There were groups of Australian Pelicans wherever I looked when I was paddling on the Moruya River, on the south coast of New South Wales (NSW) in July 2021. They were not the same birds moving around but distinct, small groups of these stunning birds, with their basic black and white plumage but colourful bill and yellow eye circle. They were big birds so they tended to dominate the space they occupied, making for wonderful photographic subjects. While they are very common, seeing those birds throughout my paddle really helped make a great day even more special. That was not how the day was looking initially because cold, windy, overcast conditions met me at the river and I was thinking about what my alternate plans were, either cancelling or shortening my paddle. I am glad that I persevered with close to my original plan because the weather improved during my paddle, making it a wonderful day. The perfect partner to my trip earlier in that week. I really hope that you like the photographs below.
More of this story is on my blog at https://bit.ly/2VVQk01
Australian Pelicans on rocks between the Moruya River and Racecourse Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/11 and 1/500 SEC])
Looking up the Moruya River in the direction of Moruya township
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC] two shot panorama)
Cormorants and a Silver Gull at the start of the channel out of the river
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Australian Pied Oysercatcher on a riverside break wall
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Australian Pelican stretching its wings at the entrance to Malabar Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Little Pied Cormorant using the sunken sand barge to perch on
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Sunken sand barge in Malabar Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 200, 35mm, f/11 and 1/100 SEC])
Weir on Malabar Creek with outflowing tide
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/250 SEC])
Australian Pelicans up Malabar Creek above the weir
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Great Cormorant starting to get airborne
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/800 SEC])
Two prominent boulders near the mouth of Racecourse Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 214mm, f/11 and 1/400 SEC])
Smaller boulder further up the creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Black Swan
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 360mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
White-faced Heron
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])
Little Egret among the mangroves
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Unfortunately, the Little Egret did not want to stick around
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Sydney Rock Oysters on mangrove roots
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Australian White Ibis
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
White-bellied Sea-eagle immature bird with brownish plumage
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Going past some arguing pelicans on the rocks between the Moruya River and Racecourse Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Small Grey Mangrove
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 255mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Red-capped Plover on the mudflat
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Crested Terns on a sand bar exposed at low tide
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 320, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
View up the Moruya River
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 105mm, f/14 and 1/100 SEC] four shot panorama)
Looking seaward along the breakwater
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 160, 100mm, f/16 and 1/125 SEC])
Little Blue Periwinkles
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Swift-footed Crab
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
New Holland Honeyeater
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Red Wattlebird
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
