aussiebirder

In All Kinds of Weather – The Thornbills

Posted by aussiebirder on April 14, 2021

Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Uncategorized, wildlife. Tagged: Blue Mountains National Park, Brown Thornbill, Echo Point. 11 Comments

Last weekend we traveled to the Blue Mountains National Park for the final stage of my wife’s birthday week with her children. We stayed in a home overlooking the Jamison Valley at Echo Point, Katoomba. This is our view as the local Pied Currawong clan hark in the morning.

This deep valley, lined by tall sheer sandstone cliffs, and is Australia’s favorite and most visited national park, especially the rock formation called the Three Sisters, from which we were only a five minute walk. You can see from the background how they came to be called the BLUE Mountains, by the eucalyptus vapour which rises from the gum leaves of the millions of trees in the valley which is larger than the Grand Canyon.

The Three Sisters

Most of the valley is dense rainforest and rivers, waterfalls and usually lots of rainforest birds. The most fun way to get down into the valley is by the Scenic Railway, which is the steepest railway in the world. The journey only lasts a few minutes and here’s why…

Katoomba is 1,017 meters above sea level so it got very cold very quickly at night, especially when the icy blast hit NSW on Saturday night. Sunday morning with 4°C wind chill I ventured out alone in the cold wind birding the local area while the family stayed warm inside. Even the Currawongs were quiet and the squawk of a lone Cockatoo was the only bird heard. To my surprise I came across several feeding flocks of Brown Thornbill energetically foraging through the trees and shrubs around Echo Point, as if the cold air had electrified them, as they moved so fast I could barely keep up with them.

This tiny insectivorous bird is a bird of all seasons and weather and sometimes when I am out birding in the worse windy weather these little guys will be merrily making their way up all manner of trees making their beautiful call. I love their little purring sound.

So here is some of the photos I managed to catch when the bird stopped moving for one second. They get their name from the little thorn like beak. These birds think and move up to five times faster than us and are very difficult to capture when moving. They have already thought about the next movement and worked out their move while I eyes have only just focused on the birds last position. Click on them to enlarge.

They spend most of the time moving upward within the thick dark branches of the tree and seldom are in good light to photograph, which makes them a challenge along with their constant movement.

There are several species of Thornbill of which the Brown is the most common. These birds are often found in MMFs (Mixed Feeding Flocks) often with other small insectivorous birds similar in size. No matter how strong the wind they manage to continue their rapid forage unimpeded.

Each evening the local Pied Currawong clan came in large number to roost in the tall eucalypts nearby, making their classic evening calls as they call in their flock. This very interesting and unique Aussie bird was a new addition to the 2nd Edition of my first book.

With omnivorous Corvid like characteristics it has a very opportunistic nature and has many beautiful calls which is often the first and last heard each day joining in with the Magpies, Kookaburra, Butcherbird and Miners along with any others to form the morning and evening chorus.

Occasionally the Eastern Crimson Rosella would land nearby as it joined the Currawong and the Red Wattlebird as they fed from the flowers and fruit in the yard next door.

The lack of birds was made up for by the lovely family bonding time shared by all as we shared my wife’s birthday enjoyed very special meals and explored the rainforest in the valley below, where the reduced light did not enable any good photos of the other common rainforest birds found also in our national park back home.

Enjoy your week as the seasons change all over the world, and beautiful autumn days with colder nights become the current norm for us Aussies.

Welcome to new visitors to my blog and website. Please check out my birding pages on my Home Page.

Check out my unique books on Australian birds and their interesting behaviours from which valuable life lessons are gleaned. Thank you to those Followers who have already made their online purchases, some have taken advantage of the special 2 book deal. Click on the book covers to find out more.

Some may have concerns that my books have religious content, but that is not true. Those of my blog Followers who have purchased my books will attest to this fact. My books are enjoyed by people of all cultures and beliefs, as well as those that claim no religious affiliation. This is because these books as counselling tools can show no religious bias. Much of modern counselling is derived from the wisdom of the scriptures, having been proven in time. I can assure you God and reference to my belief platform is not mentioned in either book. The books use the behaviour of our birds to help people to get more out of life by encouraging them to make good life choices. From the feedback I am constantly receiving, I am constantly delighted that they are doing just that.

Thornbills are very resilient little birds. They are a tiny super bird able to stand up to the most adverse conditions. There ability to think and reason at lightning speed along with their ability to continually move have helped preserve them. One thing we can learn from them is do not let your circumstances determine your attitude or emotional response. Similar to these birds it is possible to maintain a cool and rational approach to life’s curved balls when they hit us unexpectedly, as they do everyone at one time or another. This is one of the important issues dealt with in my new book “Flight of a Fledgling”, dealing with life’s unexpected challenges in a rational and peaceful manner.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NIV)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Last weekend my wife and I drove to Wagga Wagga to celebrate her birthday with her siblings who had congregated there, and catch up with extended family. As most of you are aware her sister lives on Lake Albert where we often go birding on our visits, for western birds not common to our area, of which there are few, especially during the present change of seasons and post heavy rains.

The main bird of interest was the Crimson Rosella of the yellow race, which was previously known as the Yellow Rosella, and rightly so, as there is very little crimson at all on the bird. I consider if you are going to change a name to group it with another it should at least look like the descriptive name. This beautiful bird is seen feeding from flowers in the bright morning sunshine on Resurrection morning. I love when it hangs upside down and looks at you.

Of course there are the usual waterbirds, but not many as the rise in water level meant the wetlands were difficult for waterbirds to feed on the weed below.

Australian Pelican resting in the morning sun

A pair of Australasian Wood Duck resting in the morning sun

The morning chorus always commences here with the resident Eastern Aussie Magpie clans calling in chorus to each other to remind each other of their territories and catch up on the latest news. We just sit on the verandah and take it all in.

This guy is listening for larvae which he can hear with his very acute hearing in the soil beneath the grass. This ability is taught to him as a youngster, and this food is a major source, which is another reason why we should not reed these wild birds. They actually protect our lawns from pests. These Crested Pigeons were also catching the morning sun as the morning begin to be cool.

Crested Pigeons

Down by the lake the trees were buzzing with the sound of the Common Starling which breeds there. They do look quite beautiful iridescent in the sunlight.

