brown goshawk

I’ve Broken My Duck

| paulamyes

Ooooerrrr! That’s probably not the best thing to say in a blog about bird photography. Rest assured no ducks were harmed in the making of this blog entry.

 

Ngoonan by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
No ducks were harmed in the production of this blog. Ngoonan or Grey Teal (Anas gracilis). York, Western Australia.

 

A little while ago I wrote about how my ability to photograph birds had deserted me. Well I can now report that yesterday morning I had a stonker of a morning. I parked up at my usual spot on the River Avon and before I had got my camera bag out of the car I could hear a couple of Brown Goshawks calling out to one another. I could only find one of the birds and it was obligingly sitting in the top of a tree and the first light of dawn was illuminating it nicely. I could hardly believe it! It just kept sitting there unfazed by my proximity and it was I who eventually moved on leaving it there calling out to its mate. This was the best start I’ve had in a very long time and if I’d seen nothing else this would have been tremendous. Just 20m further on and I found a pair of Nankeen Night Herons. By this time I had a grin that went from ear to ear. Walking up to Mile Pool things just got better and better.

Karkany by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Karkany or Brown goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus) basking in the dawn light. York, Western Australia.

 

Ngalkaning by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Ngalkaning or Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus subsp mannillenis). York, Western Australia

 

Mimal by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Mimal or Australian Darter (Anhinga melanogaster subspecies novaehollandiae). York, WEstern Australia.

 

Doolor by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Doolor or Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis). York, Western Australia.

 

Kakak by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Kakak or Little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos). York, Western Australia.

 

Western Inland Hunter by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Western Inland Hunter, Austrogomphus collaris. York, Western Australia.

 

We’ve had some really hot days with temperatures exceeding 40ºC and this has meant there were a lot of birds congregated in the trees around the few remaining pools of water. By 8am the temperature was starting to soar and there was less bird activity. So I changed lenses and went looking for dragonflies and damselflies. I found some but the warmth had supercharged them and they were proving difficult to photograph as they would not sit still for very long. At 8:30am I decided that it was too hot and decided to call it a day. As I started to put my camera away I glimpsed a white bird sitting in the top of a dead tree. At first I thought it was just a corella, but there was something about the way it was moving made me think it was something else. Looking through the camera I could see those unmistakeable red eyes of a Black-shouldered Kite. Panic set in now as I didn’t have the right lens on. So calming myself down I changed lenses and started making my way closer to the bird. Usually what I do is wait for the bird to look in another direction then edge forward by a metre. I then stop take a few photos and then when it looks away again edge forward and take more photos. Like this I managed to get within 20m of the Kite. It looked quite relaxed spending most of its time scanning the ground below looking for food. After a little while it did a dump – birds often do this just before taking off, I suppose it lightens the load – and then took off in a lazy curve towards some taller trees. It was bloody brilliant! My only regret was that because there was insufficient cover I couldn’t get closer, but there’s always next time.

 

Black Shouldered Kite by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Black Shouldered Kite, Elanus axillaris. York, Western Australia.

 

Matwelitj

| paulamyes
Matwelitj by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
A female Brown Goshawk, Accipiter fasciatus. York, Western Australia. Olympus OMD EM1 mk ii with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f4-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/1000 sec, f6.3 at ISO 3200.

While day time temperatures have ranged from hot to bloody hot (46ºC) here in the Wheatbelt metropolis of York we have had some very cool mornings around the 14ºC mark. I was out the other day on one of those mornings, it was almost too cold and I was tempted to go back to the car. A few days prior while walking the dog along the Avon River  I’d noticed piles of feathers underneath a couple of tall trees. At first I thought that the birds had been killed by a fox or a cat but a closer look convinced me that the birds hadn’t been killed there and there were no wings, legs or head. Just a pile of feathers. So I decided to to go out  and see if I could find the culprits. As I got close to where I’d previously found the bird remains I could hear a couple of goshawks calling out to each other – they can be quite vociferous – but I was quite confused as to where they were. I was scanning the the branches above me without seeing anything and as I kept walking the noise got louder. Then I realised that the calls weren’t coming from above me, but rather to the left and slightly below the river bank. So I got down on the ground and slowly crept towards the source of the noise and there on a paperbark tree were a male and female Brown Goshawk. The smaller male took off almost immediately but the female was all puffed up against the cool air just sat there watching me and continuously calling out to her mate. I stayed for about half an hour and then headed back to the car and home.

Angry Birds

| paulamyes
Angry Bird by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Brown goshawk, (Accipiterr fasciatus.) called Matwelitj, by the Nyoongar people of Western Australia. Avon River Walk, York, Western Australia. Panasonic Lumix G85 with LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/1000 sec, f6.3 at ISO 640 with + 1/3 stop exposure compensation.

The last few mornings dog walks have been spiced up by some very territorial brown goshawks. As we walk along the river and then down onto the river bed we can hear them calling and chattering. It then goes quiet for a second or so and then there is a loud whoosh as you are buzzed from behind. As the bird passes overhead you can feel the air current generated by its wings. At first I thought the birds were objecting to the dog but I and this pattern persisted for about a week. But then something happened that disabused me of that notion – my hat suddenly became the victim of a bird of prey. The last time it happened they managed to knock it off my head. I’m beginning to think my bicycle helmet may be more appropriate headwear.

 

Tricky Landing by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
You know what they say “Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing”. Brown goshawk, (Accipiterr fasciatus.) Avon River Walk, York, Western Australia. Panasonic Lumix G85 with LEICA DG 100-400/F4.0-6.3 lens. Exposure: 1/1000 sec, f6.3 with +1 1/3 stops exposure compensation.

 

What you Looking At? Brown goshawk, (Accipiterr fasciatus.) called Matwelitj, by the Nyoongar people of Western Australia. Avon River Walk, York, Western Australia.

 

Get Lost! Brown goshawks, (Accipiterr fasciatus.) called Matwelitj, by the Nyoongar people of Western Australia. Avon River Walk, York, Western Australia.