The Parrots and The Termite Mounds
Dear Friends,
Between spending time outside photographing winter birds here in New England, I’ve been in my studio working through my archives gathering old favorites and discovering unpublished gems for a potential book project on my bird photography from around the world. This week, I was “virtually” in Australia, reliving a series of expeditions to the remote Cape York Peninsula where some years ago, our team from National Geographic and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology worked to document some of the rarest and most endangered species found in this wilderness. One of the standouts was the Golden-shouldered Parrot, an endangered species with only about 300 breeding pairs remaining. I was able to photograph them in their unique habitat dotted with giant termite mounds. I hope you enjoy the images and behind-the-scenes video below. It is always my hope that by sharing the stories of endangered species, we can increase awareness and have a positive impact on their future.
THE LANDING - GOLDEN-SHOULDERED PARROT
THE LANDING is not yet in our Fine Art online gallery, but let us know if anyone is interested in a print and we can make it happen! Let Rachel know at Studio@TimLaman.com.
THE PARROT AND THE TERMITE MOUNDS
A male Golden-shouldered Parrot perches on top of a termite mound. Here you can really see how the bird got its name!
Before dropping down and into the nest cavity to feed the chicks, the male often landed briefly on top of the termite tower to scan his surroundings.
This wide shot shows you the scale of these incredible termite towers as the male perches at the nest entrance after the landing.
BEHIND-THE-SCENES
To capture the images above, I hiked into the location before sunrise, and set up my equipment and blind (which coincidentally was shaped rather like a termite mound and blended in fairly well). It was still half dark when I shot this time lapse, but as soon as the sun rose over the trees behind me, the habitat was illuminated with the lovely morning light that you see in the images above.
Thanks for tuning in to my adventures. Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who you think might enjoy it. The more people who know about endangered species like the Golden-shouldered Parrot the better!
Stay safe everyone, and be sure to get your dose of nature therapy!
Warmest regards,
Tim Laman
PS. We will continue to add new images and galleries to TimLamanFineArt.com throughout the year, so be sure to take a look from time to time and see what’s new. Thanks!
New Species Discovered In Lost World
If you missed Tim's article in Australian Geographic you can now read it online. In the Cape York Peninsula of Australia, the boulder fields are a spectacular sight. Tim and biologist Conrad Hoskin traveled by helicopter to discover new species during their expedition. You can read the article on Australian Geographic's webpage - Cape Melville's Lost World.
"Three Days, Three Wild Finds" in Harvard Gazette
Harvard University published a story on Tim's recent discoveries of new species in Cape Melville, Australia. This was part of his Cape York expedition where they were dropped off by a helicopter to the rainforest in the mountains made of boulders. Tim is an associate of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology after receiving his Ph.D. in Biology from the prestigious university. View the entire story on the Harvard Gazette's website.
"Lost World" Reveals New Species
In March, Tim went to the Cape Melville Range in Australia with Conrad Hoskin from James Cook University and discovered new species of amphibian and reptiles. This was part of an expedition traversing the Cape York Peninsula of Northeastern Australia. As you can see from the picture above, the mountain range is covered with huge boulders that make the area almost impassable. The only way in was by being dropped off by helicopter onto one of the boulders the size of a house, which didn't work the first time. You can read the full story by National Geographic News.
Return to Cape York Peninsula in the “Wet”
I am on my way home from a three-week trip to Australia’s Cape York Peninsula on assignment for National Geographic magazine. Believe it or not, there are still places in the world without easy internet access and this was one of them. Now that I am back in contact, I will share some new images from the trip here and via my Instagram feed over the next week or so.
This ongoing project for Nat Geo has the goal of documenting the landscapes and unique biodiversity of this remote part of Northeastern Queensland. Last year I made two expeditions here in the dry season, and I now returned to cover what it looks like in the wet season, which looks dramatically different in places.
Above is an example shot from a low flying helicopter: This is Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary, where I photographed the parched dry landscape in September. Now the same area is dotted with potholes full of water while storm clouds with more water loom above.
You can look back at my Instagram feed to see earlier shots from Cape York in the dry season, and stay tuned for some more new photos over the coming days……
Sunrise at Running Creek
On the East coast of Cape York, Drew Fulton savors the pre-sunrise sky show with his morning coffee before we head off to photograph birds.
Cockatoo Pair
I am still in the Cape York Peninsula of Australia. The spectacular Sulfur-crested Cockatoos are so common here, that we rarely give them a second look after several weeks in the field. But this pair at a nest cavity was worth a shot.
Trials of the Backroads
Tim is still in the Cape York Peninsula of Australia on an assignment for National Geographic. Below are his latest Instagram posts.
Eri Mulder and Drew Fulton change a flat on a remote track during our explorations of the Peninsula.
A Nepenthes pitcher plant highlights a wetland called Sheldon's Lagoon, an example of the incredible diversity of habitats on the Cape.
Elliot Falls, one of the falls along the beautiful pristine rivers of the Peninsula, photographed from mid river.
Eclectus Parrot Males
Tim's photo of the day is two male Eclectus Parrots squabbling at a nest cavity, revealing their incredible colors.
Yellow-spotted Monitor Lizard
Tim laid on the ground to capture the feeling of this two meter long Yellow-spotted Monitor Lizard closing in.
The Drop into Palm Creek
Eric Hahn guides Pete Ikin into the drop at the Palm Creek crossing on the Overland Telegraph Line track up the center of the Cape York Peninsula. These are the kinds of bad roads we encountered in some remote parts of the Cape York Peninsula.
Green Python!
Tim is now in the rain forests of the Iron Range National Park, and he was lucky enough to find the famous Green Python. Certainly one of the world's most beautiful snakes, and another species showing the former New Guinea connection to this part of Australia.
Flying Foxes
A late afternoon hike took us to a roosting site of the Little Red Flying-foxes, which were hanging upside-down in incredible numbers, including these two. Flying-foxes are of course not foxes at all, but large fruit eating bats, and are among the most abundant mammals here.
Papuan Frogmouth
This nocturnal bird, the Papuan Frogmouth, is a perfect example of a species found only in New Guinea and this part of Australia. Tim found it by spotlighting at night. Notice the large red eyes that it uses to catch pray in the dark.
Milky Way
Tim is in remote Cape York Peninsula, Australia, for an assignment for National Geographic. He has been sending out pictures along his journey where you can see them here or @TimLaman on Instagram. The Milky Way lights up the night over camp near the Archer River. It is nice to be so farm from the cities that the stars shine this brightly.
Spotted Cuscus
Out spotlighting at night for nocturnal mammals, we found this Spotted Cuscus, another one of Australia's unique marsupials, along the Archer River. On assignment for National Geographic in the Cape York Peninsula, Australia.
Agile Wallaby
Tim has an Instagram account! Tim will be regularly posting to his account @TimLaman as well as @NatGeo. Here is one of his more recent posts from Australia where he is currently on assignment for National Geographic.