Australian birds
Some Mid-North Coast Birds – Raptors
Last week my wife and I visited my four grandchildren on a round trip of the mid-north coast and Hunter Region of NSW. We sighted several raptors among other birds […]
Last week my wife and I visited my four grandchildren on a round trip of the mid-north coast and Hunter Region of NSW. We sighted several raptors among other birds which were not plentiful this time of year in the colder months. While walking along the beach front near Newcastle Beach without my camera, as I pushed my wife in a wheelchair as she was recovering from foot surgery, she managed to catch images of a beautiful Australian Kestrel as it performed above and around us, as if putting on a a show just for us as the cold winds blew. It did this for about ten minutes. The Kestrel previously the Nankeen Kestrel, is our smallest raptor.
This Kestrel feeds on large insects, small rodents, small reptiles and small birds.
Further north on the coast we saw this juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle in its 1st year of life scanning the beach and shoreline. Sea-Eagles do not just eat fish, but have a varied diet including other birds and are found along rivers and lakes inland as well as on coastal beaches. Click on image to enlarge it.
My second book release “Flight of a Fledgling” illustrates and discusses the Sea-Eagle and how its development depicts the age of the bird. Click on the image below to find out more.
The mature adult looks quite stunning in the light against a blue sky as the adjoining page in my book depicts.
Another stunning and beautiful raptor we saw contrasting against the blue winter sky checking the coastal beaches was this Brahminy Kite. This one was a fair way in the distance.
We also visited a rainforest centre on the Mid-North Coast where my wife was extremely excited to see one of her favorite birds, the colourful and elusive Noisy Pitta which is essentially a ground dweller and forager in coastal rainforest areas in NSW and QLD. We only managed to catch this partial shot of it as it dived off out of sight. My books are sold there also.
While in the rainforest we saw this Yellow-throated Scrubwren rebuilding the internal rooms of it nest. This interesting bird builds a pseudo nest with its true nest behind it so that a would be predator bird would appear to find the nest empty and move on without realising it has been tricked.
We also saw the beautiful male Golden Whister, Scaly Lorikeet, Little Wattlebird, Eastern Yellow Robin and Lewins Honeyeater.
While staying with my old school friend and his wife I could not pass off sharing these images of one of our most beautiful Parrots the Eastern Rosella. These birds are very shy of humans and will fly off at the first sight.
On our way home we stopped in to a bush retreat for lunch and saw and heard a small family flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo in a large eucalypt in the far distance. We thought to walk to it after lunch, though my wife’s foot was not really up to it. The Lord in his gracious love sent the flock to us. It landed in some trees nearby. A couple of males, females and juvenile. The male has the pink eye ring. One male moved to the foot of a eucalypt and proceeded to chew out a witchetty grub hole with its powerful beak and extract the tasty treat.
The female Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo waits silently and patiently as her male counterpart explores the tree nearby for grubs, which are a vitamin rich delicacy for both the Cockatoos and our native indigenous inhabitants. Notice it lacks the pink eye ring. The feature photo at the top of page is the male fleeing having finished its meal of two grubs.
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Adv. Dip. in Counselling and Family Therapy.
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And learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.
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aussiebirder
My wife and I share a love of bird observing and bird photography which takes us all over Australia. We love sharing our experiences. Birds live in the beautiful parts of our country. We always get blessed with beautiful gifts of new birds and unexpected experiences each time we go out birding or just walking in the parks and reserves in our wonderful land. We love Australia, and the variety that each state and region offers in its wildlife and nature aspects. Join us in sharing our love. We have always found other birders enthusiastic and friendly people who appreciate the good things in life.
Hello Ash,
I read your latest article with a big smile on my face today. We’re delighted that you & your wife had a wonderful visit with your grandchildren and old school friend. I’m very happy you were blessed with so many wonderful views of your beautiful birds. Especially happy to hear your wife had good views of one of her favourite birds, the Noisy Pitta. As always, her sharp observation skills brought your attention to the Kestrel.
We pray for a speedy recovery for her foot and will send another update email to you soon.
Thanks Takami, yes it was a wonderful time spent with each grandchild individually as well as with my daughter and her husband. We also had a lovely time staying with my old school friend and his wife. We were delighted with the birds we saw and that our gracious Lord gave us beautiful warm winter weather despite the weather app predicting otherwise. Yes the Pitta was a special treat though it did elude my camera somewhat but managed one shot of some credence. Her Kestrel shots were great with her Canon PowerShot camera. We praise our loving Father that Robyn’s foot is thankfully recovering faster than the doctor expected and is able to drive once again. Hoping the book arrives soon now that it was resent.
Always amazed to see birds in other regions that look so similar to some of ours. Clearly there are species there far more colorful than ours (Rosella’s etc.), but birds like the Scrubwren and our Palm Warbler could easily be mistaken for each other and your Kestrels are just a bit lighter/tanner than ours. Great collection of shots.
Thankyou my friend for your welcome comment. Yes there are notable similarities with our southern and your northern birds. It was just those who settled these areas and named them that they differ, though now with genetic typing their speciation is further scrutinized. Many of our birds were named by British naturalists soon after they arrived after their own meager species, as Australia has so many more species and sub species of birds of similar speciation. Yes our Kestrels are closely related and very similar. Enjoy your week.
I live on the Gold Coast and always get so excited when I see a White-bellied Sea-Eagle! The variety of birds you capture each time is amazing Ash. 👏👏🙏🏻
Thanks Karen, the Gold Coast is a lovely place to live we do not get up that way much these days. Yes the White-bellied Sea-Eagle is a common resident of our beach and cliff areas along the coast as well as rivers. For us it is the unique call of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo that excites us as we see them seasonally on the coast during winter months as they breed in the mountains. Years ago when I lived in the mid-north coast I actually had a sea eagle that knew me and the locals would often point out that ‘your eagle is here Ash ‘ and it would often just hover above my head where ever I was for several minutes even in strong winds and drift off when I pointed my camera at it. It would play games with me when I tried to hide in the bush on the cliff and when it came around would stop in front of me as if to say ‘I can see you !’ and fly off. It kept up this behaviour for several years and it was known as Ashley’s Eagle, my family were amazed also. Enjoy the rest of your week my friend, it is so nice to have some sunny blue sky weather for a change here.
Thanks Deborah,
Yes we do have an amazing collection of bird species which we are very thankful and grateful for as they vary in each state and area which makes our holidays all the more exciting. Sadly the H5 bird flue is currently infecting our continent for the first time and already killing many of our shore and ocean birds which are landing sick and dead on our southern shores. Not sure what this means for our local birds and poultry industry as yet. Our Parrot and Honeyeater families have so many beautiful varieties compared to the rest of the world, it is a delight to sight them. There is a likeness to species from your part of the globe which we see when viewing the posts of your country. Our week is going well as we have now returned from my grandchildren visit up north where these birds were photographed. It was a lovely week which though the weather app said it would rain God had otherwise given us beautiful sunny days. Thanks again for your most appreciative comment they are always much appreciated. Enjoy your week also my friend.
You saw so many fantastic birds! Your beautiful little yellow birds remind me of Warblers, and your Wattlebird reminded me of a Thrasher. You guys have some of the most beautiful birds in the world there. The Cockatoo at the end is gorgeous and one I don’t think you’ve shared often. The Rosella pair…stunningly beautiful! Great sightings!
I hope your week is going well.