One place I always like to visit when I am in that part of the world is Lake Lorne. This is a naturally occurring lake of about 12 hectares. It normally has decent populations of water birds on it, especially when other areas are dry. One day, I will get to sit by the water all day and see what comes along. This time I was looking for, and found, Black-Fronted Dotterels - a wader that is often seen at the lake, often feeding on the exposed muddy edges. And this is what 3 of these birds were doing when I found them. A bit of creeping along on my knees - I think I may buy knee pads one day! - got me close enough for some pictures - although if anybody has a spare 600mm lens knocking around I'd be happy to take it off your hands.
The Black-Fronted Dotterel is more technically known as Elseyornis melanops and is widespread through Australia. The fast dashing feeding motion of these birds made them rather difficult to keep in focus - or even in the viewfinder if the truth be told! It was only when they stopped moving that I could frame them - hence these pictures are all rather similar.
Handsome bird-- it reminds me of our Semipalmated Plover. Habits are similar to plovers--- dash and stop, dash and stop!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely delightful little bird, with a lovely orange beak!
ReplyDeleteGreat snaps - thanks for hosting WBW.
Have a Happy Day, Stewart!!
Peace :)
It's been a while since I have seen a Dottrel so to view the Aussie version was a treat.
ReplyDeleteLovley bird from you .I am here again ,the birds are comming back to us now ,Nette
ReplyDeleteGreat birds. A little bit like our Ringed Plover. I really need to get over there soon.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful birds! Thank you for hosting, Stewart.
ReplyDeleteWhen you said this was a dotterel I did wonder why it spends time along the waters edge. As you know our Eurasian Dotterel lives on mountains and on passage occurs generally on farmland. Maybe your own is more closely related to a shore plover - Ringed Plover maybe?
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised. I would only be surprise if you didn't see any birds. Hmmm. Where would that be I wonder.
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job capturing these quick little birds!
ReplyDeleteCute little bird well done, Diane
ReplyDeleteYou got some great shots! Sounds like knee pads would be a great investment for you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute little bird. We have lots of little plovers that are equally hard to capture.
ReplyDeleteHello Stewart, your Dottrel is pretty. Looks similar to our plovers. Wonderful collection of photos. I am glad you had some time for some birding. Thanks for hosting, have a happy week!
ReplyDeletecute little bandit!
ReplyDeleteWell, I respect any bird that can bring you to your knees and this little bandit managed to cause you all kinds of consternation ... I'm impressed :) They are cute and I can picture the rapid movement as we have water birds that do that to me as well ... I blame it on my camera though. It never seems to get focused fast enough to catch them before they have moved on to their next position. I am ready to trash my camera ... it takes great stills, but action shots, forget it. It takes too long to focus and if I try to zoom in on something it jumps all over the place making it impossible to find what I think I am zooming in on. My other camera doesn't have the range, but is much easier to manage ... so where is the camera that does both (Hair pulling time!!!) Anyway, I think you did rather well with your black-Fronted Dottrel in spite of your difficulties :) Nice ... and yes, get some knee pads so your wife doesn't have to wash grass/mud stains out of knees on your pants :p
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From The Sol
Lovely little bird! Happy new week!
ReplyDeleteVery striking birds with that black "mask"! Nice shots!
ReplyDeleteLove the bold contrast of plumage.
ReplyDeleteHandsome little shore bird. You got some wonderful shots; thank you for going the extra step (crawl?) to get them. And thank you for hosting.
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely bird you've found to share. I appreciate the effort you put out to get these photos to share. I had to laugh at trying to keep it in the viewfinder - yes, that happens more often than I care to think about. Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHi Stewart, thanks for hosting this meme. I have linked up my WBW for this week. I also find time in any situation to bird. This Dotterel reminds me of the Three-ringed Plover I photographed many times in Tanzania. Only they weren't quite so fast as you say these little waders are. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day. Greetings Jo
ReplyDeleteSure is a cute bird and doesn't look like he's got time to pose for you.
ReplyDeleteFantastic shots as always.
ReplyDeleteSuch striking plumage! Thank you for continuing to share your journeys with us Stewart.
ReplyDeleteso beautiful; lovely captures
ReplyDeleteWhat a smart looking bird, Stewart! Nicely captured!
ReplyDeleteStewart, Black-Fronted Dotterel - what a colorful bird. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLove it's coloring..good catch Stewart..not a poser, I guess !
ReplyDeleteLovely birds, Stewart!
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful little bird, great shots Stewart.
ReplyDeleteWell spotted. Great photos.
ReplyDeleteLovely clear shots of the bird. I've never seen this kind in my area ~ yet.
ReplyDeleteI like the Dotterels! I don't think we have them in Virginia.
ReplyDeleteWonderful series of photos. An interesting bird.
ReplyDeleteI'm developing a real interest in birds and have enjoyed participating in your meme.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots all!
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning little plover.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing a couple of these birds when I visited Queensland. I loved it :)
ReplyDelete