Tablelands Swamp
July 2020
When I arrived at the Swamp a bit before midday I was the only person there. It would remain that way for the rest of the day.
Greeting me on my arrival
To make up for the lack of people the birdlife there is quite plentiful. This particular bird checked me out for a quite a while.
If you like water lilies then you will love the Tablelands Swamps. Really quite pretty and unlike other Swamps this one seemed to be quite insect free, other than flies.
Backlit flowers on the Swamp.
The above shot was taken later in the day as the sun backlit the flowers as it headed to wards sunset at the other end of the swamp. Photos of the sunset and spectacular after burn at the end of this post.
Australian Darter
I see a lot of Australian Darters as I roam the area. Unlike some of the other birds there they seemed quite unafraid.
This one was almost following me for a while after I arrived. When I got a bit too close it took off displaying that beautiful gold colour on it’s wings in the sunlight.
A nesting Swan
One of the locals told me that there were cygnets (baby swans) there last time he visited. On this day I did not see any in the water but there was a nesting Swan. I have since learnt that once they hatch the cygnets spend less than a day in the nest.
I took this photo at about the hottest part of the day and you can see the heat in the back of the photo rising from the water.
Wandering Whistling-Ducks?
I am pretty sure these are Wandering Whistling-Ducks. We were at Hasties Swamp in Atherton a few days before and there were hundreds if not thousands of them there as well as the prettier Plumed Whistling-Ducks. These birds are easily scared and take to flight.
You will see and smell these at the Swamp.
Most of the swamps in the area are cattle land. Be careful where you step and be prepared for the smell. The cattle at the Swamps are quite skittish. You get too close and they just run off.
A pelican coming to check me out.
Speaking of animals that scare easily, the Pelicans at the Swamp were not easy to get close too. Late in the day however one decided to check me out and flew straight at and over me.
Pelican does a fly by.
As the bird reached me it turned away almost like a plane at an air show. Just grateful he did not drop a message as he flew over.
I went to the Swamp that day to primarily takes some photos of the landscape but the birds were too much to ignore. Above are some of the other birds I saw: Royal Spoon Bill, Pied Cormorant, Cattle Egret and a White Faced Heron.
The long shadows of late afternoon and some promising cloud.
As much as the birds are fun I was there that day to enjoy the sunset. As it approached the clouds looked very promising to give some nice interaction with the sun as it set.
…even more promising.
When you are a sunset junkie and see clouds and light as above the excitement level begins to rise.
Sunset……not as good as I wanted :(
Often the best part of a concert is the encore. Mother natures encore is the after burn in the blue hour…. and I was so glad I stuck around for it this day.
Sunset done the afterburn starts. Promising again.
Mother nature really did save the best for last on this day. The next photo was a perfect way to end the day at the Swamp in almost darkness.