20180331-MMPI0046
On Saturday 31st March 2018 I travelled an hour west to Adare, near the town of Gatton in Queensland. I hooked up with a couple of regular birding buddies, and met a couple of birders from Brisbane I hadn't met before who proved invaluable in spotting some interesting species. The morning started out very slowly, with light overcast skies making it difficult to get a fast shutter speed. Later the sun poked its head out and things began to get busier bird-wise. I missed out on a Varied Sittella which was one of my target species for the day, while I got up close to a Striated Pardalote catching insects next to a tin shed. Bagged lifer #170 in the Black-Chinned Honeyeater gleaning Lerps (sap-sucking insects) from the bark high up in a Eucalypt tree. Then a group of Jacky Winters started hunting for insects from a barbed wire fence in good light. These were one of my target species for the day so I made sure I didn't miss out on these fantastic little supermodels - while not pretty they provide some very cute poses. Then the highlight of the day happened, a group of around six Plum-Headed Finches were spotted on powerlines, I took up a spot near the fence below and hoped they'd come down nearby for a feed. Well that tactic worked a treat, they dropped straight down in front of me and while they left briefly, they returned for a second round of feeding. I had previously seen these lovely birds twice at Oxley Creek Common earlier this year, great to see them in nice light with a nice backdrop of the field and forest. After this excitement, we moved on for a quick look around Lake Apex at Gatton, a spot I have been meaning to check out for a while now. As it was a bit later the sun was high in the sky and the light was getting harsh so we didn't get too excited but I managed to get some good shots of Little Corella, Little Black Cormorants perching with a nice country backdrop and one of my favourite birds to see, the always amusing Plumed Whistling Ducks. A great day out with a couple of mates, some good models turned up, a lifer and some good images - all in all a good outing.
Read More
