Eastern Spinebills of Royal Park

Posted on 25 July 2024 by E Y

Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-Boore is home to a few Eastern Spinebill. They seem to have flourish in the last few months or so. There are about 4 to 6 individuals calling the park home. Their identifying feature being it’s long bill that curves downwards. The rufous, black and white coat makes it a gorgeous-looking bird indeed.

I captured these photographs on 23 July 2024. They maybe common but decent photographic opportunity is not easy to come by. They are, interestingly, not too worried about approaches from people but they are fast-moving birds.

Left: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO800.

Right: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO2500.

Silvereye

Posted on 24 July 2024 by E Y

The Silvereye is one of the more common birds in Australia. I have also seen them in New Zealand. The identifying feature of the bird is obviously the white ring around the eye, hence, its name. It feeds on insects, fruits and nectar.

This photograph of a Silvereye was taken at Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-Boore on 23 July 2024. Being a small bird, it is extremely active and not easy to get a good picture. I was very fortunate to have this opportunity to take a decent photograph of the bird.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO2000.

Tawny Frogmouth spotted at Royal Park

Posted on 9 July 2024 by E Y

This photograph of a Tawny Frogmouth was taken on 3 July 2024 at Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore. Tawny Frogmouths can be spotted frequently at the park. I spotted this one 2 days before and it was still at the same perch when the picture was taken. The Frogmouth had a couple of other perches prior this this one.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO1000.

Crested Tern of Philip Island

Posted on 8 July 2024 by E Y

This picture of a Crested Tern as it was landing was taken at the Nobbies at Philip Island on 4 December 2023. There was a huge Crested Tern colony that was new formed in that part of the Island that wasn’t there previously. This photograph was taken at sunset. I like how the Tern is backlite and there is a bit of glow on the edge of its wing and beak. Noise reduction was applied to remove the noise in the shadows.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/3200s f/6.3 ISO900

Photographer’s dilemma: White-plumed Honeyeater in the rain

Posted on 7 July 2024 by E Y

The 2 images above are the same photograph of a White-plumed Honeyeater in Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore taken on 30 December 2023.

The one of the right has been manipulated by having the tree trunk on the edge removed. At some point in time, every photographer will be tempted to manipulate their photograph for ecstatic reasons. In this case the tree trunk might be seen to be distracting. I experimented using Adobe Photoshop’s generative fill to remove the tree trunk. I was surprise how well it has done. It has even generate rain drops in the area where the tree trunk was.

Personally, I feel that it is my job as a photograph to document the moment and tell a story about where the bird might be. While this is only an experiment, I don’t feel good about publishing a manipulated image.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/9 ISO450

Spotted Pardalote spotted in Royal Park

Posted on 6 July 2024 by E Y

Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore is quite famous for its population of Spotted Pardalotes. This picture of a female Spotted Pardalote was taken on 24 May 2024. On occasions, these Spotted Pardalotes may be joined by Striated Pardalotes. I don’t have photograph of the Striated Pardalotes that I considered decent. I will post one when I do.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO2500

The Laughing Kookaburra of Royal Park

Posted on 5 July 2024 by E Y

This is a photograph of a resident of Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore. It was taken on 1 July 2024. We don’t see or hear it every time we were here but it does appear regularly enough.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO640

Golden Whistler of Royal Park

Posted on 4 July 2024 by E Y

This portrait of a female Golden Whistler, a resident of Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore, was taken on 21 May 2024. It is a fairly friendly bird that will usually call out to me when I am there.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO1100

Dusky Woodswallow with an attitude

Posted on 3 July 2024 by E Y

Another photograph taken in Chiltern on 9 May 2024 at the waterhold. This picture is of a Dusky Woodswallow. I would have prefer more distance between the Woodswallow and the background though but I still think the background is not exactly distracting.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4X @ 1120mm 1/800s f/9 ISO720

New Holland Honeyeater

Posted on 29 June 2024 by E Y

The photograph is of a New Holland Honeyeater taken on 31 May 2024 at the Western Remnant of Royal Park.

This bird is one of the most common birds in Melbourne. They feed on insects and nectar. As the photograph depicts, the face of the bird has quite a bit of pollen which suggests that they act as pollinators as well.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO1100

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