Friday, February 19, 2010

Three to look back on from sunnier days

Plenty of rain and grey skies lately. Time for sunnier pictures (enlargeable) that won some praise  elsewhere late last year. First up, Little Kingfisher (Ceyx pusilla) on scleria at front of Tyto hide. Member of species dived into flooded shallows at hide yesterday. No chance for worthwhile picture.

Also on scleria in front of hide, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin (Lonchura castaneothorax). Plenty of the species - many immatures - still in the wetlands. Very hard to get close to across flooded grasses.

Last, Golden-headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis) enjoying morning sunshine amid the scleria. Another prominent grass inhabitant harder to approach since the Wet set in.

Footnote: Rain comes. Lagoons flood. Birds go. Almost no egrets, herons, ducks, darters cormorants to be seen. Crakes, rails, bitterns, bush-hens hidden in flooded grasses. But still 50 or so species to be found - with effort, and much mozzie mashing!

3 comments:

mick said...

I like your way of dealing with rain and gray skies! Great photos of course. We've had nearly a week of bad weather and the mozzies are the worst I have ever had them here.

Anonymous said...

Ah yes ..... photos are quite a challenge in this wet weather, as well as the difficulty of remaining still when mozzies have just discovered that some nourishment can be obtained from the back of an otherwise occupied hand! A lovely cheery post Tony.

Tyto Tony said...

Hi Mick and Barbara: More rain. More mozzies.

Head up for dragonfly, head off for fish head . . .

One moment it's dragonfly trying to dance on White-bellied Sea-Eagle's head, the next it's all go for fisher's discarded fis...