I had recently bought a remote sensing camera. Now the Great-billed Heron were nesting. Here was a great opportunity to study the herons…
Great-billed Herons are a secretive resident of rivers in Northern Australia and South-east Asia and are probably the most sought-after bird on the river. They generally nest in an inaccessible area, invisible from prying eyes. Therefore you can imagine my surprise at the turn of the New Year on finding a pair nesting in clear view. Placing a camera trap in the nesting tree required the climbing skills of an arborist friend with multiple repeat ascents to change batteries costing a couple of cases of beer. This was however a great opportunity to monitor chick growth and fledging period. A few of the images taken by motion sensor show interesting food items, including large fish, eels and even common tree snakes! Will inform further when I get through viewing nearly ten images taken so far…