Photography takes me on so many roads. I have been busy with weddings, real-estate and portrait work which is great experience, but it's good to come back to my passion...WILDLIFE!
This time I had my mum visiting from out of state and she wanted to get to know her own camera, so what better way to introduce her to it than to get up a sweat stomping around in our wildlife reserves?
We briefly visited the botanical gardens in Canberra where we spotted several reptiles and even a Gang-Gang Cockatoo. I've long sought out these birds but as luck would have it, whenever I don't have my camera on me, I seem to find them. Not this time.
What I was really hanging out for though, was a visit to Tidbinbilla's wildlife reserve, so off we went. I asked mum how she felt about snakes and her response wasn't weeping and relapsing into the foetal position, so I took that as a yes and sought out my scaly friends.
Mum was first to spot one, right beside the path not 20 feet from their usual position. This lovely specimen of a Red-Bellied Black Snake was very placid, pausing it's mission to allow us a few shots. We gave it some space and it resumed it's course, unperturbed.
Along the way there were a pair of Emus to share the banks of the pond with for a time and a rare Jacky Dragon. Finally, on the way out of the park I noticed a Masked Lapwing behaving suspiciously in the middle of the road. I thought it might have a nest on the ground nearby and it was playing the broken wing gag on me, but when it got up off the white line, three chicks hidden under it's breast bolted across the road. I followed until they dropped in the grass, hoping I wouldn't see them and walk right on by. Their mum and dad weren't happy, swooping, squawking and making a heck of a racket so I took my shot of one chick and left them alone. These very territorial and protective parents have a spur on the carpal joint of their wings so if you get spiked, you probably asked for it.
Full story and pics
here
1. Not sure what species this one is yet.
2. Gang-Gang Cockatoo
3. Red-bellied Black Snake
4. Emu
5. Emu
6. Jacky Dragon
7. Masked Lapwing Chick
