Before I get to that though, a couple of updates from Canberra - the Australasian Bittern I wrote about last time attracted a lot of attention, including some more from me. I made another trip out to the pond to try and relocate it a few days later, and was successful not only in finding it but in getting a photograph! (Albeit a distant and grainy one).
Australasian Bittern
The photo seemed to be the tipping point for Ashwin, Josh, Max and Nathan, who took a road trip down from Sydney the following day. They cruised past my house (and didn't pick me up) in their haste to see the bird, and then they dipped on it.
"There's nothing in that pond", they said. "Canberra's terrible for birding!", they said.
And as if to prove their point, they stopped at Rowes Lagoon near Collector, NSW, on their way home and flushed several Australasian Bitterns.
I felt somewhat put out that they were dissing my city (without even having dropped by to see me on their way), so I was immensely pleased when two hours later, a report came through the COG chatline of a male Australian Little Bittern at the same pond where the Sydney Siders had spent the whole morning.
Being the gentleman that I am, I immediately put on my smug face, and spent some time laughing down the phone at them.
As soon as I hung up though, I knew that I'd need to see the Little Bittern, or I'd be even more of a joke than them. So I gathered Stanley Tang (who happened to be in Sydney for the month), and together we hit up the pond.
Stanley's bus arrived at half past one, meaning we got to the site at 2pm. His bus home was at 5pm, meaning we had to leave the site at 4.30pm, a window of just 2.5 hours. We searched, and then we waited, for two hours.
Disappointed, we were taking a break from scanning the reedbeds when my mother, who was doing a lap of the pond, flushed a tiny bird with big yellow wing patches from the tiniest, most isolated clump of reeds in the whole pond - where we hadn't even thought to look, considering the (comparatively) huge reedbed on the far side.
We saw it land in the dense reeds on the far side of the pond, and we rushed over in the vague hope of getting another fleeting view of the bird.
When we arrived, we had to wait an agonizing almost-half-a-second to see it - sitting halfway up a reed stem, right out in the open, not 5m away from us. It stayed there obligingly, climbing slowly up the reed for almost a minute, before making a short flight to the center of the reedbed.
Australian Little (Black-backed) Bittern
So that made two bitterns in just one week - and as you'll read in the next post, that would be significant.
Anyway, back to the Deniliquin campout.
The trip was planned as a meet-up for the members of the fantastic Feathers and Photos forum, one of the (if not the very) best Australian bird photography forums.
The trip had been in planning for some time - at the start, I think it was Josh and David Stowe's idea. Unfortunately, Josh soon had to pull out, due to his parents insisting he attend a party for a cousin's 21st. While it was nice for his cousin, it was a bit inconvenient for Simon and myself, as Josh was going to be our lift out to Deni. Scrambling to rearrange, we both happened to ask David, his being the only other car passing vaguely in my direction.
He very kindly agreed to take me (and Simon), and not only that, he offered to try and borrow a Canon 600mm lens for me to use during the trip!!
Astounded by this generosity, I joined forces with David, Simon, and forum member Fatih Sam on a chilly (for my standards, Simon complained at length about how freezing it was - the cons of living by the coast!) Friday morning (the 27th of June), and set off.
I really enjoy road trips, even more so if birding is involved. fleeting views of birds from the vehicle, often followed by swift ID arguments ensure the hours in the car are never boring. Before long, we'd had a slightly-too-close encounter with a pair of Crimson Rosellas, and seen various raptors and a large flock of starlings.
Simon keeping the trip-list
Just before I go on, essentially all the short-range (basically all the non-bird photos) were taken with my phone, so apologies for that.
Eventually we we pulled into Wagga Wagga - and just before we reached the township, we noticed a big, wheeling flock of birds in the distance. Quickly, we pulled off down a small side-road and managed to get underneath them.
