The northern end of the Federation Walk at The Spit is one of my favorite places for bird photography on the Gold Coast. You do have to get there early to avoid the walkers, runners and cyclists. Plus you need to be a bit aware of which tracks you go down as the area is used by some other people for other purposes but with its openness and short stubby trees it provides plenty of opportunities for some good shots.
The Rainbow Bee-eater is commonly seen and will pose nicely as it looks for a insect to grab out of the air.
The Bar-shouldered Dove is also a commonly seen bird.
The Pheasant Coucal’s call can be heard echoing across the spit in the morning and with a little searching they can be found. They are an interesting bird and quite spectacular with their large tails but they do like to hid in the bushes a bit so it is not always easy to get a clear uninterrupted shot.
For me the Spit is the best place to consistently see the Golden-Headed Cisticola with good close views. They are simply everywhere.
On this visit there was a bit of water sitting around so a few Pacific Black Ducks where taking advantage of the opportunity. Unlike the ones commonly seen at parks they were not as used to people and pretty flighty perhaps having spent some time in the southern states they instinctively took off in a panic when I pointed the camera at them.
There is a couple of families of Brown Quail at the spit but they can be elusive. If I go there looking for them I usually can’t find them. If I am not looking for them I will come around a corner and see them walking down the path but not be quick enough to get a good shot which was the case on this day as I only managed a couple of pretty poor shots. One day I will get some nice shots of a Brown Quail.
A single Dollarbird was spotted sitting in one of the trees. I waited for ages to try and get a take-off shot to show the distinctive dollar marks under the wings but when it eventually decided to move it turned around first and flew in the opposite direction.
Along with the Golden-headed Cisticola the other small bird you always see at the spit is the Tawny Grassbird.
I usually find at the Spit that I will hit a little hot spot of activity with a variety of birds to see. Nothing new to add to my list but plenty of really nice views.
A young White-breasted Sea-eagle was doing some laps up high until it was attracted by the activity and came in close for a better look. This shot is almost full frame not needing very much cropping at all.
And of course the Toressian Crow where in abundance as always.
Nothing new or unusual to see but a nice couple of hours morning walk with some good upgrade shots.
- World Bird Count: 422
- Australian Bird Count: 275
Birds Photographed:
- Rainbow Bee-eater
- Bar-shouldered Dove
- Pheasant Coucal
- Golden-headed Cisticola
- Silvereye
- Australasian Figbird
- Rock Dove
- Pacific Black Duck
- Dollarbird
- Brown Quail
- Tawny Grassbird
- Double-barred Finch
- Australian Pelican
- Brown Honeyeater
- Willie Wagtail
- Leaden Flycatcher
- White-bellied Sea-eagle
- Torresian Crow