What’s the fuss?

I was fascinated by the behaviour of these Red-rumped Parrots last week at Cairn Curran.

These images include two separate flocks that I observed whirling in seemingly haphazard circuits, followed by brief ‘touchdowns’, and then another burst of erratic flight.

Then a White-bellied Sea-eagle appeared from behind the River Red-gums along the high water mark. Puzzle solved!

Red-rumped Parrots, Cairn Curran, 3rd July 2018

II

III

White-bellied Sea-eagle

‘Muskies’ up close

Lovely close-up views, earlier this week of Musk Lorikeets at the Welshmans Reef Caravan Park.

Higher up in the flowering Yellow Gums were a small number of Purple-crowned Lorikeets – they remained hidden amongst the foliage and impossible to photograph. They’ll be worth another try at a later date.

Musk Lorikeet, Welshmans Reef, 3rd July 2018

II

III

IV

Darter @ dusk

This Australasian Darter made a compelling silhouette on dusk at Welshmans Reef, before departing north across the lake.

Australasian Darter @ dusk, Welshmans Reef, 1st July 2018

II

In lieu of sea-eagles

Yesterday afternoon I went searching for sea-eagles at Welshmans Reef. Alas, not a big bird to be seen.

This Nankeen Kestrel provided fine compensation. I spent an hour or so watching it move between different perches along the shoreline.

Nankeen Kestrel, Cairn Curran @ Welshmans Reef, 1st July 2018

II

III

IV

Tranquil scenes

Great Egret, Joyce’s Creek @ Cairn Curran, 22nd June 2018

II

III

Female Nankeen Kestrel

Is that the Sea of Tranquility?

A sunny day at Joyce’s Creek

A reprise of Patrick’s nice post about Joyce’s Creek last week. The area immediately south of the bridge is terrific for close up views of a range of waterbirds at present.

Australian Pelican, Joyce’s Creek, 18th June 2018

Male Chestnut Teal

Hoary-headed Grebe in non-breeding plumage

Yellow-billed Spoonbill

II

III

A cloudy day at Joyce’s Creek

A visit to the Joyce’s Creek arm of Cairn Curran on Monday was a bit of a desperate attempt to satisfy the bird photography addiction (aggravated by the acquisition of upgraded lens and camera) on a cloudy and unpromising day. While I was delighted to see a party of five male and one female Flame Robins, they were a bit reluctant to pose for the paparazzi, as were the many Black -fronted Dotterels. A Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus) on the shoreline was more accommodating, but still a little coy.

Red-kneed Dotterel

A group of five Yellow-billed Spoonbills (Platalea flavipes) perched in an old dead River Red Gum were considerably more obliging. A little bit of light breaking through the sombre clouds at the right moment was even better.

Yellow-billed Spoonbill looking rather cool.

And perhaps tiring of the fool with the big lens

Time to move on

As I wended my way back to the car, the Flame Robins were still shy, but a Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) clad in formal attire was happy to pose on a suitably corroded picket.

Superb Fairy-wren