A New Species and a Different Morph Found on my Property

Over the last few months I have done little photography but I have taken a few pictures on my property when I have seen or heard less common birds or new bird species for my property. I have seen this White Morph Grey Goshawk on the neighbours property about 12 months ago but by the time I went and got my camera and returned, it had disappeared and I hadn't seen it until several weeks ago. It was here for 2 days and hasn't been seen again. It is a magnificent looking bird and for some reason it had very different behaviour from all the normal Grey Goshawks that frequent the property. Usually the Grey Goshawks here are quite secretive, except when calling and when approached they take flight usually before you can spot them clearly.

I don't mind having them here as long as they don't take my poultry. During the goshawk's breeding season I can lose up to a few dozen ducks and chickens from the Grey Goshawks. For the rest of the year only the odd one gets captured. This white morph was very brazen. He landed on the pens and in low trees and flew at the birds out in the open. It's funny the poultry weren't even scared of it until it nearly grabbed them. While it was sitting in the tree the poultry were acting normal, rather than running for cover as they do when other birds of prey are around. In certain trees the Grey Goshawks are very well camouflaged whereas this white morph was easily sighted from a long distance.

Grey Goshawk (White Morph)

The White Morph of the Grey Goshawk was easy to sight in most locations

The first Grey Goshawk (White Morph) for my property

The Grey Goshawk (White Morph) watching the poultry

A close up of the Grey Goshawk (White Morph)

This Grey Goshawk (White Morph) was very bold compared to most specimens

The next two photos were taken at Bagara, near Neilson Beach, when I was up there visiting a few friends. They are common birds but they were in a good location, with great lighting to obtain a clear photo and my camera was sitting on the front seat. I was hoping to do some birding while I was up in the Bundaberg area but this was all I had time for. Both of these species, White-faced Herons and Intermediate Egrets are often seen here on the rocks.

White-faced Heron

Intermediate Egret

I was really pleased one morning a few weeks ago as I had a bit of spare time to do some photography and the weather was perfect. As I was driving through the gate I spotted a bird that looked a bit different. I thought it was a Weebill at first, which I have seen here on the odd occasion but I wanted to check. As I stepped out I realised the yellow feathering was too bright. As soon as I got the photo I realised it was a species I hadn't seen before. They were White-throated Gerygones!! A friend of mine saw them for the first time only a few weeks before as well at her house. There were a dozen or more of them in the trees feeding. For identification purposes they have a red eye like most gerygones, an obvious white throat, hence the name and they have the white bar just above the bill. Fairy Gerygones can look very similar in appearance. The White-throated Gerygones have a brighter yellow colour and don't have the whitish/pale ring around the eye like the Fairy Gerygones.

White-throated Gerygone

The first White-throated Gerygone sighted at my property

A White-throated Gerygone wiping its bill after feeding

The underside of a White-throated Gerygone

A White-throated Gerygone feeding

Another specimen of the dozen or more White-throated Gerygones sighted

Just down the road I saw an unusually large flock of Double-barred Finches. I usually only see them in small groups of a couple of birds up to 20 or so. This flock had about 50 individuals. I saw them fly from the side of the road so I parked the car and many came straight back out in the open to continue feeding. It was amazing watching the method they used to get the seeds from the grass heads. I have seen similar behaviour from other birds before but I can't remember seeing it so obvious and methodical. Usually it seems a bit more haphazard how the birds land on the stalk, then if it bends over they shuffle along the stalk to the end to get the seeds. If it stays upright they lean up to collect the seeds. These birds were working in pairs and it was organised. One flew onto the stalk and as it bent over another finch would grab the seed head on the ground and hold it with its feet, as the other bird made its way down the stalk. They then would both feed on the seeds together. Other individuals were just eating all the seeds from off the rocks that had fallen off. I find it fascinating how different birds and different flocks behave. I could have watched them for longer but I had to keep moving.

