There's snow on them there hills...

We had a day of nasty weather dumping snow all over the country on Tuesday and then yesterday the skies cleared and the sun shone. It was brilliant! These images were shot from Scorching Bay where I went to see if the terns were about. They weren't but there was plenty to photograph regardless. I had lots of fun with a little black shag while he sat preening himself in the sunshine.

I loved the way the hills were coated in a fine layer of snow. The wind chill let you know there was snow about but until you actually see it, it is often hard to believe. Dan took a couple of panoramic shots with his little point and shoot and they turned out great!  I didn't have my wide angle lens with me so this is the best I could do at 150mm.  The ferry came in at just the right time.

I really wasn't ready when he took off but I like it all the same.

Skulls, swans and kingfishers

I went down to Petone today to see if George (the white heron) was about. I have seen some lovely images by a fellow photographer just recently showing him in residence but alas he was no where to be seen. I spent some time there chatting to the locals and seeing what was about. This collection of images is the result.

As soon as this swan saw me, it started swimming directly towards me. I am assuming it was expecting to be fed, maybe it had read my car's number plate, but as soon as it realised there was nothing to be had it lost interest and swam away.

There were kingfishers about but they are very skittish here and it is very hard to get close enough to them to get a decent shot. The tide wasn't out far enough to get out the hide. I did manage a few images though.

There were a good number of shags there today and this last image is of one trying to dry itself. I think someone forgot to mention to it that there was no sunshine today - hardly even a breeze!

Looking around...

When I head out to photograph something specific (like the terns) I am very focused on my subject and often to the point of not seeing anything else that is around. I am trying now to get in the habit of looking around the area to see what else is about before I leave.

When I was out at Makara Beach, as I decided to leave on both days, the oyster catchers flew in on mass. Both times I wasn't ready for them and as they move so fast I missed most of the opportunities put before me. I did manage to get a few shots but had I been prepared and expecting them I would have managed many more.

As we were driving away from the beach we passed one of the trees that the shags nest in and then found a second with two shags sitting right by the side of the road. There was no where to park near them so it was a bit of a hike back from where I eventually parked the car. I think it was worth the trek because I manage to get up real close to the shags.

Frequent Flying at Zealandia

Male Hihi (Stitchbird)

We went back to Zealandia today even though there was light rain when we were heading out. It was a little chilly for a while and the seats were a bit wet to sit on for rests but otherwise it turned out to be a brilliant day. We arrived at the Kaka feeders just after they had been fed and there were a huge number of them jumping about and arguing with each other. I wasn't going to bother with them today but I couldn't resist stopping for a few minutes.

Kaka

We walked up to the Discovery area where there are always lots of Hihi (Stitchbird)'s and we weren't disappointed. They flittered about around us between the trees and the feeders hardly ever stopping long enough for me to click the shutter. I thought the Fantails were the teases of the trees, but they have nothing on the Hihi There were bellbirds and robins there as well. The robin decided I must have something good in my camera bag so took a bit of time to check it out.

Male Hihi (Stitchbird)

North Is Robin

We took the boat on the way back and were lucky enough to have it to ourselves. There were no shags sitting on the raft which was a shame but there were a few playing about in the water that I managed to get a few shots of. Michael (the boat operator) was most accommodating after seeing my camera. He unzipped the plastic windows and turned the boat this way and that, and backed off for me when he got too close to the birds. He pointed out all the birds of interest and their nests along the way. A real treat!

Pateke and duckling

Pateke and duckling

Pied shag playing about in the water

The Shag Tree

We headed up to Waikanae yesterday because there wasn't a lot happening at Pauatahanui and there is ALWAYS something to photograph at Waikanae. Yesterday was no exception!  The spoonbill (only one) was off in the distance and unreachable even with my big lens. There were pied stilts and pukekos, shags and ducks. It was just a case of finding what would capture my interest and make a good shot.

I started trying to photograph the shags flying in from the estuary but they were either too fast or changed directions too often and I never really managed to get the shot I wanted. I did manage to get one carrying some sticks back - he was obviously still nest building.  I looked around to see what else there was and found the cutest New Zealand Scaup (male) playing about in the water. He was there one minute and gone the next as he dived under the water out of sight.

Then we drove round the road and went looking at one of the shag trees. There are several that they roost in and one in particular had a couple of easily photographed nests. There were at least three different species of shags in the tree which I found absolutely amazing.  There were pied shags, little shags, and little black shags all nesting in the same neighbourhood.

I like to think I timed it right but then they are probably feeding the chicks constantly however I was very happy with the feeding shots I got. It is a shame that the nests are so messy among the branches but if you can get past that the birds are really interesting to observe. I certainly would not want to me a shag mamma, the kids would always be trying to get down your throat!

 

Waikanae Estuary

Judging the tides, the weather and the time available to me is not always easy. Yesterday we had the time and the tide, and after so many beautiful days I was hoping for blue skies too but when we arrived at Waikanae it was overcast and cloudy.  Strangely as we left, the clouds broke up and the blue sky was there after all - just a little bit late for me.

The Waikanae Estuary is a great place for bird photography, there are so many different species of bird that you can easily get close to if you are patient and quiet. I took a camp chair and sat and waited for the birds to come to me, and that is exactly what they did. I was hidden in the reeds so not seen as a threat. I will do this again as it worked so well. Comfortable too!

