Wild Bird Wednesday 370 - Masked Lapwing

The Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles) is a common bird in Australia.  In fact, its population in thought to be growing - which is, unfortunately, not really a typical situation for most birds.

Despite it's growing population this seems to be a bird that suffers a great deal from stress - and when you watch them, they always seem to be on the verge of hysteria.

Although this bird, which was feeding around the campsites at Wilson Prom National Park, was reasonably relaxed I think you can see the growing sense of stress in its eyes!

Eventually even my discreet presence was too much for this bird and it headed, shrieking, to a place about 10 wings flaps away.  Funny birds!

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Swamp Wallaby

I don't think I will ever tire of seeing marsupials in the wild.  Even after many years in Australia, they still seem exotic - and frankly, unlikely!

These animals are Swamp Wallabies (Wallabia bicolor).  They are not hard to see at Wilson Promontory, but they can be tricky to photograph as they seem much more timid than other species of wallaby and kangaroo.  This species ix reasonably common in the right location.  Males can weigh up to 27 kg and the female are about 10kg lighter.

This is another set of pictures where I used the car as a hide.  It's a method I can recommend.

You can find more shots from around the world at Our World Tuesday.  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 369 - Australasian Swamphen (aka Purple Swamphen)

I know that I have posted pictures of these birds - possibly this actual bird - before, but I really like them.  They are also one of the more visible species on part of my local patch.

So, these are Australasian Swamphens (Porphyrio melanotus) which are now considered a full species rather than a sub-species of Purple Swamphen.

As ever, you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share the love for WBW with other bloggers!  Cheers. SM

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Wombat

One of the reasons I love visiting Wilsons Promontory is the chance to see Common Wombats.  The cropped grass of the campsites seems to be a kind of wombat paradise, and they are pretty easy to find.

During the winter these rather solid animals can be seen at almost any time of the day, although dusk is still the most reliable time.  These wombats were out and about in the late afternoon when I found them.

The animal in the last three pictures was either inquisitive or short sighted, as it wandered up to see me! I the end it was too close to focus on!  I loved it!

These barrel shaped beast are about 1m long and weigh in at about 30kg - they are, by any measure, solid!  They are herbivores that live in large burrows and are only found in SE Australia and Tasmania.  In my opinion, it's worth a visit to Australia just to see these animals!

You can find more shots from around the world at Our World Tuesday.  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 368 - Galah

Winter is my favourite time to visit Wilsons Promontory National Park - it's so much less crowded than at other times of the year.  At times it does feel like you have the place to yourself.

This group of Galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla) was very busy feeding on (I assume) the roots of the grass around some of the camp sites.  They were very much in 'head down' feeding mode.  I wonder if they have to feed in such a concentrated way because of the short days, cold temperatures and (presumably) the low food value of the feed?

Who knows - but they were busy and good looking!

Galahs are basically a type of small cockatoo, they are about 38 cm long and can occur in large flocks.  These birds where part of a group of about 15 birds.

As ever, you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share the love for WBW with other bloggers!  Cheers. SM

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Humpback Whale

Last weekend I went on (another) whale watching trip, based out of San Remo in Victoria.

This time we found a whale!

After about 40 minutes of searching we cam upon this youthful - not full grown according to the crew - and energetic Humpback Whale.

Although I have seen whales in the past, my views have been limited to tails and few fins.  This whale put on a wonderful display of breaching and pectoral fin slaps.  At one stage the whale breached close to the boat - but of course I was on the other side, although I did manage to see it crashing back into the water.

Fast focus and burst mode were the order of the day.  I have to say, that this was a pretty special experience.

At one point, while the whale was slapping its pectoral fins, the boat engines were turned off - I was great to be able to hear the amount of noise that this behaviour creates.  Just wonderful.

You can find more shots from around the world at Our World Tuesday.  SM