Friday October 25th

[Man From Ironbark]

Friday afternoon here.

What's to see in this image? 


Not much? well, looking under those two bushes were...



and



They are Spotted Nightjars.

First time for you?
for me as well.
This explains some of the weird sounds heard at night.

Would not have seen them at all had not I had a bloke 20 years younger walking in front.
 He wouldn't have seen them either had he not startled one.

I photographed that one out in the light before we walked back to the ute and waited. 



The startled one went back to where it was. Out in the sunlight was not where it wanted to be. 
We walked around them and walked up the very rocky hill following the now dry creek bed for a while.



Then on the way back they were still there.
A once in a lifetime experience for me. I doubt I'll be able to walk in such places by the next time I get so lucky, since it took 71 years for the first time.

[Dave]

Fascinating photos, MFI. Number 4  is especially fine.

Day Lilies are favorite subjects, but I find the yellow ones challenging. Too often (as with this photo taken 2 days ago) the yellow is so overpowering and lacking variation of saturation and tone that it ends up flat and too much "in your face".

   

[Don]

Nice capture Peter. Looks like a member of the Caprimulgidae family. We have Whip-Poor-Wills, Common Nighthawks, and Chuck-Wills-Widow here.

Day lilies are fun to photograph - for many flowers, I have issues with red ones. You did well with the yellow.

Again, no photos from me. Maybe I will look at my images from the festival and post something.

A week from today we drive to Atlanta to begin our Grand European Tour, beginning with 3 nights in Prague. We actually get underway on 5 Nov from Budapest. Weather forecast so far looks good, as well as the river water levels. Hopefully that will hold for the duration of the trip. Still planning on taking the Lumix P&S but now debating on whether or not to take the Z6 with the medium zoom (up to 200) and maybe a 300mm lens. I'd like to travel light and that 300mm lens especially will add some weight to my backpack.

[Luv2shoot]

Well, that sure was cool to listen to the bird's song.  At one point of its melody, I thought it sounded like a turkey.  If I had heard those sounds at night, I think it would have been quite eerie.  Great find, Peter. And I agree with Dave, number 4 is a fabulous shot. 

Dave, I understand your desire to photograph the yellow day lily. It is so bright and colorful, yet maybe because it is so solid, it is difficult to photograph the separation and depth of the flower. I think you had the right idea a few days ago when your grab was from the side of the flower.

I was browsing through some of the AMI photos yesterday and came across this one.  Since I have no new material to share, you may be getting some "oldies but goodies (hopefully)".

---

Well, that sure was cool to listen to the bird's song.  At one point of its melody, I thought it sounded like a turkey.  I think it would have been quite eerie if I had heard those sounds at night.  Great find, Peter.

Dave, I understand your desire to photograph the yellow day lily. It is so bright and colorful, yet maybe because it is so solid, it is difficult to photograph the separation and depth of the flower. I think you had the right idea a few days ago when your grab was from the side of the flower.

I was browsing through some of the AMI photos yesterday and came across this one.  Since I have no new material to share, you may be getting some "oldies but goodies (hopefully)".

[Luv2shoot]

Don, have a great time on you European trip.
I have heard of several people taking the river cruises. I think you are in for a wonderful time.
LORELL

[Man From Ironbark]

Thanks for all the comments. Yes I agree the #4 is my fave too.

I have family overseas but I cannot fly in jets so if I want to go overseas it would have to be in short hops in lower flying planes. I envy those who can jet around the world. When I was young I wanted to be a jet pilot but those dreams were dashed by the time I was 14.

I love the flower shots. I used to grow day lilies but the Dept. of Ag. sprayed my fruit trees for fruit fly and the spray instantly killed all of my day lily patch.

Your flowers Lorell, remind me of our misteloes.



If you search mistletoe in my Flickr, you'll find quite a few.

Don, yes it is in the family Caprimulgidae.

[DesertDarlene]

I would love to see a nightjar someday.

I'm in Hilo searching for the Nene. I didn't see any earlier today, but I plan to go out when the rain stops. 

Meanwhile, here is a photo of a Pacific golden plover. They're everywhere around here, including at the hotel. In San Diego, they would be a rarity.

[Man From Ironbark]

Now that's a handsome bird.
Darlene, see Don's post about; in the family Caprimulgidae. Birds that you have in the USA. Common NightHawk is one

We have spur-winged plovers here but they are apparently Lapwings.

Our other plovers are indeed dotterels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_plover
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-fronted_dotterel

[DesertDarlene]

Now that's a handsome bird.
Darlene, see Don's post about; in the family Caprimulgidae. Birds that you have in the USA.  Common NightHawk is one

We have spur-winged plovers here but they are apparently Lapwings.

Our other plovers are indeed dotterels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_plover
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-fronted_dotterel

We occasionally get common poorwill sightings in San Diego, but I haven't seen one.

I saw my nemesis bird today, the wandering tattler. However, I haven't gotten a photo of him, so he's still a nemesis for my bird photography.

Edited to add:  I found some Nene only a block from the hotel. It was too dark to get pictures, so I will try over the weekend. The feral cats and a mongoose were bothering them.

[Don]

Really nice flower images in this thread. And a great shot of a Golden Plover, Darlene. I'm envious of your sighting on a Nene, as that is one that we were unable to see while over there. Also have never seen a Wandering Tattler. All this birding talk reminds me that I have yet to update our bird list from our Scotland/Ireland trip. Pretty sure that will put our count over 500 species.