They turned out to be feral pigeons, forming an aerial bait-ball in reaction to the attentions of a pair of Peregrine Falcons. The falcons were directly above us as we pulled up, but as we tumbled out of the car, they disappeared, and the pigeons settled in a nearby eucalypt.
Even though we didn't get to photograph the falcons, the stop did give me the chance to take first-looks at the monstrous 600mm in Dave's hands. And also discover that the lens hood screw was slightly broken.
Having passed through Wagga, we pulled over again to look at some Black-faced Woodswallows (a lifer for Simon), and as we did so we noticed a pale white bird perched on the fence wires. "Is that a &$^#%* Ground Cuckoo Shrike!?" I exclaimed, forgetting myself in excitement.
Ground Cuckoo-shrike
It was, as it turned out, a Ground Cuckoo-shrike. And soon, 5 more flew down the fenceline towards it.
This was my second sighting of GCS, the first being a very flighty pair north of Alice Springs last February. Compared to those birds, which barely let us within 50m, these were amazingly tame, allowing us within just 20m or so.
The Black-faced Woodswallows were nice, too.
Black-faced Woodswallows
A lone Emu seen wandering the paddocks near the Cuckoo-shrike spot
We continued on our way, and eventually arrived at the campsite in the bustling metropolis of Deniliquin. We spent half an hour greeting other F&P members, and erecting the Emperor of Tents that David had brought for the three of us to share. It was enormous - three rooms, and Simon and I fit comfortably in one of them. To give you some idea, both of us are over 6 foot (Simon considerably so), and it wasn't cramped in the slightest.
The Campground
With the tent set up, and most of the F&P members assembled (Including one of the Melbournian members of Australian Young Birders, Owen Lishmund, who Simon and I knew from Facebook but had never met), we set off on a walk down the river beside the camp.
Sunset over the river
Pausing to enjoy brief views of an Azure Kingfisher flitting around in the dead branches on the bank, we explored the area of woodland bordering the river. Striated Thornbills, Weebills, White-plumed Honeyeaters and Buff-rumped Thornbills put in appearances, along with numerous Brown and White-throated Treecreepers. A pair of Little Eagles overhead kept us looking up, as well as several Whistling Kites.
Despite these interesting passerines (and non passerines), the attention of the group was primarily drawn by a beautiful trio of Australian Pelicans, which sat high on a dead branch in the gorgeous evening light.
Pelicans trying to dissuade a new bird from landing on their perch
...And failing.
This led to an argument with the newcomer...
...Which soon led to an all-out brawl.
Away from the rest, these two enjoyed the last rays of the setting sun.
Dispute over.
This was my first taste of using the *rather* stunning Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II lens. Compared to my little 100-400mm, this thing was a monster, weighing about 3 times as much as my normal set up, and lifted to my eye, extending about 60cm off my face. Just to give you an idea of how massive it is, here's a shot of Owen holding it:
Handling the weight was a serious learning curve, and I'm amazed I got any shots at all on the first evening!! This was my view down the viewfinder...
We stayed with the Pelicans until the sun set, before retiring for our first night camping.
The next morning, we were treated to another huge gesture of generosity. Phillip Maher, who we had organized to take us on a Plains Wanderer tour that evening, offered to take our group out birding during the day as well. We started the morning in a stretch of eucalypt and low saltbush beside a road, somewhere near Deniliquin. I should apologize, at this point, as I'm terrible with directions and I honestly have no idea where we were for quite a lot of the trip!
We spent a few hours at this spot, chasing the many Superb Parrots (a lifer for many), Grey-crowned Babblers, Bluebonnets, Spotted and Striated Pardalotes, and numerous other birds.
After a while, we crossed the road into an area of revegetation, which I think Phil was managing. We followed the calls of White-winged Fairy Wrens to a small clump of saltbush, and managed very quick views of them, and slightly better views of a male Variegated Fairy-wren.
