Sydney Botanical Gardens

Our arrival into Sydney, Australia was delayed by enough to disrupt my plans for the day. The temperature was already high with threats that it might reach 4OC. I postponed my trip to Waterfall and took an easy trip to the Botanical Gardens instead to look for Tawny Frogmouths and dragonflies.

In a tiny pool by the tropical glass houses, some Fiery Skimmers, Orthetrum villosovittatum, were chasing each other around. They were very approachable and allowed me to get closer than the macro focusing facility on my Nikon P100.

A Magpie Lark came down to a rock to bathe and get some relief from the heat which was really beginning to build now.

The Australian Emerald, Hemicordulia australiae, wouldn’t stop for a moment in its frenetic chasing, so it had to be taken in flight. This one was found over the little stream that feeds into the twin ponds. It occasionally hovered in a patch of sunlight between the deep shadows, which gave me somewhere to shelter from the sun as I watched and which set up this nice effect.

On the Main pond, above the mullet and the eels, a Common Glider, Tramea loewii, another restless ode, patrolled its area with diligence and vigour. I was not able to translate it into a digital code of zeros and ones. The damselflies here however were static enough for pictures as they sat on the floating weed. The Blue River Damsel, Pseudagrion microcephalum, is also known as a Blue Sprite in Asia. There is a P. australasiae which is almost identical in the male pattern, but which does not reach Australia I understand .If anyone can confirm this ode I would be grateful. Please note the blue bar across the back of the head which causes me some doubt.

In a conifer style tree a pair of Noisy Miners were making even more of a fuss than usual. A quick investigation, hoping to find an owl or perhaps a snake, revealed their brood of fledglings.

The Common Bluetail, Ischnura heterosticta, was a fourth outing for the red pen today. This is probably not surprising as I have not looked for odes in Australia before. If anyone would care to confirm these for me too, I would be grateful, particularly the lower ones.

I don’t have a field guide and am relying on internet surfing to find something to make a reasonable match, but without an exhaustive guide for comparison, it is difficult to be certain.

G.L. as usual had given me a couple of prompts. He had given me directions to find Tawny Frogmouths and Powerful Owl in the gardens. At one of his predictions for the frogmouth in a Swamp Mahogany tree by the wall, there was no sign of the bird, just an old piece of carpet. The Powerful Owl roost remains in potentia as I was not able to find anything there today.

Bird species; 14

Little Pied Cormorant 4, Australian White Ibis 14, Australian Wood Duck 1, Pacific Black Duck 8, Buff-banded Rail 1, Dusky Moorhen 15, Masked Lapwing 4, Silver Gull 8, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo 8, Rainbow Lorikeet 20, Tawny Frogmouth 1, Noisy Miner 15, Magpie Lark 1, Pied Butcherbird 1.

Odonata species; 5

Common Bluetail, Ischnura heterosticta 4, Blue River Damsel, Pseudagrion microcephalum, Common Glider, Tramea loewii 1, Australian Emerald, Hemicordulia australiae 12, Fiery Skimmers, Orthetrum villosovittatum 10.

Miami Dragonflies, August 2009

This post has been transferred in from the now dormant http://www.redgannetdragonflies.blogspot.com/ for ease of linking. It was previously published there on 31st August 2009

On a trip to Miami this week, I was tempted by a new camera and succumbed. I had been looking for a little while at the Nikon Coolpix P90, hoping that it would save me a lot of carrying and lens changing. It has a 24x optical zoom. By some jiggery pokery, the tech specs claim this equates to 26-624mm on a 35mm format SLR camera. My DSLR has a sensor which is smaller than 35mm and thereby produces a cropping effect. This is how my 400mm appears to be 640mm.
Most of my photos are taken at the high end of my 100-400mm Canon. If I need a landscape picture though, I have to change to an 18-55mm. The macro lens is a 50mm Sigma. It is a lot to carry around and a common problem is dust which enters the camera during lens changing. So, a camera with a high top-end zoom, a wide angle capability and a macro function too, might just be the solution. It even has a video capability.
Could it perform well enough to replace the SLR and all it’s lenses? To save you skipping to the bottom of the page in anticipation to find out if in fact it is the answer to all my problems, I am sad to say, it is not.
There is no arguing with the macro function. The result from a quick practice was stupendous. The photo below has been reduced in quality for the blog, but believe me, it is breathtaking on my 17”monitor in the study. I bought the camera from a shop beside a small river near Dadeland Mall. In a stretch of less than 50m of riverbank, I saw 9 different types of dragonflies. Most of them have yet to be identified, but there is enough detail here to confirm that it is a Halloween Pennant.
One issue with the macro function is that the optical zoom is restricted so it is not much bigger than the 50mm Sigma. The "live view" function though allows the picture to be composed at arms length which is a big advantage over my current SLR without "live view". The screen folds out to give good sight even at odd angles. The screen is nice and bright too which allows one to view pictures even in the bright Florida sun.
The wide angle and mid range zoom are fine. I have no problems there.
The top-end zoom works well when the subject is clearly differentiated from the background. Otherwise the auto focus struggles. A dragonfly perched on a stalk with water vegetation behind it took a couple of attempts to get into a decent focus. In this circumstance, I was quite close to the subject. There is a manual focus facility which is operated with the multi function control. It works OK in controlled conditions, but would be a little slow in the event that the subject was moving. To my mind, I think it is an oversight not to provide a remote release facility. With 624mm of throbbing focal length, I would have to use a tripod and with a tripod, I like to use a remote release. It is true that no other compact digital cameras provide the feature either, but why not? Digiscopers have had to develop grips and frames and pushers and pressers in order to achieve what is really a very simple function if built in at the design stage.
I was unaware of a time lag between pressing the button and the shutter releasing. This used to be a dreadful problem, but the Nikon Coolpix P90 appears to have bettered it.
There is sill an issue with the power saving mode. (The battery supplied with the camera is a l-ion and much better than AAAs. Thank you very much to Wendy from Best Buy, Dadeland, for charging the battery for me. It took more than 200 pictures today without showing a power alert.) An SLR will reboot instantaneously when required to take a picture. The P90 took a few moments, but it was reasonably quick compared with other compacts.
I haven’t tried the video facility yet. Maybe I will open an account at Utube when I do.
On the whole, I like it and I think it is good value for money. Will it replace my SLR and lenses? No I don’t think so, unless I become too old and tired to carry that much stuff about. It lacks the immediacy of the SLR and the “hands on” feel of the slide zoom and manual focus ring. Will some of my lenses be consigned to the shelf or the lots at E-bay? Probably not. It will probably just end up as even more weight carried in my rucksack.

