On Sunday, 3 March 2019, I headed to the always interesting, and generally quiet, Callum Brae Nature Reserve, just a short drive from my home. I always enjoy this nature reserve. I started by walking along the path that leads south-west from the entrance gate. I had not taken that path for a while so I was interested to see what life was around. All the vegetation was still dry, with the ponds I saw still very low. There were still a number of birds and animals around, including the most Crested Pigeons I have seen in one location and a group of three to four foxes. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
Walking south along the path from the entrance, to the west there was a fenced off area that contained a small dam. Looking over the fence into this are I saw a Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) perched in a dead tree. I thought the bird was by itself and I took a photograph. I then realised there were three more birds on the southern branches of the tree so I photographed them as well. One by one, all four birds flew off to the south. A short while later there must have been a disturbance at the dam as a number of Crested Pigeons took off from the area around the dam. I could not see them on the ground around the dam, I only saw them when I heard the noise of their wings all flapping together. The birds seemed to take off in several waves heading to one tree, with other Crested Pigeons flying to the same tree from different directions. When I counted the birds in the tree there were at least 30 birds in the tree, the most Crested Pigeons I have seen in one location. They appeared to be relaxed there, with most of them preening themselves.
![At first I saw this single Crested Pigeon(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/1000 SEC])](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b474d53b40b9dfc79289e98/1551864732897-XNTFCCYKXE6I267C0HKH/Crested_Pigeon_Callum_Brae_Nature_Reserve_7380_20190303.jpg)
At first I saw this single Crested Pigeon
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/1000 SEC])
Then I realised there were three more Crested Pigeons in another part of the tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1000 SEC])
Then I realised there were at least 30 Crested Pigeons in a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 200mm, f/6.3 and 1/800 SEC])
Further south there was dam that was accessible just off the path. While I was looking for birds in the area I saw this Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana) fly between several trees in the area. It stayed in the branches moving from a small tree to this more established tree in the photograph. There may have been one or two more but I did not get a good look.
Yellow Thornbill
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/11 and 1/500 SEC])
I was thrilled with the final birds I saw, Striated Pardalotes (Pardalotus striatus). Every time I visit Callum Brae I hear Striated Pardalotes near the entrance but I have never been able to view them. This morning, heading back towards the entrance I saw these three birds at the top of the tree on the road side of the entrance gate. There may have been at least one juvenile in the group due to its slightly different colouration. The birds did not stay still long, moving between different parts of the tree before flying to a different tree. Occasionally, one would appear to arch its back and force its wings down, like it was having a stretch.
Three Striated Pardalotes with a possible juvenile at the bottom left
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/1000 SEC])
Striated Pardalotes are hardly ever still
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/1000 SEC])
Between the fenced area and the dam to the south there was this male Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) with a small group of females. He stayed hunched down like this for a while, always looking straight at me.
A male Eastern Grey Kangaroo keeping an eye on me
On the southern side of the dam, I first saw a single European Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) at the base of the tree where the thornbill was. I thought the fox saw me and fled to the south. I then realised it had not gone far. Very soon afterwards, up to three more foxes from the east headed towards where I presumed the first fox had gone. I heard the noise of what sounded like wood hitting wood, although I could not see anything. A short time later I saw three or four foxes heading towards the north-west at a trot before I lost sight of them in the undergrowth. When I went to the area where I thought the wood hitting wood sound had occurred I saw a large, old, fallen tree with broken branches surrounding it. The tree had been lying there for a very long time, probably years. I could not see any signs of activity there so I am not sure what the wooden sound was.
One of the European Red Foxes
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/500 SEC])
Around the area where I was photographing the Crested Pigeons I also saw this fungus, Laetiporus portentosus, which is common in Canberra. This particular species of fungus can grow up to 40 cm across, although this one was probably only 20 cm at most. This fungus was growing on the eastern side of a brittle bark, although it was in shade when I photographed it. Once these fungus start getting large they are normally targeted by invertebrates as a food source so they look chewed up but this one seemed to be in good condition.
A fungus, Laetiporus portentosus
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 37mm, f/6.3 and 1/100 SEC])