Canberra is a very bike friendly city. I tend to commute on my mountain bike so that I can also ride some of the winding trails on my way to work because I find it is a great way to wake-up, clear my mind and be ready for the day ahead. My usual commute routes have changed character over the last month or so because of the heavy rains that have fallen on this recently very dry city. There is so much vibrant growth that some narrow trails are more traces of dirt through metre or higher thick vegetation. I thought that the overgrown paths may be interesting to photograph and I am not sure when the next La Nina event over Australia will be so now was a good time to photograph these totally transformed places. I normally leave home early enough so that I can have a fun ride and still get to work with plenty of time to spare. I was also fortunate because we had a work lunch one day that allowed me to leave early so I could take my time on the ride home. I really enjoyed combining photography and mountain biking, the synthesising of which gave me new appreciation for great routes I ride regularly because I was looking at them in a different way. This post is a little to my normal posts, a bit light-on in regards to animal life but I was able to photograph some water birds and I also have some macro shots from my house at the end. I hope that you like the photographs below.
Some reports are saying that Canberra has had its heaviest rain since 1983 leading to overgrown grass, rapid tree growth and full rivers. The Canberra services cannot keep up, even mowing seven days a week in 12 hour shifts cannot cut all the thick grass that has sprung up. On my commutes I have seen very overgrown paths where previously there was scraggly bits of vegetation clinging to dry, dusty edges of the trails. The character of the. paths have changed, making me worried about encountering snakes when I ride home in the afternoon. The path in the shot immediately below runs along the southern side of the National Zoo and Aquarium, the fence on the right. On the left, out of the picture was the Molonglo River. The morning I took the photographs the zoo animals were already awake and calling making the area seem much wilder than it really was.
Overgrown path between the National Zoo and the Molonglo River
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 400, 200mm, f/10 and 1/100 SEC])
This beautiful, yellow flower that an insect was exploring was just a little further along from the above picture. As beautiful as it was, I suspect that it was a weed or an escaped exotic plant.
A beautiful yellow flower but I suspect it is a weed
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 200, 194mm, f/8.0 and 1/100 SEC])
Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare) was everywhere. This little patch was on a bit of higher ground overlooking the Molonglo River and I really liked the way that sun was back lighting the plant.
Viper’s Bugloss back-lit by the morning sun
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 200, 194mm, f/8.0 and 1/100 SEC])
One of the trails that I often ride, heads north from the Molonglo through a commercial pine forest. Even the narrow area between the trail and pine forest had burst forth with plant life. While photographing that trail, I noticed a bit of pine bark on the ground with some fungus growing out of it. The semi-circle pattern of the fungus was set-off so nicely by the dull, grey of the bark. I really liked the unexpected clump of colour and patterns.
Trail heading into the pine forest behind the National Zoo and Aquarium
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 74mm, f/8.0 and 1/80 SEC])
Fungus growing on some pine bark lying on the ground
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 81mm, f/8.0 and 1/80 SEC])
Emerging from the pine forest behind the zoo I came across two female Eastern Grey Kangaroos eating some of the Vipers Bugloss. By crouching down I could shoot across the flowers to the kangaroos.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo eating some of the Viper’s Bugloss behind the zoo
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 100, 200mm, f/8.0 and 1/100 SEC])
After leaving the National Arboretum my commute took me past the Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve. That morning I noticed the sunlight striking a spiders web on a fence. Try as I may, I could not get the right angle with the sun to light up the web.
Fence with a spider’s web at Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 100, 70mm, f/10 and 1/125 SEC])
Since I rode my bike into work, I had to ride it home, not that I was objecting. While I was not planning on doing as much photography on the way home I still pulled my camera out a few times. The first time was to photograph the lovely red flowers in the picture immediately below. I am not sure what the flower was but I am guessing it was a weed.
Red Flowers that are probably actually a weed
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 100, 113mm, f/7.1 and 1/100 SEC])
While I was photographing the red flower I noticed movement across the path, seeing a Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) perched on the fence railing. When I got too close it few across the river and into some trees.
