A diary of visitors to my back yard

[dullbird]

OK I have decided to start a thread of visitors to my house....so when ever I get new photo's I can just add them to this thread rather than starting a new one each time:)...

The orb spiders taken a couple of days ago

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/658.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/659.jpg

The wallaby and the bee also taken a few days ago

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/660.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/661.jpg

And a kangaroo plus one of the two crimson Rosella's taken tonight:)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/662.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/663.jpg

[dullbird]

Wag tails in my back yard.....
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/266.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/267.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/12/268.jpg

[dullbird]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/01/1390.jpg

[dullbird]

Finally a picture of a kookaburra....they are really shy around here!

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/01/1142.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/01/1143.jpg

[midal]

The top photo is a good shot DB

Cheers
Mick

[dullbird]

The "dollar bird" Adult with it's young. (thasnks for the ID Crump)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/01/422.jpg
(http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa212/dullbird/My%20back%20yard/20100124-DSC_0133.jpg)

[dullbird]

another couple of a kookaburra's that's all I really see in the yard at the moment now I have fenced the roo's out and the dogs in :(...still these little guys are coming closer and closer to the house now thanks to all the dead chook's the foxes and feral cats leave lying around

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/04/1636.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/06/1496.jpg

[Chucaro]

Nice series Dullbird, I love the Rosella :)

[Sleepy]

You have nice visitors DB:)....except that spider:eek::mad:
Nice shots too.

[dullbird]

Sorry I know its another Kooka but they seem to be coming closer and closer to the house I really like them I think they are quite majestic birds

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/150.jpg

and just another one a bit closer and cropped in

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/06/1495.jpg

[Landy Smurf]

nice photos keep them coming

[dullbird]

Can anyone tell me is this a small wattle bird? it makes the strangest of noises which is how I came to notice it was visiting. I also had a photo of an eastern spinebill in the same tree at the same time as this one but photo did not turn out well as these bird only seem to bloody visit when there is no detail what so ever in the sky so I can be assured the sky will blow out :(

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/12/63.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/12/64.jpg

[Scouse]

It certainly has the same colour plumage as a Wattle Bird & they're quite common around Sydney so I think you could be right.

I can't say I've heard of 'small' variants though.

[bee utey]

Best match:

Little wattle bird (Anthochaera chrysoptera): silvery ear patch, cinnamon patch in wing, 27-30cm, a streaked wattle-less wattle bird with whitish ear patch. Above and below, dark olive-brown streaked and speckled white; head, paler, with dark streaks through eyes and from base of bill enclosing whitish ear patch; wing patch (visible in flight), cinnamon; tail, tipped white on outer feathers. Bill, black; eyes, reddish brown; legs: dark grey. Voice: chuckling cackle; "Kraa-cook". Range SEQ to SA, also Tas, open forest and coastal heath, especially banksia and dryandra.

From A Field Guide To Australian Birds, Passerines, author Peter Slater.

[dullbird]

Think this little fella is lost!! was on the wall next to the plasma in the lounge room

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/689.jpg

[Ace]

Thanks Lou, Marcos is looking at the pics over my shoulder. he likes the spider best.

[Scouse]

Think this little fella is lost!! was on the wall next to the plasma in the lounge room

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/689.jpgThat's the rare minature hairy frog ;).

[Cap]

Think this little fella is lost!! was on the wall next to the plasma in the lounge room

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/689.jpg

You werent watchin a doco on rainforests and it thought it was the real thing? :p

nice pics, keep them coming. One suggestion DB... for the pics of the birds, try changing the metering to 'spot' and meter off the bird. This will ensure that the bird exposure is correct even tho it will blow out the highlights (sky). Else you will always get silhouettes when shooting up to the sky.

[dullbird]

You werent watchin a doco on rainforests and it thought it was the real thing? :p

nice pics, keep them coming. One suggestion DB... for the pics of the birds, try changing the metering to 'spot' and meter off the bird. This will ensure that the bird exposure is correct even tho it will blow out the highlights (sky). Else you will always get silhouettes when shooting up to the sky.


Stooge last pic of the wattle bird was spot metered on the bird but it was low light and the D80 does not like low light the sky was blown out I brought the sky back a bit on light room...because it was white behind it.

[dullbird]

St Andrews Cross spider...first one in the garden

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/676.jpg

This one is a fraction blown out on the body as I needed the flash to freeze it due to the wind blowing the web around

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/677.jpg

[dullbird]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/204.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/205.jpg

treated the tree to get these under control now the tree is healthier these have reduced and other bugs are now eating the tree..can't win:D

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/206.jpg

dont know what these little bugs are...they almost look like ticks

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/207.jpg

plenty of these buggers on there too

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/208.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/209.jpg

oh and a spider taking a nap:D

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/210.jpg

All these pics are straight from the camera and have not been touched other than a crop on one or two:)

[Ace]

More great shots Lou, i studied Entomology at UNI but cant tell you what those little black ones are, been a few years since I studied bugs. I'd look them up but Stacey went crazy with a clean up and all my text books ended up in storage.

[Chucaro]

Going by the image the little bugs are citricola scale (Coccus pseudomagnoliarum) there is 50 years since I left agricultural college it will be better for you to take a leaf to the local garden center ;)

Nice photos by the way.

[dullbird]

Ok so finally I have managed to get a half decent photo of the what I think is the "Little Wattle Bird" which I took underexposed pics of further back (yes I know these are still a little soft but I was on maximum zoom in poor light). Its a hard bird to get a photo of because as soon as you lift your camera its off...I got these photo's because I was hiding behind the lemon tree and poking the camera through the branches....lol

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/03/183.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/03/184.jpg

[dmdigital]

First pic looks pretty good.

Lou, push the ISO up to 320 or 400 (1.5 or 2 stops) and that will give you a faster shutter speed which would make both shots able to be at 1/200 or higher. The D80 is still pretty noiseless at ISO400 and also if you de-noise and sharpen the images in LR I think you will find a big difference.

I would set the camera to AutoISO, minimum of 100, maximum of 600 and change on a shutter speed of 1/200.

[dullbird]

The first pic has been sharpened but only a smidge I have never had much success with the noise adjustment :(

I thought I actually did have it on 320 ISO as I usually bump it up a bit when its over cast...and especially when i have the wide angle on as its not as fast as the 200.

these are cropped in pretty tight too cropped at 1:1 which I think is really highlighting the noise and the softness. Still I got a picture of the little illusive git that was the main thing :lol2:

[dmdigital]

I looked at the EXIF and it has them at ISO100. The cropping does explain the noise and softness, especially with the D80. One of those things that a newer camera would be better at, newer sensor and image processor. The D200 has the same issue.

[dullbird]

so what your saying is buy a new camera with a new 300mm lens...







OK :D










I wish:(

[dmdigital]

Not at all. Nothing wrong with the D80, I still use the D200 as well as the D3s.

[dullbird]

Not at all. Nothing wrong with the D80, I still use the D200 as well as the D3s.


You were supposed to say YES:p:angel:

I thought you sold the 200 to dale????

[dmdigital]

Yes, you should upgrade, D7000 is very good.

No he went and bought a small Compact-Pro - Panasonic, I think. The moon shot the other day was with the D200. I still want to have a DX for the extra reach, will eventually upgrade it though, but no plans as yet.