Sydney Saturday

[khiemtran]

A beautiful winter's day in Sydney, which meant plenty of time to get outdoors to take photos, in between other errands...



Here you can see a male superb fairy wren at Cape Solander that's just getting its adult breeding colours.



But who is that other strange bird with the blue face?



Also at Cape Solander, a huge white-bellied sea eagle. Actually, the second one I saw today, as Liem and I also saw one when we were fishing this morning.



Watch as it swoops down close to the water...



Talons out at the last moment...



And then off it goes with its prize...



This girl got a good view, but I'm not sure that the man in the boat noticed...



Speaking of good views, this guy got a great one!



The humpbacks were very close to shore today. No breaching photos though.



Although Liem and I got a good view of a few toadfish this morning (they all went back as they're highly poisonous).



A tiny luderick that Liem also managed to land.



Superb fairy wrens, male and female, contemplating their own reflections.

Comments

[julesjones]

That first shot of the blue wren is absolutely gorgeous. :-) Definitely some personality there.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've seen them quite often in the the juvenile or adult state (when their head is solid blue and black), but I never seem there before during the transition. Hsiu Lin thought it looked like a spotty teenager...

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Your wildlife photography just gets better and better!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Most of it is down to an upgrade in hardware - I upgraded to a Pentax K-50 earlier in the year. But I was also really lucky with the wren photos in that they were very, very close to me, and too pre-occupied to notice me much.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

The Fairy Wren - how well-named! That has to be the most beautiful bird I've ever seen.

Wonderful photos!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Soon, the male's head will be entirely blue and black. I've never noticed them in this transitionary state before. It looks to me like he's wearing warpaint. Hsiu Lin thinks he looks like a spotty teenager.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Love everything here! The bright blue of the incoming fairy wren plumage, the unrelenting stare of the toadfish, the curve of the wing of the sea eagle. <3

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

The sea eagle was amazing to watch, especially as it swooped over the water. I can't quite make out what it was that it picked up. It flew off quite a long way with it though, so it must have been something tasty.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Those fairy wrens are indeed superb, or the male is. The female isn't without charm, though. :P

I love all these wildlife photos and vicariously living the wild life with you.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It was funny that we got to see some of the tiniest creatures around and some of the largest, so close together.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

Superb indeed!

All of these creatures, actually.Including the toadfish,who looks like an old-style banker.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

The toadfish did very well out of that morning's fishing. They ate most of our bait (including getting hooked three times, despite their tiny size), plus the leftovers that we threw in after we left...

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

They're accumulating capital.