Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[ajax]

I think wild turkeys are beautiful birds myself. They certainly have a prehistoric, dinosaurian quality to them.

They are nice, I have several living around my house but we may be thinking of different types. The wild turkeys we have in Australia we call bush turkeys and they are quite small.

[ajax]

Its Summer in Australia, here are some visitors I have had this summer.
Big Tree Frog, he live on my front verandah.


Lorikeets have invaded my garden, they love these flowering gums.


Another native frog living in a plant pot.

[dinonikes]

There is a large field next to where I work. At lunch I like to watch the Canada geese which are there just about every day. I saw about 50 or so Canada geese about a week ago that had a foreigner amongst their midst-a white goose which on closer inspection through my camera lens I took for a Snow goose. After looking it up I decided that no it wasnt a Snow goose due to size and other details, decided it must have been a Ross's goose. It had a hurt leg and was limping, and the Canada geese were charging and nipping at it pretty regularly as they grazed. It didnt seem too upset about this goose 'racism' though, and kept right on grazing in the flock. I did get some photos, will post them later if I remember to when i have time to do so.

[ajax]

A male olive backed Oriole


Mother and Baby Olive backed Oriole, this seasons baby.


Oriole nest, this is the nest they used this year, its only about 4 metres front my front verandah, there are another 2 nests at the back of my house, this is the first year I have noticed these birds at all and I think my ever evolving garden is attracting these and other different species to live and nest at my house.

[ajax]

I hope Im not hijacking this thread but I love my garden and all the wildlife that it attracts, I snapped this little guy about 3 months ago, I have thousands of these small tree frogs at home, at times it seemes like every leaf in the garden has a frog on it. This guy was sitting on one of my orchid flowers just waiting to be photographed.

[alexeratops]

T-t-two d-d-egres here. IIIIIIIIIIIII FREEEEEEEEEEEEEZE TOOOOOOOOOO DEAAAAAAAATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gwangi]

Great photos Ajax, it is great to have a photographer from the southern hemisphere. You have some interesting wildlife down there. Have no fears of hijacking this thread, this is what it is for. I have some frog pictures from this last spring (in the U.S.) on the first and second pages you might like to look at.

Oh yeah. Our wild turkey is different from your bush turkey. Are you familier with how bush turkeys nest?

[ajax]

Great photos Ajax, it is great to have a photographer from the southern hemisphere. You have some interesting wildlife down there. Have no fears of hijacking this thread, this is what it is for. I have some frog pictures from this last spring (in the U.S.) on the first and second pages you might like to look at.

Oh yeah. Our wild turkey is different from your bush turkey. Are you familier with how bush turkeys nest?

Thanks, Our bush or scrub turkeys nest a little like a croc, they build a mound and bury their eggs, chicks fend for themselves once they hatch. I have come across a nest not far from my house which had already hatched, there was about 20 broken hatched egg shells.
I checked out all the photos on the thread, thare are some beautiful creatures around, I really like the frogs. Its strange how animals from afar/overseas always seem cooler than the one's in your own backyard. I would love to be able to see Racoon's in the wild, I have always liked them.

[ajax]

Here are some older photo's of birds in my garden, all are still abundant, espically the black cockatoo's which at the moment are driving me mad with the noise they make. A flock of about 50 decided to move in at the start of the nesting season ( maybe 4-5 months ago) and now have young, I hope they leave soon as they destroy the Gum trees around my house.


King Parrot (old camera, not the best shot)


Female Blue faced honey eater. The male has the blue face, they are so common at home I never take any photo's of them but the males are really quite nice so I will get some more pics with my new camera.


Willy wagtail, several pairs nest at home every year, usually on the clothes line or TV arial.

[ZoPteryx]

Great photos everyone!

Ajax, the avifauna you get in your backyard puts mine to shame!

