Another lunchtime walk around Melbourne last week, enjoying the sun, the people and the architecture.

Burke and Wills memorial, Melbourne CBD

Smokers in Presgrave Place, Melbourne CBD

Buskers and tourists, Bourke St Mall, Melbourne CBD
Another lunchtime walk around Melbourne last week, enjoying the sun, the people and the architecture.

Burke and Wills memorial, Melbourne CBD

Smokers in Presgrave Place, Melbourne CBD

Buskers and tourists, Bourke St Mall, Melbourne CBD
A walk around the city on a hot summer’s day, watching the lunch crowds and traders along the small laneways off Flinders Lane and finishing off the walk with a few songs from the buskers in the Bourke St Mall.

Lunchtime traders in Centre Place, Melbourne CBD – a fantastic spot for good food and a great price from a variety of small hole-in-the-wall shops – also has some interesting artwork and graffiti.

Buskers in Bourke St Mall, Melbourne CBD – these guys were amazingly good, Spanish style guitar with a modern flair. They were feeling the heat of the mid-day sun – but the show must go on…
Trying to take photographs of Eagles in flight is a great challenge that can test your camera skills, fieldcraft, manners and reflexes.
The first trip up the Genoa River had resulted in some nice images of an Azure Kingfisher and a few nice images of the hunting and roosting White Bellied Sea Eagles. On my second trip up the Genoa River during my 2015 Dec trip to Mallacoota, I gave myself a better chance of taking a few good images of the diving Sea Eagles. I arrived early and claimed what I had learnt was the best spot to sit on the boat (front left corner), I knew that I had to pan the camera while the eagle made its approach and start shooting early, I had to remember to adjust or verify my settings constantly (sky shots vs shots against the dark water or forest) and I had to shoot rapidly and with a high shutter speed to make sure I got plenty of clear action shots. Generally it worked. Occasionally I forgot to adjust the exposure and IOS settings which resulted in over-exposed images.
I was much happier with the second trip and look forward to going again at the end of this year for more improvements

A majestic female White Bellied Sea Eagle, Genoa River, Gypsy Pt

Larger Female at right…

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On my yearly pilgrimage to Mallacoota, I look forward to the certainty of finding and watching White Bellied Sea-Eagles. Even across the other side of the Mallacoota Inlet they are easy to spot with their bright white body, large v-shaped wingspan and easy flight. One of the better places to observe these large Eagles up close, is along the Genoa River where several pairs have claimed feeding and breeding territories. The nests are reused and built upon year after year for decades until it becomes so heavy that it breaks the tree. Access to the Genoa River is via Gypsy Point where a canoe can be hired (or launch your own) or can you join one of the regular boat cruises that head up the river for several kilometres. Each year I join one of the boat cruises and try and photograph these astounding birds of prey. The boat captain has got to know the local eagles and if they are in the area can call them in with a screech and a promise of raw chicken wings.
The photos below are from the first of two boat trips I took – I enjoyed the cruise so much that I booked myself onto another one a few days later. You can never have enough practice in shooting birds of prey in action.

White Bellied Sea Eagle, Genoa River, Gypsy Pt

The White Bellied Sea Eagle has spotted the food and starts its dive keeping its head aligned with the target…

Still watching the target…

Angling to keep facing into the wind for lift…

Lining up, talons starting to unfurl…

Extending legs and talons opening

Legs extended, talons open, eyes fixed on the target…

Impact…
Gypsy Point, on the Genoa River, north of Mallacoota, is a small quiet village visited by people interested in nature and those wanting to get away from it all. I visited a few times during my recent stay in Mallacoota. Not only is it a good location for Sea-eagles it is also well known for a variety of birds, mammals and reptiles. While photographing the Sea-eagles from the small cruise boat, we came across a tiny Azure Kingfisher – a stunning looking little ambush hunter that works its way along the water’s edge, diving from an over-hanging tree branch down into the shallow water and taking small fish, frogs and aquatic insects.
The Kingfisher photographed below was not overly bothered by the boat and kept hunting along the river’s edge while the Captain tried to ease up and allow me a closer view.

