One of the wonderful bird watching areas of North Queensland has to be the Ingham Wetlands, the creation of great naturalist John Young.
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Over the years this area has been developed, and is now a top spot for nature lovers to visit.
The most impressive aspect is the lagoons of water lilies with Jacanas feeding everywhere.
Other birds seen in abundance were Noisy Friarbird, Red-backed Fairy Wrens, White-breasted Swallows, all the waders, and kingfishers were also present in numbers.
I spent most of my time photographing the Jacanas. Patience was required as they were quite nervous initially, but eventually they would come quite close allowing me to get the shots I was after.
Due to the time of year it was best to visit the wetlands in the early morning or late evening as the heat could build up and make it an unpleasant experience.
I would fill the middle of the day in with a visit to Taylors Beach, or the bottom area of Hinchinbrook island. These were most pleasant with a cool breeze blowing most of the day.
While they didn’t have anywhere near the same number of birds as the wetlands, there was enough birdlife around to make things interesting.
Once I had shown enough patience to lure the Jacanas in, they were easy to photograph.
The use of the 400 stabiliser lens hand held made the process more flex able with sharp images the result. I had to watch the light conditions to make sure the exposure was right.
The Jacana has an exceptionally long toe that helps it walk on the lily pads, hopping from one to the next.
They continually search for insects, sometimes even flipping up the lily pad to catch insects or small fish below.
Jacanas are typically brown in colour with pointy beaks and are good swimmers and divers – they can stay under water for long periods of time.
Jacanas build nests from plant material, that sit on floating or submerged vegetation.
When breeding they become very wary of intruders and may take some time to return to the nest. Both parents attend to the young. They normally nest September to November in the south of their range, and later in the tropic areas.
A common site is to see the adults carrying the chicks under their wing case and then dropping them to feed.
Jacanas range from the Northern territory as far south as Coffs Harbour, mostly along the coast.
They are certainly an interesting bird to photograph. Another bird that stood out is the Metallic Starling.