I decided to return to Casuarina Sands Reserve on this Sunday as I was trying to practice long exposure landscape photography. I thought the small rapids on the Murrumbidgee River at this spot would be the ideal location to use to practice a technique that can produce stunning results. I will be completely honest, I am not there yet but I enjoyed being by the river. I was enjoying being by the river photographing the environ but then I suddenly realised I had not had a chance to photograph any birds or other wildlife. I was fortunate to come across some insects that made interesting subjects while I was still looking for birds. Walking hurriedly back to the car because, as usual, I had been too involved with my photography; I was running late to get the car home for my wife. Again, as usual, I saw some birds that I just had to photograph, including the lovely White-throated Treecreeper, who lived up to his name of creeping up a tree. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
The Murrumbidgee River, looking downstream across a weir at Casuarina Sands Reserve
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 24mm, f/16 and 0.6 SEC])
The Murrumbidgee River, looking upstream across a weir at Casuarina Sands Reserve, using long exposure
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 30mm, f/22 and 1.0 SEC])
The Murrumbidgee River running past a rock wall at Casuarina Sands Reserve
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 18mm, f/22 and 0.5 SEC])
On the way back to the car, the sun had risen high enough over the surrounding ridges to shine its light on the trees along the river. Not surprisingly, the first birds I really saw were two Grey Fantails (Rhipidura albiscapa). These are common birds that seem to be unable to stay still for long. Even though they are common it is worth looking at them as they often have other birds with them so it pays off to keep an eye on a group of birds around fantails. These two were preening themselves in the branches of a conifer.
A Grey Fantail preening itself
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/800 SEC])
Another bird in this group was at least one Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis), although there were probably more but I could not take a good photograph, I just saw several small birds moving through this conifer. As the photograph below shows they appeared to be looking for food.
A Silvereye looking for food
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/800 SEC])
The last bird I saw that morning was this male White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea). It flew from across the river, landing on the lower branches of a conifer. It landed on a branch over the water before flying to a branch on the other side of the tree. When I watch these birds they seem to spiral up the branch they are on. This bird was doing the same but did move between a couple of branches. He appeared to find a meal in that wood crack in the photograph as he was there for a little while. After a few minutes he flew to some trees further inland on the bank.
A male White-throated Treecreeper searching a conifer for food
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/800 SEC])
The last time I was at Casuarina Sands Reserve the river seemed to have Water Striders (Aquarius antigone) skating across its whole surface. This time the river was flowing faster and I did not see any Water Striders on the main part of the river. It was not until I came across some slack water in the outside part of a wide bend that turned back on itself did I see these insects. In this little patch of calmer water there were two groups. The larger group was further out from the bank, it was also more active, with the members constantly moving against the gentle flow of the river in this slower-moving water The other group was much smaller and very close to the river bank. Even my approach barely made them move. I wondered if this group was exhausted from trying to compete with the river’s flow so were unable to move very far. I suspect there would have been intense competition for food with all those insects pushed into one location.
The gathering of Water Striders in quieter waters, this was the larger group with the active members
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/400 SEC])
The quieter group of Water Striders
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
When I was walking back along the river path this Giant Green Slantface (Acrida conica) jumped onto the ground just where I was about to put my boot. These insects are apparently not very good jumpers with their main defence being camouflage, which does not help if they jump where a human is about to step. As they are not very good jumpers their long legs are normally used for walking. These grasshoppers are more commonly seen in their green form and they can have a stripe as well. They are a common insect with a very descriptive name. The photograph below shows the slantface.
The Giant Green Slantface that almost landed under my boot
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 100mm, f/7.1 and 1/200 SEC])