Common Starling

Starlings resting in afternoon sun

This lone Red Wattlebird tried to join them but was not welcome by the clan.

Red Wattlebird

As I walked around the lake I was pleasantly surprised to find this Grey Shrike-thrush under a bush foraging in the late afternoon light.

Also in the grass nearby as I sat on the grass and watched, was many Superb Fairy wren, hopping happily about close to the reeds, where they quickly find cover. Some were going through their first morph (coming out of eclipse to breeding plumage) as they can breed several times in a year, they are a very sexually active bird.

male morphing

two young females exploring

the rear of the morphing male

Non breeding male

Feeding in the grass was this pair of Red-rumped Parrot, which we always see here. The male constantly checked that I was not a threat. Only the male has the red rump, the female has the green one. This bird can be mistaken for the Turquoise Parrot from a distance.

This Willy Wagtail, a true Aussie flycatcher, was busily communing with members of his family as I studied him.

This bird is features in my first book as a very brave little bird, which it is when nesting, and a bird that survives well because of this. It is amazing how effective this little bird is, as you might remember how it stands up to much larger birds which could eat it, such as the Magpie and Kookaburra.

Most of the day flocks of Galah constantly fed on the grass seed by the lake, which is normal custom for the Parrot family after Summer has passed and the grass has seeded.

One last western bird we always see here is the very tiny White-plumed Honeyeater, as it busily feeds on the flowers high on the canopy of the River Gums, as well as searches for available lerps.

Have a most enjoyable week and weekend !

If you have not done so yet check out my new book release Flight of a Fledgling and take advantage of the 2 book deal (Book 1 and Book 2) which is going for a short time. Both books are available on my website. Click on the picture below to go to the page.

All adults, and especially Young Adults and late teens, can benefit from this book and gain insights into the modern research on our amazing birds. Posted to your address. Thankfully for you overseas Followers, due to our current absences of the Covid, Australia is able to send to most all countries.

Lastly, I want to share an observation of my little mate ‘Butch’ the Grey Butcherbird who sings to me throughout the day. He decided to clean out our gutters on the garage, and found food there, including a skink. This caused me to later clean them out properly, as I did not realise till he threw out so much leaf litter, how clogged they were.

checking me watching

Butch with skink in beak

““Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? …” – Matthew 6:25-34

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Last Saturday, two days before the release of my new book Flight of a Fledgling, my wife and went on a short road trip down south to make some early book deliveries to Kiki’s in the Grove on the Federal Highway, Collector, one of my best sellers, and The Argyle Emporium Bookstore in Goulburn.

A multiplicity of waterbirds and species.

On our return trip we decided to check out the local sewerage settlement ponds of the area, as experienced birders are aware, these are often some of the best birding sites for waterbirds, and rare ones at that. The fact that these are often overlooked by the public and seen as undesirable places to be, the very shy and elusive water birds are often at peace and undisturbed here and even choose to stay and breed there. As they are settlement ponds there are no unpleasant aromas. As we started making our way around the large ponds the birds began paddling away, and a large flock of Pink-eared Duck took to the air and relocated to another of the four large ponds.

Pink-eared Ducks in flock

A pair of Pink-eared Ducks

Our excitement grew as we looked into the distance to view these birds, constantly escaping our view, as this is one of the very few places we get to find the elusive Blue-billed Duck which spends its entire life on the water well away from humans. Please be aware that these photos are all taken from a great distance and in fact at many stages I could not identify the species due to poor light or back lighting at times, thankfully my wife with her powerful binocs usually identified them for me. I had to wait till post production at home for the most excitement. However our first excitement came when I captured something I had been trying to capture for some time, as I watched this small group of ducks paddle out past the posts. In the photo below three ducks started to move in a large circle.

Beginning to vortex

We soon notice, as the group moved out, two pairs of the these ducks starting to vortex. This is a peculiar phenomenon to these birds which have these very specialized bills for sifting the water for micro marine organisms.

a pair vortexing

Those of you who have my first books will know this as this bird and the Australasian Shoveler both have similar beaks and feed in a similar way. The birds swim in a tight circle, can be two to twelve birds. with heads down in the water, beak to bottoms the bird in front stirs up the water with its feet as it paddles and the one behind sifts the water through its beak. Here is some brief action footage.

Sadly as I was holding my very heavy metal and glass L series Canon 100 – 400 mm lens, my thumb started to hurt badly as I tried to steady the device in the strong wind, as 400 mm extension made every movement affect the clarity. My thumb continues to be weak and sore and may cause me to finally sell my camera and lens and look for a lighter combo. I try to avoid a mono-pod as I find it too awkward with my height.

The flock having settled

Sure enough the Australasian Shovelers were not far away, but only a couple of pair and one juvenile. The male is leading with female following.

male

female

They tend to join the like beaked cousins as they forage the same way and can assist each other at times. You can see them here with the Pink-ears, and one Hoary-headed Grebe has joined them for company.

We continued in search of the Blue-bills moving from the front pond to larger far one, which is hundreds of meters from the road, and hidden behind an earthen wall. As we passed the first pond my eye noticed a tiny bird on the bank. It was a Black-fronted Dotterel a small plover. Then we also saw its partner nearby. It was interesting watching it turn its head, similar to a Kingfisher it would bob up and down as it turned.

Our next find was small flock of Hoary-headed Grebe with some juveniles.

Hoary-headed Grebe

Grebe pair

Hoary-headed Grebe flock

and now they are gone

Hoary-headed Grebe juvenile

Hoary-headed Grede in full breeding plumage

We had our next excitement seeing families of Musk Duck, which are very similar in many ways to the Blue-bill but very different looking, usually when you find one the other is likely to be present. These ducks are difficult to photograph without very good light due to their shiny all black bodies. The male gives off a musk like aroma to attract females during the mating season from a gland on his rear. He has a black pendulous skin under his chin.

Male Musk Duck

two juvenile Musk Ducks

Female with juvenile Musks

Male Musk Duck

Musk duck sleeping with splayed tail

The female Musk Duck looks almost identical to the female Blue-bill, except the beak. In the picture below a female Musk duck in the foreground is next to a female Blue-billed Duck. Both ducks lie low in the water.

