ML273398471

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Well, the Lyrebirds were the target for the trip... and what we ended up with was just remarkable; there was one sitting only about ten metres from the boardwalk, perching surprisingly high up on a branch snagged between bushes, absolutely singing its heart out!!! The repertoire of this one was astonishing; aside from its own up-slurred gurgles and liquid notes, it also ran through note perfect impressions of Shrike Thrushes, Yellow Tailed Blacks, Scrubwren buzzings and even, much to my surprise, the rising yelps of a Goshawk!!! Every now and again it would pause to preen, and eventually I decided to set off in hot pursuit!! It stalked with remarkable silence down into the creek bed, where I actually got to watch it picking its way carefully over the sand... and soon I realised it wasn't alone; a big male was tearing at the forest floor and ferns with its huge feet on the ends of the sturdiest, most muscular feet I think I've ever seen on a bird!! One thing that truly struck me was how the birds head always remained perfectly motionless, scanning for morsels, while the entire rest of the body lurched back and forth with each stroke. Another truly remarkable thing about this was the presence of a Scrubwren following this big old male around in search of insects; this was a solid rebuttal to all the "experts" claiming Pilotbirds never do this, for if Scrubwrens do then Pilotbirds surely do it too!! The next Lyrebird was one we heard calling by the road, as was the final one, but one of the most amazing and amusing moments came when I was bagging the Pink Robin and, just a little further down the road, out stalked a furtive Lyrebird!!!

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P610

ISO

1600

Focal length

309.6 mm

Flash

Flash fired, auto

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/125 sec

Dimensions

1600 pixels x 1200 pixels

Original file size

1.35 MB