Juvenile Double-barred Finch

Double-barred Finches feeding on grass seeds

The Double-barred Finches working together to reach the seed heads

More updates and pics coming soon.

 

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Australian Birds Photography: KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY 

Lake Macdonald and Noosa Botanical Gardens

A few days ago my friend told me that a Freckled Duck had been seen at Lake Macdonald. I checked on Eremaea Birds and a lady did spot one and she had a photograph of it. We both thought it would be a good chance to get a good photograph of one while they were in the local area. Two days after the sighting was put up we went to have a look for ourselves.

We started off at the boat ramp and made our way along the bank of the lake. Many of the usual waterbirds were seen like the Pacific Black Ducks, Purple Swamphens, Darters, Dusky Moorhens, Eurasian Coots, Intermediate Egrets, White-faced Herons and the Australasian Grebes. The first birds sighted were the Pacific Black Ducks near the boat ramp and this Darter sunning itself.




A Darter sunning itself at the boat ramp

This lone Caspian Tern was spotted flying over the lake. They are regularly sighted here.

Caspian Tern

We spotted the Freckled Ducks right down the far end of the Botanical Gardens loafing on a PVC pipe going into the lake. There were 4 Freckled Ducks, a Hardhead and another Darter all on the pipe. I got a few snaps and thought we would wait a while until they moved off the pipe to get a more natural shot. In the meantime I noticed the Pied Butcherbirds and the Noisy Miners attacking a hawk in the distance. I couldn't make it out so we went to investigate. When we got there we found it was actually this Pacific Baza. It mustn't be a resident in the Botanical Gardens as the birds were relentlessly attacking it. I have them on my property and the other birds at home don't bother them as they are use to them and know they will not harm them as they are mainly insectivores.

Pacific Baza

The Pacific Baza again

The Pacific Baza just after being swooped

The Pacific Baza resting for a brief moment after flying away

After a short wait (45 minutes or so) the ducks finally made their way off the pipe so I could get a nicer shot. They didn't stay off for long before returning to the pipe again!!

Freckled Ducks with a Hardhead

The Freckled Ducks returning to the pipe with the Darter

I thought I would wait for a while to see if they came closer to the bank to get a better shot. While I was waiting I heard a few Little Wattlebirds in the tree not far from me. I got a few pictures but not to the standard I was hoping for. They were in amongst the branches and it was quite dark and I was looking into the sun. I managed to get these photos at least before they flew off.

 Little Wattlebird with a grub

The other Little Wattlebird sighted

After a fairly lengthy wait we realised that the Freckled Ducks were in no hurry to move far from the pipe. We decided to leave and come back later in the afternoon to see if they had moved to a better position.

The lighting was much better in the afternoon for taking photos due to the position of the sun in relation to the water. As soon as I arrived all the Pacific Black Ducks landed near me near the boat ramp. The sad thing is, that this most likely means they are getting use to being fed here, most likely with bread!!

Pacific Black Duck coming in for landing

Pacific Black Duck

While I was making my way around the lake edge I spooked this Australasian Grebe that flew a short distance before landing again. I didn't get to track it for long, hence why it is out of focus.

Australasian Grebe getting ready to take off

We found the 4 Freckled Ducks again when we got back around to where they were earlier in the day. Much to our delight they were closer to us so we could get better quality photos.

Freckled Duck

Three of the four Freckled Ducks

Freckled Duck from the left side

One of the other four Freckled Ducks

A pair of Freckled Ducks

The other two Freckled Ducks

The same pair of Freckled Ducks again

My favourite Freckled Duck shot

After taking the photos of the Freckled Ducks I noticed an Azure Kingfisher. I was hoping it would land in the sun but it stayed in amongst the thick branches where the lighting was terrible. Luckily for me it stayed in the one place for quite a long time, which gave me an opportunity to change the settings to get a reasonable shot given the conditions.

Azure Kingfisher from behind

Azure Kingfisher

A few minutes later I noticed the Freckled Ducks taking off and they landed on the opposite side of the lake.