Owen, who seemed a bit distracted, suddenly shouted MAJOR MITCHELLS!!!!! Following his finger, I could make out two specks of white in the distance, and on inspection of photos a few seconds later, they were indeed Major Mitchell Cockatoos. The rest of the group weren't in quite such a rush as us, having all seen Majors before, but they were lifers for Simon and Owen - so we jumped the fence, and sprinted back across the grass flats towards the area we had been in previously.
Unfortunately, though we searched for some time, the Majors had well and truly disappeared by the time we arrived. Even more unfortunately for Owen, who copped a piece of wire to the shin whilst running. As we paused to catch our breath, Fatih (who had sneakily wandered off from the group a while beforehand) emerged from the trees in front of us, and calmly remarked that he got good views of the Majors as they flew past.
Eventually the others caught up to us, and we were treated to very nice views of the usually-flighty Bluebonnets, before we got back on the road.
A few minutes later, we had to make a stop for a stunning (and very tame!) Brown Falcon, perched on a fencepost by the roadside. He switched fenceposts a couple of times while we took turns photographing him from the car, but in general he was very settled, and allowed us to get very close.
The next site Phil took us to was a narrow laneway, bordered on either side by flowering eucalyptus of some description. While not as productive as the last spot, we all got decent views of Striped and White-plumed Honeyeaters, among the usual suspects. a Jezebel butterfly with what appear to be its pupae also drew some attention.
Being mid-afternoon by this stage, we made one final stop before returning to camp - the local rubbish tip. Black Kites, Whistling Kites, and a few Black Falcons swarmed over the piles of rubbish, picking off scraps to eat in the air (or hunting the other birds in the case of the falcons). Many Australian White Ibis, a single Restless Flycatcher and Welcome Swallows were also present.
We headed back to camp to prepare for what we hoped would be an epic evening.
As we were sitting in the tent eating lunch (and avoiding a small patch of rain that happened to be drifting over), we were discussing the camera gear of choice for the night. Simon opted to stick with his point-and-shoot, Owen with his Pentax and Sigma 150-500, me with the 7D and 600 - and then Dave chimed in, saying he was planning to use his 5D mark III with the 200-400mm lens he borrowed from Canon for the trip.
Slightly surprised, I wasted no time in cheekily asking whether I could borrow his 1D X for the evening, if he was using the 5D3. To my amazement, he said yes!!!
This turned out to be fantastic news for Owen as well as myself - with Dave using the 200-400, his 500mm (mark 1) had been free - but Owen had been unable to ask to borrow it, as his body was Pentax and not compatible. With my 7D thus freed up, Dave offered him the 500mm. As we left the tent to pack the car, the grins on our faces had to be seen to be believed.
Phil met us at the campsite in the evening, and it was with great anticipation that we set out. On the way out to the private property he was taking us to, out on the Hay Plain, we were able to enjoy an absolutely stunning sunset (of which I sadly have no photographs, as I was equipped only with a long lens). The habitat of the plain is just that - it's a plain. There is little to no vegetation more than 40cm high, so the whole place is very flat: perfect for sunset viewing. A quick stop at a Banded Lapwing nesting site brought me my first lifer of the trip, and watching the young chicks bumble along after the parents was certainly a trip highlight.
A pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles circled in the distance as we reached our starting point, and we waited eagerly for dark.
In the interests of preparing any future visitors to the area who happen to be reading this, we were eager to get going for two reasons: Firstly, obviously, because we were super psyched for some Plains Wanderer action. But secondly (and at that point in the evening, primarily) because it was *&%(&^ freezing. Bitterly cold. If hell were to freeze over, it probably wouldn't take cold much colder than that.
Okay maybe that's an exaggeration.
Whatever, it was very, very, very cold, and the lack of windbreaks didn't help. Although Phil was with us, he was reluctant to begin the tour without the presence of the property owner, who was running late. The rest of us huddled in the cars, watching the last specks of sunlight disappear from the enormous sky.
