I apologise for the less than great image quality.
This pair was a very long way off and I couldn't approach any closer over the intervening open ground without them taking off. They were quite wary of me as it was.
These were cropped out of full-frames taken with a Canon 100-400 and a 5D Mk1. The birds were very small in the original frames ... even with the 400mm lens
I spotted these in a field behind my property this afternoon while I was working. We've had a fair amount of rain in the last couple of days and as you can see, there's a decent amount of water lying about and this has attracted a variety of water birds.
These are juvenile black-necked stork or Jabiru (Ephippiorhynchus-asiaticus). Their backs are still mottled and slightly brown and their legs are dark unlike the pink of adult birds.
These are big birds. The adults average around 1.3 meters tall (thanks to those long legs) and their wing span exceeds 2 meters.
What is unusual is that these birds are normally associated with the tropics and the far north ... but these were here in NSW, not far from Forster-Tuncurry.
Last year we saw three adults but we weren't quick enough to photograph them. We though they were just transient visitors but judging by these young birds, they might be a permanent presence.
Good try mate and good story. Once you get into a situation like this. Take a shot like you have and then move closer. Take another shot and move closer. Keep taking shots every pace because you never know which one will be your last when they take off. It's often effective and you really have nothing to lose by trying.
