Red Hill Nature Reserve is a lovely place to start a weekend. The weather was a little overcast so I figured I needed to be on the north facing aspect to take advantage of whatever sun there was. Unfortunately, while I was photographing the fog rolled in to block the sunlight on what had been developing into a lovely day weatherise. Despite the fickle weather I was able to find some interesting subjects, including a White-throated Treecreeper who was happy to be on a tree in close proximity to me. I also took some low-light shots of two juvenile male Eastern Grey Kangaroos fighting as well as a shy Swamp Wallaby. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
Two Galahs (Eolophus roseicapillus) were high in tree preening themselves. These are common birds around Red Hill but I have not seen them in large flocks despite there being plenty of these birds in the area.
Two Galahs in a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
A group of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) occupied a tree very near where the Galahs were but there was no interaction between the two species. As I was watching, more cockatoos flew to the tree while the occasional bird also left. The group of cockatoos also included some corellas, which is a usual occurrence in Canberra.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, along with some corellas in the upper branches, perched in a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Three Crimson Rosellas (Platycercus elegans), including two juveniles were in a small tree on the north facing side of the hill. They did not stay in the tree long, before they flew off to the north.
A Crimson Rosella in a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
At least two Satin Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) were in a eucalyptus tree high on the north side of the hill. They were moving through the tree but did not appear to be feeding. There may have been more birds in this group from some bird calls nearby and there appeared to be some more distant bird calls as well.
Two Satin Bowerbirds high in a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
A White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea) was calling very near me but it took me a little while to see it. When I was finally able to locate the bird I realised it was reasonable close by. The bird did not appear concerned at my presence. I am unsure if this was a male or an immature bird as only the female has an orange mark on the side of its face but this bird seemed to have faint discolouration, which would make it a juvenile bird. The photo caught the bird as it was after something in a spider web, although the view is not good enough to show if it was the spider or an insect the spider had already caught. After getting the item from the spider web the bird continued foraging.
A White-throated Treecreeper pulling at a spider web
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 248mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
There was at least one Striated Thornbill (Acanthiza lineata) in the same area as the treecreeper. The thornbill was flying between the small trees probably looking for food. There were possibly more of these birds around as there were a number of calls in the area.
A Striated Thornbill searching for food
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 248mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
A male Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) was already displaying his blue breeding plumage. There were some brown fairy-wrens nearby but I could not see if they were females or non-breeding males. The fact this male is already in blue probably marks him out as an older bird. Fairy-wrens do not live long lives but older birds moult into their blue plumage earlier than younger birds, so in July rather than September. Some old males may moult from one blue into the next blue without reverting back to brown.
A male Superb Fairy-wren resplendent in his breeding blue
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/320 SEC])
A mob of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) is a regular sight on the greens of the Federal Golf Club. I have seen the males practice fighting before in this area so I was not surprised to see two young males sparring on this foggy morning. I was happy I got this shot, although it was not easy given the low light and that these animals were moving around a lot. I did not get too close as I did not want to disturb them. In general, these kangaroos are accustomed to having people around but normally those people are on the greens not walking along between the trees, where I hoped I was safe from golf balls.
Two juvenile male Eastern Grey Kangaroos sparring in the fog
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/400 SEC])
A Red-necked Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) bounded away from me as I walked along the north side of Red Hill. Initially this wallaby hopped away up the hill and I thought I had lost it. I later saw it through an old fence on the hill in the midst of some small trees. It was a distance away but bounced away as soon as I took a step in its direction. Later I saw if further up the hill from me but still among a dense group of low trees, as the photograph shows. It looked at me for a little while over its shoulder before slowly moving further up the hill into a thicker tangle of trees.
Swamp Wallaby seen through the trees
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/125 SEC])