We knew then as we saw a small heard of ducks swim out of hiding toward the middle of the pond we were close to finding our Blue-bills, and yes we saw several families of Blue-billed Duck with youngsters and the male bills were still beautiful blue breeding colour. Remember these birds are a long way away from us. Blue bills and Musks have up turned splayed tales and both sleep on the water hardly ever walking on land during their lifetime. It would be difficult to find a photo of these birds walking on land.

Blue-billed Duck family

Blue-bills sleeping on the water

several Blue-bill families

Blue-billed Ducks juveniles

Ducks like humans get lonely when on their own and believe their is safety in the flock. This why we see groups of birds with several species all moving together on the water. The Hardhead male and female are seen in small numbers. The male has a distinct white eye while the females is brown. From a distance it is easy to mistaken a Hardhead for a Blue-bill, but it does not lie as low in the water and has the white eye.

Hardheads with Blue-bills

two male Hardheads

Compare a Blue-bill with a Hardhead male

The Grey Teal is also present in some numbers, as this is one of the most numerous waterbirds found all over Australia.

The other numerous duck is the Pacific Black Duck which was onlu in very small numbers here.

We usually see small birds in the tall grass around the ponds and we did see a male and female Golden-headed Cisticola.

Some last Pink-eared Duck photos. The pink ear is on the mature adults, more predominant on males and lesser and almost absent on female and immatures.

Who would have thought sewerage ponds would be bird havens, but they are all over the country in each city, though often with restricted access, which is ideal for the rarer birds which have suffered being shot at by hunters in previous generations before conservation orders were placed on them. Some birders are granted access with conditions. Sadly some states still allow shooting at certain times of the year and our rarer ducks, such as Blue-bills are being shot also. This may explain their deliberate attempts to seclude themselves from humankind.

Have a wonderful week ! As I have already shared, my new book Flight of a Fledgling Growing Up and Leaving Home, is now released and available here online for purchase.

As we approach the time when many remember the suffering and death of the world’s most innocent and righteous man, who was framed and executed because of the selfishness, pride and jealousy of those who should have received and honoured him, my mind goes back to these sewerage ponds. It is our greed and destructive selfish attitudes, that have driven these beautiful innocent birds to so fear us and become recluse from us. Selfishness is an inherited part of us all by nature and contaminates our true self causing us, even with our best intentions, to make selfish judgments and do hurtful actions from time to time. It separates and breaks relationships. The more we break from relationship with God who made us, the more broken we become as people, and in relationships with others. This same concept applies in counseling people, which my new book explores, that how we understand who we are affects every aspect of our lives. God the Father reaches out to us all through Jesus, the man who made peace with God for us, offering his life for ours, on our behalf.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” – John 1:9-13

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”‘John 3:16-17

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Grey Butcherbird

As Aussiebirder I often get asked “What is your favorite bird?” and many get surprised when I tell them it is the Butcherbird. They become even more curious when they immediately go looking for it in my book and discover it was not included. Many of you who follow my blog know how my resident Butcherbird family, headed by Butch, make me smile and say “How beautiful !”, as they sing constantly through the day. Further up the coast where I lived much of my life, the Pied Butcherbird has one of the most amazing chimes, which would also delight me every morning.

Pied Butcherbird

Sydney and the north east coast of NSW has been pounded with rain, breaking all previous recorded records, creating state of emergency due to the extensive damage and loss of life caused by massive flooding of our big rivers. As this is occurring as I write this, I have not had an opportunity this week to leave my house, other than to shop in the very small windows when the rain was least intense so this week the Butcherbird family are featured.

Black Butcherbird

Of the now five species of Butcherbird four are endemic to Australia. The Grey and Pied are the most common and are found over much of the continent, but only the Grey Butcherbird is present in Tasmania. The Black, Black-backed and Silver-backed are only found in the top end of Australia in Far North Queensland and northern parts of WA and NT. The Black-backed Butcherbird is also found in New Guinea. Of the five species we have only laid eyes on the three pictured above.

Juvenile Grey Butcherbird

As you can see from the profile of the juvenile Butcherbird, even from a young age, the large powerful hooked beak is a classic feature of this omnivorous bird, which mainly consumes small reptiles, birds and rodents as well as the odd insect and fruit. They derive their name from their unusual custom of hanging their prey like a butcher hangs his meat on a meat hook, usually in the fork of a tree or crevice or on broken branch for later consumption, like a butcher’s cool room. Though I personally have never seen one ever do this, this is how it apparently was named.

The male may also do this to impress a new mate and present her with food, to show he is a good provider and that he will feed her when she mounts the nest to incubate the eggs. The hooked beak is feature like raptors for tearing prey. Here are some immatures calling in the morning to their parent.

Butcherbirds usually have 2 to 3 nestlings each season. My father of our local Grey Butcherbird clan brings his juvenile youngsters to visit me and introduce them to our source of water and shade.

Butch’s youngsters

Butch growing up

The Butcherbird is one of Australia’s most musical songbirds, and can be heard all through the day calling with varied calls. At different times of year they will tend to use particular calls, but their laughing call delights me every time I hear it and makes me smile in my heart and give thanks for having the privilege of having this little clan so close. I can actually hear him laughing as I write this.

The Pied Butcherbird is not found around Sydney but is further up the coast. Listen to the melodious chimes of this bird, which are hauntingly beautiful in the early morning. These were the first sounds I would hear each morning when I lived in the country.

This immature Pied is practicing his song.

This is the Western race of the Pied Butcherbird which inhabits the desert regions and is more contrasting than our Eastern race. We saw this guy at Uluru in the red centre.

The Black Butcherbird we only see on our trips to Far North Queensland. It is all black, and has its own peculiar call but not as melodious as the other two. When we first heard it calling we initially thought it was the Orange-footed Scrubfowl which lives up there also as it sounded similar. When we could not find it after looking low in the scrub we looked up and found it was a pair of Butcherbirds, but they were very shy.

Black Butcherbird

We would see this juvenile each morning sitting out near our open air dining area.

juvenile Black Butcherbird

It is hard to believe that as the juvenile develops it will one day turn black when it matures.

Black Butcherbird immature

This little guy had found something but not sure what.

