aussiebirder

On another of our beautiful warm crisp Autumn afternoons my wife and I took a walk along the rivers edge in Botany Bay to see if all the migratory waders had flown north for the winter, and yes, the beaches were bear and only gulls remained on the beach where they were often seen. We had missed viewing their breeding plumage changes this year, mainly due to inclement weather. We did however see the endangered Pied Oyster catcher that breeds on these beaches and the Sooty Oystercatcher. Because these birds nest on the beach they are always in danger of humans and dogs. Our local conservationists created an island for them to nest on in this bay.

As we walked around the bay on the far side of the river we found our two species of endemic Oystercatcher working the beach together. These are non migratory shorebirds which are mostly found on rocky reefs but will visit the beaches looking for small crabs. Click on images to enlarge them.

The more shy Sooties eventually flew further away.

We were surprised to find this lone Grey-tailed Tattler, a migratory bird which should have left for the northern hemisphere, remaining for a stayover year. This bird was also successful in foraging for small crabs.

Lastly, my wife’s good spotting found this Sacred Kingfisher resting in the shade beneath an old historic rail bridge which was used many years ago for transporting oysters to ships, which was a booming industry in the distant past.

Have a wonderful week. Our Sydney Royal Easter Show is on this week and we are looking forward to visiting it with some of my family. We love watching the woodchop finals. We have some of the world’s best woodchoppers and our trees are mainly hardwood and require a strong arm and a super sharp axe. Many overseas woodchoppers from the USA, New Zealand and Canada also compete

My book “What Birds Teach Us” will teach you more about our brilliant Kingfishers of which we have nine species not including our two species of Kookaburra which are also in the Kingfisher family. Click on the image below to discover more and purchase book.

In a similar situation to the Oystercatchers we sometimes find it necessary to work or visit environments that are not ideal or to our liking. The Oystercatchers while not prying oysters from rocks on reefs have adapted to plunging their beaks into wet sand at low tide in search of small crabs. A behaviour It may have copied from watching other shorebirds, such as Godwits and Tattlers. Whatever the reason, birds easily adapt to change with little apparent distress. They don’t get stressed and angry when things don’t go their way, they just seek a another way, an alternate solution, which in turn will bring the blessing of adequate provision.

Jesus grew up a birdwatcher which is evident in the references and examples to birds and their behaviour he uses to teach us about trusting God rather than stressing out about the material things we need for life. In a nutshell he states:

When we return to the one true almighty creator God who made each us for his own enjoyment and pleasure, we begin to reflect his love, kindness and compassion in our lives to family and community, and rediscover the joy, peace and hope that Jesus brings to those who put their life and trust in his hands. The secret to a stress reduced peaceful joyous life is to focus on the Provider and not the provision, on the Source an not the stuff we stress about for life, our food, clothing, jobs etc He will as trust and ask provide all these and more if we let him be the Lord and Leader of our lives.

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” – John 1:12

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Adv. Dip. in Counselling and Family Therapy.

Member of Birdlife Australia

To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

And learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed  by the site owner and remains his copyrighted property, unless otherwise stated. The use of any material that is not original material of the site owner is duly acknowledged as such. © W. A. Hewson 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026