Miami Dragonflies, November 2009

This post was originally published on the now dormant http://www.redgannetsdragonflies.blogspot.com/ on 3rd November 2009. It has been transferred in to simplify linking.

Temperatures reached an unseasonal 85+ today during a trip to Miami. Calm air and easy access to Snapper Creek made choice of activities a formality.
I had visited Snapper Creek a few weeks ago and bought a new camera at the Best Buy, adjacent to the river and taken a memorable piture of a Halloween Pennant. Today with yet another new camera, the Canon 50D, I was hoping to recreate that success.

As I approached the river, I noticed a Great Egret and 2 White Ibis close to the water's edge. A pair of large iguanas were moving towards the sunlit grass.
Snapper Creek is approx 8 meters wide at this point and has 2 or 3 meters of grass on both banks. The margins have grass and a few other emergent plants. In some spots, mats of weed cling close to the banks. The water is very clear and has a good flow. There are many fish, some quite sizeable.
The first ode was seen from the Northern bank right beside the bridge at Dadelands North Metrorail station. It was a Scarlet Skimmer, Crocothemis servilia. This dragonfly has appeared in the blog before and today takes the crown for the most widespread ode that this blogger has seen. First seen in Singapore, it has subsequently been found in Hong Kong, where it goes by the name of Crimson Darter, and in India during October.
The website Odonata Central has very little to say about this species, which I found surprising for such an apparently abundant and dramatic-looking creature. This leads me to wonder if it has been introduced or escaped along with the iguanas and the parrots. Despite it's uncertain provenance, it is quite approachable and sits well for pictures. Without any evidence to the contrary, I am assuming this to be the female.
Next was the tiny, Spot-tailed Dasher. Another seemingly abundant species, which also fails to make it into the "Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies", which I am currently using as my reference field-guide.
The little dasher was then displaced by the much larger, Blue Dasher. The Blue Dasher was the original holder of the distribution title having been seen from Toronto, Canada to Califonia.

Then came the dragonfly which had been at the back of my mind when I had chosen to come to Snapper Creek. I had taken a picture of it for the previous Miami post, but it had not been sufficiently detailed to allow me to properly identify it. I can now reveal that it is a Tawny Pennant, Brachymesia herbula. I was beginning to suspect that the Stokes's had forgotten to visit Florida while researching their book as 3 out of 4 odes seen so far had been omitted. Despite that, the guide will probably please most people who don't get anal about identifying down to the sub-special levels.

I doff my hat to Warwick and Michele Tarboten for this next photo. I would not have even considered taking a shot, were it not for the photo on the back cover of their "A Fieldguide to the Damselflies of South Africa". Now, if ever you are considering writing an Odonata fieldguide, may I suggest this as a standard to which you should aspire. I believe it to be a Rambur's Forktail. This species is mentioned by the beginner's guide, but when you do not have the full set for comparison, how can a definitive identification be made?
And so to the one that got away. This was my best picture of the day which makes it frustrating not to get a positive ID. My suspicions lead me towards a female Eastern Amberwing. It was about the right size and the abdomen is suggestive of amberwing. The eyes and the yellow marks on the thorax fit the descriptions of the amberwing. The wings however made me doubt the accuracy of my assumptions. The creature left it's wings to flutter in the light breeze in the same way that I had seen the Halloween Pennant doing on my previous visit. The wings were also much more heavily marked than I have seen in any photos or illustrations. There were both Eastern Amberwings and Halloween Pennants in the vicinity to compare size and flutteriness with. I see that the amberwings sometimes imitate wasps, but the fluttering did not seem reminiscent of any wasp that I had seen before. So I find myself unsatisfied with Eastern Amberwing. Perhaps there is a tiny pennant that I have not found in my research yet. All thoughts are welcome.