Little Pied Cormorant
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 160, 200mm, f/7.1 and 1/100 SEC])
I was fortunate because the following week we had a special lunch in the city and took the opportunity to take some photographs on my way home. It was hot day, around 32℃elsius. I did not mind because I was enjoying the photography.
I came across a pair of Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata) on a pontoon at the base of the Black Mountain peninsula, used by rowers for launching their boats. There was a parallel pontoon, which I used to walk out in line with the birds. I decided that I really wanted to be eye-level with the birds so I ended up lying down to shoot across the narrow bit of water separating the birds from me. In this photo the male is on the left with the darker head and grey feathers at the back, while the female is standing, preening herself. She has spots all along her body.
Australian Wood Duck pair on a rowing pontoon at Black Mountain Peninsula
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 200, 200mm, f/10 and 1/200 SEC])
Cycling west along the path that followed wth northern side of Lake Burley Griffin, I had just passed the site of the National Rock Garden when I decided to follow an overgrown path that paralleled the main bike path. I believe that this may be part of the Cork Oak plantation because the trees looked similar to the Cork Oaks across the road in the National Arboretum and this forest probably predated the roads running around the lake. There were also a number of beautiful brown butterflies flying around this path. Unfortunately, my lens did not have the reach to get good shots of these ever moving creatures before I scared them away. I was able to get a shot of a Common Brown butterfly (Heteronympha merope), although, of interest, there were not many flowers around here so it may have been that the butterflies were looking to lay their eggs among the green vegetation that would provide nourishment for newly hatched caterpillars.
Overgrown path through Cork Oaks beside Lake Burley Griffin
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 70mm, f/20 and 1/100 SEC])
Common Brown Butterfly in the leaf litter
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 20mm, f/8.0 and 1/200 SEC])
I decided to go down the side of the zoo so that I could cross over the Molonglo River again. The water level was down below the weir at a more normal height. Crossing the weir I noticed that there were a number of Silver Gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) on either side of the weir taking advantage of the lower, slower waters, allowing them to wade into the water without much risk. These are very common birds but not birds that I often see here because normally the water is too high. In some small way, the presence of these birds there, when the conditions temporarily suited them showed why they were such good survivors and hence why their numbers are so high.
Silver Gull wading in the Molonglo River
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 100, 200mm, f/10 and 1/250 SEC])
Despite the longer ride home, I was still home much earlier than normal, so after a quick shower I brought our washing in to save my wife. These days, normal chores outside often take me much longer to complete because I normally see some creature or subject that I want to photograph so I rush back inside to grab a camera. So it was that afternoon when I spotted a beautiful, little Jovial Jumping Spider (Ocrisiona jovialis) on our air conditioning unit. After grabbing my camera with the macro lens I took a few shots while this little spider patrolled along the top of the grille. After moving forward a bit it then disappeared into the grille itself, away from my view.
Jovial Jumping Spider
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 640, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/200 SEC])
I also heard some noises coming from under our water pump. A quick investigation of the sounds revealed a an immature Eastern Blue-tongue (Tiliqua scincoides) had taken up residence there. I had heard rustling in the leaf litter among the surrounding shrubbery and figured that it was probably a lizard. I was able to move slowly and gradually get closer to this lizard. It eventually decided that I was close enough because it slowly circled around to where its tail was in the photograph and disappeared under the pump. I placed a small saucer in the shade near that pump that I filled with water to provide some liquid as the days get warmer.
Immature Eastern Blue-tongue hiding under our water pump
((Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/200 SEC])
We have a Dogwood that was in full bloom Many insects were enjoying the flowers presumably for its nectar. I am not sure what species our tree is but its blooms are adding some lovely colour to the garden.
Yellow flower of a Dogwood tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 640, 100mm, f/16 and 1/200 SEC])
Sorry, this post has been a little different from the usual ones but I wanted to show some of the beautiful things I have found recently on my bike commutes. I find the cycling an enjoyable way to get to work, especially at this time of the year. Furthermore, the recent rains and resulting growth have only increased that enjoyment for me.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory has on offer. All the best until the next post.