Staglands Wildlife Reserve is about 20 kilometres from where I live, so when I don’t feel like going to far and still want to get out with the camera it is a good place to go. I have a yearly pass so very cost effective too. I am unable to walk around the entire park at the moment but I can get to the places I like to photograph the most – the aviaries.
I spent quite a bit of time with the Kea’s yesterday and enjoyed every minute of it. I took my Sigma 150-600S on a monopod to see if I could cope without the tripod and I think it was a success. It means I will be able to use it in places where a tripod would be difficult to manage. The lens is so heavy there is no way I can handhold it.
The Kea is a cheeky bird and at Staglands they have very little fear of people being as they reside in a protected space that has people through all the time. While I was sitting photographing one bird, another would be tugging at the zipper on my jacket trying to get it off. It didn’t succeed but I did get a hole ripped in my pocket.
The other bird I spent some time watching was a little Whio (Blue Duck) which was swimming around in a little pond that used to be filled with baby trout. I saw no baby trout despite the sign warning us off feeding them. We finished off our visit with a bite to eat at the café then headed home. It was a very enjoyable trip and I am very happy with the results using the bigger lens.