Down and Around the Lockyer on the Last Saturday of 2013

January 5, 2014

Down and Around the Lockyer on the Last Saturday of 2013

Cattle Egret

breeding

Queensland University, Gatton Campus, Queensland, Australia

A week late posting this, but enjoyed a big day out with Rod Hobson who kindly took me down and around the Lockyer Valley on Saturday, December 28, 2013. It was overcast to start the day but we quickly commenced our day with a Black Falcon of which we had two sightings.

Rod was determined that we would find more raptors and we even went up through the Great Divide to Wyreema and Cambooya in hope for a Spotted Harrier but we only saw a couple of kestrels as the skies became quiet once blue, so we turned around and went back down to the valley where we got a Spotted Harrier with our eyes but I failed with the camera near Grantham.

Still, it was a remarkable day with the Lockyer Valley proving it is a special place for birding.

Thanks, Rod.

(Disappointed that I can only input 200 or less characters for the labels/contents on Blogger so I couldn’t list all the species pictured in my contents!)

Royal Spoonbill

Magpie Goose

Cockatiel

Superb Fairy-wren

male

Comb-crested Jacana

Black Falcon

Royal Spoonbill

Magpie Goose (Above and below)

Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Royal Spoonbill

Interesting sight: Glossy Ibis (landing), Australian Shoveler (left) Spoonbills, Australian Wood Duck (centre) etc.

Another view of several birds including Black-winged Stilt and Australian Pelican

Sacred Kingfisher

Freckled Duck is a rarity here (Above and below)

Whistling Kite

Black Kite (Australian)

White Bellied Sea-eagle

Lake Clarendon

Pink-eared Duck (flying behind) and Eurasian Coot (foreground)

The ducks were nervous with the sea-eagle circling overhead

Uncategorized

Black Falcon, Cattle Egret, Cockatiels, Comb-crested Jacana, Freckled Duck, Glossy Ibis, Magpie Goose, Pelican, Royal Spoonbill, Sacred Kingfisher, Whistling Kite, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Yellow-billed Spoonbill

Posted by:

Russell Jenkins

I am a photographer into birds, nature as well as art and culture. From Australia, currently based in Japan.

5 responses to “Down and Around the Lockyer on the Last Saturday of 2013”

Carole M.

January 5, 2014 at 12:20 am

a great variety of sightings Russell; I've read about the Lockyer Valley for birding, it sounds like a top place to visit. I especially liked the cattle egrets

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The happy wanderer.

January 5, 2014 at 4:14 am

What a great variety. I agree with Carole about the cattle egrets – not always the most co-operative bird! I hope they all survived yesterday, and you too, of course.

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Breathtaking

January 5, 2014 at 3:14 pm

Stunning captures of the Cattle Egrets, they are really lovely portraits.:) Lucky you to see and capture so many different birds.

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Judith Gray

January 5, 2014 at 11:50 pm

Beautiful photos Russell. The cattle egrets are spectacular but I loved the Magpie Goose images – I had no idea they were around this area, I have only seen them near Cairns. Loved the Jacana also, another one I have only ever seen up north! Looks like it was a great day out.

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Stuart Price

January 7, 2014 at 8:02 am

Wonderful shots Russell. I thought……….why are The Cattle Egrets in breeding pumage in December? Then I realised………..

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About Me

I’m an Australian interested in nature, photography, culture, and art based in Japan.

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When I was a kid, I read old yellowing pages about the effects of the agricultural chemical DDT on raptors such as Ospreys and Peregrine Falcons. The birds ingested the chemical via their diet and it caused the thinning of their eggshells. The rate they were disappearing, it was unlikely they’d see the new century.

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Uncropped 500mm Full-frame Bird Photos at Wetlands on a Dull Winter Day
by Russell Jenkins
March 12, 2024

What a catchy title, I know, but as my usual Goldilocks-self, I had been pining for that 400mm 4.5 Nikon lens for the last year and a bit. For me, quick and nimble gets most of my best pics, but my experience yesterday, made me feel ‘Goldilocks’ should stick with the porridge she has. 500mm maybe just right for now.

It was sunny a fair bit after the January 1 earthquake, but I didn’t’t feel like standing at the edge of a remote wetland worrying about aftershocks and the near-by sea. Yesterday, was my first outing to Fukushimagata since December 28, 2023. It was pretty dull when I got there and I think most of the swans and geese have already headed north. I saw an eagle back in December, but I think any “Steller’s”, would be gone by now, though I think we should still have a chance to see a “white-tail” until the end of March. The joy of the day was the continuing views of osprey appearing every few minutes and catching fish around me.

I think my 500mm f5.6 is still pretty nice despite squeaks and rattles after five years of regular use. The new 600mm f6.3 might suit me better if I love standing around the wetlands, but as you can see by the dullness of these images, I am wary of going from 5.6 to 6.3, even though it is such a small difference.

Way back when I was young, osprey and peregrines were fading in numbers and became symbols of the damage of chemicals to the environment but I’m happy to announce that these many years later, osprey are one of the more common raptors I see in Niigata.

They seemed to be finding fish just behind a small island not so far off-shore from where I was standing but they’d disappear behind the reeds. I could hear the ‘splash’, but would have to wait for them to come back up before I could see them again.

Some ducks still remain, always lots of Great Cormorants and Great Grebe, with a few Marsh Harriers floating around the place. I love seeing them up against the snow-covered mountains. Of course it’s nice to have close-ups, but framing them in the surrounding environment is more, er, more. It’s more to look at?

Well. Not much snow this winter, and it’s raining here much of the time but I hope to return soon. March at Fukushimagata has its surprises.