Trees were a bit of my focus this Sunday morning as I wondered around Hughes and Garran bu I also had plenty of opportunity to photograph some wonderful birds in the area. I saw Galahs at hollows and I was fortunate enough to see an Australasian Grebe climb on to what I assume was its nest. After the usual birds the bottom part of the post is insect heavy as Hughes is in the middle of cicada season with a large number of Red Eye Cicadas around, bringing a number of birds to our garden as they pluck cicadas from our trees. Continuing the insect theme, later on that Sunday I was around the Australian National University (ANU) for my son, but I had a camera with me just in case I came across anything interesting. In this case, a number of insects. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
Blakely’s Redgum; I was trying to capture photos of trees
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 400, 16mm, f/13 and 1/200 SEC])
Looking up the trunk of the redgum
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 400, 16mm, f/20 and 1/125 SEC])
A dirt path lined with young Blakely’s Redgums
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 640, 23mm, f/20 and 1/100 SEC])
Two Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) were happily eating some berries on a tree in our street. They were on the bottom branches in the tree making it easy to get a photo, although the sun was still low, and having trouble getting through the smoke haze, meaning the light was still not with me. The cockatoos would use their strong beaks to break the fruit off the tree, then hold the fruit with their feet, lifting the succulent goodness to their beaks like we lift fruit to our mouths.
One of the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos eating fruit in a neighbour’s tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/320 SEC])
Galahs (Eolophus roseicapillus) are always plentiful around Canberra, their cries being a welcome part of the soundscape. On this morning I saw a number of Galahs, including some pairs. In other parts of Canberra it appears that one brood of young birds have already left the nests. The birds I saw this morning may have been still using hollows but I did not see any birds actually in hollows.
The first pair I saw were at a hollow very low down on a tree. The hollow would have been at my chest height, if not lower. I did not see either Galah enter the hollow but one bird was regularly reaching in while the other was preening on a branch beside it. I had seen a Galah near this hollow previously but I was too slow to get a picture.
Galahs at a possible hollow with the bottom one looking towards the morning sun
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Another Galah pair were in a Blakely’s Redgum, high up with a hollow facing east. Neither bird went to the hollow but they were perched nearby a possible hollow, quietly preening themselves. Galahs are normally not quiet to it was possible they were near a breeding hollow.
A different Galah pair outside another possible hollow
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/10 and 1/250 SEC])
One of the Galahs above preening itself
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/10 and 1/250 SEC])
A different Galah was perched on what could have been a hollow at the end of a broken branch but I did not want to approach just in case it was. The bird was quiet as well. It was a distance from me and the smoke haze made it hard to get a good picture.
Another Galah at a tree with a possible hollow, with the smoke haze visible behind
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/10 and 1/400 SEC])
A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and two Little Corellas (Cacatua sanguinea) were sharing a tree together. This is not unusual and both species are known to flock together and even to interbreed.
Two Little Corellas and a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/10 and 1/400 SEC])
There was a single Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) swimming on a local pond. I like these birds during the breeding season as they have such simple but stunning breeding plumage. I thought this bird was just swimming, looking for food, when it climbed on top a mess of leaves and other plant matter. The bird then commenced poking at the leaves, before it sat on top of the pile. In looking at the photographs later there may have been an egg in the middle of the pile, partly covered by some leaves. Grebe nests are floating piles of leaves and plant matter that are anchored to a submerged object, in this case, a pipe. The grebe did not stay on the nest long before it once again started swimming but on the closer side of the nest. I am not sure why it went back to the nest as it did not stay there long and none of the other birds were heading for the nest, although a juvenile Eurasian Coot was also swimming in that part of the pond. Grebes can have up to three broods in a breeding season.
Australasian Grebe swimming in the pond
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
This was the mound the Grebe climbed on top of, with what I later believed may have been a egg just visible as a whitish object in the middle of the mound
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
A juvenile Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) was swimming near the Australasian Grebe nest. I did not see other coots nearby but I am sure they were there as they are common in this pond.
Eurasian Coot juvenile
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
These three Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) were reclining in the shade of some gum trees as the morning sun rose. The day was already warm and there was a lot of smoke around so it was a good time to take a rest. There were a number of people moving around hence why the kangaroos look alert.
