Well well, what a week. On Monday I got my brand new pair of Nikon Monarch 8×42 binoculars, so I have been neglecting the camera a little while I marvel at the amazing clarity and brightness of these binoculars. More accurately, I have been marveling at the beauty of many birds that until now, I have been unable to observe in the manner that their beauty deserves. I have been out on the Cairns Esplanade for at least two hours every day so far this week. I managed to scoop these up brand new on Ebay for an amazing $320 AUD delivered (from the US). When the dollar reached 0.92 US cents I just had to.
Not surprisingly, my species list for the Esplanade is larger on average since I got the new peepers. Some of the bird’s that really surprised me with their beauty when viewed properly were the Red-Capped Plover (Charadrius ruficpillus), the Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) and the Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii). Of course all birds have their charms and many are obviously brilliant, but these three really took me by surprise. In fact, these birds prompted me to go through the arduous process of unpacking my backpack and fetching my camera.
For some reason, there appeared to be an abundance of these in the mangroves at the northern end of the Esplanade today. I managed to get quite close to these two males perched towards the edge of the mangroves. While observing the male perched lower in the photo he started calling, which truly unlocked the mystery of a call that had lead me into the mangroves on more than a few occasions. Judging by the number of replies this bird was getting, this species is doing very well here.
This is a photo of the closest Common Greenshank I could find to the shore. It is such a notably graceful bird in the field. I think that is probably the best way to identify them if you are ever out watching waders!
Finally, here is the Red-capped Plover. This particular bird has nothing on a bird I saw Tuesday as far as the brightness of the crown colouring. Still, you can see why they have really engaged me recently.
Although you can’t really tell from a photo, this little plover is the same size as a Red-necked Stint. A truly tiny wader.
Okey doke, a break for me from the PC!