Freckled Ducks taking off

The Freckled Ducks flying to the other side of the lake

I saw this Intermediate Egret hunting in the reeds on the way back to the car and heaps of Pacific Black Ducks.

Intermediate Egret hunting in the reeds

Intermediate Egret

Pacific Black Duck preening

The following day I heard my peahens calling out with their warning call. They usually only make this call when there is a predator around, usually a hawk or eagle. I quickly went out to have a look around the tree where they were calling out. I looked around up in the canopy but I couldn't see anything. They were still calling out so I knew there must be something there. I thought it may be a goanna on the trunk. After a few minutes I spotted what they were looking at. I don't know how they spotted it to be honest!! It was a Tawny Frogmouth roosting in the tree. After a few minutes had passed the peahens moved on as they realised it wasn't a threat to them.

Tawny Frogmouth roosting

 

Tawny Frogmouth

Tawny Frogmouth roosting close to the trunk

Camouflage of the Tawny Frogmouth

 

 

 

More updates and pics coming soon.

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Australian Birds KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY

A Quick Trip to the Lockyer Valley

About five days ago I had to go down to the Lockyer Valley so I thought it might be a good opportunity to get a few shots in the area once again. I was hoping for some different birds and as luck would have it I found one new species that I haven't seen before and got some much better photos of some other species.

We started off at Lake Galletly at The University of Queensland, Gatton Campus. The lake was full this time after all the recent rain so the ducks were closer to the hide which made it easier to obtain photos. There were 40 or so Pink-eared Ducks, several Australasian Grebes, well over 100 Plumed Whistling-Ducks, lots of Grey Teal and Magpie Geese. As all the mud on the bank was now under water none of the Dotterels were seen.

A Pink-eared Duck standing on a pipe just below the water

Australasian Grebe

Plumed Whistling-Ducks

A trio of Grey Teal

Just some of the Pink-eared Ducks

 

A pair of Pink-eared Ducks

 

A pair of Pink-eared Ducks resting at Lake Galletly 

The only Intermediate Egret that was seen at this location

After leaving the university we travelled to Lake Clarendon just down the road. It was impressive to see this Lake also at total capacity. As a result the number of species of birds was also reduced here as the muddy banks were under water. Lots of Little Pied Cormorants were seen along with lots of Little Black Cormorants, several Grey Teal, a few Intermediate Egrets, one Great Crested Grebe, several Australasian Grebes and many hundreds of Eurasian Coots.

A Grey Teal with ducklings with a couple of Eurasian Coots

An Intermediate Egret in flight

The solitary Great Crested Grebe

On our way to our last stop we come across a  field of grain which I think was milo. We were travelling slowly due to the road works in the area and I heard some Cockatiels calling from the edge of the paddock. I stopped the car and found them feeding on the seed heads. There were about 15 birds in the flock, most of which were males.

One of the few female Cockatiels

Male Cockatiel

The last stop was a lagoon near Lowes Road at Placid Hills. Apparently the lagoon is called Lowes Road Lagoon but I was unable to find the name on a map. I was very excited to see a pair of Freckled Ducks for the first time. By the time I got close enough they had separated and were quite a distance on the water. This lagoon had a large number of species. A pair of Freckled Ducks, many Grey Teal and Hardheads, about 50 Pink-eared Ducks, hundreds of Eurasian Coots, several Australasian Grebes, a few Black-winged Stilts, and lots of Red-kneed Dotterels, a few Black-fronted Dotterels and a large number of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets.

One of the Freckled Ducks

The Freckled Duck with some Grey Teal and an Australasian Grebe
 

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet looking for a nesting hollow

The Black-fronted Dotterels were well camouflaged

Red-kneed Dotterel

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet eating lantana berries





A pair of Australian Wood Ducks with ducklings



More updates and pics regularly.

If you're interested in my blog check out my site below by clicking on the link.

Australian Birds KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY