Elefromoz and her first year

[elefromoz]

I am very late to this, but have been following others wondering should I be brave enough to “have a go” and join the fun. Firstly I don’t

know much about Birds, secondly I know even less about Photography. A recent trip to South Africa and an up-coming trip to Spain should boost my numbers along with my local walks around our river and wetlands and also frequent trips to the South West of Western Australia. So, like others, a bit of catching up to do, bear with the blurry photos as I try to improve both my knowledge of our feathered companions and struggle to navigate the camera.

 

We spent this weekend down South in the beachside town of Dunsborough. Firstly a few from the garden

1. New Holland Honey Eater, garden's full of them

 

2. Western Rosella

 

3. Grey Fantail

 

Who was enjoying a bath

 

 

 

4. Then the White Browed Scrubwren arrived for his bath

 

5. Im stumped by this bird, its a regular visitor to our garden with a whistler-like call. Could be the Immature Golden Whistler that tricked me a few weeks back, but doesn't look quite the same?? More "Buff" coloured.

 

6.Splendid Fairy Wren, on an afternoon walk through some bush adjoining the beach

 

[michael-ibk]

Very pretty birds, @@elefromoz , and your photos are beautiful, especially like the Honey Eater - very cool to have these in one´s garden! Welcome to the Big Year party.

[TonyQ]

@@elefromoz

Great to have you on board. As a non-birder myself I have found it a great way to learn and to encourage me to look at birds more. Your photos are lovely, and I will enjoy seeing birds from your part of Australia - as well as those from your travels.

Splendid Fairy Wren - what an excellent name!

[wilddog]

Lovely collection. Really nice to see non Africa , and for me, non UK species. A great start.

[Geoff]

@@elefromoz Your mystery bird.... Hard to tell from just that image and I don't really know (do you have any other shots), but maybe a young Western Yellow or Grey Breasted Robin coming into adult plumage.

[Atravelynn]

You have an exciting garden!

[PeterHG]

A colourful set form a part of the world unknown to me. Glad you joined and I hope to see more. That Splendid Fairy Wren is an excellent photo! Hope you'll have a good time in Spain and will see some nice birds there. We're probably going there ourselves in June and it's a beautiful country!

[elefromoz]

@michael-ibk@TonyQ, you both have been inspirational in show-casing your local species, I need to get busy, @@wilddog thanks, hope I can do them justice, @@Atravelynn yes, that humble little birdbath is a hive of activity, funnily enough even on the coldest days, @@PeterHG thanks, really looking forward to Spain, our first trip there. @@Geoff, to my rescue again Im afraid this is the best I can do for now

 

[Patty]

The more the merrier! Your birds and photos are gorgeous!

[Peter Connan]

I love what @@Game Warden is acheiving with this thread.

 

I think almost everybody participating here is learning and noticing more just from being participants!

 

Well done @@elefromoz

[dlo]

Lots of nice "blurry shots" here @@elefromoz! Good stuff.

[Geoff]

@@elefromoz Yep, I think Western yellow robin.

[elefromoz]

@@Patty, thanks, Ive enjoyed your offerings so far,@@Peter Connan, thanks, fun, but I think could get addictive too, how to get any work done nowadays?@@dlo, don't see your name here . @@Geoff, well that would be exciting as I have never seen one, thanks.

 

And now time to "boost" the numbers a bit with some January sightings from the foreshore and cove here in Perth. Mistaken IDs coming up with Waders for sure, very tricky.

 

7. Grey Plover

 

8. Common Greenshank

 

9. A "stab in the dark"... Marsh Sandpiper?? Or maybe Greenshank too? and 10. Grey Teal

 

11. Black Winged Stilt

 

12. Australian Pelican

 

 

 

13. Great Egret

 

14. Black Swan, Western Australias bird emblem

 

15. Eastern Osprey, my personal favourite, could spend hours watching them

[michael-ibk]

Those Great Egrets really are everywhere! Very cool Osprey shot.

[elefromoz]

@@michael-ibk, thanks, a week ago I wouldn't have known the difference between "Little", "Medium" and "Great" Egret, this thread is really making me try and ID as well, and not just snap away. Im very lucky with the Osprey in having a resident pair, + or - juvenile just five mins from home.

[TonyQ]

Great osprey - and I love the photo of the group of Black Winged Stilts flying past.

[elefromoz]

@@TonyQ, thanks, now time to try and close the gap just little again, Februarys picks. I have posted a couple of these before elsewhere, the first couple are a sentimental favourite for me. Our Black Cockatoos are under siege with loss of habitat, persecution, competition..to name a few. These are taken in my front garden.

 

16. Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo, Male

 

 

Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo, female

 

and her beautiful tail feathers

 

17. White Tailed Black Cockatoo

 

 

18. Rainbow Bee-Eater on the river foreshore

[Peter Connan]

Beautiful tail-feathers indeed! And a beautiful bee-eater.

[dlo]

Yeah @@elefromoz you won't be seeing a big year from me any time soon as I know even less about birds than you and don't even know which end of the camera is up! No trips till Kenya just work on the house and visits to the dog park and golf course this year. If I start taking pics of birds on the golf course the abuse from the boys would be unending!

[elefromoz]

@@Peter Connan, thanks, the Bee-eaters were a challenge for me, pretty fast moving, I was pretty happy with what I got though. @@dlo, give up the golf and take up the birds .

Today was a grey old day, in the afternoon we went for a walk around Bibra Lake, which is a wet-land we haven't visited for about two years. Its the end of summer here so until April, we hadn't seen any rain for about five months. We actually had good rains in April, but not enough to fill the wetlands, so it looked more like a green paddock than a lake. There was a channel of water around the periphery.

 

 

19. Yellow Billed Spoonbill

 

20. Australasia Grebe

 

21. As i said,it had been two years since Id been here, last time I watched a Black Shouldered Kite on a dead tree and today, exactly the same spot

 

22. We got home just in time for the gardens regular visitors, Brown Honey Eater enjoying the Azalea nectar.

 

23. As it was taking a bath, a Silver Eye flew in

 

 

And decided to join in

[elefromoz]

24. Pacific Black Duck, a story of an unprovoked attack. Another lesson in why you should stay well away from a Mother and her Babies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And all was well with the world again

[xelas]

Photo #5, it is like from a cartoon! Great moment, @@elefromoz !

[michael-ibk]

Don´t mess with mum - very cool sighting!

[elefromoz]

My collection from our recent South Africa trip, could have been many more, we saw many more, but birds really weren't a focus on this trip. These are ones that just happened along, and we were stopped long enough for a quick photo.

 

25. Tawny Eagle

 

26.African Fish Eagle

 

And Juvenile

 

27. Saddle-Billed Stork

 

28. Barn Swallows

 

29. Red Crested Korhaan

 

30. Magpie Shrike

 

31. Woodland Kingfisher

 

32. Grey Heron

 

33. Water Thick-Knee

 

34. Pale Chanting Goshawk

 

35. White Backed Vulture 36. Cape Vulture

 

37. Hooded Vulture

 

38. Cape Glossy Starling

 

39. Yellow Billed Hornbill

 

40. Helmeted Guinea Fowl

 

41. Crested Francolin

 

42. Oxpecker

[TonyQ]

@@elefromoz

You still got a really good collection in South Africa even if birds were not your main focus! Lovely photos.

I love the duck/pelican sequence - it is amazing what a determined mother can achieve