[Balaur]

Wow! The female blue faced honey eater is beautiful! She is pretty! The big tree frog is awesome too! You are lucky! I wish I had something more than just sparrows and the occasional meter or so long snake in my backyard. When a snake comes in my backyard, it is awesome! But then I am freaked out at the possibility that it's venomous.

Here in southern California, it's generally sunny, but rains about 40% of the time, which is a great relief to the constant sunny. It is beautiful though, when the sun is out, but it is slightly annoying as it is soemthing I see every day. I need snow! 

[ajax]

Wow! The female blue faced honey eater is beautiful! She is pretty! The big tree frog is awesome too! You are lucky! I wish I had something more than just sparrows and the occasional meter or so long snake in my backyard. When a snake comes in my backyard, it is awesome! But then I am freaked out at the possibility that it's venomous.

Here in southern California, it's generally sunny, but rains about 40% of the time, which is a great relief to the constant sunny. It is beautiful though, when the sun is out, but it is slightly annoying as it is soemthing I see every day. I need snow! 

I get snakes too!!!! Must find the last snake pic I took... Its a MONSTER Scrub Python, It was eating my chickens when I found it. It had also killed and tried to eat a full grown goose but couldn't get it down so spat it up. We have had a few deadly Brown snakes and many venomous black snakes around the property already this summer. 

[Gwangi]

Wow! The female blue faced honey eater is beautiful! She is pretty! The big tree frog is awesome too! You are lucky! I wish I had something more than just sparrows and the occasional meter or so long snake in my backyard. When a snake comes in my backyard, it is awesome! But then I am freaked out at the possibility that it's venomous.

Here in southern California, it's generally sunny, but rains about 40% of the time, which is a great relief to the constant sunny. It is beautiful though, when the sun is out, but it is slightly annoying as it is soemthing I see every day. I need snow! 

All of the venomous snakes that live in California are various species of rattlesnake so identifying them as venomous shouldn't be too difficult. SoCal has plenty of wildlife to enjoy; bobcats and cougars, mule deer, bighorn sheep, coyote, jackrabbits, various hummingbirds, osprey, egrets, quail and a multitude of other birds, lizards and other smaller wildlife. Plus...you have the coast. The wildlife is out there, you just need to know how to find it. If you're not putting out a bird feeder that is a good way to start, especially a hummingbird feeder because you should have about five or so species around you, unlike here in New York where we have one and the rest of the world outside of the Americas which have zero. It is easy to get distracted by exotic wildlife in far flung locations but there is always something special just outside your own door. 

[ajax]

Another frog on my kitchen window, not the usual green tree frogs we get.


These baby dinosaurs live in my garden too.

[ZoPteryx]

Cool herps Ajax!


I came across this female Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) devouring a coot today.  I took a quick pic then backed off to let her enjoy her kill.

[ajax]

^^ Hawks are my favourite bird of prey, Eagles usually take all the attention.


Here are a few pics of my garden, you can see why it attracts so much wildlife.
This is a big frog pond right outside my dining room, You look out of two big windows right into the garden, I have lights on the pond too which looks beautiful at night.


East side of the house


Front garden, directly off my front porch.

[Gwangi]

Finally, some winter pics. Nothing exciting but I saw these birds bathing and had to take a couple shots.

American Tree Sparrow


House Sparrow

[ajax]

This little cutie was on my back door yesterday, I saved him from Max my cat. Its a Feather Tail Glider. We have several types around the house, you normally need to go out in the evening to see them. One day Kenny my cat turned up at the door with sugar glider clinging to his back, It was so funny.

[Gwangi]

Very cute, reminds me of the flying squirrels we have around here...they glide too. I hear cats a serious problem in Australia, kill a lot of native wildlife.

[ajax]

They do. I'm a total hypocrite as I love wildlife but also love my cats. I keep my cats well fed and most of them are too lazy to hunt but sometimes they bring different things back, most of the time its rats, mice & small rabbits which I don't mind. Its the feral cats that are the real problem, they need to kill every day to survive.