Azure Kingfisher, Genoa River, Gypsy Pt

Looking for prey along the water’s edge

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The beautiful colours of the Azure Kingfisher
As part of of my recent stay at Mallacoota, I had planned to drive into the Cape Wilderness area and look for the Eastern Bristlebird – a rare bird on the Victorian side of the border. A location known to have a small population is Howe Flat, a coastal paperbark swamp near the wilderness coast. To find your way into the right area you need to drive into NSW and then loop back into Victoria via long narrow bush tracks. The area is not far from Mallacoota as the crow flies but it is on the other side of the inlet with no easy or direct access. It can take several hours of tough AWD/4WD driving through rainforest and tall trees. The last part of the track is quite narrow but winds through some beautiful country. I actually found a Bristlebird on the NSW side of the border while looping back into Victoria They have a distinctive call, but can be quite shy. It ran in front of the car, called a few times and then disappeared.
Arriving at Cape Howe Flat, I found the bird along the track to the coast fairly quickly – it was quite shy and stayed back in the vegetation but I did get a few shots.
It was a long but very rewarding day.

Cape Howe Wilderness vehicle track – I had to drive through several creeks and rainforest gullies to get to Howe Flat.

Cape Howe Wilderness vehicle track

Driving through creeks to get to the Cape Howe Wilderness Area


Cape Howe Wilderness, Howe Flat

Cape Howe Wilderness, Howe Flat, track to the coast and Eastern Bristlebird – the area was a bit swampy, the track under water or muddy in many parts.

Eastern Bristlebird, Cape Howe Wilderness Area

Quite a vocal bird, with a lovely distinctive call

Eastern Bristlebird – a nice view of the layered tail feathers

Cape Howe Wilderness Coast Line

On the way back from the coast, I came across a little colony of Southern Emu Wrens – a very nice surprise. I did not know that Wrens were found here as well.

