The weather over the last few weekends of July then into August was generally wet and overcast, in line with that old saying of “good weather for ducks.” Because of those conditions, I had not been out photographing for a few weekends so I was really missing something. Although Sunday, 1 August, was another drizzling and overcast morning I decided to go photographing regardless. I could wait for perfect weather but who knew when that would come. Besides, I would not always have perfect weather so I had better practice with less than ideal circumstances so that I was ready to photograph the beauty of nature in all climatic conditions. With that resolve I headed to one of my favourite spots, the nearby Callum Brae Nature Reserve. Over the few years that I have been photographing I was used to seeing Callum Brae as a dry habitat but the rain over the last 18 months had given new life to it. I was keen to see how the environment was changed with rain falling. If I found no other animals, I knew that I would see ducks. Despite the scattered showers and overcast conditions I thoroughly enjoyed my morning wandering around the beautiful but soggy reserve. I hope that you like the photographs below.
The clouds were grey overhead before I left home and while I was driving the rain started to fall. I was wondering if I should just abandon my plan to walk around Callum Brae but I had a strong yearning to be out walking that morning. Despite the weather I was keen to get moving. I shouldered my camera bag from the boot of my car then negotiated the pedestrian entry, my tripod banging the metal pole to announce my passing. The ground was damp and the vegetation was a rich green in a lot of places. Walking along the west track strangely I could hear running water but I knew that there was no stream there. Curious, I followed the track in the direction of the noise before I came around a bend to where the path was almost flooded. I felt in previous visits that this area must have been subject to flooding at some stage because it had been repaired with stones, which are normally used as a quick and easy way to stabilised a heavily rutted bit of muddy track. The water was flowing northwards over this track before forming a small waterfall on some rocks a few metres away from the rocky repair. The area the water was falling into was a long wash-away that extended all the way back to the northern fence. I had never seen water in it before, often wondering how it had been eroded to a depth greater than a metre, while also digging out the soil several metres across along most of its length.
Stream overflowing across a path under cloudy skies
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 100, 16mm, f/22 and 0.8 SEC])
![Rain created stream flowing over rocks into a small wash-away(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 100, 24mm, f/22 and 10.0 SEC])](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b474d53b40b9dfc79289e98/1628994577205-PTFT7IENKT05AUUL22LS/Stream_Callum_Brae_Nature_Reserve_1608_20210801.jpg)
Rain created stream flowing over rocks into a small wash-away
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 100, 24mm, f/22 and 10.0 SEC])
Walking further along the track I head the unmistakeable sweet call of Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus). Some of these beautiful birds did a great job of adding much needed colour to the grey of the morning. One bird was high on a dead branch, probably a little too far away from me for a good shot on such a day but its colours was so nice against the dull sky. I always get a buzz from these character-filled birds that always seem to have things to do. Indeed, after a few moments these parrots decided that they needed to be somewhere else so darted southwards through the trees, further into the reserve.
Rainbow Lorikeet high in a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Winter is not a great time to photograph wildlife, there are still animals around but not as many as in the warmer months when there are more flowers and insects. I knew that was going to be the case so I started looking around for how I could portray the beauty of the habitat. I wanted to find some subjects that told a story in themselves.
The first one that I came across was an amazing old gum tree. Its bark was gnarled, with cracks and amazing colours where the tree still had life. It was twisted with some of its great branches broken at its base. The dead wood within had been burnt at some stage leaving a charcoaled interior with the semi-alive bark wrapped around it. The tree was holding on, still growing, still alive despite what had happened to it. The damage looked decades old, its broken branches were dry and grey, while there was no charcoal or singeing on the ground to indicate a recent fire. This tree was a survivor with its form telling its story.
There were also some moss covered rocks that I had seen on previous recent trips. However, in my much earlier initial trips to Callum Brae I didn’t recall seeing moss on these stones. So, I was not sure if the recent rain had created the habitat for this plant to grow or whether the dry climate previous meant it was less obvious.
