A Golden Prize
November 2006
Among Australia’s most fascinating birds are the bowerbirds, whose males build elaborate structures to attract females for mating. My dream was to photograph a Golden Bowerbird, restricted to upland rainforest in tropical Queensland. Thanks to an Australian naturalist friend of a friend, that dream came true.
The Golden Bowerbird is a so-called “pole bower” builder. The male builds a structure consisting of two or more towers of twigs, several feet tall, each supported by a small upright sapling. Amid this bower is a horizontal perch that the male decorates with numerous strands of lichen and flowers. Passing females visit the bower, to check out the male, and if he is acceptable, mating takes place on the horizontal perch.
Our host led us up the steep slippery slope on his property to see two bowers; the birds like to build their bowers on steep, south-facing slopes. One bower had fresh decorations—a sign of recent activity—so that was the one I chose to work at.
Next morning found me huddled under a pullover type of blind made of camouflage fabric, at some distance from the bower…waiting. It’s called Kwik Camo and it’s very packable. Pullover blinds are not the most comfortable, best worn with a stiff-brimmed hat to keep the fabric off your face, but on a trip like this they do the job. This one has a convenient netting panel giving good visibility, while keeping you concealed—essential for alerting you to your subject’s approach.
Three four-hour sessions in the rainforest later and I had some shots of the Golden Bowerbird male bringing lichen and flowers to decorate his bower. I was happiest with those shot on the one overcast morning. Cloud cover diffuses the light in the forest so I was able to use a mix of ambient light and fill-flash. On the sunny mornings, harsh pools of light made distracting highlights in the images.