aussiebirder

Another amazing warm crisp blue sky winters day for a walk with my wife and our friend, so we decided to walk along the riverbank as my wife’s foot was continuing to heal and a flat even walk was required. The river bank unexpectedly at high tide was lined with over a dozen Bar-tailed Godwit very busily foraging, as they propelled their long slightly curved beaks seep into the wet sand in search of small crustaceans which form their staple diet. Click on images to enlarge them.

If this were the end of Summer they would normally be preparing to leave for their long journey to Siberia and Alaska to breed for another year, but as it is Winter here these guys are the stay-overs for this year, deciding to give the 32,00 km round trip to Siberia and Alaska and then back to Australia in Spring a miss. These birds return usually to the same beaches each year. You may notice a little touch of breeding plumage on the necks (red arrow below) of the young males, which has not developed, but may develop in late Summer before they return. Notice that one bird in the right photo below has darker plumage than the rest may indicate that this is a more mature bird that has stayed over.

These birds have sensors on the edges of their beaks so as they drive them into the sand, sometimes with a jack-hammer action, they can sense the pressure of a crustacean nearby as it exerts a tiny amount of pressure, they will then withdraw their beak and rapidly drive it back in at that point to recover their meal, which sometimes is just junk.

A problem with this beach, is that it is shared by humans who swim and fish their and often let their dogs loose to chase the birds also, yet it is a designated bird reserve for these rare visitors. The problem we face with our governments is that they will reluctantly create laws to protect these birds because of the outcries of the conservationists, but put in place no way of policing them. Even if they were to declare it a National Park, current evidence shows little concern to do so. At least they have recently erected some good signage to help educate the locals. You may need a magnifying glass to read the writing in the images below.

Here you can see the a Godwit at work retrieving food, as well as one older bird sleeping on the beach, which is normal practice at high tide. Most birds rest and sleep with their head turned and beak pressed below back primary feathers to give them warm air to relax them. They will often stand on one leg to rest the other one, and then alternate occasionally so that both are rested. This is because birds do not sit like we do and spend most if not all their lives on their feet.

The juvenile gull will not only have the dark eye, bill and legs but also brown blotches of plumage which will gradually change with each moult. It this stage they mostly remain dependant on their parents for food.

Another surprise was these groups of Hibiscus Harlequin Bugs also known as Cotton Harlequin Bugs (Tectocoris diophthalmus), many different colours all over the leaves of this native tree. These are types of Jewel Bugs and are native to eastern Australia. They are harmless to humans but dangerous to plants and trees.

We noted the occasional Coastal Banksia (Banksia integrifolia) tree along the walkway. There are many species of Banksia, each in its particular geographical location in Australia and each flowering at a particular season so that most months of the year would have one species of Banksia flowering to give nectar to our over 76 honeyeater bird species. They are found on the east coast of Australia from Victoria to Central Queensland.

One such very common species of bird in the area is the Noisy Miner which is a honeyeater endemic to Australia which was feeding from the Banksia. It is a brave bully bird hated by most other birds for gang like tactics. It is one of the most organised and well managed bird communities which is described in my book “What Birds Teach Us” which is available here from my secure online shop. Click on the image below to find out more. The page will open on a new tab. Many birds suffer stress and some even death due to bullying of this bird when it noisily mobs with its coalition army of Miners. It has no fear except from the beak of the Magpie, and will pursue and chase off Raptors and much larger birds which could in different circumstances easily kill them.

Some encouragement those suffering at the moment, experiencing the dark winter of the soul during our cold winter period. It is wonderful to know that our loving gracious Heavenly Father knows intimately, and we can trust him to not only bring us through very difficult times of grief and loss during our lives, which we all experience, but that his purpose is to bless, grow and equip us to become more like the person he wants us to be, like the Lord Jesus (Yeshua) his Son our Saviour. I am known for my saying: ‘Always look for the Treasure in the Trial‘‘.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV)

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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