![Interesting old, gnarled and burnt hollow eucalyptus tree(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 160, 35mm, f/4.5 and 1/100 SEC])](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b474d53b40b9dfc79289e98/1628998195554-NX3S06PPRQFU1J10S32T/Tree_Callum_Brae_Nature_Reserve_1619_20210801.jpg)
Interesting old, gnarled and burnt hollow eucalyptus tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 160, 35mm, f/4.5 and 1/100 SEC])
Moss covered rocks
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 400, 35mm, f/8.0 and 1/80 SEC])
Another bird that I believed I saw a few times was an immature Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus). I believed that it was the same bird because I did not cover a larger area and it may have been a coincidence to see two immature butcherbirds in one area. It was flying between low trees, occasionally winging to the ground to grab at some prey. The photograph below shows the obvious hook at the end of the beak, which is a sign that this bird will soon be an adult because young birds lack this hook. On the way to adulthood the brown of its feathers will change to grey on its wings while its head will become black. It will become a keen predator of small animals, including other birds. While it will take lizards, small mammals and such creatures on the ground it is ready to grab birds in the air. It gets its name from its habit of ‘storing’ animals on convenient natural hooks like broken tree branches or the not so natural, barbed wire. It may also do that to aid in tearing an animal into easy to eat bits. At one stage, two Noisy Miners objected to its presence, flying at it while the butcherbird perched in a small tree. The butcherbird dropped down a branch but stubbornly stayed in the tree, flying off a little while later to look for food in another tree.
Immature Grey Butcherbird in a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Noisy Miners objecting to the butcherbird’s presence
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
On my way to the exit I saw a pair of Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata) walking along the trail in front of me. Unfortunately, a lone runner came through, scaring them into a tree. Fortunately they were not too spooked because the female duck stayed on a branch over the trail from where I could photograph her. I used a shot of her to head this blog post. These ducks are very common around Canberra. Their single note, repeated call is getting very common now because they are preparing to breed so they are looking for hollows. The conditions favour a good breeding season with full dams and plenty of vegetation. Unfortunately, Callum Brae is home to a number of foxes that no doubt will enjoy a duckling meal when those small creatures have to run from their birth hollow high in a tree to the nearest body of water, one of the dams in the reserve. The foxes will have a feast.
Australian Wood Duck female with a male behind her
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 3200, 360mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
The wood ducks were the last photographs I took at Callum Brae before heading home.
Previously, while I was at home I had been photographing when I could. One subject I came across was a lovely purple Algerian Iris (Iris unguicularis). There was no real natural light so I used a flash with a defuser and focus stacked the images. It turned out OK, but I think I should have taken more photos to make the flower sharp the whole way through the focus stack. These plants, coming from the Mediterranean area, prefer full sun, but this one was still going strong in almost full shade. I am glad that it was because I thought that it made a stunning subject for a photograph.
![Algerian Iris in the garden(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/14 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash with 8 image focus stack)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b474d53b40b9dfc79289e98/1629000153039-1MJESC1VLG9VS3BO18VR/Iris_Hughes__20210707.jpg)
Algerian Iris in the garden
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/14 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash with 8 image focus stack)
On a Friday night, almost two weeks after I had visited Callum Brae, I heard some noises in the backyard, making me curious to find out more. The noises came from three Common Brushtail Possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). One was a female, or jill, because she was carrying a joey on her back. I would like to say that the other possum was a male. or jack, given the reddish colouration of the fur on the shoulders but it appeared smaller than the female so may not have been a fully mature male.
The female and baby were higher in a cherry blossom tree than the male, and all were eating the buds that were starting to emerge on that very cold winter night. None of the possums were moving fast through the tree, with the female content to stay on larger branches. None of the animals seemed to be disturbed by me or the flash photography that I was doing. I was really interested in trying to take some photographs of the baby but the female stayed high among the branches of the tree making it difficult for me to get a clean photograph, past the branches, of the baby. The baby was on its mother’s back although it had its tail curled under her belly. At one stage the joey leaned over its mother to her underside where I believed it started to drink some milk because it stayed that way for a while. While the mother and baby were high in the tree I could hear soft guttural, raspy noises; a quieter version of the rolling, growl that possums emit. This noise was reasonably constant and I believed it was the mother making the noise but I couldn’t be certain.