Black Butcherbird

Have a wonderful week. We are all recovering from the heaviest week of rain ever experienced on the east coast of Australia, with extensive destructive flooding which continues even today on a clear blue sky, as the rivers continue to rise. We had the drought, then the fires and smoke, then the Covid, and just when were starting to get back to normal, the flooding rains… this is Australia.

Click on the pic below to see some news footage from Channel 9, of a man saving his pet Emu from the flood waters:

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” – Job 12: 7-10 (NIV)

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Yes its that time of year again when I honor the bird featured in my previous book as our most endurant bird, the Bar-tailed Godwit, which many of you know is one of my favorites. Click on photos to enlarge them.

As the first tastes of Autumn have come in for an early Winter blast, these birds will be taking off this week and next on a 12,000 to 16,000 km journey via the Asian coastline to Alaska and Siberia, returning to this same beach next Spring. The Bar-tailed Godwit is one of the highest flying birds in the world, able to reach heights of over 6,000 meters (20,000′). They can fly very high in flock rising to travel on the upper winds.

In Spring they will fly back non stop across the Pacific Ocean to Australia and New Zealand, guided by the sun and stars, spending between 6 to 8 days in the air. In the photo above you will notice the rufous breeding plumage almost complete in this male, but the females and juveniles have no visible changes. The females may change later but not as intensely as the males, and the juveniles will in a few years when they mature.

You will notice the subtle differences in plumage differentiating female from juvenile below, as the youngsters have darker primary markings as well as a neck band similar to other juvenile bird species. It can be difficult as they look fully grown from a young age, but are seen trailing and keeping close to the parent during Summer months, but often staying back for a sabbatical non migratory year in Australia during the winter months, until strong enough to do the amazing flight. With the absence of adults, other juveniles will group together and forage each day in a tight little group. The female is slightly larger than the male and has a slightly longer beak.

So now the furious feeding race is on against time to fatten oneself up enough for the long flight. Sadly many of their feeding wetlands and beaches are being filled in along the Asian coastlines due to large land reclamation schemes, which is causing these birds much stress and threatening many species to extinction, as these birds will only stop at their historical places, taught them from generations of migrations. Check out the PDF articles on this problem posted by Birdlife International and our CSIRO here.

Notice above how these birds, with their long slightly curving upward beaks, will push it right down into the wet sand in search of food. The amazing thing is that this bird is slightly smaller than a Silver Gull, and my photos can be deceptive.These birds can be a challenge to locate on a low tide mud flat far out near the water line, as they blend in so well with the sand.

Here is an example of a family walking together with juveniles trailing. In this case the female has a crab and is not letting anyone take it.

Here is one furiously feeding male…

The Crested Tern family were unimpressed by all this activity, as they are non migratory and had recently fledged their young here. Several were in resting mode after an early morning feed.

Crested Tern resting

Terns resting

The other shorebird that I saw last week feeding from a creek that flows into the same the same river was the vary shy and elusive Striated Heron (previously known as Mangrove Heron). This bird has always quickly walked or flown away when it sees me viewing it from the walking bridge at low tide. I have to always view this bird from a great distance, which makes my photos of lesser quality, as I have enough trouble just trying to see its small shape blending so well with the dark muddy sand. I spent some time unnoticed and watched it catch and eat several fish.

First, we stalk the fish in Heron style…

Secondly, we wait by the water with those small beady eyes and pounce at lightning speed to catch the fish…

Thirdly, we bring our catch to the beach and work out how we will consume it, as we have to get it into position to swallow it whole…

Last of all, we need to stretch our neck as we swallow to allow it to travel down into our stomach…

That’s that, ready for the next process.

Have a wonderful week and hope you are able to get out and enjoy some birding. My book is now at the printers and we are waiting for it’s release.

If this is your first visit to my website and blog check out my home page and other birding pages, you may find them of interest.

I love watching these birds seek out their food, which lies deep within the sands of low tide river beds. They use their beaks to quickly press down hoping to feel a small crustacean or worm. Sometimes they press their whole head into the sand, or push their head below the water in search. They commonly use a jack-hammer approach to search.

The words of Jesus have been repeated by many a parent or teacher over the years, implying that those who seek and keep on seeking (which is implied in the original Greek text being in present continuous tense), will be the winners in the end to achieve their goal and destiny.

To have this mindset one must first of all: need what they are seeking and then believe or have a reason to hope that what they seek can be found.

Paul the apostle of Jesus puts it simply to the great Greek minds of his day in his famous Areopagus address on Mars Hill (a place we never got to see last year due to Covid):

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.‘For in him we live and move and have our being.” – Acts 17: 24-28 (NIV)

Many have asked why Jesus, who for many, made trusting God so simple, yet for others made it so hard. Why speak in parables and answer each question with a question? It all comes down to the fact that he knew the hearts and intentions of those who gathered around him,

“because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” – John 2:25

In so many places in each of the accounts about Jesus, the writer mentions how Jesus’s response was due to the divine insight he had about each of the people who confronted him, and this is why he shows mercy and love to the underdog, persecuted and outcast but is harder and more serious with the corrupt and hypocritical temple (church) leaders of his day.

“But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?” – Matthew 22:18

This was the reason Jesus spoke in parables, which he explains to his disciples who ask that very question:

“The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” – Matthew 13:10

It is here that he draws a definitive contrast between those who truly seek him for who he is and trust in him, as against those who seek to put him down and actually fear him because he reveals what they are truly like and thus is a perceived threat to their power and lifestyle.

The problem is the same today as it was then.

I can remember as a teen when I played in my first band at dances and concerts, we all admired the Beatles and each of us had our favorite.

Abbey Road record cover

Our take off of Abbey Road cover

I can remember when the Beatles went searching for meaning and spirituality in their lives, led initially by George and John. They tried various means and religions and drugs to find the answer. The songs Eleanor Rigby and Nowhere Man are excellent examples of that time. Above are photos taken during our visit to the place where the Beatles started their music career in the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

The Beatles original instruments displayed in the Cavern Club

The Beatles playing in the Cavern Club in Liverpool. From a photo in the club

Sadly the Christian church of their day in Britain did not communicate a relationship of love, peace and joy with Jesus nor the fulfilling life they were searching for, and eventually settled for an Eastern religious influence. Sadly many today continue to seek the experience and not the Person? My own personal experience was that I also was disappointed by the church of my day as a teen and was challenged to read the Bible for myself, and the words of Jesus spoke to me and that’s how I met him.

