Murray’s Corner is a little reserve that sits on Paddy’s River in an area surrounded by pine forest. I thought I would pay it a visit as I really enjoy the Cotter area. Paddy’s River is a quiet river and I feel it would be nice to return in the spring and summer when there is more likely to be life. I heard a number of birds but I was only able to photograph the Olive Whistler that heads this blog post. Unfortunately, I had some car issues so I ended up being at Murray’s Corner longer than planned, which did allow me to practice some landscape photography in a tranquil setting. I eventually finished my morning at Phillip, to put my car in for servicing, but that did allow me to photograph some House Sparrows in the area. There are always animals to photograph, so at least that made the morning a bit happier. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
A placid part of Paddy’s River
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 500, 50mm, f/10 and 1/60 SEC])
A wider view of this part of Paddy’s River
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 500, 18mm, f/10 and 1/60 SEC])
The interesting sawn end of the log seen in the above photograph
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 800, 20mm, f/8.0 and 1/60 SEC])
An Olive Whistler (Pachycephala olivacea) landed on the far bank from where I was, flying in along the river from the north. It hopped along the bank, apparently looking for food. In one photograph it appeared to have some vegetation in its beak. It flew up into some low branches, then back to another part of the bank before it flew off north along the river from where it had come.
The Olive Whistler on the far bank
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1600, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/400 SEC])
A small flock of about five House Sparrows (Pachycephala olivacea) were making a large commotion under the shrub at the end of a car park in an industrial area of Phillip. Looking at the photographs later I could see what were possibly a male and female facing each other flat on the ground. I am not sure if they were using their claws to hold each other. They were making a lot of noise. They then separated and all the sparrows flew off to the roof above a garage. I do not think I disturbed them as I was a distance away and not approaching them.
Two House Sparrows, male on the left and female on the right, possibly fighting
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/400 SEC])
A House Sparrow on top of a garage in Phillip
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/1250 SEC])