After the baby finished drinking the mother started descending the tree. The male coincidentally started ascending along the same branch from the main trunk. The mother let out a very loud possum growl, and the male quickly descended to a different branch. Allowing the female to continue unimpeded down the tree to the where the main branches emerged from the trunk, she then followed a reasonably horizontal branch to the back fence. She did not climb onto the fence but into the mesh of vines and privet that lined the top of the fence. She did not seem to walk along a thick part of the entangled plants but where the vine and privet intermingled to provide a bit of strength. Eventually, the male also started descending. He seemed to be following the same route to the main trunk, occasionally sniffing as he went. However, he looked in a different direction before descending the tree completely to the ground in basically the direction the female had taken, but she remained higher up. He put his face low to the ground, appearing to sniff around him in the leaf litter, before standing up on his haunches. He stayed like that, sniffing the air, which you can see in the photograph below. Momentarily, he looked back to the other direction, as if alerted by a noise, although not at me, despite me being reasonably close. After a few moments he returned up the tree again to follow a different branch to the one used by the female but he still headed into the mess of vines and privet. Like the female he disappeared among the green and I could not even hear him moving through the plants.
It had been a lot of fun watching these very cute native animals that have thrived in our suburban domains. They may cause problems for my wife’s favourite plants but I can’t help but like them.
Mother possum and joey, with the joey drinking milk
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
The other Brushtail Possum, probably a male, ventured to the ground
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 330mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Since I am now just adding random subjects to this post, why not a beautiful male Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum). One afternoon, I went out to bring some washing in from the backyard when some Gang-gangs flew in. A number of them landed in the tree close to where I was and walked along some branches to get closer to me. They won’t scared of me at all. I figured they wanted food; although I barely see these gorgeous birds around the backyard where I sometimes put seed out. I provided some food for them and they were not worried by me watching them. Indeed, these birds were flying close past my head towards the food. Landing on branches just above me. I really had to restrain myself from trying to pat them.
While they were feeding I was able to duck back inside to grab a camera and also calm my excitement a bit. There were eight birds in total, four males and four females. Interestingly a male dominated the feeding area, but that is not the bird in the photograph. The males were easy to tell because of their stunning red crown that was almost a regal red colour. It was strange seeing one bird feed while seven watched it. I took some of the food to a different place and still, it was a male that went to eat it. One of the females looked like she was going fly to the food but never did.
After one of the males had finished, another male flew down. Within a few minutes, however, all the bird took off to the west over another house where I lost sight of them. Although, one male stayed, the one in the photograph. He stayed for a few minutes, contentedly eating while I, equally contentedly, photographed him. After a few good beak fulls he also must have decided that it was time to leave. He took off low, sailing close by me such that I could feel the wind. I was thrilled that a wild bird would fly so close. I turned quickly to note that he took off in the same direction as the other birds. What a great experience, especially because it was the first full day of Canberra’s COVID lockdown so it did help brighten the day.
Male Gang-gang Cockatoo that paid me a visit to brighten up the lockdown
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/7.1 and 1/200 SEC])
I started this post before Canberra went into lockdown with the idea of showing some photographs from a rainy Sunday morning at Callum Brae Nature Reserve. However, I was a little late in getting those photographs up on this blog so the creation of this post extended into the start of the Canberra COVID lockdown. Writing this post on the first weekend of lockdown made the time pass a little better because even though I could not venture out to photograph, these photos brought back good memories. I was also able to use some of the time in lockdown to take other photographs. I suspect that I won’t be able to travel to any spots to photograph for a few weeks so posting may be light but hopefully I will have some wildlife in the garden to help pass the time.
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. Please stay safe during these strange COVID times and I hope that you can also enjoy some nature and visiting wildlife wherever you may find yourself. All the best until the next post.