I really did not have much of a plan that slightly foggy Sunday morning in May, even when I woke up, I was not sure where I was heading. However, the weather forecast was for a sunny morning so I had the inspiration to travel along Tidbinbilla Road from Point Hut Road to Tharwa. The reason for this idea was because that road joined the two routes that I would usually take to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve or Namadgi National Park, but I had never driven along that way. I was not sure what I would find but I thought that I would scout the area out. By looking on Google Maps I did have an idea about some of the drone shots I could take because of the interesting patterns made by streams in the area. I was not sure what animal life I would find and I did not do too well in that regards because most of the area was private property preventing me from getting far from the road. Despite that, I hope that you like the photographs below.
My route was effectively going to follow an inverted tennis racquet type of shape, with most of the trip using the same roads on the outward and inward legs. The plan was to do a bit of a loop by crossing the Murrumbidgee River at two different locations. Even before I left the suburbs of Canberra I spotted my first subject, a tree in a field with a mist rising around the sprawling canopy of the eucalyptus. I had to pull over because I could see the way that the mist was lying, just covering the field while the canopies of the trees broke free above. The sun was also providing some interesting light on one side of the field. I messed about with settings, composition and framing; eventually settling on this photograph below. I liked the other-worldly feel to the shot with the hint of sunlight from the left of the picture.
A tree in a misty field was my first shot of the day
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/125 SEC])
After that first shot, I was feeling excited for the morning, keeping an eye out for those other shots that may spring up. Unfortunately, my original plan was quickly shelved because the Murrumbidgee River was very full so the authorities had rightly closed the first crossing I planned to use.
Pond seeing the sign saying that crossing was closed, without even stopping the car, I swung around to head to the second crossing, which I had planned to use only on my return trip. Instead to get where I had originally planned to go I had to cross over the Murrumbidgee River on the Tharwa bridge both driving out and in.
Tharwa is a very small township, the last grouping of houses of any size in the southern part of Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Once over the single lane historic bridge at Tharwa, which crossed the Murrumbidgee, I followed the Tidbinbilla Road to the right, observing some of the places that I planned to stop at along my return journey. There were a number of old, grey, dead trees that stood starkly in open fields of green; the lifeless tree at odds with the lushness of the smaller vegetation.
Dead tree in a field
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/14 and 1/125 SEC])
Once at intersection with Point Hunt Road I made a stop to look for things to photograph. This was where I started looking for the creeks with the interesting patterns that I had seen on Google Maps. The easiest way to search for the creeks was to locate a small dam that was near the road and then follow the creek line to find the patterns that I was looking for. I will emphasise that when I say “follow the creek line”, I mean with my drone. These creeks were on private property so I was not going to invade somebody’s property to take photos.
While searching for the creeks I did get a little distracted by the small dam because it had an interesting shape. It almost looked like some giant had laid down a multi-coloured shoulder bag that had filled with water. The shape of the dam was repeated in the water because of the way the water plants were visible through the brown of the surface.
Following the creek line from the dam I came to an area that I was interested in. The creek formed a “y” shape, with the eroded, exposed sides almost appearing white.
Further along Tidbinbilla Road, on the return trip, there was a creek with a very interesting pattern. Again, the creek’s water had dug down through the surrounding land over an extended time leaving two deeply cut curves in the ground. The neighbouring farmer was trying to bring order to this natural chaos and was possibly attempting to grow vegetation for cattle, unknowingly creating a lovely contrast between his work and the efforts of natural erosion.
Not far from that second creek, I stopped the car to check out some rocks that I had seen on Google Maps that were breaking through the grass. There was not much pattern in the rocks but they created their own chaotic effect. In addition, lichen covered the rocks giving them a strange colour.
This dam, with Wood Ducks and Australasian Grebes, had an interesting shape to it
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/200 SEC]
An eroded creek creates a pattern
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/240 SEC]
An eroded creek forms even more of a pattern paired with a ploughed field
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/320 SEC]
Rocky outcrop in a field is a disjointed pattern
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/640 SEC]
After recovering my drone I decided that it would be nice to stop in at Tharwa to check out the area around the late 19th century bridge. I drove along the narrow access road that curved around then under the bridge to a small, sealed car park. After exiting the car I could hear a number of small birds but, unfortunately, I could not see them. Putting that behind me, I walked down to the flowing, swollen Murrumbidgee River. Seeing the volume of water gushing past I then understood why Point Hut Road was closed that day. I had never seen the Murrumbidgee flowing that high under the bridge, The river normally meandered around some sand banks, barely rippling as it languidly moved under the bridge but on that morning its rapid flow filled the distance between the two banks.
What initially drew my attention while I was near the river bank was a group of about six House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) that were in the remains of some reeds. They appeared to be looking for food among the leafless stems. They would occasionally disappear out of sight deeper into a tangled mat of vegetation before flying up to the top of a reed. Every now and again they would ascend from the reeds to the much taller bridge supports in a group, where they stayed high-up chattering before returning to the vegetation below. These were introduced birds and appeared to be doing well in the Tharwa area whereas around much of Canberra they are not common. These birds were first introduced into Southeast Australia in the late 1800s where they quickly became pests because they adapted so well. They never made it to the west of the country except as individuals that were destroyed to prevent this feral species gaining a foothold. It was an unfortunate fate for a bird but they were too hard to eradicate nationwide so containing them to the east was the compromise solution.
House Sparrows on the remnants of some reeds
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Walking up from the river bank I could again hear small birds in a few trees. This time I was lucky in being able to see a few shapes moving quickly over the branches. One of the fast moving birds that I was able to photograph was a female Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus).
Spotted Pardalote female looking for food
(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])
The only other bird that I was able to photograph was this Striated Thornbill (Acanthiza lineata), which seemed interested in an insect entrapped in a spider’s web.
Striated Thornbill
(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])
I know that the photographs above are not the best but I was hoping to scout at some locations that in Spring and Summer may be good for a return visit. I would like to try following my originally planned route again in the warmer months to see what other animals I could find and to see how the area changes. Still, it was nice to be out in the countryside and to see what I could find to photograph.
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.