Wow, was today every different than yesterday. After a so-so day yesterday I did all I could to get prepare for today. Boy did things go better. Igot a full nights sleep with no rain or wind though my feet did get a bit cold. My alarm didn't go off because I forgot to set it so I woke up just as the sun had made it over the horizon. When I looked outside Iwas surprised to see a flock of Royal Spoonbill sitting in the water not 100 meters outside my tent. Quick as I could I got dressed and suited up and grabbed a few shots before they headed out to feed for the morning.
Since there was no wind I decided to continue as planned and headed up to the heathland where I didn't get any photos but got to see a couple new birds including the Southern Emuwren which is a cool little bird. Once the sun got up in the sky a bit I headed down into a small patch of rainforest along the Hacking River known as Wattle Forest. Here I was in search of two things, a lyrebird displaying as it was on Sunday when I was there with Chris and Satin Bowerbirds at a bower which was right along the path. I ended up striking out on both but had a nice morning anyway.
After getting lunch and relaxing a bit, I headed back to Wattle Forest to check on the bower again. Nothing happening so I decided to head back to the car and go for a drive. On my way out of the forest I ran in to an Eastern Yellow Robin that was feeding right on the edge of the forest and didn't seem to be too bothered by my presence at all. So I had a seat and spent a nice hour or so photographing this rather cute little bird as he perched on branches and then pounced on the ground. More than once he came up with a large grub which he then fed to another bird that I assume was its young. Iwasn't able to photograph the feeding as it always took place in the dense undergrowth but did manage a number of other images. The one I posted above is by far my favorite.
Photographing in the rainforest is quite difficult. First, it is so dense that it is difficult to get the bird unobscured. Second, the dense foliage produces a lot of shadow making lighting on the bird and background difficult. Usually I have to use flash but that means the bird is often exposed nicely but the background is black, quite an unnatural looking photo for creatures that are active during the day. Here I was lucky to have a tree trunk in the background that had some light on it providing for a decent background, almost halo effect, for the bird that was lit with flash. Today was quite useful in working on this technique.
Oh, and to top it all off, when I returned to my campsite Imade a phone call and learned that I am now the proud owner of a 2001 Toyota Landcruiser Troopcarrier. I should be able to pick it up on Friday and get the last few things I need to be completely outfitted and by this weekend I will be all set to begin my journey! Quite a great day.
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