Two Purple Swamphen chicks about to enter Sullivans Creek(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 200mm, f/10 and 1/640 SEC]) — Two Purple Swamphen chicks about to enter Sullivans Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF70-200mm f/4L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 200mm, f/10 and 1/640 SEC])

Purple Swamphen chicks, parrots and other great wildlife enjoying the green from the rain - photographing around Canberra in January to March 2020

Jon Steinbeck April 4, 2020

The start of the year felt very busy, I was out and around Canberra but I did not seem to have much time. I was out photographing but I could not find the time to process and organise the photographs I had taken so I ended up with a lot of photos and no blog posts. Although I do not like composing long posts that cover several photographic trips I thought that would be the best way to allow me to publish the photographs below. There are a mix of photographic styles and subjects from various parts of Canberra with a number of different subjects. Some of these were captured while I was out specifically looking for photographic subjects, others were shot while I was out doing other things but had taken my camera with me. There are a number of birds and other animals below. I really enjoyed photographing the Purple Swanphens, even if they are common birds. I was also happy to photograph the Australian King-parrots that visited my garden because they are truly beautiful birds.

Juvenile Galah in a backyard tree(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 227mm, f/11 and 1/400 SEC]) — Juvenile Galah in a backyard tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 227mm, f/11 and 1/400 SEC])

Birds, mammals, lizards, spiders and insects - Photographing around Canberra in early December 2019

Jon Steinbeck January 29, 2020

Bird and wildlife photography in December 2019 was very challenging due to the smoke haze from the bush fires around Canberra. Please understand, I am not complaining as on the relative scale of things, a bit smoke haze was not bad when people were dying or losing their houses and some species of wildlife are facing extinction because of the extent of the fire. Really, I got off very lightly, as I was still able to photograph, even if it was a little difficult. This post is a grab bag of the various birds and other wildlife I saw over that period. I was moving around Canberra, particularly near the Australian National University (ANU) at Acton, doing a few things, generally with my camera close at hand so I could take photographs. I hope you like the photographs I was able to capture and sorry this is so late.

A Whistling Kite in a tree surveying an island littered with dead Silver Gulls, was this the culprit?(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 4000, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/320 SEC]) — A Whistling Kite in a tree surveying an island littered with dead Silver Gulls, was this the culprit?
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 4000, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/320 SEC])

A Whistling Kite that may have decimated some gulls and a group of Australian Reed Warblers - Photographing around Spinnaker Island on Sunday, 12 January 2020

Jon Steinbeck January 20, 2020

This Whistling Kite was the first one I had seen, and I almost missed it when I first arrived on Spinnaker Island, an island located in Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin. The raptor was in a tree on the island when I arrived but flew away, not because of me, but I think it was looking for food. Beyond that fantastic bird I was pleasantly surprised how much birdlife there was on the island. Unfortunately, the lighting was not great because the morning was very overcast and there was still smoke from the bushfires. In addition, I thought it would be hard to find photographic subjects because the island was small with sparse vegetation but in the end I was late departing the island as I kept wanting to take more photographs. Being late meant I had to paddle a bit faster in my kayak to get back to shore so I was not too late home. I did not worry too much about my tardiness because I had had a truly interesting time on this small island, thoroughly enjoying my short visit; I hope you like the photos below, and the video I made of my visit (the video is also embedded below). Sorry about the quality of the photographs, the bad lighting meant I was shooting with a very high ISO so some crept into the pictures.

A White-eared Honeyeater getting some morning sun in the top of a tree(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC]) — A White-eared Honeyeater getting some morning sun in the top of a tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])

A White-eared Honeyeater looking for food in wattle and my first Double-barred Finches - Photographing around Hall on Sunday, 15 September 2019

Jon Steinbeck September 27, 2019

Hall is a small town, a village really, which existed in this area before Canberra was established. When Hall was absorbed into the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) its residences lost some of their rights as they moved from under New South Wales to the federal administration of the non-self-governing ACT. This was my first trip to Hall and I loved the place and the birdlife. I mainly wandered along the One Tree Hill track that starts on the north side of Hall. I did not go far but I saw honeyeaters, finches, a Grey Thrush-shrike and a number of other wonderful birds. I hope you like the photographs below.

A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo looking out from a tree hollow(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash) — A Sulphur-crested Cockatoo looking out from a tree hollow
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos in tree hollows - Photographing around Red Hill Nature Reserve on Saturday, 20 July 2019

Jon Steinbeck July 29, 2019

Red Hill Nature Reserve was again where I found myself on Saturday morning. My initial focus was to play around with an old Canon 40mm f2.8 STM pancake lens I had from 2008, not the later model. I had recently started using the lens but I was not sure how it suited my style of photography. Sorry, there are a few experimental photos with that lens below so feel free to skip those to the see the birds below. I had a good play around with it before I went back to the telephoto lens to see what wildlife was around. It was another fantastic morning to be out on Red Hill. I again came across two species of pardalotes before encountering different Sulphur-crested Cockatoos checking out two separate tree hollows. Later that day I found myself at Lake Burley Griffin. It was a social occasion rather than a photographic one but I still had my camera with me, once again seeing what I could do with a 40mm lens. I have included some of those photos at the bottom, including of a pair of Magpie-larks. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.

