This morning turned into one of those great photographic days. When I started out, I was really not confident about the day as it was overcast with birds being hard to find. As the sun burnt off the cloud, I brightened up as it was a beautiful day with some common birds, magpies and Fairy-wens, providing great photographic subjects. Towards the end of my walk I saw a dragonfly flying in one spot of an open area. With the sky now a lovely blue giving me a burst of energy I decided to challenge myself to shoot a photograph of this moving insect in flight. While persevering with that challenge I became aware of three specks much higher in the sky, When I zoomed in, I saw a Wedge-tailed Eagle with two Australian Ravens. Even though I was already late getting home I had to photograph those birds soaring high in the sky, as well as complete my challenge to myself with the dragonfly. The results are below. The birds were very high so my lens was struggling. While the dragonfly photo has some room for improvement, I was happy with the result I was able to achieve. The whole walk was just another wonderful morning on Red Hill Nature Reserve and I hope you enjoy the photographs below because I had a great time taking them.
I had not checked out the Superb Parrots (Polytelis swainsonii) for a while so I thought I would start with them. There were probably six in the trees around me. There were more about but I was slightly away from where I have photographed them in the past. They stayed high in the foliage making it hard to get a decent shot. They were also starting to fly-off at that time.
A male Superb Parrot looking towards the rising sun
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/400 SEC])
The nearby pond had a couple of groups of Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata), with one lot of ducklings significantly younger than the other group. The photograph immediately below shows the younger group of ducks. They swam across the pond before exiting at the shore but stayed near the pond. The bottom photograph shows two of the older, but immature ducks landing on the pond. It is blurry as the light was low and it was a reflex shot more than a planned shot.
Australian Wood Ducks and duckings
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 220mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
Two Australian Wood Ducks land on the pond, the photo almost works but it was too dark to make it sharp
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 220mm, f/9.0 and 1/250 SEC])
I decided to climb to the summit of Red Hill so I could walk along the ridge overlooking Deakin, which was getting most of the morning sun. There was a group of about six Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) in the grass to the north of the restaurant on the summit. They were calling as they moved though the grass towards the east. My photographs were all of females but I suspect there may have been some immature males in the group. However, I could not see a blue male among the group.
One of about six Superb Fairy-wrens searching for food on the summit of Red Hill, yes, the grass is that dry
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/1250 SEC])
Just on from the fairy-wrens, there was a group of three Australian Magpies (Cracticus tibicen) also on the summit. Magpies are use to humans so I knew I could probably shoot some pictures without too much problem. I decided to concentrate on this male who was on the same contour as me, with plenty of sun hitting him. He was not worried about me, walking towards me, before taking a slight detour around me. Magpies make for great head shots with their whitish beak and their orange eyes. This one was no exception. The way they tilt their head always gives them a quizzical look, although I understand that is to do with their listening for food. This magpie dug a couple of times into the dirt but I could not see him bring out any food.
The Australian Magpie looking 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 1/800 SEC])
A close-up of it digging at food
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 255mm, f/5.6 and 1/1250 SEC])
As I said in the introduction, I was trying to take a photograph of a flying dragonfly when I noticed some dark dots in the sky. Moving my camera focus from the dragonfly to the sky I realised it was a young Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax) and what were most likely Australian Ravens. I am not sure what was going on although after a Google search it seemed a number of people have reported ravens chasing off Wedge-tailed Eagles. That would make sense as one raven departed while the other stayed with the eagle as they tracked northwards high over the hill. I could not hear any noise from them but one of my other shots appeared to show a raven with an open beak behind the eagle. The eagle did not seem to be that concerned by the raven, it just kept soaring in circles occasionally flapping its wings but mainly keeping them outstretched with the sun catching the underside when it turned the right way.
The Wedge-tailed Eagle with two ravens
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/3200 SEC])
One raven left but one stayed near the eagle
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1600 SEC])
There were the usual mobs of Eastern Grey Kangaroos on the greens of the Federal Golf Club. In one mob there were two sets of young male joeys play fighting. Unlike last time I saw this happen in February this year, these joeys were using their hind legs, although more aiming at the sides of the body than straight on. They seemed very committed to the activity, still going on with it even when they were both in the middle of the lower branches of a conifer.
One of two pairs of 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 1/400 SEC])
I saw a dragonfly that seemed to be trying to maintain its location in the air near a small eucalyptus tree. It was not landing on the tree but flying in the area between the tree and the trail I was on. I thought I would challenge myself to see if I could get a photograph of this dragonfly while it was flying, Yes, this is the dragonfly I referred to above that lead me to seeing the Wedge-tailed Eagle. To give myself a chance I increased my shutter speed, I also dropped my backpack to make it easier to move. My camera would not focus on the dragonfly when the tree was in the background so I got low to try to keep the insect against the sky, As the wind had picked up, I guessed that was making it harder for the dragonfly to stay in one spot. I spent a while trying to photograph what I eventually identified as a Tau Emerald Dragonfly (Hemicordulia tau). I learnt the photographic meaning of perseverance. I did not need to be patient as I had the light as well as the subject on hand, I just needed to persevere to get the shot. I even moved around to get the light coming from my back, hoping it would better isolate the insect agains the blue sky. The photos are not sharp but I am happy with them. I am also happy I stayed with the challenge to see how I went. I am also most happy my wife was not upset with me for being late back from photographing. I think she has just given up on me.
Tau Emerald Dragonfly in flight, learning perseverance in photography
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 340mm, f/8.0 and 1/2500 SEC])
The Common Brown Butterfly (Heteronympha merope) is, not surprisingly, very common on Red Hill. I took this photograph of one on my way down the hill. It landed near an overflow stream from the water tanks. I was able to get my lens face reasonably parallel to it. Yes, I took this photograph even if I was already very late getting home. I could not help myself.
A Common Brown Butterfly hiding in the leaf litter
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1600 SEC])