How to take daytime pictures of an Eastern Barn Owl

Buy a retirement village studio unit close to right habitat, let's say the Townsville Town Common Conservation Park,  Queensland, Australia.

Bird in the park often each week for, say, about eight years. Don't stick to the road and formed tracks. Overcome fear of long grass.  Take care to make friends of snakes and other threats.

Finally, stumble upon and flush sleepy owl from low in shrubby tree in untrodden area of the park. Watch where owl flies. Check camera settings are right for owl's probable further flight.

Guess right and grab about 12 frames with Canon R5 and 200-800 lens. Pray for and later find a few sharp images. Easy peasy, as they say. 

    

Worst pictures ever . . . but this Lapwing's a lifer!

The worst pictures ever in about 16 years of blogging but who cares when it's a lifer. Just checked back in crumbling edition of Slater's guide and find - as I suspected - that Banded Lapwing seen yesterday was a first for me. 

The inside back page of the Field Guide to Australian Birds bought well used at an op shop in 2002 shows in fading pencil on tattered soft cover 511 species, a total seen in my almost clueless early years of birding. No pencil mark against Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor).

Making sighting even more special, the milestone bird is well north of its usual range. Not so uncommonly, my sighting resulted from combined efforts of other birders. So often the case! Also of note, that 511 is a considerably greater figure than my total of species seen since I stopped driving long distances and settled down in Ingham and latterly Townsville in 2004. 

Now the challenge is ... better pictures! Another lifer. It's what we live for.

Next day (01/10/23). Meant sploshing through bit of deep mud, but below the reward for getting closer to desired picture quality. 

Cute, but not so cuddlesome

Cute, but not so cuddlesome without training and caution (beware Lyssa/Hendra virus), six microbats find overnight refuge in Freshwater hide, Townsville Town Common Cons. Pk. Tentatively ID'd for me as fishing bats, Myota macropus. On rare occasion one has been seen flying by day in the park.

Brown Goshawk drops in for brekkie banter

Gidday. Just flying up this track and thought I'd drop in and have a dekko for bit of brekkie. Scared? Why'd I be scared of you, standing over there like a daggy, baggy old scarecrow?

Yes, of course I'm a Brown Goshawk. See my glowering brow? See my rounded tail? See my strong legs? Yeah, I know about that stroppy young Collared Sparrowhawk. Little upstart causing confusion. He'd just better stay out of my way, that's all I'll say.

Hey, there's something moving up the track a bit. Looks right up my alley. See you later . . . 

Rare, up-close meeting with Brown Goshawk in Town Common Conservation Park, Townsville, Saturday morning.

Osprey togetherness bears fish but no fruit

Touch of uncommon togetherness lately for Eastern Ospreys (female on right) near their nest in Townsville's Town Common Conservation Park.

Beginning a second breeding cycle for 2020 - after four months ago abruptly quitting incubation at another nest nearby - the birds were seldom together except when swapping incubation roles. Or on the rare occasion the male (above, landing on favoured perch) brought a fish to the nest.

Such closeness stopped some weeks ago. Unable to see into the nest, I hoped the female (above, early this week) was carrying fish back to feed young, which by my reckoning should have been near fully-fledged.

Events yesterday slammed the door on such hope. No birds near nest early on. Later in morning male arrived with fish. Landed in dead tree away from nest (above). Began to eat. Half and hour later the female arrived, with fish. Landed on branch apart in same dead tree. Ate fish. Neither paid any attention to the nest. Conclusion follows that for whatever reasons there will be no young for this pair this year. 

Irony is that both birds are now unconcerned by anyone approaching them, and the nest tree. 

  

Crow woe can drive one stark raven mad

Remember those Torresian Crows from last week? They were actually these Australian Ravens photographed yesterday in the Townsville Town Common Conservation Park.

It's all in the pink throat patch below the bill.

Now you see it ...

... now you don't.

And the longer hackles. But not in young birds.
And the bigger bill. But not in young birds.
And in the calls. But not to most ears.

Makes a difference knowing all this, doesn't it? No? Well, no matter. The birds don't care anyway.