A male Magpie-lark appears to pause to look at the reflections in the water(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]) — A male Magpie-lark appears to pause to look at the reflections in the water
(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])

A number of birds at a small dam and a flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos - Photographing around Callum Brae Nature Reserve on Sunday, 14 July 2019

Jon Steinbeck July 19, 2019

Callum Brae Nature Reserve is always worth a visit. There were a number of small dams so I was in my element of being beside a small pond or dam on a cold Sunday morning. I had not been to the reserve for a while, so this morning was a nice opportunity to return. I walked along the firetrail to where it met a dried water course, which I then followed south-easterly towards the dams. The water course had little puddles of water but was far-off being even a small creek. Interestingly, despite the dampness in the water course the dams were still drying out. I did not photograph the usual dam I have used to show the effects of the dry weather but I am sure it was looking like it had even less water in it compared to my previous visits. As always, there were a number of different parrot species as well as a number of Australian Wood Ducks. I always enjoy a walk around Callum Brae and I hope you enjoy the photographs below.

An adult Australasian Grebe feeding a chick(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 371mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC]) — An adult Australasian Grebe feeding a chick
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 371mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC])

Photographing around Hughes and Garran, ACT on Saturday, 23 February 2019 - looking at waterbirds with chicks as well as gorgeous Superb Parrots

Jon Steinbeck February 27, 2019

Getting out for a walk around Hughes and Garran this Saturday was just one of those mornings that made you glad to be alive. I saw so many birds, beautiful Superb Parrots as well as so many water birds with their young. I also saw two young male kangaroos playing at fighting, allowing me to obtain that iconic kangaroo photo. It was just such a wonderful morning I did not want it to end. I enjoyed it so much, I went and did it all again on Sunday. I was going to do both days as one big blog post but I realised I had more than enough material for two blog posts. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.

A female Rufous Whistler giving its morning call

Photographing at Campbell Park Woodland on Monday, 31 December 2018 - a Gerygone, treecreeper and a pair of Dollarbirds

Jon Steinbeck January 6, 2019

This was my first visit to Campbell Park Woodland. I had heard about this site for a while and I knew it would be quiet as far as the office buildings were concerned. Because this site backs onto office blocks used by the Australian Department of Defence there is a lot of parking at the site as well as intimidating signs warning visitors of trespassing. On. my walk to where the woodland began behind a fence I was worried I may have been misled about the site as there did not appear to be much birdlife. I decided to head towards a small dam I could see on my Google Maps app because all animals need water. That was when the morning lived up to its deserved reputation. Just around this small dam I saw a treecreeper, an immature woodswallow as well as Dollarbirds. I was told by somebody I met at the dam that there was another dam further on that is also good. Unfortunately, I ran out of time so could not get to the second dam. That will be for another day, and I will use the Canberra Ornithologists Group Campbell Park Woodland map as a guide. I hope you enjoy the photos below.

The male Gang-gang Cockatoo emerging from the tree hollow

Photographing at Red Hill Nature Reserve on Sunday, 9 December 2018 - Gang-gangs in hollows and nesting Rainbow Lorikeets

Jon Steinbeck December 10, 2018

Usually I walk around Red Hill Nature Reserve early on a Saturday morning but as I was out on Saturday with an ANU Continuing Education course I was attending, I visited Red Hill on Sunday morning instead. (I will write more about the course very shortly, especially our field trip to Mulligans Flat.) I varied my route ever so slightly this morning, as I try to do regularly, which allowed me to see a few more birds than I would have seen on my usual path. Red Hill is such a treasure so close to where I live, it is always worth going for a walk. I hope you enjoy these photographs.

Nankeen_Kestrel_fenale_National_Arboretum_6728_20181012.jpg

Photographing at the National Arboretum on Friday, 12 October 2018 - Nankeen Kestrel and cormorants

Jon Steinbeck October 14, 2018

After visiting the Australian National Botanic Gardens the previous day we had continued our floral tour by having lunch at the National Arboretum. Driving around the loop on the way out after our delicious lunch I was sure I had seen a raptor hovering on an air current over the southeastern slope of Dairy Farmers Hill. Since I had not photographed at the arboretum for a while I figured it was time to return to see what birdlife was there. I am glad I did as it was a wonderful morning. I saw the Nankeen Kestrel; despite the wind she was well accomplished at hanging in the air waiting to strike. There was so much other birdlife as well, I was especially pleased to see the two species of cormorants on the small dam at the base of the hill near the entrance. I hope you enjoy these photographs.

A Masked Lapwing keeping me under a careful eye

Weston Park on Sunday, 29 July 2018

Jon Steinbeck July 29, 2018

Sunday's weather could not seem to decide what it was going to do. I really wanted to go out to take some photographs so I took a chance on how the weather, and therefore lighting, would pan out. The clouds kept covering the sun but every now and then there was enough light to make the trip to Weston Park in Canberra, worthwhile. Initially, as I wandered around the park, it seemed that the birdlife had gone somewhere else for the day. Sure, there were Australian Wood Ducks, Magpies, Magpie-larks, etc; the birds that you see everyday but there did not seem to be any other species of birds. That was until I found this one tree. I am not sure what it was about this tree but it seemed to attract a vast range of birds including Satin Bowerbirds, a Grey Fantail, Crimson Rosellas, etc; all within a space of 20 minutes. That was when the morning turned around, then I started seeing some birdlife. It was a lovely walk and I hope you enjoy the photos below.