After we had settled in, we read the information left by the owner. It was plain that they did not want us to feed the birds. This is understandable, as cockatoos can cause havoc on the parts of your house not made of reinforced concrete. However, it soon became clear that while we were content to ne good law abiding citizens, the birds would still try to persuade us be otherwise.
A small group of King Parrots landed first. The strong backlight from the low sun was not idea – and the solid red of the male was difficult to capture. The greens of the females and young males were easier to handle.
Once the parrots had departed we were joined by the iconic Laughing Kookaburra – the world’s largest kingfisher. One even tried to fly through the window, but failed. It gave itself a good shake and then flew back to a close by tree.
Given that some of these images are taken with a 105mm lens and have not been cropped in any significant fashion, I don’t think these birds are truly wild. Free, yes. Wild? Maybe not.
You can find more birds from around the world at World Bird Wednesday.
You can find the latest post to my other blog by clicking on the Paying Ready Attention link on the RHS of the page.
Enjoy the Birds.
Don't run yourself down. You got some good definition in that red front of the King Parrot and the green females/young males are fantastic as are your portraits of the kookies . . . they must have been just about sitting on your knee.
ReplyDeleteI think your captures are terrific, Stewart! Such colorful parrots and I love the kookies! I agree with Arija, they do look as though they are sitting on your knee! Hope your week is off to a great start!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
just awesome! (i'd have broken the rules and fed them, for sure...)
ReplyDeleteThey must have been really close for you to capture those pictures. Or maybe you just speak nicely to them and ask them to pose for you? I can't for the life of me work out how you can take such great wildlife photos. I have seen parrots in the wild and of course we now have parrokeets breeding here (well certainly roosting here in their hundreds), but I've never seen a kookaburra. Hoping I will when I'm in Aussie later this year.
ReplyDeleteThe parrots are beautiful...love the rich green color! The Kookaburra is awesome, though! I really like the bill.
ReplyDeleteStewart, you do get to see great birds there. I love to see all these birds in the wild. The parrots and the Kookaburra are both my favorites. Great shots, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA great series of photos and how nice to have all those birds close around your accommodation at Lorne.
ReplyDeleteStewart, these are some really wonderful closeup shots.
ReplyDeleteLovely bird 'portraits!'
Stewart these are wonderful shots, the light might not have been to your liking but they turned out excellent just the same. I never got to see the Kookaburra while I was there, thanks for sharing them with us here, now I know what to look for next time around!
ReplyDeleteCheers.
Even though you weren't happy with the lighting...they are FABULOUS shots! To have them right outside your window would be so amazing - I cannot attest to any destructive behavior, so I just admire their beauty! As for remembering to change the camera settings...well, most of what I do is by guess and by golly anyway!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful birds. I have not seen that parrot before.
ReplyDeleteAustralian King Parrots are beautiful birds with such incredible colours (not really visible unless you can get quite close). The variety of colours on their rumps is quite stunning.
ReplyDeleteYou've captured great shots of the Kookaburra too. I didn't have to crop mine when I posted them on WBW earlier this year. In fact, one came so close that I had to zoom back out to about 70mm (on my 55-250mm lens) and I was still able to get just his head in the frame. I had never realised how bold they can be!!
Great shots and another great post.
Those a bright birds, quick learners! Great images, particularly of the Kookaburra. I have heard recordings but never seen photos of them close up.
ReplyDeletethose are excellent!!!
ReplyDeletecongrats and a big hello from Madrid,
elena
Great post, Stewart. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteGreat captures Stewart.
ReplyDeleteAnd good to be able to get so close to them too.
Such great close up shots of the Kookaburra!
ReplyDeleteCracking post Stewart. Can't beat the colours of those first two.
ReplyDeleteI love the red in that parrot and the kookaburra has such an interesting face! I would have found it hard to resit feeding them though!
ReplyDeleteFantastic captures, these birds must get used to people being close to them.
ReplyDeleteSuper close-ups of the Kookaburra Stewart. Maybe they are wild but just accuustomed to people being close.
ReplyDeleteWow - your shots are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful and these birds, the images are grand!!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures!
ReplyDelete