#Gang gang cockatoo parrot free#

It was also a bird I would always want to see in a zoo. Growing up in suburban Sydney the Satin Bowerbird was something exotic that I saw on a documentary with its blue decorated bower. This time he stayed on a nicely lit branch and gave me an opportunity to take some shots. I have seen the males before but normally only fleetingly, as they disappeared into some undergrowth. Then, he flew off, further up the hill to the north-west.įor me, this ecounter was thrilling because I had finally been able to photograph a male in the wild. He reached out to grab something from the tree but I could not make out if it was an insect or a piece of bark. He started on one branch but kept hopping up to other branches. Although I see the green females and juveniles regularly, I rarely see the male so I was excited to finally have a chance to take some photographs. The dark, glassy plumage meant it was unmistakably a male Satin Bowerbird ( Ptilonorhynchus violaceus). It landed in a tree that was just beside me. I felt myself very fortunate because while I was walking along the fire trail a bird appeared from the south-east, from the area towards the Federal Golf Club, flying up the hill. It was nice to be outside again and there was hardly anybody around, I really was so relaxed and in the moment.

I decided to leave the gorgeous bird to carry on with its morning while I carried on with mine.įrom the golf course I turned towards the nature reserve proper, finding a trail up a gentle slope to one of the fire trails. This kookaburra did not seem concerned by my presence, barely paying me any attention. After a little while, one of those remaining two also decided that I was too close so it also flew away leaving a single bird for me to photograph, the second shot below. When I approached two of the birds flew to a nearby tree while two others, in the first photograph, stayed still where they were. Occasionally one bird would fly down to pick some small creature from among the grassy covering. The tree must have been giving them a good watching position to surveil the grass for their morning meal. Walking on, I lost sight of the bird briefly before realising that there were actually four kookaburras sitting in two groups of two on tree branches just beside the course. Not too far on I saw a white object on the ground that I soon realised was a Laughing Kookaburra.

#Gang gang cockatoo parrot free#

With the course free of players I walked along the well manicured grass so as to keep the bordering trees on the left where the golden morning sun was lighting them. Usually, on nice Sunday mornings like this, the first golfers would have already been striking balls along the greens. Walking towards Red Hill Nature Reserve I noticed that the green fairways of the Federal Golf Club were unnaturally empty because of lockdown. I hope that you enjoy the photographs below. So, I felt that walking with my camera would also help relieve the lockdown blues, which it certainly did that lovely morning with Gang-gang cockatoos, a male Satin Bowerbird and some lovely Laughing Kookaburras acting as photographic subjects. I figured that I would go for a walk that Sunday morning with my camera because I sensed that part of the reason for the exercise extension from only one hour a day to two hours was to help the mental health of Canberrans. In fact, the whole of the reserve seemed to be free of people, making it a truly lovely experience. Because of the lockdown the neighbouring Federal Golf Club was closed meaning its greens were empty of people and perfect for some photography. Fortunately, I live a few minutes walk from the wonderful Red Hill Nature Reserve, a lovely escape among the suburban housing. Canberra’s COVID-related lockdown continued but we were now allowed to exercise for two hours a day but just in the local area.