Photograph of a remarkably tame Darter at Ascot Waters in Perth, Western Australia. The feather pattern is incredible.

Just received my copy of Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds (by Les Christidis and Walter E. Boles) in the mail, purchased from Andrew Isles Bookshop. I can highly recommend this shop: the delivery was quick, email notification fantastic and the packaging top notch. This is the first bird related book I have purchased that is not a field guide. It should make for interesting reading.

I have finally seen Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) in the wild – we saw a group of them in the Stirling Ranges a few weeks ago. Spotted a Yellow-throated Miner (Manorina flavigula) at Joondalup Health Campus last week – this is my first metropolitan area sighting.

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis ) seen near the Rio Tinto West Angelas mine camp (23°07’53.96″ S 118°41’39.18″ E). They were reasonably difficult to find and identify but thankfully I got a few good photos. This is my first new honeyeater for a while.

Just saw a Pheasant Coucal (Centropus phasianinus) in the Dampier townsite. This is my second sighting; the first was on the Burrup Peninsula (I got some very poor photographs). It is a very impressive bird, and fairly large as well. Alas, I was not carrying my camera…

For further information see here.

For a while I have been meaning to write a post outlining my thoughts on bird watching/bird photography/twitching etc. This does not mean that I consider myself to be an authority on any of these topics.

Bird Watching: I have always been interested in bird watching. From an early age my parents and grandparents fostered a love of the outdoors and of wildlife. I don’t use whistles or recordings to attract birds (although others do and I don’t object). I also try not to disturb the birds in any way (although sometimes this is unavoidable).

Bird Photography: Only recently have I had a camera capable of doing decent bird photography. My first camera was a Nikon F50, which is a wonderful camera. I soon found the 35-80mm zoom lens inadequate, and the cost of buying a bigger lens prohibitive. Developing film also started to get expensive. I then moved to digital, buying a Kodak DX6490 with 10x optical zoom. This was better but ultimately the cheap construction (zoom toggle doesn’t re-center properly, main switch is broken) led me to buying a Canon 350D. This is a brilliant camera. I purchased the camera cheaply (just after the 400D was announced) with a twin lens kit. The 75-300mm zoom lens is perfect for my level of experience and is still portable enough to head bush with. Recently I have added a low end Manfrotto tripod to the kit. I recommend buying a good camera bag as well (I have a Lowepro).

I use bird photography primarily as a means of bird identification. Being able to look at the photo close up on a computer and compare it to a few field guides is invaluable (and nearly impossible to do in the field). I do rely on taking notes as well (although not as much as I should).

Twitching: I am not really that much of a twitcher. I do keep a life-list and I would love to increase it but I do not go flying across the country to see a rare vagrant. My lifestyle doesn’t really permit this sort of activity (I work and have a wife and children). Twitching would be cool though (if this book is anything to go by). I believe that the data obtained through twitching has significant value.

Feel free to comment on this post!

While dropping a car off in Karratha, I saw a dozen or so Zebra Finches building nests. They were building their nests in the hollows created by old fronds in a row of palm trees. It was a hub of activity, birds flying backward and forward every 60 seconds or so carrying twigs twice their length. I wish I had my camera with me as they were not at all concerned about my presence.

Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus), photographed at Lake Gwelup with my Canon 350D digital camera. I cropped the photo as it is one of the few that has reasonable focus.

Late last night I noticed a Tawny Frogmouth sitting on the line going to our house. I have never seen one of these in the suburbs (I haven’t really been looking) so it was a bit of a surprise. It was quite happy to sit there while I got a closer look and took some photos. Quite an unusual looking bird up close, the bristly feathers above the beak were clearly visible.

Kylie identified it as a Tawny Frogmouth (I initially thought it was an owl of some kind) and held the torch on it so I could focus the camera correctly.