I was able to return to the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne this week, after so long it seemed almost surreal.
1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 800, focal length 560mm
Canon 5DSR, Canon 200-400 L IS USM EXT
It was a hot day and I took more images of butterflies and bees than I took of birds but I especially like the pose of this New Holland Honeyeater as it peered intently into the Kangaroo Paw blossoms. If there were some greens with the reds and yellows in this shot, it could look quite Christmassy.
Canon 5DSR, Canon 200-400 L IS USM EXT
I sat on one of the tracks while I waited for a friend to arrive; it was very relaxing. In front of me and to my right were these yellow ‘daisies’. I should have photographed the name of the plant. To my left were the white blossoms in the image below. It was fascinating to see the different species of bees that visited the flowers.
Canon 5DSR, Canon 200-400 L IS USM EXT
The bees were moving very rapidly, often spending less than a second at each blossom. The plant above was a mass of white flowers but only the flower in the image had a clear background behind it. I watched that blossom for a very long time hoping that it would be visited by a nectar-seeker, it was worth the wait.
Canon 5DSR, Canon 200-400 L IS USM EXT
It was interesting to notice that the yellow flowers to the right of me were visited by butterflies more often than the other patch of the same flowers.
Birds are quieter in the heat of the day, they conserve energy by foraging earlier in the morning and in the late afternoon. They also conserve energy by not singing or calling if the temperature rises high. I conserved energy by sitting on the track, blossom-watching instead of bird watching – I hope you don’t mind.
Happy birding, Kim
~ Facebook page Kim Wormald – lirralirra
~ Facebook group Ethical Bird Photography
Magnificent photographs, Kim. I love them all.
Thanks so much Margot
Magnificent pics Kim, particularly of the nymphalid Painted Lady(Vanessa kershawi), enjoy a wonderful Christmas and your hard-earned freedom of movement
Thanks for the information about the butterfly Trevor, and for your kind words
Beautiful photos as ever, Kim. Thank you for bringing us such joy in this difficult year.
You’re so welcome Kat, thank you for your kind comments
Hi Kim we never need to apologise for connecting with nature in all its beauty and your photos again clearly show Mother Nature and her wonderful creations are truly beautiful, unique and so important in our environments. Bees are under threat from the use of toxic chemicals in gardens and I congratulate the wildlife warriors who are fighting to remove these chemicals such as Roundup etc from the garden centres. Bees, butterflies, ladybirds and our wonderful birds need our protection to ensure they will always be there for you to capture that precious moment in time and celebrate Mother Nature at her best. It would have been wonderful to finally get out into a park and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne are a great place to visit and spend time just relaxing, rejuvenating and reconnecting. Pictures are gorgeous. Merry Christmas to you and let’s hope 2021 will be a great year.
There is much more awareness, in many places, about the natural world and how to care for it – I hope that awareness continues to spread. Thank you for caring
Thanks for your photos Kim. Very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
My pleasure Valda. I used one of your beautiful kookaburra paintings as part of a Christmas gift today, thank you
Hi Kim, my name is Claire and I briefly chatted to you when you were in Lyons Road the other day. Thanks for sharing your website details with me – I’ve since enjoyed looking through all your beautiful photographs!
Kind regards, Claire
Hi Claire, it was lovely to meet you! Another of your neighbours was lovely too, I sat on his lawn for quite a few hours. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the photographs, wishing you many beautiful feathered visitors during 2021, Kim
Mind? Hell no. I would very, very happily have sat and marveled with you.
I ‘think’ that the yellow daisy is a paper or straw daisy – a small and delightful native plant. I can remember one year seeing a great swathe of them blooming in the ‘divider’ on a stretch of freeway. I still smile at the memory.
I am very glad to you get out to this beautiful haven too.
That would have been a beautiful, golden sight! Maybe one day we’ll share a visit to somewhere here or there…
It looks like the flower centre is reaching up to the butterfly saying I’m ready to be pollinated – go for it!
Thank you for all the wonderful photos you share with us. Hope you have a lovely Christmas in the sun, while we are under snow!
Cheers, Bridget
It really does! You’re very welcome Bridget. I have memories of seeing the landscape freshly covered with snow, so beautiful. Now the most I see is a very occasional speckling of mild frost. Smile for me when you see snow next, keep warm, Kim
Very nice Kim, so good you can get out and about now
Thank you Bill