Brolga
Of all the birds I have photographed in the last year Brolgas would be the hardest. They do not allow you to get close and are most visible in the middle of the day when heat makes taking good clear photos from long distances almost impossible. The heat waves in the air ruin the images.
During my many attempts to take photos I have learnt a lot about them. When they return to our area for the dry season in 2021 I hope I can get some better photos using that knowledge.
They are very communal and play and dance amongst each other. Very entertaining to watch.
The afternoon that I watched this group for about an hour they were just too far away and the sun was setting so light became an issue. When the sun was bright the heat waves were a problem. Just can never win.
During the day they feed openly in fields. Particularly liking freshly harvested fields searching for what has been revealed.
By late November I had learnt some of their nightly resting spots and would position myself to take photos as they came in for landing in large groups. December with the start of the wet saw them depart the area for the Northern Territory.
Catching them in flight was one of my favourite past times. Never really got any fantastic photos but I just enjoy watching them as they call out to each other during flight.
The Swamp above was one of the birds resting spots up the Tablelands. Late November it was barely a source of water but one none the less that the Brolgas used. That area where the Brolgas are standing is now about 3 feet under water after the heavy rain we had.
The size and wingspan of these birds and the way that they effortlessly fly is very impressive.
This is a late afternoon arrival at the Swamp for the night in November 2020. Stunning as they flew past the sunset after-burn.
Early mornings were also nice to view as the Brolgas danced in that red early morning light on the dry Swamp bed.
After the sun had fully risen the birds would fly out of the Swamp in groups to feed in the nearby farmlands for the day. This was one of the last photos I took of them before they all headed to the Northern territory.