Eventually, after a phone conversation with the property owner, Phil set out. Falling into line alongside his car, the rest of us (two other cars) began scanning the plains with our spotlights, looking for movement among the short grass.
And in no time at all, boom! A male Plains Wanderer was ducking and weaving in the beam of Phil's headlights!
We were all extremely excited, and gathered round him (he had calmed down, to the point of being very obliging for photographs). I was torn between admiring the stout little guy, and admiring the sheer beauty of the 1D X. It functioned like a dream in my hands, almost with a mind of its own - although it felt VERY weird (coming from a 7D) being able to crank the ISO up to 1600 with no negative effects in terms of noise.
Back to the Wanderer though. Before, I used the word 'stout' to describe him, and I think that's the perfect word for the male PW. Plainsies are very plover-like, showing their close relation to the wader family in their behaviour and jizz. They run very upright, standing tall at intervals to peer indignantly at you - a pose I managed to fluke a shot of. I definitely got clearer shots of him after he moved into the open, but the head-on stare is my favourite, it really carries a sense of what these little lads are like.
Reluctantly, we left him to his nightly business, and continued on our search. Soon, we stopped again - this time for a non-bird.
The Fat-tailed Dunnart is one of the most adorable Dasyurus marsupials I've had the pleasure of meeting. We spotted him easily, despite his tiny size, thanks to his escape method of taking enormous leaps across the open plain towards the nearest saltbush. We managed to catch up with him (they can go extremely fast!!) just before he reached his hiding place. Noticing our presence, he took about a minute of rest cowering in some low vegetation, giving us just enough time for a couple of shots, before taking off again and clambering into his bushy safe haven.
And so we continued across the frigid plains. It was now my turn to stand in the backseat, half inside the car, half sticking out the sunroof, to spotlight. And it. Was. Cold. Yes. I'm a wuss.
Luckily it paid off though. Within a short period of time, we had both male and female Stubble Quail in the spotlight. Considering how hard these are to see well in the day, it was a pleasure to be able to approach them quite closely at night, and get decent photographs. In the case of the male, it was just a little too close. Having frozen in the spotlight beam, he suddenly found himself at the center of a semi-circle of big lenses. He started walking in circles (just to be clear, we did leave him ample space to walk away from us), and appeared quite disorientated. He furthered this impression by walking straight towards me.
As he approached too close for the 600mm to focus, I took it down from my eye to watch him, wondering how close he would come.
At a meter, he was showing no signs of stopping.
At 60cm, I said "Hey!"
At 30cm, I said "Oi, Watch out!"
Clearly he wasn't listening though, because a second later he walked facefirst into my knee. He stumbled backwards with a somewhat surprised expression, shook his head, walked around me, and took off into the night.
The next half hour was similar. We found another Fat-tailed Dunnart, and another (possibly the same) male Plains Wanderer, an opportunity we took to get some slightly clearer shots.
As we piled back into the cars, Phil set off only to immediately slam on the brakes - a second Plains Wanderer had been lurking just outside the spotlight beam, and this time it was the female!!
Plains Wanderers are a curious species. They look like Quail (a tiny bit), have the sexual dimorphism and breeding behaviour of Button-quail, and are most closely related to waders (I remember reading somewhere that they're closest relatives are South American Seed-snipe, but I've no idea if that's true). Anyway, the female is the larger and more spectacular of the pair - and this girl did not disappoint.
Unfortunately, realising that she'd been spotted, she bolted for the nearest clump of grass, and tucked herself down at the base of it, making good photos all but impossible. After a few minutes, she started to regain some of her nerve, and poked her head out. A few minutes more, and she was happily standing to one side of the clump, allowing for some really nice - "my flash just died", said Owen from somewhere in the dark to my left.
It was actually my 430ex II flash, which I'd left on the 7D for him to use - so I immediately swapped him the 580ex flash that Dave had lent me, and carried on flashless for a while.
