Little Friarbird
I've just returned from a four-day canoeing trip, exploring some of the smaller anabranches of the Murray River, near where the borders of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria intersect. I can recommend the area very highly to other birders. :t: :t: :t: You need a boat, (preferably small and human-powered) to get to the best spots, but if you can't manage that, you'd still be happy with the available birding. There are also splendid red cliffs, and beautiful riverside scenery on the main river channel.
I was with a group, all young men, and completely disinterested in nature, so my ability to bird was very limited. However, my canoe partner, the teacher, was interested, so on occasion we simply dropped back so that I could take a photo. I can hardly wait for the time I will be able to get back there alone, and go where I want and sit all day if I wish. All those Reed Warblers...they were nesting, carrying bulrush fluff about. I just had to paddle by, because it takes time and patience to photograph Warblers...ah well, I'll be back. ;)
At the junction of two creeks, when the rest of the group had surged ahead, my partner and I stopped for this bird, who had joined forces with a Blue-winged Parrot to chase off a marauding Raven. We were stopped in our tracks by the beauty of its call. The light was behind it, it was almost directly above, and I couldn't see it well, so I shot off a couple of quick ID photos. Before I could try for a better shot, it flew - so I have tried to fix up what I had in photoshop, so that I can add it to my gallery. It's not a very good job, but I'm definitely in the amateur class where photoshop is concerned. I know where it lives, I'll be back to see if it's still there in a while...and the Parrot too. ;)
Thanks to the kindly people who identified it for me in the ID thread. :clap:
