The big & the small of Kununurra

We'll start with "the big" shall we? This Jabiru was spotted as we drove along the irrigated areas just north of Kununurra. It was one of those "Was that a .....!?" moments as we tore past, screeched to a halt, three-point turned on the bitumen and went back. She was just standing there beside an irrigation channel and allowed us to take a few shots from the car. You know that thing where you manoeuvre the car trying to get the right angle (and right window!) to get a shot?

We left her in peace and continued on our way stopping to photograph this kingfisher:

Red-backed kingfisher

The "small" today was actually a "big" for our family. When walking along the Hidden Valley's short nature walk in Mirima National Park we heard rustling and suspected quail. We sat on the boardwalk and patiently waited. Sure enough 5-6 quail emerged and gradually explored their way through the leaf litter moving towards us! We were in a narrow gorge and it was late in the day so the light was very dull. Here are the better shots:

One of the first shots - an "insurance" shot through the grasses. 

Fitting a round bird in to a square hole!

Brown quail

After these shots the camera was put down as the birds were actually too close for the only lens I had with me! As it was a pleasure just watching these guys without that "gotta get the shot" feeling I felt that I both had my cake and eaten it! We were buzzing afterwards - the kids thought they were great!

Bird on!