Three Eastern Grey Kangaroos reclining in some shade as the heat starts to build
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
Red Eye Cicadas (Psaltoda moerens) have been emerging from underground over the last few weeks and for a few days this week it seemed they were coming out in a rush. Every morning there were several of these cicadas very obvious on our back wooden deck, low in trees or other areas, including on the soft plastic greenhouse. In the morning when they are still cold they are still and not moving. It is not until the sun hits them that they get active and start moving higher into the trees to attract a mate with their calls. It seems this summer there have been more out than in recent years, although that is my perception with no data to back it up. The birds have been having a great time with the little black parcels of goodness. We have had Australian Magpies, Pied Currawongs and even Australian Ravens in our yard effortlessly picking cicadas off branches. As a result, every morning I have come across half-eaten cicadas, some of which are still moving. I have also seen scattered on our paths currawong regurgitation pellets of the indigestible parts of cicadas. I felt the events of the week were just another example of where nature has timed a breeding event that also allows predators to have an easy feed. Yet, despite the carnage wrought on the breeding cicadas, I am sure there will still be more cicadas emerging in years to come. I also took the opportunity presented by the still cicadas in the mornings to practice some macro photography. In the shots of the second cicada below I initially took photos without a flash, as the cicada was cold in the morning so not moving. After looking at the results I decided to stop being lazy and went back inside to get a flash to light the insect properly. I also tried to focus on different parts of the cicada while maintaining the same composition so I could focus stack the results. I am pleased with the way they turned out. While in my own little world with that photography I did have one shock when I heard a currawong above me eating a cicada. I then heard the cicada drop through the leave. I thought the cicada had landed on me so I tried to shake it off but I could not see it of feel it. I returned to photographing the insect in front of me only, after a few moments, to have a still moving, half-eaten cicada fall off the top of my lens from where this poor, mutilated insect had fallen after escaping from the currawong. I had lost my composition by that stage.
Red Eye Cicada on our small, soft greenhouse
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 2000, 100mm, f/6.3 and 1/160 SEC])
A side view of the same cicada showing the hair or seta on its body that assists in helping it to sense
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 2000, 100mm, f/6.3 and 1/160 SEC])
A different Red Eye Cicada taken without flash
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/800 SEC] focused stacked with four images)
The same cicada as directly above but shot with flash this time
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 640, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite focus stacked with three images)
Front on
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 640, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite focus stacked with three images)
Top down view
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 640, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Later on that Sunday we went to ANU for my son. As he was occupied for an hour, I had my camera with me so I could go for a walk to see what photographic subjects I could find.
A gall forming psyllid (Schedotrioza sp. (genus)) on a gum leaf caught my attention as I wandered past. In reading up about these insects I came across this very useful blog article that summarised about all sorts of galls in Australia. Within this gall is probably a single jumping plant lice growing. The white, stringy substance visible beside some of the galls may be a by-product from the insect and could be of interest to the ant crawling over the galls, as some ants harvest these types of insects. The ants get the sugary by-products and the insects receive protection form the ants.
A gall forming psyllid (Schedotrioza sp. (genus)) on a gum leaf
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/400 SEC])
This female Flower Wasp was on a stalk of some very dry native grass. Initially, I thought she was dead and the body was attached to the stalk by a spider web but then I noticed she started to move. At the time of photographing it I did not know what insect it was but I shortly afterwards bought a book by the late Densey Clyne called My Encounters with Minibeasts. Densey had been a bit of a childhood inspiration of mine and I loved her books, especially Wildlife in the Suburbs, as well as her spider documentary, Webs of Intrigue. This book I had just bought had a brief mention about wingless, female flower wasps and I wondered if this was what I was looking at so I typed that term into Canberra Nature Map and that was indeed what I had photographed. This female was acting like an acrobat on a pole, moving its body around the stalk with its two front pairs of legs while its rear legs looked to be stroking its abdomen, possibly to release mate-attracting chemicals. It was thrilling to have read about this behaviour and then known I had witnessed it.
Female Flower Wasp possibly spreading sent to attract a male
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/400 SEC])
These insects, I believe are Rutherglen Bugs (Nysius vinitor). The two in focus were joined together for the whole time I was watching so I am not sure if they were mating. The insect on the bottom appears to have a thicker abdomen than the insect on the top. I tried looking on line but I could only find one photograph where there was a similar situation but that was not the main focus of the photograph, so it was not discussed. The other Rutherglen Bug in the picture crawled all over the flower and over the first two bugs. The top bug reacted by sticking the rear left leg out, almost like it was off-balance or had lost its grip. These bugs are native but are considered pests as they enjoy the sap from commercial crops so can threaten the livelihoods of crop farmers.
Rutherglen Bugs on a yellow flower
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/7.1 and 1/400 SEC])
This Spotted Amber Ladybird (Hippodamia variegata) was walking all over this plant, barely stopping for long. It did not seem bothered if it was walking on the top of a leaf or the underside. This ladybird is not native to Australia, being originally from Europe. Ladybirds are predators, especially against aphids so are good to have on flowers. Their popular cute image is somewhat at odds with their carnivorous lifestyle.
Spotted Amber Ladybird
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1250, 100mm, f/6.3 and 1/400 SEC])
This Transverse Ladybird (Coccinella transversalis) was on the same plant as the Spotted Amber ladybird but they did not come into contact. This ladybird is an Australian native.
Transverse Ladybird
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1250, 100mm, f/6.3 and 1/400 SEC])