Great Cormorants visit Oak Street Wetland

Posted on 6 June 2025 by E Y

Great Cormorant [*Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO*1600]

Great Cormorant [*Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO*1400]

We have not observed any Great Cormorants at the Oak Street Wetlands for some time. On 10 May 2025, a couple of Great Cormorants decided to make that trip.

As the sun was still low in the horizon, the light was subdue. I set the shutter speed to a fairly low 1/500s. I wasn’t anticipating action shots. However, when one of the Cormorants started to dry its wing by flapping them, I forgotten that I had a low shutter speed and starting taking a series of photographs.

The resulting photographs aren’t terribly sharp. Most of them were deleted as a result. These 3 photographs depicted here of the various wing positions were of acceptable quality.

The 2 Cormorants didn’t stay long at Oak Street Wetland. It seems to have departed sometime in that morning. We were the only ones who have seen it that day.

As winter approaches, we are seeing less and less of the more common cormorants as well – the Little Pied Cormorants and Little Black Cormorants.

Another portrait of a Galah

Posted on 4 June 2025 by E Y

Galah (Male) [*Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/400s f/6.3 ISO*1800]

The Galahs are back in force at the oval next to the Trin. This particular photograph of a male Galah was captured on the morning of 20 May 2025.

On that morning, it is fairly cloudy. The sun had just risen and behind the clouds. The light trickled through the cloud and backlighted the bird – hence a bit of rim light on the head and body.

The Galahs were foraging in the oval that is elevated from the walking path. This provided me with the opportunity to take this picture at eye-level with the Galah by adopting a kneeling position on the walking path. The background was far away so it was rendered as a blur. As the bird was mostly in the shadow, it took some processing effort to get to the final result.

A minimalistic portrait of a Common Blackbird

Posted on 1 June 2025 by E Y

Common Blackbird [*Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/250s f/6.3 ISO*1400]

I like this photograph of a Common Blackbird more than I should.

The Common Blackbird is an introduced species that can be found almost everywhere is Melbourne. They have at times visited my backyard and they love my blueberries when they are in season.

Most people don’t adore these birds but I do find this photograph taken on 22 May 2025 at Trin very appealing. The focus is perfect, the background is reasonably burred with features that alluded to the habitat. It is a classic bird-on-stick photograph but the saturated orange beak compliments the black feathers on the body of the bird very well. It is quite likely my best picture of the Common Blackbird thus far.

Golden bird of the Western Remnant

Posted on 31 May 2025 by E Y

Golden Whistler (Male) [Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO500]

Golden Whistler (Male) [Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO900]

Golden Whistler (Male) [Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO1400]

Female Golden Whistlers are frequently spotted around Trin. From time to time, male Golden Whistlers do present itself.

On 19 May 2025, I was fortunate enough to have a male Golden Whistler follow me as I traversed the Western Remnant. I have been photographing these birds when I have the chance but I have that had a photograph of a male bird that I was happy with until that moment.

This particular bird seems very curious about me. At some point, he even stopped to take a good look at me before he continued to hunt for insects. From what I can see he was a prolific and effective hunter.

He was later joined by a female Golden Whistler but she did not seem as eager to pose for me as the male bird. That is interesting because often find that the female bird has a smaller circle of fear.

The male bird followed me as I walked the length of the path at the Western Remnant as back. Previously, I had a female Golden Whistler doing just that and this time it was the first time a male bird has done the same. Moments like this is well-worth cherishing. In the past, I had the Brown Thornbill, Eastern Yellow Robin and Scarlet Robin expressing curiosity about me. These moments had allowed me to take some very interesting pictures. I hope that I will have an opportunity to pique the interest of a male Rufous Whistler some time in the future. Yes, I have yet to take a decent picture of a male Rufous.

A visitor from Tasmania

Posted on 6 May 2025 by E Y

Striated Pardalote (Yellow-tipped) [*Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO*180]

On 3 May 2025, a Striated Pardalote with a yellow dot on its wings was spotted in the Western Remnant. Victorian Striated Pardalotes (sub-species Ornatus and Substriatus) usually have red spots on their wings. This particular sub-species is call Striatus. It breeds in Tasmania but migrates to Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in Winter.

