These photographs were taken at the oval next to Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore on 14 December 2024.
It was a reasonably cloudy morning but the harsh sun shone through the cloud, creating a less than soft light on the Galahs. Still diffused but slightly harsh.
I was lucky enough to be able to get a photograph of a Galah with its crest up. This does happen often.
First: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO90
Second: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO140
After a few weeks of absence, it looked like the Galahs are back at Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore. These photographs were taken on 11 December 2024.
The first image was taken at the oval next to Trin while the second was taken at the Skink Habitat.
While a common bird, they are quite pretty and add colour to the city park on a dull summer day. Their calls are not as rough as the Sulfur-crested Cockatoo but I wouldn’t described them as particularly musical. The way to identify the sex of the Galah is the colour of their eyes. The males have dark brown eyes while the females have pink eyes.
First: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO220
Second: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/640s f/6.3 ISO140
Superb Fairywren are all over the place these days. This one was found in Trin Warren Tam-boore on 10 December 2024. It looked like it is going to have its breakfast.
Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO2800
Crested Pigeons are common in Australia. They can be found easily at Royal Park Trin Warren Tam-boore. This photograph was taken in the morning of 10 December 2024.
The day was fairly overcast. This provided a nice soft light for the photography at the field next to Trin. This particular Crested Pigeon was kind enough to pose for me.
Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/400s f/6.3 ISO1400
On 1 December 2024, a Red-crowned Parakeet was found in a laneway in Brunswick. This bird was identified as a Red-crowned Parakeet which is a bird native to New Zealand. However, Parakeets in the wild are naturally green in colour. This bird is mainly yellow which suggests that it was a domesticated bird, i.e. someone’s pet.
Through selective breeding in captivity, the Red-crowned Parakeet are transformed from green to bright yellow. According to the neighbours, this bird had been wandering the laneway the day prior. It seems incapable of looking after itself and finding food for itself. I normally don’t feed wildlife but in this case, I gave the bird some sunflower seeds.
Fortunately, it retreated to a small tree in a private property. This gave it some shelter. I wasn’t able to find it the next day. I hope it made its way back to its owner.
First: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO450
Second: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO640
This photograph of a Little Black Cormorant in flight at the Oak Street Wetland was taken on 6 December 2024 a bit after sunrise. There wasn’t much light at the time as the cloud obscured the sun but the combination of cloud and sun resulted in a rather dramatic sky. Exposing for the sky resulted in the bird in silhouette.
Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/3200s f/6.3 ISO200
On 20 November 2024, I came across this male Superb Fairywren at Trin Warren Tam-boore singing with gusto.
The pose was excellent but there were some twigs and branches in the background. I think it contributes to tell a story of the habitat of the bird.
As an experiment, I used Adobe Photoshop to remove some objects in the background. This resulted in the second photograph.
What I feel about the alternated image is that it looks too sterile and, therefore, lacks authenticity. I think I still prefer the original photograph.
Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/640s f/6.3 ISO450
Another photograph of a sweet Grey Teal at Oak Street wetland. This photograph was take on 15 November 2024.
It was taken on a close to the water surface hand-held and composed using the rear LCD of my camera an hour after sunrise.
Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/640s f/6.3 ISO2200
On 15 November 2024, this Pacific Black Duck came very close to me at the Oak Street Wetland. Of the native ducks, the Pacific Black Duck is probably the one that is most comfortable with human, especially if they are used to being fed.
Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/640s f/6.3 ISO2800
There is almost always a Willie Wagtail at Trin Warren Tam-boore. This one was found at the oval on the morning of 14 November 2024. The Wagtails are very used to having people around. I have not met one that has a large circle of fear anywhere in Australia.
Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO800