white plumed honeyeater

Recently Fledged White Plumed Honeyeaters

December 16, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

I’ve been getting glimpses of young white plumed honeyeaters for a while now at Balyang. They move so quickly, and I’ve usually been focused on something else.

I was at Princes bridge when I noticed a lot of activity on the tree opposite where I was. I didn’t try to photograph it as there were many cars going past and carrying a telephoto lens on a bridge is odd enough as it is!

I walked under the bridge and continued along the Barwon. I found a safe patch of grass to sit on and just watched the family fly around for about half an hour. I did this over two days. Both times, the lighting was crap. I still don’t choose in raw, nor do I know how to handle challenging lighting situations.

You can see the juvenile begging for food as well as with food in its mouth. There are a couple where you can see the tongue! I was also able to spot the probable nest. The nest is a poor quality photo because it was through a lot of foliage and I didn’t want to get too close.

Cockatoos and Corellas Starting To Fledge At Balyang. With Bonus Poo shots.

November 24, 2015 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Those that know me know that I’ve been after the elusive bird poop shots. They’ve heard be ranting about the near misses. They’ve nodded in support when I’ve actually gotten one. They’ve feigned interested at the appropriate moments.

At Balyang last week, I was fortunate enough to get THREE shite shots in one morning. This has been unprecedented. I’ve been trying to get all three of these birds for a while. I can watch the cormorants for 30 minutes without much luck. If they do go, they’d go when I was itching my face.

The following shots are weird. I also think they are hilarious. Glenn has commented that they almost look fake.

Nah. I got pooped on twice by little birdies trying to get these, so they are definitely real.

Young long billed corella

I noticed that the corellas had left a hollow that they had been in for some time, and that a sulpher crested cockatoo had moved in. I didn’t know whether this was normal and hoped all was okay.

Sethy and I were at Balyang when I saw this. Alas, we were too busy looking for bugs and they weren’t there the next day.

I’ve also seen little corellas in the area. Regardless of species, that sulpher crested cockatoo doesn’t like any of them getting to close to its hollow. It was frequently scaring birds off.

Smaller birds

Again, lots of smaller birds flittering about. Got this white plumed honeyeater with breakfast.

Below is probably the lovely lorikeet that defecated on me. Oh well. Shit happens.

I was also fortunate the get photos of the juvenile white faced heron. They loved hanging around the mating tree for a while but I am noticing them venturing further away. 🙂 They’ve done a good job staying safe.

Cockatoo

I was looking at the cockatoos in the mating tree when I noticed some weird behaviour. It looked one of them was feeding the other. I watched for a little while longer… and saw a third head pop out! I’m guessing it must be fledging season for cacatuas. Good on them 🙂

Whew! So many updates from just the Barwon River area recently. Who knew that there could be so much activity in such a small space? I missed out on so much during the years I lived near there.

Balyang (Again!)

December 17, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Today my other boyfriend/nephew randomly came over. He may have been ill but that didn’t stop his asking to go to Balyang. Yes, we *had* gone down there 3 days earlier. I was too sleepy to come up with a decent excuse to avoid going.

It was a pretty awesome birding session.

A bunch of darters nest in near the bridge near balyang. I watch the nests frequently and get photos of the varying bird numbers. I remember getting photos of baby darters, almost as big as their mother. I was pretty sure I saw baby darters peeking out from under the mother last week but I didn’t have proof.

Huzzah. Helps to get photos to show Seth later.

The weather has been heating up lately so we were talking about potentially seeing skinks or snakes. It’s weird, but I’d love to show him a snake on the path. It’d be an opportunity to teach him safety around reptiles. We went to the pet shop on the weekend – Family Pet and Aquarium – who feed their snakes every sunday. Seth got to pet a diamond python and watch it get fed. It’s always fascinating twitching with a 5 year old and watching what catches their interest.

Red rumps were back again. Seth saw them first – he is really good at seeing animals that move quickly.

Mum has been pretty obsessed with wood ducks after seeing them at Kennett river. I have to tell her and Seth every time I see one.

Part of me believes this is the family of ducks I saw earlier this year near Queens Park. If so – what happened to the other two babies? All of the cygnets at Jerringot survived. Those swans have actually moved on. I wonder where they’ve gone?

I sat down to take photos of a pair of cockatoos and saw this. It was awesome timing. I’d unsuccessfully tried to distract Seth with a bug book. We also found a cicada shell and pair of dragonfly wings on the walk down. He’s obsessed with bugs at the moment. I bird while he looks at insects and dragonflies. I’m wondering if it’s worth trying to ID this caterpillar.

The cockatoos

I saw a pair of cockatoos in this hollow that is quite popular. I’ve seen cockatoos, corellas AND lorikeets in it. I wonder whether it’s used as a permanent nest or a temporary shelter? Hmmm.

This guy as particularly active and was having fun hanging upside down. I would have loved to get more photos but dad had arrived to pick us up.

It was fun though. I got some gorgeous photos of the pair snuggling and got to practice my bird photography. I really want to get a telephoto lens, and a pair of binoculars, so I have a better chance of seeing birds that are further away. I’m glad Seth persuaded me to go.