In a way, I'm really glad I did - because with the 1D X's amazing low-light capability, I was able to take some shots without any flash at all, and I think they're among the best I took of the female.
Satisfied, most of the group started to head back to the cars. Dave, Fatih and I stayed on for a few minutes longer, Dave hoping to capture some video footage now that there were suddenly 15 less people around. The female relaxed, and eventually moved right out into the open, allowing for some really awesome shots before we left her to it.
Ecstatic, we headed out to a different part of the property to look for some other species, namely Inland Dotterel, which had been recorded relatively recently at the site. Unfortunately, despite an hour's driving around, we dipped on them. It was sort of made up for though with a beautiful pair of Tawny Frogmouths (roosting at night!), a Brush-tailed Possum, and another Fat-tailed Dunnart - which proceeded to chase me for 50m across the plains. I can now add "chased by Dunnart" to my list of life achievements, right next to "headbutted by Quail".
Tired, chuffed, and some of us with very cold hands (from holding the spotlight out the window), we started the journey back to camp.
As we lined up to pay and thank Phil and his wife Patricia for their excellent guidance, we were treated to yet another pleasure - "Shall I meet you here in the morning?" enquired Phil.
-------
This has already become an essay, so I'll end it there for now. Part Two coming shortly (I promise!!)
Julian.
The next morning, we were treated to another huge gesture of generosity. Phillip Maher, who we had organized to take us on a Plains Wanderer tour that evening, offered to take our group out birding during the day as well. We started the morning in a stretch of eucalypt and low saltbush beside a road, somewhere near Deniliquin. I should apologize, at this point, as I'm terrible with directions and I honestly have no idea where we were for quite a lot of the trip!
We spent a few hours at this spot, chasing the many Superb Parrots (a lifer for many), Grey-crowned Babblers, Bluebonnets, Spotted and Striated Pardalotes, and numerous other birds.
Upside-down male Superb Parrot
After a while, we crossed the road into an area of revegetation, which I think Phil was managing. We followed the calls of White-winged Fairy Wrens to a small clump of saltbush, and managed very quick views of them, and slightly better views of a male Variegated Fairy-wren.
Feathers and Photos members on the hunt
Owen, who seemed a bit distracted, suddenly shouted MAJOR MITCHELLS!!!!! Following his finger, I could make out two specks of white in the distance, and on inspection of photos a few seconds later, they were indeed Major Mitchell Cockatoos. The rest of the group weren't in quite such a rush as us, having all seen Majors before, but they were lifers for Simon and Owen - so we jumped the fence, and sprinted back across the grass flats towards the area we had been in previously.
Unfortunately, though we searched for some time, the Majors had well and truly disappeared by the time we arrived. Even more unfortunately for Owen, who copped a piece of wire to the shin whilst running. As we paused to catch our breath, Fatih (who had sneakily wandered off from the group a while beforehand) emerged from the trees in front of us, and calmly remarked that he got good views of the Majors as they flew past.
Eventually the others caught up to us, and we were treated to very nice views of the usually-flighty Bluebonnets, before we got back on the road.
Simon getting his first taste of lens envy
A few minutes later, we had to make a stop for a stunning (and very tame!) Brown Falcon, perched on a fencepost by the roadside. He switched fenceposts a couple of times while we took turns photographing him from the car, but in general he was very settled, and allowed us to get very close.
The next site Phil took us to was a narrow laneway, bordered on either side by flowering eucalyptus of some description. While not as productive as the last spot, we all got decent views of Striped and White-plumed Honeyeaters, among the usual suspects. a Jezebel butterfly with what appear to be its pupae also drew some attention.
Jezebel
Being mid-afternoon by this stage, we made one final stop before returning to camp - the local rubbish tip. Black Kites, Whistling Kites, and a few Black Falcons swarmed over the piles of rubbish, picking off scraps to eat in the air (or hunting the other birds in the case of the falcons). Many Australian White Ibis, a single Restless Flycatcher and Welcome Swallows were also present.
