20191215-MMPI0053 - Lake Eden

On Sunday 15th December 2019 I ventured to Lake Eden in the suburb of North Lakes, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The first highlights of the morning were a Great Egret (Ardea alba) in breeding plumage hunting for fish in a lagoon. I was able to get photos of it catching two small fish, as well as a headshot as it moved quite close to me and some shots of it displaying sopme of the breeding plumage. Another standout for the day was two different Sacred Kingfishers (Todiramphus sanctus). The first was drying off on a handrail after having a bath, the other going to and from its nest in an arboreal ant mount in a tree. The former was also nesting and had an active nest, I did not see the chicks inside but did hear the amazing buzzing sound they were constantly making - sort of like an electrical arcing sound. I got close to a Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) sitting on a handrail post, waiting to catch insects as fly past. The morning sun showed off its buff and steel blue/grey colours nicely. Along with the Great Egret, a single Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia) was hunting on the lagoon. At one stage I laid down beside a lagoon to get to eye level with an Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) which accommodated me and gave some nice poses up reasonably close. I found a pair of very young Australian Brushturkeys (Alectura lathami), I believe 1-2 weeks old based on size and my experience with them. They are very cute at this stage, before they grown into the yard-destroying adult males that build massive nests from any organic matter they can find in your back yard during breeding season (yes I have experience with this). The outing finished on a nice note with a small group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus) resting in a tree. The light was a bit harsh at this late stage and they were up high and obscured but I was able to get a couple of decent shots of these very beautiful and large cockatoos.