Today

As in Jesus day,

Men again get in the way

Instead of living what they say

For Jesus himself said “I am the Way”

And comes to all who humbly seek and pray,

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Last weekend my wife and I spent a few days in the Newcastle area to celebrate our wedding anniversary and have some birding time together, as well as birding time out walking and birding with my eldest son and his boys. One of the places we love to visit when there is the Walka Water Works near Maitland which seldom disappoints us, especially during Spring-Summer months.

Waterworks building

the meaning of Walka

the lake

bird signs along the track

This old steam driven water pumping station has long been decommissioned and now used as a museum and function centre. The man made lake is home to many waterbirds, and surrounding forest around it houses many passerines. The walk around the lake is always a delight as you never know what you might see. As we were about to commence our walk this flock of Corella were spooked and took off in flock.

The bird we were most wanting to see on the lake was the Great Crested Grebe, with its young. The last time we were here in Spring we saw the mating dance as well as very young juveniles being carried on the backs of the father Grebe. I figured that on this late Summer visit we would see the next stage of juvenile development, and we did.

Several families were present and the young were at various stages of maturity.

Surprising as it is the grey striping on white does camouflage the babies from the air, where their main predator will come from. This lake, surrounded by grassed flood plain is an ideal raptor hunting area, and guess what the next bird that came over head was?… The majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle, our largest eagle, with a wingspan of about 2.3 meters (7.5′). I was so pleased that it came overhead to examine us.

Wedge-tailed Eagle

As it soared away from us it was suddenly in pursuit by what appeared to be a Magpie, but due to the intense back-lighting of the clouds was difficult to confirm. Wedgies are often chased by brave smaller birds, displaying their commitment to their family’s safety. This cat and mouse chase went on for several minutes, as the eagle soared up higher and higher making it more difficult for its assailant.

Later we found the pair of Wedgies working a paddock nearby and swiftly left when their keen eyesight spotted us watching.

Wedgie pair leaving

Wedgie swooping

Walking along the track we saw an amazing little incident with two Red-browed Finches. It appeared that the male was presenting the grass seed gift as a wedding ring followed by an acceptance and immediate mating. At first he mounted for a few seconds and now sexual contact was made, and then he mounted again and for several seconds there was intense movement as he watched the face of his partner. The movement helped to blur the photo. Then it was all over and he is left holding the grass. The female has a slightly narrower supercilium than the male. Now there is a word to explore!

First bring a grass seed gift to the female

Wait for it to be received

Mount the female like so

Proceed to mate watching to see she is OK

There that’s your sex education done

Walking further along we were charmed by the beautiful chime of the Pied Butcherbird, one of my favorite bird calls which brings back memories of living on my property years ago. He did get a little worried at one stage when a pair of Musk Lorikeets flew toward him.

Rapidly moving Grey Fantails, Silvereye and Yellow Thornbill were flying with an MFF (Mixed Feeding Flock).

Yellow Thornbill

Grey Fantail

Silvereye

We just caught a glimpse of a White-bellied Sea Eagle before it escaped our view, after it had just passed over the lake.

White-bellied Sea Eagle escaping us

It was surprising to also see a Spangled Drongo. These birds are usually found alone and migrate south from northern Queensland during Summer months, though usually not this far south. The fish tail is always a help in identifying it.

Just then we had another raptor moment when a Whistling Kite came over with a youngster in tow. Notice the adult always flies above the juvenile to make sure it is safe and not getting into mischief.

adult Whistler

both together

adult

juvenile

Juvenile Whistler

A pair of Hardheads cruised together on the water. The male has the white eye. A parent Dusky Moorhen was taking her two youngsters out for a cruise also, as a Little White Cormorant flew bye and a pair of Little Black Cormorant also were out together for a cruise.

Hardheads

Dusky Moorhen

Little Black Cormorant

Little Pied Cormorant

After an enjoyable walk we made our way back to our accommodation, checking out Ash Island Wetlands on the way. We found most of the birds had left after the rains and as usual my wife prayed the prayer “What have you got for us here Lord?” as we were leaving, a large unusual bird with a long tail ran with head down across the road in front of the car, flying to a nearby tree some distance from the road with prey in mouth. It was a Pheasant Coucal a rare bird not usually seen here. We tried to get a better view but it hid in a Casuarina tree.

Pheasant Coucal in tree with prey (best)

What a great way to finish an anniversary birding date. We were very grateful for a wonderful day out.

May you all have a wonderful week and get opportunities to get out and about. We are enjoying over 50 days virus free in our state and pray it continues as restrictions slowly lift. My new book is almost at the printing stage, looking at a possible April release, similar to last year.

If this is your first visit to our blog, welcome ! Become a Follower and receive notification when my weekly post is published and learn more about our fascinating Aussie birds. Check out the helpful birding pages on my website.

The Noisy Miner is one of the most aggressive bully birds in Australia, the cause of much stress, occasional deaths and nesting failures among many small birds. Above my friend Noisy leads his little coalition against my friend Butch, the father Grey Butcherbird who also frequents our birdbaths with his family. My second edition of “What Birds Teach Us” assists children to deal with bullies such as these. Occasionally the Miners will attempt to gang up and mob Butch or his family if he is too close to a nest, but Butch in this case is just ignoring them as he looks for insects in a Bottlebrush tree next door to us. Later he calls from the inside the other side of the tree after they left and could not find him.

Both these species provide a service to us. The Butcherbird sings and chuckles all day to me which I thoroughly enjoy and makes me smile inside and give thanks, while the bold Miners protect our yard continually from intruding vagrant, non native pest birds with their vigilant aggressive stance. We care for them both, though people would wonder why.