We headed back to camp to prepare for what we hoped would be an epic evening.
Lunchtime!
As we were sitting in the tent eating lunch (and avoiding a small patch of rain that happened to be drifting over), we were discussing the camera gear of choice for the night. Simon opted to stick with his point-and-shoot, Owen with his Pentax and Sigma 150-500, me with the 7D and 600 - and then Dave chimed in, saying he was planning to use his 5D mark III with the 200-400mm lens he borrowed from Canon for the trip.
Slightly surprised, I wasted no time in cheekily asking whether I could borrow his 1D X for the evening, if he was using the 5D3. To my amazement, he said yes!!!
This turned out to be fantastic news for Owen as well as myself - with Dave using the 200-400, his 500mm (mark 1) had been free - but Owen had been unable to ask to borrow it, as his body was Pentax and not compatible. With my 7D thus freed up, Dave offered him the 500mm. As we left the tent to pack the car, the grins on our faces had to be seen to be believed.
Phil met us at the campsite in the evening, and it was with great anticipation that we set out. On the way out to the private property he was taking us to, out on the Hay Plain, we were able to enjoy an absolutely stunning sunset (of which I sadly have no photographs, as I was equipped only with a long lens). The habitat of the plain is just that - it's a plain. There is little to no vegetation more than 40cm high, so the whole place is very flat: perfect for sunset viewing. A quick stop at a Banded Lapwing nesting site brought me my first lifer of the trip, and watching the young chicks bumble along after the parents was certainly a trip highlight.
Adult Banded Lapwing
A pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles circled in the distance as we reached our starting point, and we waited eagerly for dark.
In the interests of preparing any future visitors to the area who happen to be reading this, we were eager to get going for two reasons: Firstly, obviously, because we were super psyched for some Plains Wanderer action. But secondly (and at that point in the evening, primarily) because it was *&%(&^ freezing. Bitterly cold. If hell were to freeze over, it probably wouldn't take cold much colder than that.
Okay maybe that's an exaggeration.
Whatever, it was very, very, very cold, and the lack of windbreaks didn't help. Although Phil was with us, he was reluctant to begin the tour without the presence of the property owner, who was running late. The rest of us huddled in the cars, watching the last specks of sunlight disappear from the enormous sky.
Eventually, after a phone conversation with the property owner, Phil set out. Falling into line alongside his car, the rest of us (two other cars) began scanning the plains with our spotlights, looking for movement among the short grass.
Ready to go!
And in no time at all, boom! A male Plains Wanderer was ducking and weaving in the beam of Phil's headlights!
We were all extremely excited, and gathered round him (he had calmed down, to the point of being very obliging for photographs). I was torn between admiring the stout little guy, and admiring the sheer beauty of the 1D X. It functioned like a dream in my hands, almost with a mind of its own - although it felt VERY weird (coming from a 7D) being able to crank the ISO up to 1600 with no negative effects in terms of noise.
Back to the Wanderer though. Before, I used the word 'stout' to describe him, and I think that's the perfect word for the male PW. Plainsies are very plover-like, showing their close relation to the wader family in their behaviour and jizz. They run very upright, standing tall at intervals to peer indignantly at you - a pose I managed to fluke a shot of. I definitely got clearer shots of him after he moved into the open, but the head-on stare is my favourite, it really carries a sense of what these little lads are like.
Male Plains Wanderer, giving the camera the death-stare
A slightly less dignified pose
Reluctantly, we left him to his nightly business, and continued on our search. Soon, we stopped again - this time for a non-bird.
The Fat-tailed Dunnart is one of the most adorable Dasyurus marsupials I've had the pleasure of meeting. We spotted him easily, despite his tiny size, thanks to his escape method of taking enormous leaps across the open plain towards the nearest saltbush. We managed to catch up with him (they can go extremely fast!!) just before he reached his hiding place. Noticing our presence, he took about a minute of rest cowering in some low vegetation, giving us just enough time for a couple of shots, before taking off again and clambering into his bushy safe haven.
