Heavy Rains

Recent trip to the Wimmera region in NW Victoria highlighted the effects of widespread heavy rains over many months. Here is a photo of the Yarriambiack Creek between Warracknabeal and Brim. This creek has been mostly dry for at least 10 years previous to this year. The rain has had a devastating effect on the grain harvest which would have been the best in many decades.

Fraser Island -Kingfisher

Kingfisher Beach

During our visit to Fraser Island we stayed at the Kingfisher Resort. The beach was just a short walk from our accommodation and provided many enjoyable walks, especially in the evening as the sun was setting. One such walk was to McKenzies Jetty, now derelict, but once used to load timber cut on the island.

McKenzies Jetty

Fraser Island Birds

On a recent trip to Queensland we spent four days at the Kingfisher Resort on Fraser Island www.kingfisherbay.com. The was plenty of bird life - here are two of the honeyeaters that were feeding on the yellow flowering bottle-brush. The first is a Dusky Honeyeater while the second is a Scarlet Honeyeater.

ANZANG 2010 Finalist

Last Thursday evening I attended the announcement of prizes for the ANANG 2010 Nature Photography competition run by the South Australian Museum in Adelaide.  I was there because one of the photos I entered was chosen to be a finalist. The photo, shown here, was entered in the wilderness category. While it didn't win I'm honoured that it is now included in an exhibition that is currently showing at the South Australian Museum and that will be shown during the coming year at various museums in Western Australia and elsewhere. It is also included in a book containing all the final photos and comments. Anyone interested in the competition can visit the ANZANG website at www.anzangnature.com. My sincere congratulations to all winners and thanks to the organisers and judges for choosing me to be included in the final group.

Birds in the Snow

Spent last week in the Kosciusko National Park staying in Thredbo where we had a great time thanks to some of the best snow falls of the season. It gave me the opportunity to tackle the challenges of getting correct exposure when photographing in the snow. There were a number of opportunities to observe the local bird life in these harsh conditions as you can see from these shots of a Crimson Rosella and a Currawong taken while it was snowing quite heavily.

Wimmera Birds

Made a recent trip to the Wimmera region of Victoria to my home town of Warracknabeal where I managed to get a few interesting bird images.There were several good shots of a pair of red-rumped Parrots commonly known as Grass Parrots while the ever-present Galahs always offer opportunities for interesting photos. 

Disappointing this time to find the the local reservoir, better known as the "swamp" was all but dry. It is no longer needed to store water for the town as that is now supplied via a pipeline. The birdlife less than 6 months ago was fantastic (see photo) while this time there was virtually none at all - pity. I'll post some more bird images from these trips to Warracknabeal soon.

Dunns Swamp

During our stay in the Capertee Valley we took a day trip to Dunns Swamp, a must see spot for anyone visiting the area. It is not really a swamp but the backed up waters created by a weir on the Cudgegong River. The day we visited was overcast and cold but still it was still easy to see this was a special place. The panoramic image shown here was taken down-stream of the main campsite and picnic area and gives an idea of the general area. I fully intend to return to this spot to photograph this scene again, preferably on a brighter day and late in the afternoon.

More on Capertee Valley

Another post on the Capertee Valley trip as promised with more images that are typical of the scenery in the valley.  

I have also included some of the wildlife that I managed to "shoot" early one morning using the long (500mm) lens.

Capertee Valley

Spent three days last week in the Capertee Valley. It is the second largest "canyon" in the world and is only slightly smaller than the Grand Canyon in the USA. The valley is located east of the main Lithgow-Mudgee road and is bounded on one side by the famous Wollemi National Park. It has some fantastic scenery and is well known for its diversity and volume of bird life. 

We stayed at Lansallos an excellent bed and breakfast where our hosts Bruce and Donna Upton have created a modern, well designed home away from home. Their property is some 100 acres in size with much of it planted with native trees attracting large numbers of birds. Here are some of the photos I took on the property. I'll follow up with some more photos of the valley in a few days.

Rainbow Lorikeets setting up house

It has been fascinating watching a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets setting up a nest in the hollow of a eucalyptus tree near our house. They have been working away for a few weeks now. Initially they seemed to be cleaning it and enlarging the cavity but in the last couple of days they have been plucking feathers from each others tails as seen in the second photo, I guess to line the nest? Hopefully I can record the progress and report any future developments.   

Australasian Grebe

On the WA trip I managed to get some good shots of a family of Australasian Grebe or "Divers" as I know them. Here is a photo of a young bird who followed one of his parents everywhere, always hoping to be fed. These birds are constantly diving for food and as the water was reasonably clear and it was possible to see just how well they can swim under water.

Cape Naturaliste

Just back from a visit to the Margaret River region of Western Australia. A very interesting area with lots of opportunities for taking photos, particularly the coast.  

I spent some time in the area around Cape Naturaliste and here are two photos taken early one morning. The eastern side of the Cape, known as Bunker Bay, is at its best as the sun is rising.

I'll post more examples as I get around to processing them.

Neds Beach

Recently I photographed Red-tailed Tropic Birds (see previous post) up on Malabar, which is situated on the northern end of Lord Howe Island. On the way down I took a series of photos looking down towards Neds Beach which I later stitched together to create this panorama. To see more images of Lord Howe Island visit my website at www.trevorharders.com

Red-tailed Tropic Bird

On our last trip to Lord Howe Island I was determined to try and get some decent photographs of the Red-tailed Tropic Bird in flight. This is a beautiful seabird, mostly white in colour, that is characterised by its long red tail. 

Early one morning I climbed up to Malabar, a point at the northern end of the island that is just over 200m above sea level. At this end the island finishes abruptly with sheer vertical cliffs plunging straight down to the ocean below. These cliffs provide an ideal location for sea birds to nest and at any one time countless birds can be seen taking to the air. At times the birds fly quite close to the cliffs providing a good opportunity to photograph them in flight.

I set up the 1D Mk III with a 70 to 200mm f2.8 lens and for some of the time added a the 1.4 extender. I took countless shots that morning and this is just one of several that I was pleased with (ISO 200, f5.6, 1/1250).

Kangaroos at Blowering Dam

On a recent trip to the Snowy Mountains region we stopped off at the Blowering Dam where the water level is still very low due to years of drought. One benefit of the low level and recent rains is an abundance of new growth on the exposed lake bed. This has attracted substantial numbers kangaroos most of which appeared to be Eastern Greys. I managed to get the 500mm f4 attached to the 1D Mk III in time to take this shot of a mother and joey before they bounded away.

Small Birds

Beginning of February I visited a cattle property located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. The farm is located in the foothills of the snowy mountains not far from Tumbarumba. This area offers a great opportunity to photograph a range of bird-life, especially small birds, who happily exist in this part of the world without interference from the dreaded Indian Myna. Here are just two of the  birds I spotted and managed to photograph - the first is a White-plumed Honeyeater and the second a female Blue Wren.