It is always hard visiting a location the first time, as I am not sure where the best spots will be for finding animals. That was how I felt at Pine Island Reserve until I saw the Great Cormorants pictured above. Once I saw the first bird I knew I was going to thoroughly enjoy the morning. I had been thinking of visiting this reserve for a while and Sunday presented a great opportunity. It was not far from the south of Canberra yet felt like a secluded place to enjoy the Murrumbidgee River. I lost track of time so I was late home, rushing past a great photograph opportunity of an orb weaver spider. I will definitely return to this location as it was such a lovely experience. I hope you enjoy the photos below as I really had a wonderful morning.
A stretch of the Murrumbidgee River at Pine Island Reserve, my first effort at focus stacking
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 32mm, f/11 and 1/80 SEC])
Getting artistic with Sulphur-crested Cockatoos reflected in the still waters of the Murrumbidgee River
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/6.3 and 1/400 SEC])
I walked along the foot track from the car park. I was not really sure where I was heading but I knew the river was off to my left and there should have been some larger ponds between me and the river. (I found out when I later walked through that area the ponds were dried-up memories because of the lack of water.)
While on the track the first bird I saw that morning was a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae). In fact I heard its call first, following the melody before I saw the bird. It was high in the trees, flying from one to another. I did not hear any other cuckoo-shrikes reply to the call, although I could hear a Grey Butcherbird around.
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/320 SEC])
There are always Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) around. They were flying along the route of the river. As you can see in the photographs the dead trees along the river were popular spots with all the birds. The cockatoos did not seem to mind the three Australian Magpies being in the same tree, not did they really mind when some Galahs flew into the tree, although the cockatoos did make a lot of noise but did not confront the galahs. The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo call is just a natural sound of Canberra, kind of reassuring to let you know there are birds around.
A flock of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos in dead trees along the Murrumbidgee River, with some Australian Magpies in the upper right branches
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 158mm, f/10 and 1/400 SEC])
For some reason I just love cormorants, a word that originates in Latin but comes to English through French. The original Latin was corvus marinus, sea crow. When I saw the black shape of the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) I took a photograph immediately. I willed the bird to stay still as I worked my way closer to the river, hoping my presence would not scare it away. You can see in the first photograph there were two Magpie-larks in the tree as well but their activities did not seem to affect the cormorant. This one tree, apart from the cormorants had several other species visit it while the cormorants were perched on the branches. The adult bird was sitting reasonably still, there was no sign it was drying its plumage. It did keep looking around but did not appear to want to fly off. After I had been watching the adult for a while a juvenile bird flew to the same tree. It may have been feeding as it started drying its wings or maybe it was just trying to sun itself. It was also looking around but seemed to be contented on the branch. It was not until I moved position that I saw the two birds were on different sides of the tree, thus explaining why I had such difficulty with having enough depth of field to get them both in sharp focus.
The adult Great Cormorant with two Magpie-larks playing in the background
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/1250 SEC])
The adult Great Cormorant with a juvenile above it
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/13 and 1/500 SEC])
Camera angles can be deceptive, the actual distance between the two birds
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 330mm, f/13 and 1/500 SEC])
One of the other species I saw in the tree was a group of Dusky Woodswallows (Artamus cyanopterus), who were happy to occupy the central, upper branches while the cormorants were on the lower branches. There were three juvenile woodswalllows plus a lone adult bird.
The Dusky Woodswallow family, an adult on the left with three juveniles
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/13 and 1/500 SEC])
Looking across the river I saw a group of three Indian Mynas (Sturnus tristis), with one of them having a bath. The bird having a bath then flew off, leaving the other two by the river.
An Indian Myna group on the far bank of the Murrumbidgee River
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/1250 SEC])
Walking along the foot track towards the river, there was a Red-necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) on a rocky outcrop. It had its back to me but immediately noticed my presence. Even though I could get to my knees to take the photograph below, it did not stay, hopping off very soon after the first shot.
A Red-necked Wallaby not too certain about me
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/320 SEC])