These are odd portraits of birds rather than portraits of odd birds, although the Jacana probably qualifies on both counts. I took them on a ride along the Annandale side of Ross River from Aplin’s Weir to the Palmetum a few days ago.
There are always swallows flitting about the weir, resting on the weir wall between excursions over the water in search of insects. I liked the contrast of the small-fragile-soft, but absolutely nonchalant, bird against the massive-brutal masonry. For the record, it’s a Welcome Swallow, Hirundo neoxena, our only resident swallow species.
Darters are so common along the river that I might not have shared this shot except for the way she (males are nearly black) was framed by the dead tree branches.
Finally, the Jacana – a Comb-crested Jacana (Jacana gallinacea), since that’s our only resident species. (An Asian relative occasionally gets blown into the North from Indonesia but can be ignored here.) Their enormously long toes make them endearingly ridiculous at the best of times but this one seemed to be quite unsure about what went where.
