Natoli Nature Photography

Natoli Nature Photography Wildlife and Nature Photography - ocean, underwater, terrestrial and occassional astro

Today was another successful day with the Paradise Riflebird, with plenty of activity in the morning and no sightings in...
29/10/2024

Today was another successful day with the Paradise Riflebird, with plenty of activity in the morning and no sightings in the afternoon.
I'm so pleased to have finally seen this species and witnessed its spectacular courtship dance 🥳🥰 .... quite stunning,
however 2 full days in a rainforest with difficult lighting conditions has been challenging 🤔😰

The Paradise Rifle Bird ...This is another species that has taken me several years to capture. The bird is best known fo...
28/10/2024

The Paradise Rifle Bird ...
This is another species that has taken me several years to capture. The bird is best known for its spectacular courtship display in which the male dances about with his wings spread and curved around in front of him, as well as swiping its wings and head from side to side.
The Paradise Riflebird is found in subtropical and temperate rainforests, mostly in mountains and foothills.
Today everything fell into place and I got lucky, not only catching still images but capturing 7 minutes of video as it performed its courtship dance.

They're back ... 🥳🦉After not having seen my little owl family for a few days, yesterday afternoon I decided to venture b...
26/10/2024

They're back ... 🥳🦉
After not having seen my little owl family for a few days, yesterday afternoon I decided to venture back to the park on the off chance the owls may have returned.
In my research I have learnt that the owlets will remain with their parents up until a few months before the next breeding season - August to October. This would mean that the 5 owls will be moving together well into next year ... so if I found 1 🤔, I should actually find all 5? 🥳
So it was back to the park either to listen out for Noisy Miners who would reveal the location of the little family, in their endeavours to harass them .... or .... search the base of the trees looking for s**t below their roosts after a nightly feed.
It was the s**t that identified their presence 👏🙏
I was back there at 6:00am this morning and they were not as bright eyed as last afternoon. I suspect they had full bellies and it was sleeping time. 💤💤
This photo was taken late yesterday afternoon and the owlets were obviously alert and ready for a feed and the evening hunt.

Hmmmm!! .... 🤔
26/10/2024

Hmmmm!! .... 🤔

Unfortunately (for me) my little Barking Owl family seems to have flown the coop 😭I have not seen any of the family in t...
22/10/2024

Unfortunately (for me) my little Barking Owl family seems to have flown the coop 😭
I have not seen any of the family in the past 72 hours. The grass throughtout the park was mowed 2 days ago so signs of old s**t have been cleared and I have not been able to trace any fresh s**t below the trees to reveal if they had been feeding where I last saw them.
These images are the from my last family photo shoot 3 days ago.

I have been super curious about the movements of the my little barking owl family and what they get up to at night, so ...
07/10/2024

I have been super curious about the movements of the my little barking owl family and what they get up to at night, so last night I ventured out to see if ... 1. would I find them and 2. if they'd preyed on anything and who was feeding?..
I did find them relatively easy as they were all perched side-by-side on an open branch and not obscured by foliage.
🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉
And were they feeding? Well, one was!
One of the adults (seen here of the extreme RHS) had a small rodent in his talons whilst the other adult, together with the 3 owlets, were waiting in line salivating in anticipation of getting their share .... 🤔 ... 😂🤣 ... maybe?

I have continued heading down to Schusters Park for my daily observations of the Barking Owl family however, over the pa...
06/10/2024

I have continued heading down to Schusters Park for my daily observations of the Barking Owl family however, over the past 2 days, 4 of the owls had been AWOL 😂.
Early this morning I found that they were all back. I managed to spot both adults and the 3 owlets.
🦉🦉🦉
Two of the little owlets made me laugh as they followed my every move ... I could hear myself saying 'I see you' as their little heads bobbed up and down getting a look at me.
🦉🦉🦉
So, so cute .... with behaviour like this I'm sure to come back for more 🥰🥳😎

Day 9 with my little Barking Owl family this morning and it seems like there was a major shift overnight 🤔🦉Dad finally m...
03/10/2024