It is good to maintain a balance in relationships and show no partiality, accepting the person for who they are with a non judgmental attitude. If it is possible retain friendships with all people by showing respect, acceptance and understanding. We must however be careful to not take sides or enter into conversation that favors one side over the other, but simply listen and show empathy. If the person shows disrespect because you are friends with their opponent, step back and do not continue, but let them know you care and show no partiality for both parties. It does not mean you condone any inappropriate behaviour, or agree with it, but instead respect them and try to understand why they are doing what they do. You can only do this by developing a relationship, and spending time. It is in this context that we can be an instrument of positive change and healing to another person. We can eventually help them understand why they do what they do as they respond to our friendship and eventually trust us enough to share from their heart.

“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” – Proverbs 10:12 (NIV)

“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” – James 3:18

“Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.” – Proverbs 17:1

Above my female (left) and alpha male (right) Australian Magpies give thanks as they carol by our birdbaths, as they do each morning in appreciation.

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Barking Owl swooping

Last week I featured most of Australia’s majestic daytime raptors, and this week I will showcase but five of our ten Owls. The reason I have so few is that we do not go night birding and my collection is of birds seen during the daytime usually resting deep inside trees out of general sight. The Owl takes over at night while the Eagles, Kites, Falcons, Harriers, Kestrels etc. sleep, continuing to prey on small birds and animals. These kings of the night have some different characteristics to their daytime cousins, but first lets list features in common which they share.

Let’s use the Barking Owl pictured above as an example, to list the similar defining features of a raptor:

⇒ Superior Eyesight with binocular telescopic vision

⇒ Hooked beak for tearing flesh (swallows prey in pieces)

⇒ Powerful Legs and Talons used to kill and carry prey

⇒ Large powerful wings

⇒ Nests in tree hollows

⇒ Tactically hunts its prey consisting of birds, small animals and reptiles.

Let’s now list the differences that intelligent design has granted this killing machine:

⇒ They have large eyes able to see in very dim light. The large retina has many more light receptors but is unable to see in total darkness.

⇒ They do not ride the thermals and generally do not hunt by day but hunt by night and sleep by day.

⇒ They generally sit and wait for their prey to come near to them and do not fly or hover searching for their prey.

⇒ They have extra soft feathers which allow them to take off and fly silently, enabling them to successfully stalk their prey.

⇒ They can rotate their head 180° without moving their body to observe surroundings.

Some may have wondered why it is called the Barking Owl, well…

It makes a barking like sound as you can hear. This one was seen at a Raptor Bird Show, and is a common inhabitant of the eastern Australian mainland.

The largest Owl in Australia is the Powerful Owl, which nests in several places near where I live. It is found along the east coast of NSW and Victoria, This owl lives up to its name and will feed on domestic and ferule cats, but mainly enjoys various species of Australian possums, as you can see below body remains of the previous night’s kill hanging from the talon. They eat the head of the animal and then display the remainder of their kill into the next day. He may give his partner some of the kill later, but they both catch some shut eye for now.

Powerful Owl male displaying last nights kill

The owls help to keep the possum population under control, however, when the possum was introduced to New Zealand, the numbers exploded causing major concern as they did not have a natural predator. But they found a good use for their pelts which do make very warm gloves and winter attire. It makes up most of New Zealand’s roadkill. The owls sometimes wonder what the fuss is below and take a look:

Owls are known to return to the same tree each morning to rest until the hunting pickings become too slim or their privacy is challenged and they will move to another nearby park or forest.

I remember the first time my wife and I sighted a family of Powerful Owl resting high up in a tall eucalypt well away from anyone. We saw the two juvenile looking at us and I said to my wife “Hey, there looks to be 2 Meerkats in the tree looking at me !” We saw the parents sleeping in a nearby tree well out of sight.

Another more commonly seen owl in our local parks is the Southern Boobook which again I have only seen in daylight, usually sleeping inside a tree hollow or perched nearby it as it prepares to go hunting in the evening. This owl is found all over the mainland and also Tasmania. I have lightened up the photo so you can see the bird in the tree hollow. Passers by have no idea it was there. When they look into the hollow all they see is darkness. A few weeks after this photo a swam of native bees took over the hollow and Mr Boobook was gone. In my next book I will use this bird to demonstrate the importance of shedding light on our understanding and improving our perception. One of the fine points of recent digital camera sensors is the much higher ISO (light sensitivity) settings now possible.

I always find Owls difficult to get good photos of in the wild and have to doctor up my photos. As a rule I do not use flash on birds as I respect their well being, especially night birds which can suffer blindness for days, though I know of some photographers rather than bird lovers, that use flash at night on birds to get that perfect photo. Many Penguins die for the same reason, blinded by the light and unable to find their way safely to their burrow.

Another very common Owl, probably the most common both all over Australia and world wide, as it is an introduced species, is the Barn Owl. I can remember when I lived out in the country up north on my rural property walking to the neighbour’s gate to pay a visit at night and as I go to open the gate I get this shock as this brilliant white object flies off the gate almost into my face off into the night with barely a sound.

This is the only Owl featured in my book “What Birds Teach Us” as the very last bird and was only included at that stage because a dear friend said her niece loved owls so I needed one. I would include the Powerful Owl if I were to do a 3rd Edition. This is the famous wise poem, by an unknown author, which I quote as my book’s last word:

A wise old owl sat in an oak,
The more he heard, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke, the more he heard;
Why aren’t we all like that wise old bird?

The above photo will be familiar to those who have my book as the Owl flies from its nesting hole.

Our last Owl is one of Australia’s less seen and rarer Owls found only in far northern Australia and in the Queensland rainforests. We were blessed to see this pair of Rufous Owls resting in a very tall native fig tree in one of the residential parks in Cairns. They were extremely high up and hidden from the light as our photos show, having to have some post production work. We just happened to meet a local birder who knew exactly where these birds were otherwise there was no way anyone could have found them.

The male, as also with the Powerful Owl, is larger than the female and seen usually hanging its prey as in the above photos. It was a neck breaking experience to get these shots.

Female Rufous Owl in the light

Well that concludes our little Raptor stint, maybe one day I will see the others to share with you.

Have a wonderful weekend, we are going away for a few days to celebrate our wedding anniversary and may be do some birding along the way. Stay safe and do someone a random act of kindness each day, and notice the difference it makes.

