Saturday, June 4, 2011

In Which Al goes batty (again)

A few months ago I posted about a flying fox (fruit bat) colony on the outskirts of Melbourne.
I posted some piccies of very cute flying foxesThen I went back after dark and attempted to get some piccies of the bats leaving on their nightly fruit and nectar foraging missions.

Alas my old camera was not up to the task and the best I got was this.Those funny squiggles are bats flying past a long exposure.

Tonight, I went back again and waited until the sun setAnd the moon came out
And tried again
Now my new camera is light-years ahead of the older model. But it seems I am just asking too much of a stills camera because these are the best I got.At least they are now fuzzy bats rather than squiggles ;-)Having said that I am not at all disappointed.

Because I had fun and…

While I waited for the sun to set some of the other wild life in the area kept me entertained.

This Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) landed right near my feet.
He/she looked at me and turned around and had another look and must have decided I wasn’t a tree and flew off in a panic!

Then this pair of rainbow lorikeets became very interested in this hollow branch.
One looked Then the other looked And the first looked again.
I guess but don’t know that they are scoping for hollows in which to nest (most Oz parrots nest in tree hollows).

Then in the last light I heard a mournful cry. Looking up I saw a flock of Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) flying high overhead, presumably looking for a roosting spot for the night. These birds are beautiful black cockies with yellow cheek patches and a flashing yellow tail. I’ve seen them many, many times but never managed to photograph them.

That is me for the night. Good night!

9 comments:

Charmaine Clancy said...

Awww, I remember visiting the Melbourne bats when we lived down there. Haven't seen any up in Yass yet but hubby tells me there should be a few around (they'd need pretty warm coats about now though). I like the squiggly ones - they could just as easily be dragons :)

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

As always, your pictures are delightful. (Thought about a job involving your talents in photography?)

Jai Joshi said...

Your pics of wildlife and nature always move me. So much beauty and character too.

I'm not an serious bird enthusiast but I do love to look at birds and learn more about them. Everyday I take birdfeed out to a special place and take a few seconds every once in a while to glance out of my window and spy the birds. Something about it gives me peace.

Those parrots made me grin. It looked to me like they were getting all ready to move in.

Jai

Old Kitty said...

Oh those beautiful bats!! Wow!! Look at them in the skies!! So glad to see flocks of them!! wow!!

Oh and look at these beautiful birds - the crested pigeon is so adorable! How cute is that pigeon?!?! I hope that mr and mrs lorikeet find a great place to nest!

Yay for Cockatoos! And yay for your new camera! thanks for sharing these fab pics! Take care
x

Anonymous said...

lol I love the bats pics - squiggly and fuzzy. They're so funny. The first bat looks cross-eyed hehe. Gorgeous photos :)

Denise Covey said...

Hi Al. You just about sent me batty with this one. Great pics. We got some good snaps of bats on our last trip to NT. Pesky little critters.

Denise<3

Myrna Foster said...

That's the cutest bat I've ever seen.

Al said...

Hi Charmaine,
There’s a few colonies in Sydney too. The most famous being in the botanic gardens.
It’s not warm here at the moment. But knowing Yass I guess it’s a fair bit colder up there I the high country!
Pretty small dragons!

Hi Susan,
Thank you!
I have, but it is pretty hard to give up the day job!

Hi Jai
Wildlife is truly moving. The wild is still so much of us even though we have been domesticated for thousands of years.
Birds are wonderful creatures so full of energy, so alive.

Hi Jennifer,
Pleased you enjoyed our bats. There are plenty of hollows around there so hopefully the lories will find something soon.

Hi Niki,
They are funny pics.
Probably looking at me made him go cross-eyed!

Hi Denise,
Pesky? Nooo!
Ok if they set up camp near your house the get a bit smelly but otherwise?

Hi Myrna,
Fruit bats are very sweet. Not strange like the little insectivore species.

Amanda said...

Oh your new camera is awesome! I think the bat photos are so cool even though I am terrified of bats in real life even if they are fruit bats.