Saturday, 16 February 2019, found me not going for my usual walk around Red Hill Nature Reserve because the family was heading to Centennial Vineyards in Bowral to have a lunch. Sort of half-way between where some of us are in Canberra and others in Sydney. The weather was just the right temperature, the food was delicious and Centennial Vineyards is set in some beautiful country. Having completely over-indulged on food at lunch, I grabbed my camera gear so I could go for a walk to start working-off lunch. It was about 3:30 PM when I started walking, with some light clouds taking the blue out of the sky. The birdlife was not too forthcoming but I did find some birds, as well as some butterflies, to photograph. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
Looking along the vines from the car park
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0 and 1/200 SEC])
Looking from the main building back towards the entrance
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0 and 1/200 SEC])
While still feeling the effects of a delicious lunch, without having sampled any wine, I headed back down the drive towards a dam on the southern side. Unfortunately, the gates were locked making it clear visitors were not supposed to walk that way. I stood for a while to see what birds would come around the stand of eucalypts I was facing. In not much time I saw a small bird in the tree, I was later able to identify it as a Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops). It was constantly moving through the branches, making it very hard to photograph. The photograph below is the best I could manage; and it is not very good. I am guessing the bird was looking for lerp or maybe insects if it still had young birds to feed. Young honeyeaters often eat insects as a quick protein boost to help with growing before starting a life of nectar drinking.
Sorry, a blurry photo of a Yellow-faced Honeyeater
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/1250 SEC])
Walking back up the drive towards the main buildings the wooded area to the south again proved to be the best spot to see birds. There was a Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) moving from tree to tree in the area. While it perched on a branch it was making the upwards flick of its tail feathers. It may have been looking for food, as it seemed to be scanning the area, including look towards another dam, much closer to it. It did not come too close to where I was, keeping to the trees around the dam.
The Laughing Kookaburra looking back over a dam
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
In the same rough area as the kookaburra above there were two juvenile Crimson Rosellas (Platycercus elegans). They were flying from tree to tree, as well as occasionally feeding on the ground. As the photographs show, they were already beginning to change plumage to an an adult colour, although still at what is the first first immature stage.
Juvenile Crimson Rosella
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
I am not knowledgeable on butterflies but I had a look around the internet to confirm this photo is most probably two Cabbage White Butterflies (Pieris rapae) mating. Normally they would mate on a fixed bit of vegetation but it is not uncommon for the male to fly around with the female attached. He will most likely fertilise several females during his brief life as a butterfly, while she will only be able to produce eggs once. I had to take this shot at a distance, while the butterflies were moving through the low grass, so it was very hard to keep them in focus, especially as auto-focus had no idea where to focus and they were moving around too much for manual focus.
Cabbage White Butterflies mating
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/2000 SEC])