Tom O’Dea - Visual Storytelling

Tom O’Dea - Visual Storytelling Stories told without 1,000 words...
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🦢 A little piece of Australia at Yass WeirI came across this magnificent Black Swan at Yass Weir today. 🖤💙For those of y...
06/09/2026

🦢 A little piece of Australia at Yass Weir

I came across this magnificent Black Swan at Yass Weir today. 🖤💙

For those of you outside Australia, the Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is one of our most iconic waterbirds — and perhaps one of the best examples of how Australian wildlife can surprise people who grew up thinking that all swans are white! 🇦🇺

Black Swans are native to Australia and are found across much of the country wherever there are suitable wetlands, lakes, rivers and waterways.

They’re almost entirely black, with striking white wing feathers that become particularly spectacular when they spread their wings, as this one did for me.

They also have that wonderfully distinctive deep red bill.

They’re surprisingly large birds, with a wingspan that can reach around 2 metres, and unlike many swan species, Black Swans are quite common across Australia.

They can also be surprisingly graceful in flight, especially considering how big they are!

Seeing one here at Yass Weir was a beautiful reminder that you don’t always have to travel far to encounter some of Australia’s extraordinary wildlife. Sometimes it’s right here in our own backyard. 🌿🦢

🦜 A very special visitor near Yass today! As with most of my finds, I heard them before I saw them! Not the greatest pho...
05/09/2026

🦜 A very special visitor near Yass today! As with most of my finds, I heard them before I saw them!

Not the greatest photo, but one I’m incredibly happy to have captured.

I was lucky enough to spot this Swift Parrot near Yass one of the world’s few truly migratory parrots.

Each year, these remarkable little birds make the journey from Tasmania to mainland Australia in search of flowering eucalypts, before returning south again.

Seeing one in the wild is always special, but perhaps even more so at a time when bird populations around Australia and across the world are facing increasing pressures, including the impacts of avian influenza.

Swift Parrots are critically endangered, with their numbers continuing to decline, so every encounter feels like a privilege.

The photo may not be perfect, but the moment certainly was. 💚

Superb Fairywren (zoom in for details)Yass NSW. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
04/09/2026

Superb Fairywren (zoom in for details)

Yass NSW. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

High detail Superb Fairywren from home.Yass NSW. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
19/08/2026

High detail Superb Fairywren from home.

Yass NSW. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

Apologies for the quiet patch here, everyone. I've been in a higher-capacity role lately, and it's been pretty busy! 🥱 A...
16/08/2026

Apologies for the quiet patch here, everyone.

I've been in a higher-capacity role lately, and it's been pretty busy! 🥱

A bit of a balancing act, much like this Eastern Spinebill balancing on the my flower stems on the back deck!

Lately my "birding" has been reduced to quick moments at home, grabbing what I can between everything else.

This little guy was one of those small wins.

Looking forward to getting back out there properly in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for sticking with me in the meantime. 🐦📷

💙 The secret world of the Satin BowerbirdThere are few sights in the Australian bush quite like coming across a male Sat...
09/08/2026

💙 The secret world of the Satin Bowerbird

There are few sights in the Australian bush quite like coming across a male Satin Bowerbird in his bower.

This beautiful male was photographed here in Yass, tucked away amongst the branches of his carefully constructed bower.

The incredible blue sheen of his plumage is hard to appreciate until you see one up close, almost metallic in the right light.

But the bower is the really fascinating part.

Male Satin Bowerbirds build these elaborate structures not as nests, but as a courtship display.

They collect and arrange objects around the bower, with a particular fondness for blue: feathers, flowers, berries, bits of plastic and anything else that catches their eye.

And then they wait.

The bower is essentially his stage, and his collection of blue treasures is part of the performance designed to impress a female.

I’ve always loved finding these birds around Yass but this is my first bower!

They are a wonderful reminder that there’s an extraordinary amount of behaviour and drama happening quietly in the bush, often hidden just a few metres away.

This image captures one of those moments, a glimpse into the private world of a Satin Bowerbird and the extraordinary effort he puts into attracting a mate.

Yass has some pretty remarkable wildlife. You just have to know where to look. 💙

High detail, Female Gang GangYass NSW. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
08/08/2026

High detail, Female Gang Gang

Yass NSW. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

Today’s efforts!Peregrine Falcons.Yass NSW. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
02/08/2026

Today’s efforts!

Peregrine Falcons.

Yass NSW. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

Three years ago, after days and days of lying hidden in long grass, waiting and hoping, everything finally came together...
01/08/2026

Three years ago, after days and days of lying hidden in long grass, waiting and hoping, everything finally came together.

I’d watched this peregrine falcon countless times, learning its habits and patiently waiting for the one moment when it would choose the right tree. Most days it didn’t. On this day, it did.

This remains my favourite photograph of a peregrine falcon, and in fact my favourite image I’ve ever taken of any bird of prey.

Not because it’s technically perfect, but because every time I look at it, I’m reminded that some photographs simply can’t be rushed.

They have to be earned through patience, persistence and a little bit of luck.

It’s a photo that takes me straight back to those quiet hours in the grass, with nothing but the wind, the anticipation, and the hope that this incredible hunter would land exactly where I’d imagined.

Three years on, it’s still the benchmark that every bird of prey photograph I take is measured against.

For many cultures around the world, the changing of the seasons is marked not by a date on the calendar, but by nature i...
01/08/2026

For many cultures around the world, the changing of the seasons is marked not by a date on the calendar, but by nature itself.

The first flowers bloom, migrating birds return, or particular stars appear in the night sky.

For me, here in Yass, spring begins with a different sign.

It’s the day I hear the unmistakable call of the peregrine falcons echoing through the valley.

After a couple of weeks of checking, waiting, and checking again, today was finally the day.

Yass’s resident pair of peregrine falcons have returned home, and hearing their cries ring out across the valley was one of those moments that reminds me why I love spending time in nature.

Back in 2021, I was fortunate enough to be the first person to discover that this remarkable pair were nesting so close to Yass township.

Since then, their annual return has become something of a ritual, not just for me, but for other local birders as well.

Each year we wait, listen, and celebrate the moment those familiar calls announce that they’ve made it home safely once again.

It was a privilege to watch Australia’s fastest aerial predator back on its hunting grounds.

The local galahs will no doubt need to stay alert over the coming months, as they make up an important part of the falcons’ diet.

Being able to capture a few photographs of these magnificent birds on their first day back made the moment even more special.

For me, and for many of us who spend time watching the birds around Yass, spring has officially arrived.

Welcome home.

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95 Comur Street
Yass, NSW

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+61498968888

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