The COVID-19 related Lockdown continued in Canberra and it was a necessary step to keep the population safe. However, it was still a weird time, trying to work from home but not really being able to, but not being able to leave home when the weather was great for photography. I also felt guilty if I was away from my computer during the day and therefore not doing the office work but as a counter I figured that I no longer had to commute to work so that time now became my time to look for photography subjects in our garden. I was fortunate of an afternoon because things happened around the garden. The previous post had some lovely Gang-gang Cockatoos that flew in on one day and for this post some vivacious Rainbow Lorikeets dropped by to provide colour and noise to our locked-down home. These wildly coloured birds that remind me of wonderful, youthful summers in Sydney really made my day. I hope that you like the photographs below.
Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus) are noisy birds that are often heard well before they are seen. They may darting overhead in a streak of green or hanging upside down in the canopy of a tree enjoying some nectar, but you know they are around because of their incessant calling. However, that day was a rare occasion where I looked across to the feeder and saw these colour-rich birds in our garden. Their beautiful green wings, contrasting with a rich blue head and a stunning mix of red and yellow on the chest just brightened my day. I had only rarely seen them in our yard previously and certainly never eating the bird seed but four of them arrived that day. Two of them dominated the feeder while the other two joined some Galahs looking for fallen seeds on the ground around the pole that the feeder was on. However, every now and then, one of the pair on the ground would try to fly to the bowl, only to be met by harsh calling and a beak-down lorikeet barrelling at them. I stood there watching these lovely birds enjoying the time in our back yard. This species can be aggressive to other birds, even ones larger than them but our yard seemed to accommodate a number of different species that afternoon but I was focussed on the lorikeets. Eventually three of them flew off westwards, leaving one to keep eating for a bit more. That bird is in the last photograph. I liked how the setting sun just lit up its head as the last sun rays of the day poked through the foliage across the yard. These shots also taught me a lesson about the light and how quickly it changed. Just nine minutes separated the photograph at the top of the post from the final photograph below, yet the change in lighting was obvious.
Rainbow Lorikeet walking about the bowl
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
Setting sun just catching the eye of a Rainbow Lorikeet
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
A Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) was also gathering seeds from the ground. Unfortunately, it was already in the shade so its amazing iridescent colours along its wing tips were not at their brightest. These birds always seem to be at the bottom of the pecking order in the yard, possibly because of their small beaks that don’t seem to be threatening compared to the straight, sharp horror of a magpie beak or the hooked cracker that Sulphur-crested Cockatoos have.
Crested Pigeon getting seeds from the ground
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1250, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Beyond the lovely lorikeets, I was looking for any nature subject to give me an outlet a connect to the wider world that was beyond my reach in lockdown. On a special occasion that world came to me. One night, a week or so earlier, I had noticed roughly 10cm long Marbled Gecko (Christinus marmoratus) on the wall outside, below the kitchen window, when I was taking out the rubbish in the evening. The sharp-eyed gecko also noticed me and scurried up a convenient pipe away from me. After seeing the little reptile, I made a mental note to keep an eye out for that lizard as they do seem to reappear around the same location. I find geckos amazing lizards because of their climbing ability, using those wonderfully evolved toes to ascend vertical surfaces of almost any material. Unfortunately, I did not see it for a while until one night, again after taking the rubbish out, a pale shape froze on our floor from under where the door had been before I closed it. This little gecko must have crawled in along under the door, which would have seemed a natural way to move forward while still under cover. It was not far inside our house maybe 30cm from the step of the door. It seemed a bit lost when its cover mysteriously swung away. I was also a bit lost before I realised that I should get my camera. Within the minute that I had been away to fetch my camera and put the flash on, the gecko had decided that going up was the best option. Unfortunately for it, the means to climb it chose was a low bookshelf that would not take it far. That was where it was when I snapped the photograph below. Before I could get a better shot, it moved around to behind the shelf and none of my encouragement could it bring it back to a better spot for photographing. I chose not to inform my wife about our reptilian visitor, she is not the best with little creatures, especially reptiles. Unfortunately, I have not seen it again so I hope it returned safely outside or is keeping our house free of less savoury insects.
Marbled Gecko in our house, I still haven’t told my wife
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/9.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
One day I also decided to challenge myself by wondering around the backyard to see what little creatures were keeping us company during winter. One of the the animals I found was this small, immature huntsman spider hiding under an olive tree leaf, making use of some detritus stuck to the green leaf. The young spider was determined to keep its head well hidden, although there was one dark eye just visible behind a curled-up bit of dry vegetation. This small spider was relying on its camouflage to keep it safe and the camouflage was doing a good job. After I had taken a few shots, I gently let the leaf role back over to its natural position. While I write these words inside at night, I suspected this little one was crawling over that tree looking for food while trying not to become food itself.
Immature huntsman spider hiding in detritus on the underside of an olive tree leaf
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/9.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
The other subject I fouud was also a spider, in this case, probably a Garden Orbweaver but it was too small to be completely certain. There were a number of these spiders around that part of the garden but it was not easy to get a convenient angle on one. This one in the picture ended up being in the best spot for photography. It was a tiny spider, probably just over 5mm in length. The day was not as dark as the picture shows but with the flash falling off, the background quickly became dark.
Orb-weaver spider in its web
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/9.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Canberra no doubt has more of the lockdown to go, which will keep me home-based for a while. At least we are all staying healthy and enjoying each other’s company in our home. I am also enjoying exploring our garden to photograph what I can find, whether it is big or small.
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.