Getting out for a walk around Hughes and Garran this Saturday was just one of those mornings that made you glad to be alive. I saw so many birds, beautiful Superb Parrots as well as so many water birds with their young. I also saw two young male kangaroos playing at fighting, allowing me to obtain that iconic kangaroo photo. It was just such a wonderful morning I did not want it to end. I enjoyed it so much, I went and did it all again on Sunday. I was going to do both days as one big blog post but I realised I had more than enough material for two blog posts. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
The ever knowledgeable JackyF had put me on to the location of some Superb Parrots (Polytelis swainsonii). Photographing them was a little challenging as the trees they were in were still in shadow early in the morning and then the birds quickly get active when the sun rises to start flying off. I think I saw, at minimum 20-30 parrots that morning. The parrots were in a number of trees. They flew off mainly to the south-east towards Garran although I also heard a group more towards Red Hill.
Moving away from that first group there were more Superb Parrots nearer in Garran. I saw about 10 drinking from a small white tub in the ground among the trees somebody had put out for them. In this group there was also a single male Australian King-parrot, who did not seem to cause any issues for the Superb Parrots. There were a number of Superb Parrots in this area, generally flying between trees. Again it was hard to get photos as the trees were still in the shadows. They are definitely very comfortable in this area. I am also sure I saw some juvenile birds, as the male colours on the neck were just starting to become visible under the green plumage.
In another location, I saw two male Superb Parrots on the ground feeding among the long grass. There was a juvenile male Australian King-parrot near these two Superb Parrots that kept trying to push the Superb Parrots away.
A Superb Parrot feeding on some grass
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
Superb Parrots enjoying some water somebody has left for them
(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])
A close up on a smaller group showing an immature male parrot developing the yellow facial plumage with red collar
(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])
Two male Superb Parrots with their bright facial plumage searching for food
(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])
Apart from the Superb Parrots I really enjoyed watching two adult Australasian Grebes (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) with three chicks. They were not that scared of me, moving further from me at a steady speed but not going too far. One of the chicks appeared to be able to feed itself as it seemed to be diving underwater, although it did not appear to stay down for long. The other two chicks seemed to follow only one parent around each. These two chicks were making a constant single note call while they trailed their respective adult. The adult would dive, leaving the chick on the surface, making the same cry but at a slower rate. The chick could possibly see the adult start to surface as it would normally be moving towards where the adult would rise. There would normally be some distance between them, so both birds would swim towards the other. They may have been exchanging solid food as their beaks were pointing down rather than the adult regurgitating food into the upturned bill of the chick. (That is the photo at the top of this post.) Once the food was in, the chick would start the rapid cry again and the adult, after not much time on the surface, would dive again. The adults seemed to keep this going for at least 20 minutes. One mature bird became very aggressive to some ducks at one stage. Chasing one duck across the pond. It was not clear why the adult chased this duck as the chicks had been intermingling with other ducks most of the time while I was observing them.
A family of Australasian Grebes, two adults and three chicks (one is not in the frame)
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 107mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
The adult birds are very protective, in this case keeping ducks at a distance from the chicks
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
A close up of one of the chicks
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 371mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
There were also a group of Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra), with at least two adults and two juvenile birds. The juvenile birds were already feeding themselves, often being out of the water apparently searching for food. The adult birds were not as protective as the grebes were. There was often a bit of distance between the adults and juvenile birds. Once the juvenile birds were walking it was easy to see they were coots with their toes showing the typical paddle-like growths along the length.
A Eurasian Coot chick (front) with an adult
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 227mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC])
On land the resemblance of the chick (above) to the adult bird (below) is clear
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 371mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC])
An adult coot on the land
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 371mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC])
There were probably at least ten Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata) at this location although eight of them appeared to be a family unit while the other two were possibly younger, non-breeding males. The family unit is in the photograph below and soon after this photograph they took to flight. I do not think I spooked them as I had not moved.
A family group of Australian Wood Ducks
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC])
There was also a family of Grey Teals (Anas gracilis), with two adults and two ducklings. The ducklings appeared to already be feeding themselves by lowering their bills into the water and filtering food as they swam. The ducklings swam closer to the bank at some stage, while still feeding, but the adult birds kept to the middle of the pond.
An adult Grey Teal with two ducklings
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC])
There was this Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) couple which I thought was a good way of showing the difference in male and female plumage.
A female Magpie-lark, with the white face, on the left with a male on the right, with a black face and white eye brows
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 371mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC])
There was a single Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) in the area apparently looking for food. It was flying between trees, staying lower down in the branches.
A Laughing Kookaburra scanning the scene before it
This was the immature male Australian King-parrot (Alisterus scapularis) giving the male Superb Parrots a hard time. It followed the other birds from one spot to another in an attempt to chase them off. It would feed at where the Superb Parrots had just been forced to leave before it again followed the Superb Parrots to the new location to push them away.
The juvenile male Australian King-parrot (on the right) that tried to chase off the two Superb Parrots (on the left)
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/800 SEC])
There were two Galahs (Eolophus roseicapillus) in a tree hollow which has previously been identified as a breeding hollow for Gang-gang Cockatoos by ruthkerruish on Canberra Nature Map. Only one Galah was in the hollow proper. It was chewing at the wood. At one stage it lost its grip, holding on to the wood with just its bill. it was eventually able to gain foot holds again. The second bird flew over to the top of the hollow, to perch there, while the first Galah stayed at the bottom of the hollow.
A Galah being a galah while chewing wood at the entrance to a hollow
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
The final birds I saw were four Satin Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) in the middle of a quiet street, apparently feeding on some plant matter that had fallen from a tree. I think some of the birds may have been immature birds but it was not clear. They were making the occasional whirring, metallic-like noise bowerbirds make. The bird in the photo below, with its beak open, sometimes looked dominant but at other times looked submissive.
Four Satin Bowerbirds making a racket and feeding on a quiet street
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
To me this is an archetypal photograph of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus). Two young males play fighting to build up the skills they will one day need when they fight other adult males to secure a breeding group of females. These two rarely kicked although they did raise off the ground a couple of times. I was also amazed at how far they could push each others’ heads.
Two young Eastern Grey Kangaroos play fighting
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/800 SEC])
This Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi) Butterfly landed very near me, before opening its wings. It was very patient, allowing me to get very close with my lens, even though it was a telephoto lens. It appeared to be warming up in the sun. Even when I covered it in my shadow a couple of times it did not fly off. It was only when I stood up after photographing it that it took off.
An Australian Painted Lady Butterfly warming its wings in the sun
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/500 SEC])