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As part of my Compass Tour of Victoria over the summer break, I spent 8 days exploring the areas around Mallacoota. It has become one of my favourite places to visit each summer. Mallacoota is a 6 hour drive East of Melbourne. I usually stop along the way to visit various locations good for birds and wildlife. One of the sites is Double Creek Nature Reserve just outside of Mallacoota. The first part of the walk is through a rain forest with a number of resident Lyrebirds. A few were scratching around in the undergrowth when I arrived.
On arriving at Mallacoota Shady Gully camping ground where I stayed I was talking to one of the managers and heard what I thought was a raptor in the trees bordering the camp ground and the Shady Gully Reserve. The mgr showed me to a small Casaurina tree where a family of rare Glossy Black Cockatoos where feeding. The sound I had heard was the juvenile begging for food. The Cockatoo only eats the seeds of the Casaurina tree.
Over the Xmas break I planned and completed a compass tour of Victoria. It covered Mallacoota and various other spots in the far east of the state, the North East/Central covering the Grampians, Little Desert and Wyperfeld National Park, the far West including Nelson and the The Lower Glenelg National Park as well as a few spots on the way home, and finally the South – Mornington Peninsula. I am finally back at work – resting from all the driving, mozzie bites (and three ticks), early starts and the heat of the desert country. I am already thinking about the end of year trip and what new spots I can discover or visit.
Below are a few photos of the Cabbage Tree Palms from the Cabbage Tree Creek area, located along the Princes Highway on the way to Mallacoota – The Cabbage Tree Palm is Victoria’s only native palm species and are found in a few locations. The picnic ground has a lovely short rainforest walk with many bird and animal species. I saw my first lifer (lifer = first time seeing a bird species) of the trip – a TopKnot Pigeon.
The Topknot Pigeons are often found in this reserve feeding on the fruit of the palm. I saw a flock of around 10 flying across the reserve – they are a very nervous species and will flush and fly off even when I was quite far away. I will have to try for photos the next time I head to Mallacoota.
I did find a curious family of Brown Gerygone along the walk and spent some time photographing them. A tiny bird the size of a thornbill with a melodic song. I managed to see all three main Victorian species in 2015 – Brown, Western and White Throated.
On a visit to a local wetlands, Karkarook Park, in Heatherton, I came across a tiny Superb Fairy Wren chick that practically ran across my foot as I was walking along one of the paths. It stayed right in the centre of the path and ignored me. I stepped back to watch this little family encounter. There were two chicks being fed by two females while several males watched from nearby branches.
I visit Hosier Lane several times a week to look for new art and I can see and appreciate the constant changes. Sometimes when looking for more obscure pieces I look up and see some large pieces that have lasted a while due to their difficult position and the effort required to climb or build scaffolding to work on them. After I photographed the usual spots I found a way up into the parking building that borders one of the laneways and shot the higher walls. The access gave a new and interesting perspective on the art and laneway.
Posted in Street Art, Victoria
Tagged Australia, graffiti, Hosier Lane, Melbourne CBD, Melbourne Laneways, Photography, Street Art, Street Photography, Urban Photography, Victoria
Recent Street Art from Hosier and ACDC Lanes. Some impressive colourful art this time around as well as an interesting monochrome piece. The large pig is from ACDC lane and I am not sure whether it is a protest piece as it is opposite a popular Sth American restaurant that serves a lot of meat dishes. I am curious whether anyone will think that it is a protest piece. However I like both the anatomical pig art and the restaurant.
I noticed something interesting with the image below, it is a very similar image to one I photographed a few weeks earlier but it has been repainted and moved across about 2 meters and incorporated into another piece. See this link for the older picture.
Posted in Street Art, Victoria
Tagged ACDC Lane, Australia, graffiti, Hosier Lane, Melbourne CBD, Melbourne Laneways, Street Art, Urban Photography, Victoria
On the way to Apollo Bay I stopped off at a beach for a break from the drive south and to look at the hundreds of cairns that various visitors have built on the beach. Some of the cairns were very well built and others were surprisingly delicate. One was very impressive, balancing on small edges. I spent some time photographing it and on the way back to the car I met the artist and his girlfriend laughing at my interest in his beach sculpture.
Posted in Victoria
Tagged Australia, Beach Art, Cairn Rocks, Great Ocean Road, Photography, Rock cairns, Victoria
On the recent trip to Apollo Bay we explored a few spots along Cape Otway including the Cape and Lighthouse area. The road leading into the lighthouse park passed through a Manna Gum forest full of Koalas. Of course we had to stop and take a few shots. Never pass up a chance to photograph an animal that barely moves…
One of the sites I visited a few times was the Old Hordern Vale Road, a dirt road winding up into the local hills behind the Apollo Bay township. It is a good spot to find the white morph Grey Goshawk (which I did get to see – lifer!). At the end of the road amongst a few empty weekenders and a forest of very tall Mountain Ash Gums I found the old Cobb and Co coach road. The old track winds around the Mountain Ash ridges and rainforest gullies and finally comes out several kilometres away, re-connecting to a weekender road and back onto the main highway. Along the way I found a good variety of bird species, more Koalas, and some pretty spectacular trees. Definitely a spot I will return to on future trips to the region.
On a recent trip to Apollo Bay, I spent some time exploring the Great Otway National Park. There are a number of waterfalls in the Park including the Stevenson Falls along the Barramunga Creek. I visited the waterfall several times over a few days. It is a good site for shots of the falls, the green moss and ferns within the falls and for the first time I found a bower of a Satin Bowerbird.
While looking around the forest near the waterfall I found a partially constructed Bower from a Satin Bowerbird – immediately identifiable from the shape and the pile of blue objects collected by the Satin Bowerbird. The bower area was probably from last year, the bower was being rebuilt and the blue objects collected by the Bowerbird for impressing the ladies were still covered by weeds and vines.
Two days later I found the owner of the Bower moving his blue treasures about for the best placement, and working on his bower. The Satin Bowerbird is a beautiful shiny black bird with amazing purple eyes.
I had setup my camera and tripod about 10 metres away behind a large pine tree. After a few minutes I lost sight of the Bowerbird and sat back to fight off the ants and mosquitos and realised that the bird was above me watching. He was assessing whether I should be avoided. He watched for a while and then decided I was harmless and went back to the bower to continue his work. (We all try to impress the ladies in our own way).
A second November visit to Hosier Lane produced some impressive pieces. I went back a few days after these were taken and they were mostly gone.
Posted in Melbourne CBD, Street Art, Victoria
Tagged Australia, graffiti, Hosier Lane, Melbourne CBD, Melbourne Laneways, Photography, Street Art, Street Photography, Urban Photography, Victoria