I have known this sub-species of Striated Pardalote do visit Trin, however, this is the first time that I have actually spotted one. I would have preferred that it posed for me longer but I am relatively happy with this photograph as it depicts why it is a Striatus and I managed to capture quite a bit of detail. Besides, the sun was getting high in the sky making the light rather harsh.

Silvereye flocking at Trin

Posted on 4 May 2025 by E Y

Silvereye [Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO6400]

On 1 May 2025, I observed a flock of Silvereyes at Trin Warren Tam-boore. It is good to see that the Silvereye population is increasing again.

I managed to take this photograph of a Silvereye as it contemplated consuming the berries from a shrub. It did ended up consuming quite a bit of berries.

I was fairly close to the Silvereye which helped render the background into a pleasant blur. I have not had much success with photography in this particular spot in the past but I am glad it worked out this time.

Crimson Rosellas visit the Western Remnant

Posted on 29 April 2025 by E Y

Crimson Rosella [*Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO*1250]

28 April 2025 was a partly cloudy day and the morning was a bit crisp as autumn is slowly but surely setting in.

We were wandering at the Western Remnant of Royal Park when a couple of Crimson Rosellas made their presences known. I followed the Rosellas with my camera and managed to take this beautiful shot of one of the birds as it perched on a tree branch overhanging the railway cutting.

With the railway cutting rendered as a pastel peachy grey by the lens, the bright colour of the Rosella stood out complimented by the green leaves. This is possibly the best photograph of a Crimson Rosella that I have taken so far.

Grey Fantails from Tasmania

Posted on 18 April 2025 by E Y

The sub-species Albiscapa of the Grey Fantail arrived at Trin late March – early April. This particularly sub-species spend their summer in Tasmania and their winters in the mainland.

The way to identity the sub-species is to wait until it fans its tail. In this sub-species, there is very little white on the tips of the tail feathers.

Grey Fantails are not the easiest birds to photograph, as they are frequently on the move and never stay still for very long. On 10 April 2025, one particular bird was kind enough to pose for me. Furthermore, it was at a location on a dead tree with background that is sufficient far away. This created a photographic opportunity that allow me to isolate the subject.

Although there were two Grey Fantail at the same location, these photographs are of the same bird. The other Fantail was more reserved and did not pose for photographs.

While I wished that more birds would pose for me, I understand that finding birds out in the open without protection of trees and shrubs is not in the nature of these animals. So, to me, this is a very special occasion. The bird allowed me to approach within 6 to 8 metres of it. As such, the photographs contained very imitate details.

First: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO1400

Second: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO1600

Third: Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO2200

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

Spoonbills visit Trin Warren Tam-boore

Posted on 16 April 2025 by E Y

On 8 April 2024, as I approach the bird hide from the Skink Habitat, I spotted a large white bird in the pond. I had originally thought that it might be a Great Egret. On reaching the bird hide, it was obviously a Yellow-billed Spoonbill. What a surprise! This is the first time I have observed a Yellow-billed Spoonbill at this location.

While at the bird hide, I managed to take a few photographs. It then flew into Trin. When I followed it, I was pleasantly surprised to see another Royal Spoonbill. Whilst I have previously seen a Royal Spoonbill at Trin, it is still very rare. To have two species of Spoonbills in Trin at the same time must be very special indeed.

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 @ 1/800s f/6.3 ISO400

A Brown Thornbill pose for a photograph

Posted on 30 March 2025 by E Y

On 19 March 2025, I was observing 2 Grey Fantails and a Brown Thornbill doing their thing at the Western Remnant of Royal Park. The Thornbill grabbed hold of a thin branch of a shrub right in front of me. I managed to capture this rather pleasing portrait of the Brown Thornbill.

Brown Thornbills are one of the smallest birds in Australia. Like many small birds, they never stay still at one place for very long. As a result, they are very difficult to photograph. All things considered, I am rather happy that this particular Thornbill stayed in the pose long enough for me to take this image.

Nikon Z 9, Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S @ 1/500s f/6.3 ISO500

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