It’s fascinating going to the same spot and making observations. It makes for a boring blog for most people, but it provides a lot of information for those monitoring larger trends. I really believe that writing trip reports can help with local wildlife conservation. I don’t know how, but it’s an idea I want to pursue. Even if it means that no-one reads this 🙂 These trip reports and holiday recollections are for me, and the few people who want such information. Screw becoming a travel blogging; comped trips may help my budget but they wouldn’t contribute to my greater goals.

Pelicans at Balyang

October 3, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

This post is sheer indulgence. I get so caught up in learning as much as possible that I forgot to just sit and enjoy watching birds. I was very fortunate to find 2 pelicans resting on the nesting boxes when I got there.

I’d been talking to mister Sethy about pelicans wingspan recently, so was stoked to get this photo.

He was on the nesting box closest to the car park. There were noisy children chasing the ducks nearby so he flew off.

I was annoyed, yet grateful to be able to get shots of the bird in flight.

Pelican Yawn

I walked around Balyang looking at other birds and sat down near the remaining pelican. He was a bit sleepy.

STRETCH!

Just a little more!

And side angle!

These photos are perfect to show both Glenn and Seth. It was shortly before 6 and the lighting was perfect.

He then began to groom himself, which is an amusing sight. I love watching birds groom but it must be a lot harder with that beak!

Eventually he flew away, letting me get several more shots of him in flight.

I sat down for about 20 minutes watching these two. It was so calming and peaceful – and fun! I just wish I had the other camera.

Other birds:

A cute rainbow lorikeet in flight. Normally don’t get shots like this as there is too many leaves obscuring the view.

Purple swamphen in a tree. Thought it was amusing – don’t normally see them up there!

Eurasion coots having a snuggle. I need to capture more loving/evil moments between animals.

Return of the honeyeater! See, I’m learning 🙂 This little dude moves so quick.

I didn’t see any darters in my normal spot under the bridge. Imagine when I saw all of these in tree. I’ve never seen this many at once. Maybe it’s the time of day?

This was a tree that had fallen over the path between the swamp and the main road. I wanted to capture *some* kind of evidence of the crazy weather we’ve endured lately.

For about five minutes, the lighting was just magical. I would have loved to experiment with the light in different areas of the sanctuary but I was distracted by the pelican.

Worthwhile birdwatching trip. Reminded me to focus on the joy, rather then the chase and competition.

Windy Balyang

October 1, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Today was the first time I had been birdwatching in about a week. It’s weird how reluctant I am to go on an adventure, despite feeling a lot healthier. I nearly didn’t go as Glenn didn’t want to come with me. The weather this morning was horribly windy, with hail and sideways rain. I decided to just go. Glenn is on holidays soon and I doubt we’ll be as active as we are planning. As long as we get to Werribee Treatment Plant!

A heron flew over and landed before I had a chance to get the camera ready. It was nice; I don’t see them there that often. He flew over again later.

I was sitting down, watching the birds on the teeny island in the middle when this guy waddled over. There were a lot of people feeding ducks there today and I think he wanted food. Still, I got some beautiful shots

There were a lot of welcome swallows about. They were incredibly hard to photograph; I got some average ones of them in flight. This little guy was still long enough for me to get several photos.

I then went for a walk along the path that is alongside the road. I was hoping to see something rare – perhaps a lathams snipe. I did get to see this pink-eared duck and got several shots.

I really do love these ducks. I wish I could see a large population and had a camera with a better lens. They are so cute.

Glenn wasn’t there so I didn’t have to rush everywhere. I got to walk slowly and do photography that I enjoy, rather for identification purposes. I love shooting the sun through flowers. I’m thinking about going to the botanical gardens to continue this.

Mr Pelican was there again. He came up close as a family was feeding him as I was able to get some really lovely shots.

This trio of ducks were keen to be fed. They are pretty tame and really fun to photography.

Glenn loves getting photos of birds in flight. I was sitting down in a secluded area, trying to get photos of the small birds that were flying really fast. I heard a honk and snapped a photo of this guy. I got several more as he flew over to where I was sitting. He wanted to join his ducky friends and get in on the bread action.

It ended up being a really nice shot, even though it was accidental.

The final bird (and the second new species) is the White plumed honeyeater.

It was a lovely trip; one that taught me a lot. I do prefer solo birdwatching; I just feel bitchy leaving Glenn here. I see it as my job to make sure he enjoys his days off. It’s silly and is an anxiety thought pattern I’ll have to defeat. I felt accomplished and a lot more peaceful.

I know I need to do this more, it’s just a matter of when. I have very little income coming in and hang out with my nephew pretty often. The weather is manky on a regular basis and I don’t have a car. It feels like there are so many obstacles and that this journey is going to take a long time.

This is just panic as Glenn will have a MONTH off and I need Jade Time. There is also impatience due to being sick for so long. I think I need to make some birdwatching/hiking friends. I’ll see what local tours we can do on Glenns month off.