Bennett’s wallabies are pretty common on Bruny Island in Tasmania. I photographed this one early in the morning, just outside of my lodge. As you can tell, they don’t scare easily.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/160th of a second
Eastern grey kangaroos, known locally as foresters, stop to check me out, beneath a colorful sky in the open grasslands of Narawantapu National Park in Tasmania, Australia.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 110mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/100th of a second
Bennett’s wallabies are usually brown, but on Bruny Island in Tasmania there is a small population of white ones that live amongst the darker members of the troupe (that’s what you call a group of wallabies, a troupe… or a mob… or a court). In fact a white mother will commonly give birth to a brown joey. In this photo, the joey appears to be looking up at mom, considering all that white fur, wondering if he crawled into the wrong pouch and saying, “wait a minute, you’re my Mom?”
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second
The masked lapwing, a native of Australia, is very similar to the wattled lapwing, which I’ve seen several times in Africa. This guy was spotted in Lauceston, Tasmania at a place called Cataract Gorge. Cataract Gorge is a popular recreation area for locals and these birds are quite common at picnic sites and other open grassy areas.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/50th of a second
After three straight weeks of Alaska photos, figured it’s about time to start mixing in a few from around the world (although plenty more to come from Alaska). One thing that I noticed when photographing the brown bear cubs in all their autumnal fullness, is how much they reminded me of the wombats that I photographed in Tasmania. Big brown, furry balls, waddling across the ground eating as much grass as they possibly could. So here’s one of those wombats, doing its thing to keep the lawn mowed on Maria Island, just off the southeast coast of Tasmania.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 28mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/160th of a second
This brushtail possum looked like he was having trouble finding a bathroom. We were deep in the woods of Tasmania in Australia. This will be my last post for a week or so as I fly to Alaska tomorrow in search of bears and moose and all manner of other creatures. Be back soon.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380mm) ISO 500, f/8 at 1/200th of a second
Last Friday I posted a pademelon mom and her joey. This is a proper kangaroo and her joey — the eastern grey kangaroo, known locally in Tasmania as the forester. I saw probably fifty or sixty of these guys late afternoon in Narawantapu National Park on the northern border of Tasmania.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/80th of a second
Macropods are any of the marsupials in the kangaroo family. Pademelons are very small macropods. This mother and her joey were foraging along the side of the road in Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania. I used the light from my car’s headlights to illuminate the animals as daylight quickly turned into night.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/40th of a second
Here’s another look at Binalong Bay in Tasmania. This one doesn’t show much of the orange lichen that covers most of the rocks, but I liked the circular pattern left by the outgoing tide.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 100, f/18 at .6 seconds
Short-beaked echidnas weren’t exactly all over the place, but I did see quite a few of them throughout my trip in Tasmania. Most commonly, I saw them foraging along the side of the road while I was driving from one place to another. This guy was gulping up ants on a small hill on my approach to Cradle Mountain National Park.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second