20191013-MMPI0053 - Toowong Cemetery and Brisbane Botanic Gardens
On Sunday 13th October 2019 I went for a short walk from home through the Toowong Cemetery, over to Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mt. Coot-Tha in seach of the Channel-billed Cuckoos that return to breed each Spring and Summer. I only caught a fleeting glimpse of one of this species, this year they seem to be a bit late in their return from Papua New Guinea. I was however able to get up really close to a couple of very calm birds, a Crested Pigeon and the stunning Galah.Both of these birds let me lay down on the ground close by and were happy to let me snap away while they fed. The normally-flighty Crested Pigeon gave me some lovely portrait poses, and in a couple of photos the iridescent wing panels are glowing in the sunlight. The crest on these birds just sets off what is a very beautful bird. The Galah was a female, notable by her bright red iris. She chomped away on fallen seeds, cracking them easily with that strong bill, all the while keeping an eye on me rolling around on the grass a few metres away. Getting so close and at eye level with birds like this is the most enjoyable part of bird photography for me, it really gives me a connection with the subject, and being able to get close and gain the bird's trust is so rewarding. I finished up with a Laughing Kookaburra on the way home, noticing while shooting this bird has a broken tip on top of the bill. It appears to be nesting, catching some prey on the ground then flying up to an arboreal ant mound in a nearby tree. I wasn't able to see if a nestling was fed as it was on the opposite side of the tree and I didn't want to stop a feeding. A nice morning out, the highlight being time spent lying down watching a couple of very calm and co-operative Australian beauties - much better than sleeping in I reckon...
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