I visit some birds ... and a waterfall

A friend of ours has just bought two peacocks and invited us over to view them. I imagined that they would be strutting imperiously around the garden, reminiscent of an English country estate. But no, they were confined to a cage in the backyard, and apparently have to stay there for three months to get acclimatised. But it was still wonderful to see their magnificent iridescent plumage and turquoise blue head feathers.

Our friend also has a large number of aviaries and some wonderful birds that he lovingly cares for. At first I got tremendously excited and so was unable to focus well. The dratted things kept flying and swooping around being birds!!!! Here are my first attempts.

                                  

I soon calmed down and got some better shots. Our friend explained the names of all the birds as we went along, but I'm afraid it all went over my head so I can't record them here, but bird fanciers among my readers may well recognise these breeds.

Steve preferred to view them from afar, but I boldly stepped into the aviary to seek the perfect shot....

... which constantly eluded me.

Perhaps with more patience and less enthusiasm, I could improve.

A week later we revisited Hindmarsh Falls, which I blogged about last year. This time round I determined to do more creative shots. First up though, a straightforward record shot of the path to the falls and a section of the falls themselves. 

Luckily after our recent rains there was a generous amount of water cascading over the rocks. 

I zoomed in to get interesting aspects of the water and the surrounding vegetation. It was a pity in a way that the day was sunny because there was too much contrast between the water, the trees and the rocks and I'm not good enough to be able to compensate for that. An overcast cloudy day would have been better for photos - but where is the joy in that?

You can see by the colour of the water how the rains have washed the mud down the river.

When I got back home I turned two of my favourites into black and white images.

Steve attempting to get the definitive shot.

 Me posing at the lookout.

And finally, some flowers to welcome spring.

All in all, a lovely day out.