I make no apologies for another shot of this fascinating bird – when you find an accommodating pelican, you really do have to make the most of the opportunity ;-). The angle of the shot gives you a view of the subtle blue in the sea of yellow surrounding the eye. In breeding season this become a dramatic large dark blue and gives the comical clown like appearance I mentioned in my earlier Pelican portrait. The Australian Pelican is not pretty in everyone’s books, but few would argue that they are dramatic and eye-catching and you will never forget your first encounter with them
A shot from my Son’s “Best day ever”. After visiting the Mareeba Wetlands in Queensland, Australia, and on the edge of Eucalyptus woodland next to open grasslands , we came across this Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) A very peculiar bird indeed standing up to 2 metres (over 6 1/2 ft) high. They are flightless, like the Ostrich and they can run at 30 mph. They have very powerful legs which are reputed to be able to break through chain fence, so this is a bird you do not mess with! I did not need much bush craft to get close as he was entirely unphased by my presence (though I kept Harvey in the car and made no sudden moves) and he moved nearer to and further from me as his will took him. He came too close at one point for my lens to get his whole head in and seemed vaguely curious about me. I am very pleased with this side on portrait which shows the colours of the sandy soil as a backdrop. I have another environmental shot with him surrounded by huge termite mounds about 5 ft high in the soil around the eucalyptus trees…….I shall leave that for another day 🙂 Canon 100-400mm f/4.8-5.6 L lens on a canon 7D, hand held at a distance of 2.3 metres and a focal length of 235mm F/5.6 100 ISO and exposure time of 1/320s
MBK Wildlife Photography 