Grasshopper MKII

On a windy day, the best place for macro photography is close to the ground. This grasshopper was bouncing around the tall, dry grass on the banks of the Brisbane River.

Nikon d70 : 1/80 : f/9 : 90mm : iso200

Striated Pardalote

In my little bird book there are 3400 illustrations of 850 species, and even then, I don't think this guy is represented. The closest I can match it with is the Yellow-throated Scrubwren, but don't quote me. Whatever it is, it's caught itself a fly for lunch. (Found it! It is actually a Striated Pardalote.)

Nikon d70 : 1/600 : f/9 : 250mm : iso200

Caterpillar

This caterpillar has been munching its way through the garden for the two days that I have been watching it. It took a while to get a good image of it, as it was lost in the background foliage in the daylight photos. This night image worked out well, throwing the background into black with a shallow DOF and use of a flash.

Nikon d70 : 1/60 : f/9 : 90mm : iso200

Willie Wagtail

This is my mate willie. Willie pretended to be shy of the camera, tried to play coy, by flittering away, but in the end, couldn't help him/herself and just had to get in for the close up.

Nikon d70 : 1/250 : f/5.6 : 300mm : iso200

Shield Bug

I went searching for a reference for this little critter, all I came up with, is that it is a shield bug, of which here are about 300 species in Australia.

Nikon d70 : 1/320 : f/9 : 90mm : iso200

Honeyeater

I love books for IDing things! This is a Brown Honeyeater, fairly common throughout Australia, principally a nectar-feeder, it also takes insects. I took this photo at the Roma Street Parklands.

Nikon d70 : 1/1000 : f/5.6 : 300mm : iso400

Bee? (Hover Fly!)

I've decided I hate trying to ID things via web searching, so for now, this one remains anonymous, at least until I get to a book shop. In the mean time, I'm calling it a bee.

As it turns out, it's a Hover fly, so called because it hovers (derr!). Coloured like a bee or wasp for protection.

Nikon d70 : 1/160 : f/6.3 : 90mm : iso200

Fly

A lazy day walking through the city gardens, just to find a fly!

Nikon d70 : 1/200 : f/7.1 : 90mm : iso200

Wasp

I'm assuming this is a native wasp, and after much net serching, I've been unable to ID it. Apparently there are over 2000 native wasp in Australia. I came upon a nest of these in a hollow of a tree at Mt Cooth-tha on the Greenhood St walk. If anyone recognises this wasp, feel free to let me know.

PS I've discoverd this to be a potter wasp, one of 30 in the species

Nikon d70 : 1/50 : f/5.6 : 90mm : iso400

Magpie

This is a garden variety magpie, found all over Australia. It even has football teams named after it! They like open park or garden areas with a few tall gum trees around for shealter and nesting. During nesting season (Aug - Oct) they get very agressive in protecting their territory and have been know to cause injuries to humans when they swoop. Growning up across from a park that was home to magpies as a kid, I would look forward to "magpie season" to be entertained by the people running scared from swooping magpies.

Nikon d70 : 1/125 : f/5.6 : 300mm : iso200

Rainbow Lorikeet

I've been trying to get close enought to one of these beauties to take an decent image for months now. Today was my lucky day. The Rainbow Lorikeet is widespread throughout the forests of Eastern Australia and South Australia and is also a common in urban areas. It feeds on nectar and pollen and is oblivious to almost everything else whilst feasting. This is how I was able to get in close for the photo. Some trivia for you, in 1774, the Rainbow Lorikeet was the first Australian bird ever to be illustrated in colour!
Nikon d70 : 1/100 : f/5.6 : 300mm : iso400

Noisy Miner

This is a young Noisy Miner near the Ashgrove library. The Noisy Miner is, as the name suggests, a very noisy bird. It can aggressively attack larger birds such as hawks and kookaburras. These attacks may be so vigorous that most other birds are excluded from an area occupied by a colony.

Nikon d70 : 1/400 : f/5.6 : 300mm : iso1000

Grass Hopper

It's amazing what you find in the garden when you look up close. As far as I'm able to ascertain, this is a female Blackish Medow Katydid. It's common in the Brisbane bushland and is usually active at night. This one looks like it has had a hard life, as it only has one hind leg!
Nikon d70 : 1/350 : f/9 : 90mm : iso200

Magpie Lark

Magpie Lark enjoys the afternoon sun at Anzac Park, Toowong. This bird is common in most gardens and parks across Australia and breed all seasons.
Nikon d70 : 1/800 : f/5.6 : 300mm : ISO200

boondall egret

An early morning shoot of an egret at the Boondall wetland on the Ballai Dhagun walking circuit. The shoot was taken from the board walk near the birdhide.
Nikon d70 : 1/250 : f/4.5 : 300mm : ISO200

Ant fight

I came across these Golden Spiny ants on the Powerful Owl trail at Mt Coot-tha. The aggressive looking one on the left actually lost the fight, was rolled up into a ball and carried away by the victor.

Nikon D70 : 1/200 : f/7.1 : 90mm : ISO 200

botanical bee

This photo was taken at the local botanical gardens.
Nikon d70 : 1/250 : f/4.5 : 90mm : ISO200

starting image for new blog

This photo was taken back in June. I thought it was as good as any to start of my first photo blog. Hope you enjoy.