I had recently ridden my mountain bike through the area of Denman Prospect, not realising that there was some bushland there. I was interested in returning with a camera because Denman Prospect is on the edge of Canberra, facing to the west and north-west, with rural land between it and the mountain ranges. While the bushland was very near a growing suburb I thought that it may be worth a visit to see what wildlife was around. I was so glad that I did visit because I had a wonderful morning and stayed far longer than I planned. I spent most of my morning exploring Stringybark Hill, which did not seem to be an official reserve and contained what looked to be a lot of new growth native forest. I probably heard more birds than I saw or was able to photograph because the bush was reasonably thick, with a dense canopy that hampered lighting but also kept the undergrowth under control. The open areas had tall grass and other plants, keeping me on the look out for my first opportunity to photograph a snake, which did not happen. I really enjoyed my walk and I was constantly distracted by things to photograph. I will certainly be returning to this site in the future. I hope you like the photographs below.
Moody weather was not promising for the morning
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/250 SEC])
Dead trees on Strinybark Hill
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
Superb Fairy-wren female
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
Superb Fairy-wren male, only apparent on my way down
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Red-browed Finch on the trail
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
Robber Fly
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/10 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Lagriine Darkling Beetles mating with the male on the top and female on the bottom
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/14 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Bristle Fly
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Tau Emerald dragonfly
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 160, 100mm, f/10 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Close-up of the head
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 160, 100mm, f/10 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Golden Spiny Ant
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 160, 100mm, f/20 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Tiger Moth head-on shot
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Rocky outcrop that I was heading to
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/400 SEC]
Mould on a small, felled pine tree
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Bottom view of a Knobbled Orbweaver
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Top view of the same spider, unfortunately I bumped the web making the spider move
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Common Brown Robber Fly
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Common Brown
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Meadow Argus
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Grey Fantail gathering nesting material
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
The nest
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
Grey Fantail on a nest
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
Grey Fantail in the nest
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/800 SEC])
Cabbage White pudding in damp mud
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Common Grass Blue at the same wet mud
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
