged Choughs (Corcorax melanorhamphos) were in a stand of small trees just down from the Deakin water tank. It was a reasonably large group with about 10 birds. There were the usual disagreements and I did like the way this bird in the photograph was displaying in a tree. White-wing Choughs are notorious for kidnapping juveniles from other chough groups and I wondered if I was witnessing that behaviour because this group was large and it was hard to tell it if was one or two groups.
A White-winged Chough displaying
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/800 SEC])
Gang-gang Cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum) were plentiful on Red Hill that morning, which is a great sign, especially if they are successful in breeding. I was able to stay in one location and observe several trees that have been the sites of successful breeding in the past. While I was looking in another direction a male appeared from a hollow, sitting their quietly. He hardly moved for the ten minutes or longer I was there. He disappeared, presumably back into the hollow, as quietly as he had originally appeared.
Male Gang-gang Cockatoo in a hollow
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
A male Gang-gang Cockatoo was high on a dead branch of a near-dead tree that has also been the site of a recent successful breeding. I looked for a female but I could not see one. The male was calling occasionally from his perch. He eventually flew off northwards but I could not see a female follow him.
Different male Gang-gang on another tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
There was a further Gang-gang Cockatoo pair sitting in a tree that we all thought would have a successful breeding event last year but something went wrong and no young birds appeared. I noticed a pair of Gang-gangs sitting in the tree, with the male occasionally calling but the female remaining quiet. They were aware of my presence so I decided to move away in case they were wanting to access one of the hollows in the tree.
Yet another Gang-gang in a different tree but all photographed from roughly the same location
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
The female Gang-gang of the pair
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Further along the north slope of the hill I came across another Gang-gang Cockatoo pair. They were originally in seperate areas of the tree with the male chewing at a shallow hollow. They eventually arrived on the same branch where they commenced some mutual preening. The male then flew to a different branch where he continued to preen himself and appeared to stretch his right wing out, but did not repeat the process with his left wing. They did not seem that bothered by my presence. They did not react to other parrots around them but did look when they heard other Gang-gangs calling. After one lot of calls from other Gang-gangs this pair flew to to a different tree that appeared closer to the noise. No hollows were apparent in either the first or second tree. These birds eventually flew off to the north-west after about 15 minutes but I could not see where they went to.
The Gang-gang pair
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/10 and 1/500 SEC])
The male stretching his wing
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/10 and 1/500 SEC])
A probably juvenile male Common Cicadabird (Edolisoma tenuirostris) was making its way down the hill through the canopies of eucalyptus trees. It was often in company with the female White-winged Triller in the next photograph below. I thought I heard a pardalote as well in the trees but I did not get a photograph of one if it was there. I believe this bird may be maturing into an adult as its crown is beginning to turn grey like an adult bird, whose whole body will be covered in grey plumage. These are a rare, summer breeding migrant in the ACT so I am very happy I was able to record one.
Juvenile Common Cicadabird with the mature grey starting to show on its crown
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
This White-winged Triller (Lalage sueurii) female appeared almost to be moving in a similar direction to the Cicadabird I reported above. It was also in the top of the canopies and it was hard to tell which bird was which, I thought they were both the same bird when I was taking the pictures.
Female White-winged Triller
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
A group of Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) were in a grove of tightly-packed small trees around what is usually a run-off stream from where the water tanks are but the stream was completely dry. The fairy-wrens were in a thicket but the male stood out, often coming to the top branches of the thicket or to the ground away from cover. There were at least two females in the group. They were feeding, with a female catching a fly as big as its beak, but it was still able to eat it.
Superb Fairy-wren male
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1250, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/400 SEC])
Female Superb Fairy-wren with a juicy fly she caught and then ate straight away
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1250, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/400 SEC])
This Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) was in the tall trees where they usually are seen at this time of year, very near Hughes. It was having trouble with some other birds, possibly Indian Mynahs, often making a lot of noise and trying to chase them away. I could only see one Dollarbird but they are small birds high in a tree so not always easy to see.
Dollarbird
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/400 SEC])
This juvenile male Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) was still around the bower, still appearing to practice his dancing. I only saw this one bird in the vicinity of the bower this time although there were other bowerbirds around.
Juvenile male Satin Bowerbird arranging his bower
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/400 SEC])
Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) are always on Red Hill, and I often challenge myself to see how little I can disturb them yet keep to my path. They may be common animals but I do like taking photos of them.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1250, 100mm, f/7.1 and 1/800 SEC])
Sorry, the photograph of the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is very blurry, I just wanted to record it. I heard a group of Noisy Miners making an alarmed sound and this fox came up the rise. It stopped, looked my direction, but there was a small tree between it and me. I could see it, presumably it could smell or make out my shape, but I could not get a photo through this small tree. It was only when it continued up the rise, across the fire trail, was I able to snap some blurry shots.
A blurry photo of a Red Fox darting across a fire trail
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
A single Black-headed Bull Ant was prowling around on the dirt. It did not seem bothered by the much smaller Meat Ants. It did not seize anything while I was watching it.
A Black-headed Bull Ant
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 800, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
This Meat Ant (Iridomyrmex purpureus) appeared to be taking a dead Sugar Ant back to the colony.
A Meat Ant with a dead Sugar Ant
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 800, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
This Brown Blowfly or Brown Bomber (Calliphora stygia) was sitting quietly on a stump.It was not very active, allowing me to get very close to take photographs. These flies are well adapted for cold climates but in the summer are out competed by flies better suited for the heat.
Brown Blowfly on a tree stump
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 800, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
This Common Brown butterfly (Heteronympha merope) was flitting about and I was able to get a quick shot.
Common Brown butterfly
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/400 SEC])
This pair of Long-nosed Lycid Beetles (Porrostoma rhipidius) was in my garden. When I saw them I had to photograph them. The female appeared to be on the back as she appeared to be laying eggs while presumably the male was in the front fertilising the eggs. These adult beetles feed on nectar, whereas their young are thought to live in the leaf litter and feed on mould. The colouration is no coincidence as they are very toxic if eaten by other animals. Other insects mimic the colour in an attempt to get protection by way of the implied warning.
Long-nosed Lycid Beetles laying eggs
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 200, 100mm, f/16 and 1/180 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Close-up of the laying, with the beetle on the back appearing to lay the eggs
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 200, 100mm, f/16 and 1/180 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
This Bibonid fly was flying in its laboured way across the garden.
Bibonid fly on a wooden fence
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 200, 100mm, f/16 and 1/180 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
This Garden Soldier Fly (Exaireta spinigera) was very cooperative, letting me get the camera around to its front so I could take the photograph below. There were three of these flies spaced out along one of the side walls of our house.
Head shot of a Garden Soldier Fly
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 2000, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/100 SEC])