on this day .... 12 months ago .... I was on my road trip and drove from the Flinders Ranges through the Barossa Valley and spotted some lovely road side parrots
This guy was on the gravel shoulder at the side of a road, I parked on the other side of the road, taking shots through the car window, timing my shots between passing vehicles
I so wanted him to be a orange bellied parrot (rare, possibly endangered) but strongly suspect he is the more common red rumped parrot, nevertheless he is gorgeous ... have posted a photo of him with one of his girlfriends in my other album, she is slightly more olive coloured, not such a vibrant green.
then again, I just googled both and have confirmed it for myself, much better images online than in either of my very good Aussie bird books @jenrobcarr
@lbmcshutter - the dull blue on the shoulders and that flash of red on the rump, doesn't help your case. And between the Flinders and the Barossa means you're the wrong side of the Mt Lofty Ranges for an Orange belly. The white right underneath also says "red rumped" and the turquoise across the nose is not blue enough :( Orange Bellies like the sea too...
@bobfoto yes, I came to the same conclusion, just was hoping when I first looked at shots and thought, hey his belly looks orange, but then looking again saw the red rump :-( still he is a very handsome specimen, even if not the orange bellied. Maybe I should visit Tassie to try to see the orange bellied in breeding season, I have longed to see one for years
@bobfoto I did also see a pale headed rosella in the trees behind, but even with my 70-200mm with 1.3x extender he is not a very clear shot once I crop it .... but SA was a good bird spotting road trip destination for me
@bobfoto mix and match posts are fine by me, I see crimson and eastern rosellas daily but don't recall seeing the pale headed before
I have some shots of what I knew to be red rumped parrots from just up the road from my house, and Gang gang cockatoos once by the National Library - I don't consider myself to be a twitcher .....but I have learnt more about birds and enjoyed pointing my lens at them quite a bit over the last couple of years
@lbmcshutter One day you and I might see an Orange Belly-- in the meantime we both have to be contect with a lovely red rump!! xx Love the conversations here!
@jenrobcarr I can keep hoping to see an orange belly and also that their numbers can increase. I think the conversations that can happen on posts is one of my favourite things about 365
@greyfeather hi thanks, I live in Canberra, but this shot was taken when I was on a roadtrip through South Australia, before that (my photos Jan-Oct 2011) I was on Christmas Island, an Australian Island close to Java, Indonesia - the main wildlife for me to shoot there (above the water) were boobies, bosun birds and a variety of land crabs.
I have some shots of what I knew to be red rumped parrots from just up the road from my house, and Gang gang cockatoos once by the National Library - I don't consider myself to be a twitcher .....but I have learnt more about birds and enjoyed pointing my lens at them quite a bit over the last couple of years
http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdtown/4425404935/
;)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdtown/6530235775/