Let’s take onboard the wisdom of the Owl as the poem above suggests. It is by watching and listening that we do most of our learning. As a male of the species I have learnt over the years and from my family counselling studies that the answer is not to necessarily solve our partners problems for her when she shares her heart, and give a quick fix, but to just shut-up and listen and empathize. Those who watch and observe are best scientists, inventors, leaders and politicians, not those who think they have all the answers and cut off and interrupt the sharer before the person finishes speaking. In my book the Superb Lyrebird was featured to share the qualities of active listening, but for the Owls it is how they get their food each night, a matter of life or death, as it is not safe to be flying through thick trees in the dark. As Epictetus is quoted: ‘We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. ‘ He was a Greek philosopher who spent his youth as a slave in Rome before gaining freedom after the death of Nero, under whom he served until around 60 AD.

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” – James 1:19 (NIV)

Suffering Job addresses his so called friends as they accuse and give foolish advice when all he wanted was some compassion, empathy and understanding:

“If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.” – Job 13:5

Wise King Solomon is quoted saying there is a time for everything under heaven:

“a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,” – Ecclesiastes 3:7

“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” – Proverbs 18:2

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Black-shouldered Kite

Australia is blessed with many different species of raptor. Raptors are probably the most popular birds photographed, and many birders only seek to photograph these bird species.. Since birding was not an option this week due to weather, and simply not seeing many at all in the forest on our birding date, I thought it good to showcase some of our beautiful raptors. These exceptional birds are the kings of the sky and their image is used to denote power and authority in defence forces, police and governments. Above a Black=shouldered Kite alights from the top of a dead tree. Let me list some of the important traits that group these amazing birds into a unique and beautiful class of their own.

Very elderly Wedge-tailed Eagle

⇒ They have the keenest and sharpest eyesight of any creature: They can see small rodents over one kilometre away and most of them, such as the Wedge-tailed eagle have, not only binocular vision, but also telescopic vision, as they are able to press out their eye socket in a way that zooms their eyesight making it over 5 times better than our own.

Wedge-tailed Eagle about to land on prey

⇒ They have powerful retractable talons: Unlike other birds they do not only have claws, but they have large scissor-sharp talons controlled by powerful muscles in their feet which they can advance and retract. This is how they kill their pray and carry it in the air. The Osprey has very unique talons designed for carrying fish with opposing toes. Wedge-tailed Eagles have been seen carrying in flight small lambs and and even young wallabies. Click on photos to enlarge them.

Sea-Eagle with fish

Eastern Osprey with fish

⇒ They have very strong hooked beaks: The hook on the beak allows them to tear flesh off their prey, which for the most part if smaller animals and birds. They lack teeth and have to break off pieces small enough to swallow whole.

White-bellied Sea-Eagle beak

⇒ They have very large wingspans which enable them to soar: One of the features of these birds similar to many other birds is their ability to catch the warm upper currents off land (called thermals) and once they reach a certain height using their powerful wing beats, they spread their wings and soar motionless with the winds up to 2000 meters, usually going up in a circular trajectory. This a good reason why keen eyesight is essential for these birds to be able to spot their prey from high in the sky. Not all raptors prefer this technique, but most can do it. They can move and turn in the air with barely a visible movement. The conservation of energy as they aeronautically soar on the thermals allows them to spend hours in the sky, but they can only do this by day..

Square-tailed Kite

⇒ They primarily prefer to hunt alone and prefer a very high 360° view when resting: Mostly lone hunters, though when breeding are training young they will accompany spouse and young. The place to look for these birds is usually on the highest point of a dead tree, or even green tree, when they are resting, as they like to purvey their complete surroundings, like a king surveying his kingdom, able to spot prey from some distance away.

Australian Hobby

⇔ They build some of the largest nests: Some Eagles build nests that weigh several tons and are many metres wide and deep. Our Wedge-tailed Eagle and White-bellied Sea-Eagle, being our largest raptors, build the largest in Australia. Here is a link reporting one of the largest reported from the USA.

A Wedge-tailed Eagle eyrie (with chicks in nest)

White-bellied Sea-Eagle eyrie (chicks just visible

⇒ They train their young for several years in every aspect of life: This not so for all raptors, but is for the larger eagles, however they require persistent adult teaching to learn to fly and hunt. Much of their learning is simple observation and listening, as it is for us. Adult eagles are known to push their young out of the nest if they do not brave it themselves, when they think they should.

Initially parent flies beneath fledgling

when the fledgling has fledged the adult leads it away

This is where the phrase “I carried you on eagles wings” (Exodus 19:4) comes from in the Bible, when God was referring to Israel being delivered from Egypt’s slavery. After pushing the youngster out of the nest, the adult flies rapidly beneath it. If it fails to fly it catches it on is back and wings it back to the nest to try again, as many times as it takes. Finally, as the youngster starts to fly of its own accord,it flies beneath the youngster until it can fly alone, and then leads it away to strengthen its wings in flight. These photos and this training process, among others appear in my first book. Notice in the above LH photo how the youngster looks down to check the parent is there.

⇒ They can deliberately hatch their young at different times: Most raptors, in particular eagles, usually only have one to three offspring at a time, and only two out of three may survive. This is because the mother deliberately lays her eggs 2 to 4 days apart, so they each are born larger than the hatching that follows. This can lead to the smallest becoming the weakest due to feeding priority given to the larger birds, and often the first born will compete for food being stronger, causing the youngest to eventually die. Because of the amount of hands on effort in feeding, teaching and raring the young for several years, it is to their advantage to raise only one healthy youngster in each clutch. Even though the juveniles are fully fledged, they continue to need feeding for some time till they learn to successfully catch their own without help, as it is with us training a child to use a knife and fork.

⇒ They are mostly monogamous: Most raptors spend their lives with the one mate and raise their families together. If a mate dies they may go looking for a replacement and continue breeding. It is not uncommon to see pairs of adults and junior tagging along as they soar on the thermals.

Sea-Eagle family out touring together

family of Black Kites (2 adults+2 juveniles LHS)

⇒ They vary between species in size and hunting methods: While the larger eagles and kites swoop down on their prey at speed from a distance above or from the top of a dead tree, Smaller Goshawks, Kestrels and Black-shouldered Kites hover above waiting for their prey to appear and then suddenly descend on it from above. Pacific Baza fly into the trees and catch their prey as they fly through. Harriers fly very low over the ground and drop suddenly down on their quarry. A Black-shouldered Kite shows us (below) an example of hovering over prey, but alas on a very cloudy day.