I was especially happy to see the Royal Spoonbills fly in. They are such majestic birds to photograph and it is not always easy to get too close to them. Again, the birds came to me so weren't worried about my being there - it was great! I just wish the clouds weren't about because the water looked so flat and grey.

I noticed that one of the Spoonbills had blood on the top of her head. She had obviously been in the wars somewhere and was quite annoyed with anyone who came too close to her. (I am assuming her gender, I could be wrong). She lashed out at the other two a few times while I was watching them.

Nature workshop with Simon Woolf & Murry Cave

Today I attended a Nature Photography workshop at Zealandia run by Simon Woolf and Murry Cave. After a brief run down on health and safety, we headed out into the valley an hour before it was open to the public. Definitely the best time to be at Zealandia on a sunny day, there were birds everywhere! We started out with a stop at the green geckos where everyone had an opportunity to photograph them through the glass of the enclosure, then the group split off into two. Simon and the first ten headed off while the rest of us stayed a bit longer with the geckos.

Eventually we all started to slowly move further into the valley stopping every time we saw something move. Murry was great, giving instruction on camera settings for any given situation and advice on how to capture the birds, what to look for and where to focus. We saw tui flitting about in the air above us, shags flying off to feed, fantails darting about around us. It was hard to know which direction to point the camera in!

I am happy that I got so many good images of the fantails, they have proven very difficult in the past but today they were very obliging. I do wish I had managed to get one with its tail fanned out though, but I was just not quick enough. Something to aspire to in the future.

There were lots of juvenile shags sitting about on the raft and branches around the lake edges. One of them put on a bit of a wing display for us, another was playing in the water with a stick. As soon as we pointed the camera at it, it dived under for a game of hide and seek. I managed to capture a couple of images on the few times that it popped up out of the water.

I had a bit of a rest at the kaka feeding station because by this time my aches and pains were making themselves felt in a big way but when the group headed up the hill to the discovery area I did manage to get myself there too (with the aid of Murry’s monopod substituting as a walking stick – Thanks Murry). Once there I think I shot off two photos of a Hihi before we had to head back for lunch. Thankfully one of the two was an ok shot.

As we headed back we checked in with the Tuatara but unfortunately they were still hiding – probably from the shag! It was a game lots of them were playing. We were told once we were eating lunch in the café that the tuatara had come out but by that time I had had enough.

Anyway walking back to the café at the visitor centre was such a daunting prospect I decided that the boat was the better option. Paula and I boarded the boat and had it all to ourselves! We were treated to a close up encounter with the shags on the raft, and a close look at the nesting shags in the tree overhanging the lake. There was one nest with very young chicks in it; we saw a head popping up now and then and a very tired looking mum watching over her chicks. Above that nest there was another with larger chicks all hassling their parents for instant feeding. We watched while one of the chicks just about lost itself down its parent’s beak searching for food.

After lunch Simon showed us some of his prints sharing his experience with different papers and printers, followed by a question and answer session. We were a very quiet group as there weren’t a lot of questions asked. Guess we were all just enjoying the rest time. The two groups then headed back out to the valley for more time with the birds and nature, but Paula and I decided it was time to go, so we left them to it.

It was interesting to hear both Simon’s and Murry’s experiences with nature photography and once I have absorbed all that was shared today, I hope I can improve my nature shots too. The main thing that came out of the day for me was that you need to be taking photos all the time. Your camera needs to be so familiar to you that you don’t have to think about the settings you are using, you just instinctively do it from experience. With nature photography, and in particular birds, often in the time you take to think about the settings, you lose the shot.

Black Shags

In all the time I have spent with the shags over the last few weeks, I have never seen them fly in a large flock before. We were at the Pauatahanui Inlet when in the distance a large black cloud appeared. It was moving towards us and moving fast! So fast that I almost didn't manage to get a shot of it coming in.

This image really doesn't do it justice, I didn't have time to change my lens. They dropped down close to the water as they reached us and with a splash landed in the water not far from us. They bobbed about for a short while with the sea gulls and then they were gone again. It was very strange behaviour to me, but I am sure there is a seasonal reason for it. I managed to get a few shots of them before they left.

I think the sea gull was a little confused because he left with them when they flew off. Looked a bit funny, all these large black birds, and one white gull.

Birds in Flight

In preparation for my trip to the gannets this year, I have been practicing capturing birds in flight with my new Sigma lens. Before I went out this time I did some research on the web to see how others had achieved this and what settings they used to do it. I wrote down the 'recipe' and off I went with a couple of friends.  We sat on the side of the river with our picnic lunches, camera and boots and every now and then you would hear one of us shout "incoming..." and then the click click click of the shutters could be heard.

We did this for several hours before deciding that we had done our dash for the day. From my point of view it was a brilliant exercise because while I shot a lot of images I will discard,  the success rate was high. I am getting more and more comfortable with the large lens and the 'recipe' worked!

All these images were shot with 1/2000 sec shutter speed on TV priority. The stabiliser on the lens turned off and auto focus set to AI servo. ISO was set to 400. The sun was bright so there was enough light for me to achieve these results that I am really happy with.