Day 9 with my little Barking Owl family this morning and it seems like there was a major shift overnight 🤔🦉
Dad finally moved, after having been perched on the same spot for the past 8 days, whilst mum relocated her owlets to a neighbouring tree and all 4 perched together side by side.
Heavy foliage and branches made it difficult to get a clear shot and so I moved around trying to find the best position to capture all 4 together..
I had to laugh ... Mum didn't give a hoot as to what I was doing but the owlets didn't take their eyes off me as they followed my movements. Odd branches kept getting in the way of clear vision, not only for me, but it seems also for the owls as one little fella turned almost upside down trying to maintain a clear view 🤣🥰

My fascination with the barking owls continues 🥰I shot down to Schusters Park early this morning, for the 8th straight d...
02/10/2024

My fascination with the barking owls continues 🥰
I shot down to Schusters Park early this morning, for the 8th straight day, to check on the Barking Owls.
What I have come to learn as the male 🤔, DAD, has still not moved since I first found him 8 days ago however Mum and the owlet had moved since yesterday so I began the search again ... only to uncover another 2 owlets in very close proximity 🥳.
Low light and heavy foliage continues to be challenging but I am pleased to have captured all five, albeit Mum is very obscure!

And the Noisy Miners lead the way again 🥳🥰Since sighting the 2 Barking Owls five days ago at Schusters Park, I have been...
29/09/2024

And the Noisy Miners lead the way again 🥳🥰

Since sighting the 2 Barking Owls five days ago at Schusters Park, I have been going back everyday to keep an eye on them. On 2 occassions I saw both owls together and on 2 other occassions I saw only the one, perched alone. Given the time of year I was hoping that these 2 adults may have reproduced and perhaps there could be an owlet somewhere close by? 🤔

Today I went back in the late afternoon and found just the one, all alone again. Given it was around 5:30pm I was thinking that the second owl may have taken off on its evening hunt for prey, but I decided that I would have a better look for it in case it was close by.

15 minutes went by and I thought 'Na, I'm not going to find it!' and so I returned back to the lone owl just incase the 2nd owl had returned ... and that's when I heard those Noisy Miners screaching again. Something was obviously being harrassed?

BINGO ... the Noisy Miners did it again, revealing the location of the other adult, but not just the adult ... there was an owlet close by. YEAH 🥳🥰

The light was fading quickly. The only shots I could get were at ISO 51200. With a little denoise applied in LR, here are the captures I managed to get all amidst quite heavy foliage, but I was happy to have atleast got these for my own records.

Mother and calf Southern Right Whales in the shallow water off the Western Australia coastline, featuring callosities on...
28/09/2024

Mother and calf Southern Right Whales in the shallow water off the Western Australia coastline, featuring callosities on their heads 🐳
*Images taken under permits
The callosities in right whales are irregular patches of thickened and keratinized tissues. Appearing at the end of the rostrum, on the lower lips and chin, above the eyes and in front of and behind the blowhole, callosities in right whales are congenital.

'The purpose of these whale callosities is not well known, perhaps the rough texture is beneficial in defence from predators such as sharks and Orca. The callosities may also provide protection to touch points on a whales rostrum. During their time feeding, socialising and raising calves there is often much contact between whales and the callosities could prevent these areas from rubbing raw with the consistent friction in that area. The purpose of whale callosities for researchers is a vital way of identifying each individual whale.' ..... SOURCE: www.whalewatchwesternaustralia.com

It's taken 2 years and half-a-dozen trips to Schusters Park (here on the Gold Coast) to locate the resident Barking Owls...
24/09/2024

It's taken 2 years and half-a-dozen trips to Schusters Park (here on the Gold Coast) to locate the resident Barking Owls. I thought I'd never find them. I did go back today for another scout.
I nearly gave up again, as it seemed like it was never going to happen ... that is, until I heard a number of Noisy Minors make a hell of a ruckus.
My first thought was that they must be harassing something! Small birds often harass larger birds, often birds of prey. I was hoping that, in this instance, they were harassing an owl.
Sure enough they led me straight to the tree ... but then I had to find the owl in what was very dense foliage.
BINGO .. not one, but a pair of Barking Owls.
Thank you Noisy Minors 🙏... sometimes it takes birds to find birds 🤣🤣🥳

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