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.