Project: One photo a day (but not necessarily every day)

[open roader]

I presume you personally took these photos? If so, what set-up do you use? The image from earlier today has quite a bit of feather details, something I was never truly able to pull off with my superzoom.

Also, what is the name of this red-colored bird above?

Of course I personally took these photos! No point posting someone else's work when you can post your own.

The midnight blue bird previously posted is a male Satin Bower Bird. I shot this through a pane of glass (kitchen window) the lens is a Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/5.6 PF prime lens. It's a ripping lens, very light weight, excellent vibration reduction and makes me look much more accomplished than I really am.

Paired with my Nikon Z7+500mm f/5.6PF lens all shots handheld with VR well and truly switched ON.

The red bird is indded a Crimson Rosella, a common medium sized parrot in my neck of the woods.

The tree is an English elm in full autumn gold colour - shot taken at approx 25m distance as the sun was setting not much post shoot editing but a decent 60% crop. The Z7's 45MP sensor allows for some serious cropping whilst maintaining reasonable detail resolution.

[open roader]

Native Australian Swamp Rat - I have two family groups living on my 6 acres.

[j44ke]

Native Australian Swamp Rat - I have two family groups living on my 6 acres...

So by the genus this is an actual native rat, not a possum filling the rat niche in the ecology - interesting. They certainly are cute with their glass bead eyes.

My father was on a birdwatching tour in Australia where seemingly every furry thing they spotted was identified by their guide as a type of possum. Not incorrectly, just that marsupials slot into the ecological niches a placental mammal would occupy elsewhere (as of course you know.) When they all sat down for lunch and the food arrived, someone asked, "What sandwich is that?" and the answer was "possum."

[echappist]

Of course I personally took these photos! No point posting someone else's work when you can post your own.

The midnight blue bird previously posted is a male Satin Bower Bird. I shot this through a pane of glass (kitchen window) the lens is a Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/5.6 PF prime lens. It's a ripping lens, very light weight, excellent vibration reduction and makes me look much more accomplished than I really am.

Paired with my Nikon Z7+500mm f/5.6PF lens all shots handheld with VR well and truly switched ON.

The red bird is indded a Crimson Rosella, a common medium sized parrot in my neck of the woods.

The tree is an English elm in full autumn gold colour - shot taken at approx 25m distance as the sun was setting not much post shoot editing but a decent 60% crop. The Z7's 45MP sensor allows for some serious cropping whilst maintaining reasonable detail resolution.

Thanks for the explanation

The detail and resolution on the photo was so good that I didn't notice there was an intervening glass pane.

One of these days I might get back to photographing birds again

[bcm119]

Very low humidity (20%) and plus wind (15-20mph gusting to 30mph) lifting local soil or western Canada forest fire smoke already present on the east coast?

Smoke from Canadian fires is a good bet: https://fire.airnow.gov/

[ides1056]

Driving north from Springfield on 91 around 7:30 last night I could look directly at the sun, which was a brilliant apricot color.

[open roader]

Spotted pardalote - Male

[monadnocky]

^^^^ Wow. Beautiful shot.

[echappist]

Spotted pardalote - Male

Was this taken near home or by a park/ nature reserve?

Wonderful details and composition.

[j44ke]

Tree swallows' nest in one of the bluebird boxes developed a 35% tilt over the last couple days of gusty winds. Bamboo and hose clamps to the rescue.

[BBB]

Everyday birds in Australia are kind of amazing. A friend just sent me a video of a tree full of screaming big white cockatoos. Hard to describe.

Loud too!

[BBB]

So by the genus this is an actual native rat, not a possum filling the rat niche in the ecology - interesting. They certainly are cute with their glass bead eyes.

My father was on a birdwatching tour in Australia where seemingly every furry thing they spotted was identified by their guide as a type of possum. Not incorrectly, just that marsupials slot into the ecological niches a placental mammal would occupy elsewhere (as of course you know.) When they all sat down for lunch and the food arrived, someone asked, "What sandwich is that?" and the answer was "possum."

