Plains-wanderer (male) Pedionomus torquatus Critically Endangered in Victoria & Australia May 25th, 2019 Patho Plains of Victoria, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Mark II Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens Canon 600EX II-RT flash One of Australia's rarest & most quirky birds - the Critically Endangered Plains-wanderer. These tiny birds measure only 15-19cm tall, with the male (pictured) being noticeably smaller than the female. The female will lay four eggs which the male will then incubate & raise the young on his own. These birds are so unique that they are categorised in an entire family of their own, Pedionomidae, derived from the word Pedionomus, which is Greek for "haunting the fields". Plains-wanderer habitat is sparse native grasslands, located on the Northern plains of Victoria & the Riverina region of NSW. They are very particular about their environment, & with much of their original grasslands no longer suitable due to over-grazing, they are now only found in a few remote locations. Further impacting their survival is predation by the introduced Red Fox & feral cats - there is estimated to be fewer than 1000 Plains-wanderers remaining in the wild. I recently had the incredible experience of spending an hour spotlighting for these wonderful birds in Northern Victoria, led by Simon Starr of Firetail Birdwatching Tours. Simon guided a very small group of avid birdwatchers as we searched for these elusive & incredibly well camouflaged birds. Time was not on our side as there was a significant storm due to arrive that evening. After almost an hour of searching, & with the rain starting to come down, things were starting to look bleak when all of a sudden one of the members of our group stumbled upon this beautiful little male! We managed a couple of quick photographs before we had to race back to the car & make our way back into town for fear of getting stuck in the sticky mud of the dirt roads. A very memorable encounter with a very quirky little bird!
Australian Brush-turkey Alectura lathami April 22nd, 2019 Canungra, Queensland, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Mark II Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens Canon 600EX II-RT flash Made the long & winding trek up to O'Reilly's & I was super stoked to come away with this image of the elusive Brush-turkey! What a chook!
Glossy Black-Cockatoo (male) Calyptorhynchus lathami April 22nd, 2019 Mount Samson, Queensland, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Mark II Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens Canon EF 1.4x III Extender One of the main targets for my Easter trip up to Brisbane were these wonderful Glossy-Black Cockatoos. Several birds had been reported & photographed on private property about an hour out of Brisbane, & I was hopeful they would stick around long enough for my visit. Glossy-Blacks are the smallest of Australia's five black cockatoo species. They have a very specific diet - the seeds of the Casuarina tree, & when they are busy stripping these trees feeding they can be quite approachable. Thankfully, the property they had been seen previously still had some seeding Casuarina trees & we found a family of three feeding on a dreary afternoon. At least the threatening rain held off for the most part & the dark clouds dispersed for a few minutes to allow for a few decent shots. Special thanks to Matt & Jazz of Faunagraphic for their awesome company & huge thanks to Tim Jubb for his assistance in obtaining access to the property! What an amazing afternoon!