Fat-tailed Dunnart
And so we continued across the frigid plains. It was now my turn to stand in the backseat, half inside the car, half sticking out the sunroof, to spotlight. And it. Was. Cold. Yes. I'm a wuss.
Luckily it paid off though. Within a short period of time, we had both male and female Stubble Quail in the spotlight. Considering how hard these are to see well in the day, it was a pleasure to be able to approach them quite closely at night, and get decent photographs. In the case of the male, it was just a little too close. Having frozen in the spotlight beam, he suddenly found himself at the center of a semi-circle of big lenses. He started walking in circles (just to be clear, we did leave him ample space to walk away from us), and appeared quite disorientated. He furthered this impression by walking straight towards me.
Male Stubble Quail
At a meter, he was showing no signs of stopping.
At 60cm, I said "Hey!"
At 30cm, I said "Oi, Watch out!"
Clearly he wasn't listening though, because a second later he walked facefirst into my knee. He stumbled backwards with a somewhat surprised expression, shook his head, walked around me, and took off into the night.
The next half hour was similar. We found another Fat-tailed Dunnart, and another (possibly the same) male Plains Wanderer, an opportunity we took to get some slightly clearer shots.
More male Plains Wanderers
As we piled back into the cars, Phil set off only to immediately slam on the brakes - a second Plains Wanderer had been lurking just outside the spotlight beam, and this time it was the female!!
Plains Wanderers are a curious species. They look like Quail (a tiny bit), have the sexual dimorphism and breeding behaviour of Button-quail, and are most closely related to waders (I remember reading somewhere that they're closest relatives are South American Seed-snipe, but I've no idea if that's true). Anyway, the female is the larger and more spectacular of the pair - and this girl did not disappoint.
The stunning female Plains Wanderer
Unfortunately, realising that she'd been spotted, she bolted for the nearest clump of grass, and tucked herself down at the base of it, making good photos all but impossible. After a few minutes, she started to regain some of her nerve, and poked her head out. A few minutes more, and she was happily standing to one side of the clump, allowing for some really nice - "my flash just died", said Owen from somewhere in the dark to my left.
It was actually my 430ex II flash, which I'd left on the 7D for him to use - so I immediately swapped him the 580ex flash that Dave had lent me, and carried on flashless for a while.
In a way, I'm really glad I did - because with the 1D X's amazing low-light capability, I was able to take some shots without any flash at all, and I think they're among the best I took of the female.
Female Plains Wanderer - spotlight only, no flash
Satisfied, most of the group started to head back to the cars. Dave, Fatih and I stayed on for a few minutes longer, Dave hoping to capture some video footage now that there were suddenly 15 less people around. The female relaxed, and eventually moved right out into the open, allowing for some really awesome shots before we left her to it.
Ecstatic, we headed out to a different part of the property to look for some other species, namely Inland Dotterel, which had been recorded relatively recently at the site. Unfortunately, despite an hour's driving around, we dipped on them. It was sort of made up for though with a beautiful pair of Tawny Frogmouths (roosting at night!), a Brush-tailed Possum, and another Fat-tailed Dunnart - which proceeded to chase me for 50m across the plains. I can now add "chased by Dunnart" to my list of life achievements, right next to "headbutted by Quail".
Tawny Frogmouths
Tired, chuffed, and some of us with very cold hands (from holding the spotlight out the window), we started the journey back to camp.
As we lined up to pay and thank Phil and his wife Patricia for their excellent guidance, we were treated to yet another pleasure - "Shall I meet you here in the morning?" enquired Phil.
-------
This has already become an essay, so I'll end it there for now. Part Two coming shortly (I promise!!)
Julian.
