It was the first day of May and the weather was improving on that Sunday morning, much better than the windy, chilly Saturday. I had enjoyed a wonderful paddle on Lake Burley Griffin with an atmospheric mist coming off the lake and clear blue skies allowing the sun to light the wisps. After my kayak, I took my time loading the car, just enjoying the slow beat of life on the lake. While I was enjoying the leisurely pulse of life a beautiful Black Swan swam slowly toward my beached kayak. I was unsure what was going on and if I would have to shoo the large, dark bird off my kayak so that I could load it onto my car. However the bird swam along the kayak’s side before turning around to swim back. Just after it turned there must have been an itch on its back because it curved the its neck gracefully over to tackle the annoyance deep in its black feathers. In doing so, the sun struck its head lighting the side facing me while other parts of the bird remained in shadow. The bird’s red iris caught the light just as some small beads of water did on its head. I wished I had been slightly lower for the shot but it was a beautiful sight to see just before I had to pack up to return to normal life. It had been a wonderful morning on the lake and I hope that you like the photographs below.
It was a coolish morning when I pushed my kayak onto the almost still surface of Lake Burley Griffin. The temperature was only a few degrees above freezing and I was heading out before dawn. The half-light from the approaching sunrise showed a mist rising from the water that was a few degrees warmer than the air. It did not take long for me to warm up and for most of the first half of the trip it was only me on that part of the lake. I made it down to Scrivener Dam as a lone figure disturbing the waking lake. Looking across from a buoy I could see the water pouring over the spillway of the dam was producing a thick mist that hung in space. Closer to me a white mist covered the waters on the lakeside of the wall. Meanwhile, the sky was showing some colour with the dawn sun preparing to rise from the other side of the lake behind me. I captured the scene in a four shot panorama from my kayak while I floated on the lake. It was a beautiful view and just the first from the morning.
Steam rising from the water pouring down the spillway of Scrivener Dam
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1600, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/400 SEC] four shot panorama)
Turning back from the dam to return to the start point the sun was starting to rise. The lake was still dark but the clouds and the east facing ridges of Black Mountain were beginning to glow from the light of the rising sun.
Within minutes the sun’s beams were shining through gaps in trees, making the low-lying mist on the lake glow golden yellow in powerful lines across the surface. With every minute the lines became less intense as the sun rose and the lines were replaced with a carpet of brightly lit mist.
Bright white clouds of mist danced on the water’s surface compelled to move by the slightest hint of breeze making them move to music inaudible to our ears. Black Mountain’s southern slope was dark in shade like the backdrop to a stage for the dance being performed by the mist. There were hints of humans moving on the water hidden in the mist but the stage was still the preserve of the stunning white misty dancers.
The first rays of the morning sun strike the mist on a ridge of Black Mountain
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
The sun rays striking the mist lying on the waters of Lake Burley Griffin
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Sun has cleared the horizon and is sully lighting the mist on Lake Burley Griffin, 20 minutes after the first rays above
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Rowers began to appear from the mist, somewhat mysterious shrouded in the white opaqueness like a scene in a fantasy movie. An almost silhouetted figure rowed out of the swirling backdrop. The figure of the rower was not clear at first and only as it got closer did I see that it was two rowers. I was so busy taking photographs that I did not realise that they were heading towards me. Fortunately their journey was heading along a lane beside where my kayak was stationary under my clicking camera. “A bit fresh this morning,” quipped sardonically one of the young lads in the boat to me. I replied with an equal lack of joy at the cold and then we all went our own ways to continue enjoying our time on the lake.
Rowers emerging from the mist
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Coming around the point at Weston Park where I could look ahead to the shore in front of Yarralumla, I heard the unmistakable calls of some Laughing Kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae). Noisy Miners were ruining the kookaburras’ morning with the smaller birds unhappy about the presence of the famous laughers. There were three kookaburras perched in a tree. One of them would occasionally make the iconic laugh as two miners kept watch. The kookaburras are large kingfishers but they were probably not hunting fish because they no longer dived into water to get fish. They were looking for land prey such as small reptiles and amphibians as well as invertebrates. Their call is recognisable to most people as is their form, with the large bill, brownish stipe across the eye and shimmering light blue on brown wings.
Laughing Kookaburra in a tree over the lake
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
Getting towards the end of my paddle I noticed the reflections of two hot air balloons that were floating above the collection of rowing boat sheds at Yarralumla. I only had my 100-400mm lens but I tried a two-shot vertical panorama to capture the balloons and their reflections in a single shot. The autumn trees also brought some colour to the shot.
Two hot air balloons floating over the lake
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC] two shot vertical panorama)
I couldn’t help myself from taking a picture of my kayak’s bow which was pointed in the rough direction of the shore. The small beads of water were covering the round prow and the almost flat water was a nice background.
Kayak bow pointing to the shore
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 100mm, f/14 and 1/320 SEC])
Heading towards my desintaiton I disturbed an Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) that was drying its wings on a dead branch in a gap in the reeds. That side of the shore was still in shadow and I only saw the darter when my progress past it shocked it into moving. I was able to get some shots of this female before it dropped into the water to escape. I felt bad because I had disturbed the darter but I had not noticed it. The lake in that area could not have been very deep where it dropped into but it still preferred the water as an escape route to flying off. There were also a few reeds where it hit the water so the escape was not clear of obstacles. I wondered if its feathers were still too damp for flight so may be swimming away was easiest. After about 15 seconds its head and slender neck popped up just outside the reeds but behind my drifting kayak. One quick look in my direction and then it dove underwater again. I started to paddle so as to leave the bird in peace.
Australasian Darter female reacting to my presence
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1250, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
After finishing my kayak I was in no rush to load the kayak on to the car despite the cold morning, although by that stage the air had warmed up a few degrees. I really was just happy to enjoy the experience of being by the lake watching the rowers go back forth while balloons drifted in the clear, blue sky and a chorus of ducks provided backing music as they went about their washing in the shallow water. During my moment of peaceful contemplation a slow moving Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) swam towards where my kayak was pulled up lengthways on the edge of the water. The bird was moving slowly and I was not sure what it was planning to do at my kayak. It swam along the kayak’s side for a while before turning around. After turning, it ducked its head deep into its back feathers to attack an irritation. That is the photo at the top of the post. The bird was probably also looking for food because it then swam to where some long grass was growing out of the bank and started to pull the greenery out and eat. I could hear the ripping vegetation where I was and watch the swan chew one or two blades of grass at a time. Looking at the photographs later I could see that there were little ridges along the bottom half of the swans red beak and I wondered if they were used as a way to help grasp plants, especially slippery underwater plants. I loved the way how the sunlight caught the swan, especially when other parts of the bird were in shadow. It was a lovely way to finish off a wonderful paddle on the lake.
Black Swan feeding on the lake side grass
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
The lake was cold that morning and it will stay that way for the next three months or so. Many birds were still be around but it has been a while since I have heard the call of an Australian Reed Warbler, a bird that would have departed for warmer parts. Still, it will be nice to keep going out on the lake to see what I can photograph. I am sure that the Black Swans will still be around and I look forward to seeing how I can photograph them over the coming cold winter months.
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.