I was heading out later in the morning with my son to go to Namdagi National Park but I still wanted to have my usual walk on Red Hill Nature Reserve. I had to cut the walk short because we were going to leave early to go to Namadgi. A shorter walk on Red Hill was not really a problem as the weather was cloudy and slightly foggy so not the best for photographing birds. I did not see many birds that day, in fact my only really bird shot was at the top of this post and shows a number of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos waiting near a house for food. Beyond that bird photograph I was really just trying to get more photographs of the Coconut Ants from my previous walk to confirm what they were.
A street light brilliantly illuminates trees still with their autumn leaves
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/5 SEC])
This plant caught my attention the way it looked like lava erupting from a volcano
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/30 SEC])
Mycena sp. fungus on a burnt log
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 400, 55mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
I was heading back to where I had sighted what I believed was a Coconut Ant (Papyrius nitidus) nest. A moderator on Canberra Nature Map wanted some more images to confirm I had see Coconut Ants as all I had provided in my sighting report was a hole filled with what looked to be wood shavings. I found the tree where the ants were without too much trouble. One of the other moderators advised me to knock on the wood to help bring ants to the surface. Unfortunately I dislodged some bark, which while a bit more than knocking, did at least bring some ants out. There was also an obvious coconut smell. I was also able to use my ruler for the first time, which I had bought to help provide scale to my macrophotography. I replaced the section of bark after I had photographed the ants as I did not want them to be exposed.
Coconut Ants at their nest
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 400, 38mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Coconut Ants on a ruler I now carry to show scale
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 400, 55mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
The Coconut Ant nest in its setting
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 400, 18mm, f/8.0 and 1/15 SEC])