Yes, I realise the term ‘yardbird’ is old-timey slang for people in stir, or someone doing basic training, but if I can’t use a bit of dated language here and there, what’s the point in even having a blog?
Anyhoo, the object of today’s post is to share a few shots of birds that I think show them in a moderately different light - no pun intended.
Highlighting the textures, patterns and details that, for me, make birds so interesting to observe.
You’ll be relieved to hear that there won’t be an egregious amount of prattling and such, just a bit of info and my take on the pics themselves - Well, I say that now, but you know how it goes …
We’ll see.
The first pic shows three Drongos on the back fence. The interesting bit is that of the 31 known species - Australia has but one, the Spangled Drongo. The vast majority of the rest can be found in Africa. Perhaps even more evidence of a time when the world’s continents formed large land masses, Gondwana and then Pangaea.
Gondwana contained the southern continents - South America, Africa, India, Madagascar, Australia, and Antarctica. It had become a coherent supercontinent at ~500 Ma and accreted to Pangea largely as a single block. Laurasia consisted of the northern continents - North America, Greenland, Europe, and northern Asia1.
Fun Fact: The word Drongo has been coined by Australians to refer to someone who’s being a bit of a bell-end :)
What was it I said about not prattling on? - Sorry.
The next couple of pics were taken on different days of Brown honeyeaters bathing - and I like the pics, not just for the detail, but for the movement and light. Not to mention the fact that the birds allowed me to get so close as they went about their ablutions!
This time, I refuse to be drawn into the whole ‘Why is a brown-coloured honeyeater called Dusky, when the dusky-coloured honeyeater is called Brown?’, debate.
Feel free to fight amongst yourselves.
Generally, I try to photograph wildlife in a way that hints at a larger story - but there are also those times when the animal itself becomes the whole and complete subject.
I enjoy and appreciate black and white wildlife photography, and I believe it’s a dying art. As a little bloke, many of the best critter books I had access to contained monochromatic images. Perhaps it’s just nostalgia on my part, though when I go on Insta and elsewhere and see pics that have been hyper-oversaturated, I get a little weirded out.
I mean look, yes, they’re your photo’s, and you have every right to edit them as you see fit. For me though, I think nature has gotten the balance just right on most occasions - after all, just how much more colour does a rainbow need?
Sigh. The prattling - I know, I’m trying goddammit!
Light, too, is a major consideration in the way I like to ‘shoot’ - although I guess that’s true for everyone who picks up a camera.
Half-light, bold contrasts and semi to full silhouettes, are, I think - both challenging and uniquely satisfying.
Finally, our last but probably most iconic bird in the Northeast of Australia: The Southern Cassowary. Despite the subheading for this post claiming that this is all about birds in my garden, the Casso most definitely wasn’t one of them, though the rest were - I promise.
The exception that proves the rule and all that, eh?
When guiding in the rainforests of FNQ, the one animal that everyone hopes, and sometimes demands to see - is the Cassowary. Unfortunately, as I’d try to explain to my groups - I don’t do wildlife on demand.
However, to spy one is, indeed, always a treat. My tour record was spotting 9 in one day, but this included 4 chicks, (which upon reflection makes it even more remarkable, right?).
I’d like to share with you the details surrounding this pic, but I can’t as it’s all a bit hazy, frankly there’ve been a lot of vodka’s under the table there’s been a lot of water under the bridge, so let’s just enjoy the image shall we?
I believe there are individual posts on all these critters knocking around here if you’ve a mind to seek them out.
This post was a bit of a round-up, a showcase if you will - that I hope you’ve enjoyed and gotten something from.
As always, massive thanks to my followers and subscribers - ya’s rock! Also, an apology to subscribers who may notice spelling/grammatical errors, this is a relatively new format for me - I’m working on it, and I appreciate your forbearance. Hugs.
Take Care - Bear X
Rogers, John J W, and M Santosh, 'Gondwana and Pangea', Continents and Supercontinents (New York, 2004; online edn, Oxford Academic, 12 Nov. 2020)