Odonata species; 8

Rambur's Forktail 12, Eastern Meadowhawk 4, Eastern Amberwing 6, Scarlet Skimmer 8, Spot-tailed Dasher 8, Blue Dasher 2, Tawny Pennant 12, Halloween Pennant 1,

Miami Dragonflies, Dade. MIA

Millenium Park, Abuja, Nigeria

I started the afternoon angry and impatient after another run-in with hotel security in Nigeria. This time at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

They had given me the run around about bird watching in the gardens of the hotel again and wasted an hour of my time before I gave up and crossed the road to Millennium Park instead (Google ref; 09 04’18N 07 24’50E).

In the early morning, the park would have been my first choice, but rain stopped play. As the day progresses, the park becomes busier and interested spectators increase exponentially. I accepted this as inevitable and the lesser of two irritants.

The main attractions of the park are two small rivers that converge here. I started to follow the northern of the two which flowed from the WNW. On the first bend was a substantial Village Weaver colony with a number of nests still in the approval stages.

Male weavers build the nests, but will often abandon their efforts if a female does not show enough interest. His materials may be recycled into his subsequent attempts until female approval is granted and rewarded in time honoured fashion. The males of the local race of Village Weavers have a chestnut nape.

Already I had attracted inquisitive onlookers and was feeling slightly exposed. A young man called Marvelox was becoming very persistent and eventually I accepted his company and his offers of help. The first thing he did was set me a quandary. The bird below had me puzzled for some time.

I eventually plumped for Northern Black Flycatcher, but the bill seemed very fine and the bird did not sit as upright as I would expect it to. Only after seeing the rictal bristles on super digital zoom did I accept it as the only real likelihood.

A pair of wonderful Bearded Barbets flew over and a young Grey-headed Kingfisher flew up into a tree nearby. One of his parents was in the adjacent tree wearing the red bill and chestnut waistcoat attained through seniority.

Another young man, Manuel joined us and both became keen spotters. Though obviously non-birders, they showed an interest and “watched my back” which was comforting though ironic since I had abandoned birding at the hotel after their insistence that I be accompanied.

A young Splendid Sunbird was feeding on small insects that used to call a banana flower home.

I almost dismissed a Senegal Batis as the Chinspot version until I checked my field guide for confirmation.
The stream harbours some fantastic insect life as well as the birds, including beautiful butterflies and extraordinary locust/hopper things. 

 A Yellow-bill and a Senegal Coucal showed briefly on the other side of the river.

My dragonfly blog has not been getting enough traffic to warrant it’s distinct identity so will return to being part of the bird posts. The “blogger floggers” who want me to “stick to the birds” will have to suck it up. Whose blog is it anyway?

As dusk approached, we returned downstream. Some Bar-breasted Firefinches waited until I had stowed the camera before emerging and then disappeared again as soon as I unshipped it. A sunbird gave me cause for thought right at the end. It was silhouetted against the fading sky and I can only hazard a guess at Copper Sunbird. All thoughts welcome as it would be a red crayon bird for me..

Warnings of personal security risks in Nigeria can discourage people from experiencing life beyond the coffee shop and gym. Young men such as Marvelox and Manuel show that Nigerians can be as welcoming as anyone else in the world. If an escort would give you more confidence to go further a-field, I can put you in contact with them.

Bird species; 29

Cattle Egret 50, Striated Heron 1, Yellow-billed Kite 15, Red-eyed Dove 8, Western Grey Plantain-eater 12, Yellowbill 1, Senegal Coucal 1, African Palm Swift 4, Grey-headed Kingfisher 6, Bearded Barbet 4, Red-shouldered Cuckoo-shrike 4, Common Bulbul 40, Yellow-throated Greenbul 2, African Thrush 12, Snowy-crowned Robin-chat 2, Northern Crombec 1, Northern Black Flycatcher 1, Brown-throated Wattle-eye 1, Senegal Batis 1, Splendid Sunbird 1, Yellow-billed Shrike 6, Northern Puffback 1, Fork-tailed Drongo 2, Piapiac 2, Pied Crow 1, Village Weaver 40, Bar-breasted Firefinch 2, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu 2, Bronze Manikin 1,

Other birds seen en-route and during my aborted walk at the hotel are included below to give a fuller picture of what might be found in a municipal park in Abuja and generally around the area on a May afternoon. Additional species brought my list total to 40.

Additional species;

Cattle Egret 25, Common Kestrel 6, Laughing Dove 3, Western Grey Plantain-eaters 8, Senegal Coucal 1, African Palm Swift 6, Little Swift 300, Yellow-fronted Tinker-barbet 1, Bearded Barbet 2, Common Bulbul 20, African Thrush 8, Brown Babbler 1, Yellow-billed Shrike 8, Northern Puffback 1, Fork-tailed Drongo3, Piapiac 7, Purple Glossy Starling 1, Grey-headed Sparrow 2, Village Weaver 20