Wyperfeld National Park, Victoria

After visiting Hammond in the attempt to find some insulator bowls, but failing dismally to find any, I debated whether to return to a known Port Augusta location for birds or continue to an unknown conservation park called Black Rock Conservation Park.

I researched the net but could not mention about the park, so decided as I was in the district (well sort of) I would drive the 100 mile to check it out. After becoming lost on remote desert roads, I eventually found the park which had been gazetted to protect a a species of mallee tree. Unfortunately for me, bird life was nil - other than annoying birds I call "nats" that move around in large groups, make a lot of noise and push other birds away.

I then made an incorerct decision, deciding to head further south - I should have returned to Port August 150 mile north for a known bird location. Put off quite a bit that I had lost an afternoon and morning shoot at a known location, I camped the evening under a bridge before calling base to get some information on Wyperfield National Park.

Wyperfield is sort of on the way back to Melbourne and I had heard on the elusive "grapevine" that there were quite a few birds in the area, due to the recent wildfires that had been in Victoria (the birds had migrated to Wyperfield which was undamaged in the fires). So I'm transiting ASAP to this area to try and catch the evening and morning light. Tomorrow (Monday Australia time) I have to drive to Melbourne to catch the Spirit of Tasmania back to Tasmania (the convict island). Will I get there in time to work out a shooting location and catch the light - my time seems to always chasing the light.......

No Water

Seems that the water I was "told" was in the park is no longer there! Despite this the mulga scrub is very appealing and as I am the only person here - all the better.

Bird life is plentiful, despite there being no water in the several dry marshes and lakes. Galahs, white cockatoos, mulga parrots, ring-necked parrots, kites, tree creepers and emu to mention a few. Unfortunately, seeing birds and photographing birds are two different things. The location is so sparse that I need more than a night and a morning to get any decent images of birds from this area - maybe next time!

Owl

I did have one interesting sighting. I was focussed on a red capped robin when I noticed two eyes pearing at me from a hollow. As soon as I looked at the eyes, they quickly dissappeared down into the tree hollow like an elevator going to ground. I set up and waited, and waited, and waited. I waited for 2 hours and finally I saw the eyes again along with the telltail mouth of an owl. But, as soon as I depressed the shutter, the noise of the camera shutter truggering was enough to press the ground button and the eyes immediately disappeared again.

I was now out of time - so the eyes will have to wait until I return to photograph them.

Dusty Conditions

An early wake up at 530 AM and a short scramble to ensure I was in place for the early morning light. I want to capture the yellow foots as they made their way back up the slope to their daytime hides.

I'm particularly careful when photographing wild animals that I do not approach too close, which can cause undue stress and alarm. The desert environment is boom and bust - and energy used unwisely can cause potential shortcomings later on. Wet conditions are boom times and all wildlife profits, however, as soon as drought kicks in, only the strongest and most hardy survive.

The days here are quite warm with temperatures in the early 90s (30C). The wallabies hide from the harsh conditions in their rock shelters as photographers hide in their vehicle. The time between shoots (9AM and 3PM) I clean and service equipment, make meals, sleep, read, and reconnoiter new locations.

My base camp on this trip is nowhere fancy - in fact it isn't really a nice camping place at all; it was selected for its proximity to the talus slopes. It's along a dry creek bed and I parked alongside some river gums. Note I said alongside and not underneath; camping beneath river gums is foolhardy, as changes in temperature can cause tree limbs to fall. Several campers have been killed by falling tree branches in the past!

The biggest hassle I have encountered on this trip is photographing in extreme dusty conditions. I mean there is dust on everything and inside everything - and my vehicle is air conditioned and relatively well sealed! The dust has been made worse by a continual 5-10 knot wind which continually blows. At times during the day, the vehicle is buffeted as the wing gusts to 20 knots. Thank goodness it stops in the evening. Keeping digital camera sensors clean is a nightmare and I try to not change lenses if possible, instead relying on the use of 3 bodies with different focal lengths - more to carry in the field, but less work cleaning and dust spotting images during post processing.

Despite there being a multitude of camp sites available, every site captures the wind at some stage during the day, and the dust is impartial - it goes everywhere.  The dry rivercourse above is where I spent my entire time when shooting this assignment.

Photographing this afternoon appeared to a waste of time, until I observed a juvenile and mother amongst the cassarina trees. I also noted two sub adults mating higher on the slope, however, obtaining a clean shot of "mating behaviour" was impossible. The two wallabies in the trees were feeding on flowers located amongst the rocks. Due to the high amount of dust in the air clear images were not possible so I took solace in watching instead!

That night I listened to bats swooping low overhead feeding upon insects. I also heard several wallabies scurrying across the rocky creek bed in search of better food on the opposite bank.