I'm in the bad books with the local possum population. We have possums and Labradors. One of the dogs in particular is very determined to bark at the possums when they come out after dark. In any event, I was working from home and noticed the two dogs carrying around a large stick. I took the stick off them on the basis that getting sharp bit of wood stuck in a dog throat or stomach was not going to be a great outcome. I pegged the stick back into the garden, or at least I tried to, but it hit a tree and bounced back onto a concrete path. Of course, being retrievers the dogs thought this was great fun and went and got the stick for me. So, for next effort I wedged the stick in a tree near the deck and where the dogs can't get it. It was at this point I noticed a possum nest. Now the possums had been nesting in this tree, but had abandoned it in favour of other trees. Being the curious sort I poked with the stick to see the quality of possum engineer was and to my great surprise a possum shot out the nest. He or she looked seriously annoyed! It wedged itself in a larger tree and sat frozen. Neither dog saw the possum, or seemingly heard it, when it shot out of the nest (yep, great guard dogs), but the possum barker did see it when it went dark and started to bark. I had to drag both dogs inside. The possum used the diversion to slink off. Poor guy - he will have been a tired possum.

Possum.jpg

[open roader]

I'm in the bad books with the local possum population. We have possums and Labradors. One of the dogs in particular is very determined to bark at the possums when they come out after dark. In any event, I was working from home and noticed the two dogs carrying around a large stick. I took the stick off them on the basis that getting sharp bit of wood stuck in a dog throat or stomach was not going to be a great outcome. I pegged the stick back into the garden, or at least I tried to, but it hit a tree and bounced back onto a concrete path. Of course, being retrievers the dogs thought this was great fun and went and got the stick for me. So, for next effort I wedged the stick in a tree near the deck and where the dogs can't get it. It was at this point I noticed a possum nest. Now the possums had been nesting in this tree, but had abandoned it in favour of other trees. Being the curious sort I poked with the stick to see the quality of possum engineer was and to my great surprise a possum shot out the nest. He or she looked seriously annoyed! It wedged itself in a larger tree and sat frozen. Neither dog saw the possum, or seemingly heard it, when it shot out of the nest (yep, great guard dogs), but the possum barker did see it when it went dark and started to bark. I had to drag both dogs inside. The possum used the diversion to slink off. Poor guy - he will have been a tired possum.

Possum.jpg

Both brushtail possums (above) and ringtail possums have multiple nesting sites and rotate amongst them regularly. This serves multiple purposes incl. limiting the amount of soiling of the nesting material and moving regularly to keep nocturnal predators aka powerful owls guessing...........

[open roader]

Was this taken near home or by a park/ nature reserve?

Wonderful details and composition.

Thanks.

Photo taken in our garden, we have 6 acres here, all gardens, a mix of exotic and native vegetation.

These pardalotes actually nest in dug out caves, often in exposed erosion sites. They look for natural fractures in the earth - dig for weeks, removing small amounts of soil to form a short tunnel with a nesting cavern at the end of it. They have also been known to nest in human domestic locations like inside the bag of an abandoned vaccum cleaner!

[open roader]

White (Grey) Goshawk. These guys are silent hunters. I've observed them at work - they strike at speed with perfect silence - death from above! Prettiest raptor in Australia IMHO

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2oB2b9L]

[j44ke]

Our accipiters here - Cooper's hawk, Sharp-shinned hawk, and Goshawk - hunt similarly. I learned a while ago that the reason small birds group together in feeding flocks during the winter, specifically with chickadees (Paridae family, tits, chickadees, titmice,) is because 1.) Paridae sp. are inquisitive and good at finding food and 2.) one chickadee is always in charge of looking out for accipiters. They make a specific alarm call when a hawk is sighted and everyone scrams. I've rarely heard that call and not seen a sharp-shinned or a Cooper's hawk seconds later. Not sure how chickadees do it, but they seem very clever. Of course, the alarm doesn't always come in time. Accipiters are not starving. They are likely the most ferocious bird predators.

[open roader]

Sunday morning wake up call!

[72gmc]

Great shot. My kids and I love those birds.

[j44ke]

They are much larger than I expected. And if YouTube is any proof, not particularly shy around people.

[j44ke]

Usually we see red efts in the forest, but with yesterday's storm, they appeared around the house. Speaks well of the garden I think.