This post is for World Bird Wednesday
I spend most of my time on and around the bay so don't see very much of the birds that are just a few kilometers inland. I mentioned to friends in Gympie that I would like to get some more photos of ducks and any other waterbirds that were around - and the result was a couple of trips into Gympie just to photograph birds. (Thanks Neil and Kel.) The first day the weather was grey, overcast and drizzly so a second day with blue skies and sunshine was necessary. We only went to ponds and farm dams close in to Gympie but I saw and photographed one new duck and got better photos of two other birds.The ducks which I had not seen before were Hardheads (Aythya australis) and we saw these both days on the ponds right in Gympie. These ducks are diving ducks and it's a a bit of a surprise to get all ready to take a photo only to have the bird disappear under water. The male has white eyes and the female dark eyes.
These next photos were taken on a farm dam also right in Gympie on the by-pass road out to Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach.
Magpie Geese (Anseranas semipalmata) are common in tropical wetlands but we do see them quite often down here in the SE of Queensland. The still water made great reflections.
I saw Plumed Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna eytoni) when I took a trip out to western Queensland a couple of years ago but didn't get close enough for good photos. These ones had become used to people around them and I got much better photos than I did then. As their name suggests - not all ducks "quack"! These ones "whistle"!
a big fan of whistling ducks since we have the black-bellied versions here at run*a*round. i like the magpie geese, too! and the hardheads are rather beautiful in their dark coloration.
ReplyDeleteSo many beautiful waterbirds!
ReplyDeleteWhistlig ducks..how cool!!I love that reflection shot!HAve a great day!
ReplyDeleteShantana
Good Shots...
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeletegorgeous ducks.....with beautiful reflections in the water!!
ReplyDeletecute magpie geese also!!
Nice post, - great for WBW!
ReplyDeleteGreat series of beautiful ducks and geese.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful assortment of waterfowl. Those hardheads are an interesting species.
ReplyDeleteCool looking ducks and geese. I love the whistling ducks and the magpie geese. Great reflection captures, lovely photos. Thanks for sharing your world birds.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Mick! Love those Plumed Whistling-Ducks!
ReplyDeleteThose magpie geese are so cool looking! Nice shots, Mick!
ReplyDeleteThe whistling ducks look wonderful, I wonder what their whistle sounds like.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of birds. Love it.
ReplyDeletethe duck seem familiar somehow. I like the brown coloring on it. But the goose, never even heard of it before. So strange with that bumpy head. Interesting. Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteWOW, Mick!! Awesome images of all the birds. I love the Hardheads. I have captured a lone male Hardhead at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens a couple of times. The Magpie Geese I would love to come across one day. Plumed Whistling Ducks are a favourite of mine. I came across a pair at Lake Wivenhoe early this year and couldn't get close enough for decent shots but I did post on them anyway as I was so excited about discovering them along with Whistling Kites!! Your close ups are wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on the Bar-tailed Godwit migration. We plan to venture up to the Pumistone Passage as you suggested in September!!
Nice shots. Hardhead are splendid ducks – they are in the same genus as the Pochard I used to see in the UK. I got some reasonable shots of them (Hardheads that is!) on an ornamental pond in the middle of Brisbane!
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M
That name "hardheads" made me laugh but they look so much like our common Pochard, Athya marila. Good point about all ducks not quacking, in fact as you say they make all sorts of noises.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous captures, Mick -- the trip to Gympie was well worth it!
ReplyDeleteI love the photo of the Magpie Geese in the water!
ReplyDeleteYour birds look so exotic to me!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to trying to photograph diving dicks. They certainly do disappear quickly and sometimes come up a fair distance from where they dove down!
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL....I really like the white eyes of the male duck...makes you think his vision is following my every move.
ReplyDeleteLoved all your photo shares.
A great series of photos.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, those magpie geese have really interesting shaped heads.
ReplyDeleteLove the magpie geese and whistling geese. It seems nature always comes up with a new version of the old model. Great shots!
ReplyDeleteHow great that you got such good pictures of those diving hardheads (gotta' love that name)...it shows how patient you are.
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