Mount Gillen 2

Yesterday after work I climbed the range again but this time no BFRW's to be seen up near the radio towers. However, I did have a good view of a grass fire burning adjacent to the suburb Gillen down below.

Although it looks a little like spinifex from a distance, the grass in this photo is all Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) which was introduced to central Australia (from the middle east and northern Africa) as a pasture grass for cattle and for soil stabilisation. Although its been of great value for these purposes, it can also create very high fuel loads and once it browns off, becomes highly flammable. It's also of ecological concern as it tends to greatly reduce plant diversity, readily outcompeting native grasses and forbs and killing more fire-sensitive shrub species, such as Mulga and Ironwoods, through increased fuel loads and fire frequencies. Last year we had very high rainfall across arid Australia (more than 3 x the annual mean in many regions) and this has meant that the buffel grass has thickened up and, with conditions now drying out, is primed for a big fire season. Already there have been dozens of smaller fires throughout Alice Springs.

Anyway, back to photography. Although I didn't see any BFRW's the Dusky Grasswrens were out in force and I came across at least three different groups over a couple of hundred metres. These birds are very much characteristic of the range country surrounding Alice Springs and I really enjoy watching and trying to photograph them. Although most people probably just see them as a flash of brown skipping along the ground, they are actually a really attractive bird viewed at close quarters and through binoculars or a telephoto lens. I took this photo from the second group I encountered. Most of the time they don't sit still but they can be inquistive and this individual sat on this rock checking me out long enough to reel off a few shots. I love the colours in the late afternoon light, all browns and reds and a nice balanced shadow. Also, unlike yesterdays wallaby shots, this photo is a little more characteristic of my style, where I like to show animals in their environment, rather than just tight portrait shots.

Here's another shot from a few month back, harsher light but a more complete shot of the bird itself. This was taken with my partners Canon 7D which has a far superior autofocus system than my 5DmkII and I'll talk more about this in future posts. Both shots were taken with my 400mm f5.6L and I think at f7.1, ISO 400.