Top 5 Bird Photos
When I go travelling one of the first things I pack is my binoculars. Added to this is my bird identification field guide. The third essential item is my digital camera. Armed with these items I’m ready for anything. Over recent years I have managed to take some great photos while travelling. Today I want to share with my readers my Top 5 bird photos.
1. Red Capped Robin:
I didn’t have to travel far to get this photo. About a half hour south of home is the Pangarinda Arboretum which features hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of Australian native plants. It is a haven for a wide range of native birds. This male Red Capped Robin came quite close and literally posed for me.
Red Capped Robin
2. Laughing Kookaburra:
I had to travel for two hours by plane and an hour by car to get this photo. I was on holiday staying with my son and daughter-in-law in Sydney. We went to the Taronga Park Zoo one day and this Kookaburra just sat there posing for me. Yes, I know we occasionally have Kookaburras in our garden at home, but none of them have posed like this one did.
Laughing Kookaburra
3. Noisy Miner:
Noisy Miners are common in many parts of Australia. Because of this they are not hard to photograph. This photo, however, I find very pleasing. It was taken in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. I was able to get to within several metres of this feeding bird who was quite unconcerned by my presence.
Noisy Miner
4. Red Browed Finch:
Finches in Australia come in a wonderful range of colours. The Red Browed Finch is a somewhat subdued member of the family. Despite that it is always a delight to see this dainty bird. This photo was taken inside a walk through aviary at the Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. There were even more Red Browed Finches on the outside of the aviary.
Red Browed Finch
5. Musk Lorikeet:
We regularly go to visit our daughter in the Clare Valley in the mid-north of South Australia. On one occasion this Musk Lorikeet was feeding on eucalypt tree flowers in her garden. I was delighted to get this photo because this is a hard species to get clear photos of; they often feed deep in the foliage right at the top of very tall trees. Since taking this shot I’ve managed several more great shots of Musk Lorikeets.
Musk Lorikeet
If you have enjoyed these photos of birds you can see more than 500 more shots on my Photo Gallery.
If you want to learn more about Australian birds go to my blog called Trevor’s Birding.
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Top 5 Scenery Photos
Over the last fifteen months since starting this travel blog I have shared a vast number of photos from my photo gallery. This gallery now has over 850 photos posted, 550 of them mine; the remainder have been taken by either my son or my wife.
I thought I’d share with you my five favourite photos of scenery.
1. Ama Dablam, Nepal
Without doubt my favourite photo so far would have to be this shot of the mountain Ama Dablam taken while on a trek towards Mt. Everest. This magnificent mountain dominates the path taken up through this amazing part of Nepal. I love this photo so much I have used it as the wallpaper photo on my computer.
Ama Dablam, Nepal
2. Scene near Monjo, Everest region, Nepal
This amazing mountain was the backdrop from our lodge in Monjo, a small village we stayed in on our trek towards Mt. Everest. I don’t know its name and I haven’t the time to do the research to find out.
Scene from our lodge in Monjo, Nepal
3. Yak and Yeti Lodge, Everest region, Nepal
This beautiful scene was photographed on our trek through the Himalayas last year. We didn’t stay in this beautiful lodge.
Yak and Yeti Lodge
4. Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens, near Adelaide, South Australia
This beautiful scene is typical of many such photos one could take in the Adelaide Hills and the Mt. Lofty Ranges near Adelaide in South Australia. I feel privileged to live just a half hour drive from numerous scenes like this. Readers of my blog Trevor’s Writing will recognise this photo because it has been used in the banner on the home page.
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
5. Waitpinga Beach, South Australia
South Australia, my home state, has a long coastline. Scenes like this one can be seen in many different locations.
Waitpinga Beach, Newland Head CP
Click on any photo to enlarge the image.
To view more of my photos go to my photo gallery.
Special note: This article was inspired by the Group Writing Project being run by Darren Rowse on his blog ProBlogger. This article is NOT an entry in the project; my entry can be found here on Trevor’s Birding.
UPDATE: I have also written an article called Top 5 Writing Hints on my blog called Trevor’s Writing.
Waterbirds near Goolwa in South Australia
Australian Pelican
On our recent visit to Goolwa in South Australia we went for a drive along the River Murray to the barrage near the mouth of the river. This barrage keeps the salt water from entering the river system at high tide.
This area is usually quite a good place for birding, though on this occasion there seemed to be just the usual birds one would expect. Nothing really exciting or out of the ordinary. Still, good birding days are usually like this. They make the really special days extraordinary.
Little Pied Cormorant
Along this stretch of the river we saw plenty of Australian Pelicans, White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, Great Egrets, White-faced Herons, Pacific Black Ducks, Grey Teal, Little Pied Cormorants, Magpie Larks and Silver Gulls. Several Purple Swamphens stalked through the reeds while on the grassy areas a number of Masked Lapwings guarded their positions. Black Swans gracefully glided through the shallows and Singing Honeyeaters were the dominant species in the thick bushy areas along the sand dunes.
The Cockle Train, Goolwa, South Australia
Cockle Train, Goolwa, South Australia
The historic Port Goolwa played a very significant role in the early development of South Australia. When many areas along the River Murray were being settled by farmers there were few ways to get supplies to them. It was just as difficult to get their wool and wheat to the markets.
Cockle Train, Goolwa, South Australia
Port Goolwa was established in the very early years of settlement. Paddlesteamers took supplies up the River Murray to towns and farmers along the river. They then brought back loads of wheat and wool to Goolwa. Although the mouth of the river was just a few kilometres downstream from Goolwa it was generally unsafe for navigation. Their cargo was unloaded at Port Goolwa and transferred by train to Port Elliot where sea going ships carried the goods to other ports in Australia or to the growing European market. Economically this was vital to the growth of the new colony of South Australia. In the 1850s Victoria was in the grip of gold rush fever and South Australia was able to forge ahead supplying the other rapidly growing colonies.
Cockle Train, Goolwa, South Australia
Australia’s first steel railway line was built here from Port Goolwa to Port Elliot a few kilometres to the west. Today this historic line still has steam trains running regularly, but now the cargo is tourists from all over the world. The so-called Cockle Train takes its name from the abundance of the shell-fish cockles found along the beaches near here.
Schedule of services:
The Cockle Train now runs from Goolwa to Port Elliot and on to Victor Harbor. The trains run three times each way every day during Easter, long weekends and during most school holidays. It also operates every Sunday throughout the year.
Link:
- Steamranger Heritage Railway – more details on prices, schedules and bookings, as well as other historic trains in South Australia.
Port Goolwa, South Australia
Port Goolwa, South Australia
Port Goolwa played a very important role in the early development of the young colony of South Australia. As the areas near River Murray were settled in the 1840s and 1850s, paddleboats started trading up and down the Murray-Darling river system.
They would travel upstream with supplies for the farmers and graziers along the rivers. They would then bring back items produced in these farmlands, mainly wheat and wool. Port Goolwa became, for a few decades, one of the busiest ports in Australia.
A railway was built to Port Elliot and goods transferred to ocean going ships. Some paddlesteamer captains braved the treacherous and ever shifting sands at the mouth of the River Murray just a few kilometres from Goolwa.
Links: