Saturday, July 18, 2009

Black-necked Stork

It was a beautiful morning - bright sunshine, crisp air, and the whole bay to myself - except for the birds. A large bird flying along the edge of the water caught my attention and the first photos I shot showed me a Black-necked Stork. It settled down in the water near some Little Egrets which looked very small by comparison. I walked out across the sand flats to get as close as possible but the bird only let me get about half way out before it took off and flew towards the other side of the bay. Even the closest photos I took were nowhere near as close and beautiful as those posted by bloggers further up north but they made my morning. We seldom see Black-necked Stork here. I have only seen three in the six years I have been here.
Click on the photos to enlarge them and see how beautiful the bird looked at the edge of the bay.

8 comments:

  1. Birds don't have to be pretty colours to be beautiful and handsome, as this one is.

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  2. Hi John, it certainly looked beautiful to me as it stepped through the water.

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  3. G'day Mick,
    That's a wonderful bird. Great sighting. It's amazing how many birds seem to know the focal length of our cameras, isn't it?
    Gouldiae

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  4. Yes, Gouldiae, I agree about the birds keeping their distance. Very frustrating!

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  5. Well done, Mick.
    Shows the advantage of getting out as often as possible, so as to not miss the occasional visitor.
    Don't forget Tony has a "hide" up at his beloved "Tyto" wetlands. You are working out in the open.
    I reckon you have done as well as humanly possible in the circumstances.
    Cheers
    Denis

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  6. Thanks Denis, for the encouragement. I do get a bit envious when I see how far my shots fall short of really good ones like Tony's! Practice and lots of patience I guess - and yes a good bird hide would help too.

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  7. What an elegant bird Mick and well done you to get such a good shot given you were far away from it.

    I think birds know when we want to photograph them and stay well away from our cameras ;)

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  8. Hi Tricia, I'm sure birds usually see us before we see them - and then decide just how close they will allow that "black thing" to be pointed at them!!

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