⇒ They have beautiful distinctive plumage: The main form of identification of these birds when they are soaring is their specific under wing plumage, as this may be all you see. Here are some examples…

Little Eagle light morph

Whistling Kite

Wedge-tailed Eagle

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Brahminy Kite

Nankeen Kestrel

Red Goshawk

Eastern Osprey

Black-breasted Buzzard or Kite

Black Kite (which is actually brown in colour)

Spotted Harrier “Harriering” low over the paddocks

Swamp Harrier male

Pacific Baza flying into trees (hunting style)

Brown Goshawk juvenile

Collared Sparrowhawk

Grey Goshawk

Brown Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

That is enough raptors for this week, otherwise you will be raptored out. This is a summary of the kings of the sky by day. Part 2 will look at the kings of the sky by night, the eagles of the night we know as owls.

Hope you all have an enjoyable week despite all the hardships that many of you are going through at present with both weather and virus. Praying you all keep alert and well during this unusual season in our history. Many have shared how bird numbers are reduced this season.

If this is your first visit to my blog, a warm welcome to you. Have a look around on my website pages from my menu or Home Page. I have updated several pages recently. Check out my book, I am the final stages of publishing process of my next book. Here is a last plug for my current one on an unused clip I found.

Here is a joke a dear friend shared on Facebook I am sure the ladies will appreciate:

White-bellied Sea Eagle – hunting instructor

Raptors carry an air of majesty and authority in the way they do life, which makes them the ideal emblem for use on law enforcement and defense force coats of arm. Their ability to soar for hours motionless, yet always moving with outspread wings is always a delight for every birder and for many who are enchanted by their presence. The raptor has the best of everything, eyesight, powerful body, hunting ability, is omnivorous to name a few. But as I shared above, and from my book (page example shown above earlier), the more complex, intelligent and able the creature, the more learning and listening is required of the trainee nestling and fledgling. These birds, similar to the Raven, Magpie, Bowerbird and Lyrebird take several years of training before they gain their full maturity colours and can breed. It is also interesting from recent research and personal observation that in a similar way to us humans there are good and poor learners with varying results of success in life.

The White-bellied Sea Eagle perched above has been trying to get its juvenile fledgling to hunt for itself, but it just remains in the nest squawking to be fed. The boat captain on the Arthur River laughingly said that these parents have been endlessly trying by example, to make this reluctant youngster hunt for itself. The video above shows the father adult catching a fish and carrying it away from the nest out of sight to eat it. This is followed by the juvenile trying to follow, but stops when it loses sight of it. This is old movie so it lacks quality.

reluctant juvenile pupil

Simply put the lesson is: no matter how well we may parent and set a good example for our children, it is ultimately up to the child what they choose to learn from and respect. Many hurting parents have shared their false guilt over how they blame themselves for their children not turning out the way they had hoped, after much loving commitment to their development and instruction. Each of us are ultimately responsible for our own destiny, and what we do with what we have been given. It is the hardest thing for many to allow their child to suffer the consequences for their bad decisions, but it is important that they learn for themselves and sometimes the hard way. We need to always show them love, acceptance and forgiveness , sharing our concern, but always letting them live their own lives and not try saving them, as this is also part of their normal growth and maturity Often they will have a light bulb moment and realize the error of their ways and apologise to the parents down the track. Many children become spoilt and dependent on parents, who eventually become co dependent to the child’s carelessness, bailing them out and suffering the use and abuse syndrome, with the child never maturing or learning to correct their bad habits.

“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.” – Proverbs 1: 8,9 (NIV)

“Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire.” – Proverbs 29:17

^“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” – 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Crested Tern in flight

As passerine bird numbers have dropped after our unseasonable cold wet weather, with only the sound of cicadas on many walking trails, I decided to check out the river mud flats of the Georges River which flows out into Botany Bay. Being so close to the coast it is tidal, and its beaches provide my best local view of waders, especially in the Summer months, as rain does not seem to affect their numbers. The Pied Oystercatcher (pictured below) has become endangered in our state of NSW, mainly due to it’s breeding habitat being over run by people and dogs walking and 4WDs being allowed to drive on the beaches where they breed.

Pied Oystercatcher with Light-Blue Soldier Crabs

This Pied Oystercatcher was my first find for the day, and was an immature. Notice the dark tip on the orange-red beak and the brownish-black primary plumage.

Immature

The juvenile looks even more motley. Here is a family with 2 parents and juvenile I saw at another location down south where they breed in a protected area. Their young are very prone to predication, as they are so exposed.

Pied Oystercatcher family

Pied Oystercatcher juvenile

Both parents defend and attend the nest, which is a simple recessed hole lined with seaweed above the high tide shore line. They maintain a 200 meter exclusion zone around the nest, which is an impossible feat on our populated beaches, which is why our local council constructed a purpose built nesting island for these and other shorebirds to breed on.

A pair of Pied Oystercatchers fly to the safety of the man made nesting island on Georges River

Several Pied Oystercatcher families strolled along the waterline in easy reach of the nesting island.

One was trying his beak at extracting an oyster from some rocks, which is what they named for. They pry open the oyster to eat its contents, and there are many on the rocks along this river.

As you can see from above photos the Light Blue Soldier Crabs were on the march again, moving together in their little battalions.

Interesting, a juvenile Australian Raven decided to taste them, not sure what it thought about the flavour as I did not see it eat another.

After a scan of the waters edge which was a fare way out at this very low tide, I found the little family clan of Bar-tailed Godwits, which are always the first bird I look for. In this case I was detecting if any were starting to show signs of breeding plumage for my study on them, as we are only a few weeks off the end of Summer. I did notice very small orange patches on the breast of some.

Check the breast of the Godwit on the right.

Others showed no signs yet. The males will show first and the females will start changing later. Most showed no changes, especially the immatures, as they will not breed till a year or two. Notice they are not interested in the Soldier Crabs, they eat the smaller softer shelled crabs they pull out of the wet sand with their long slightly curved beak.

Bar-tailed Godwits

There was a good turn up of Crested Tern resting on the beach with the Silver Gulls (not shown), all facing into the strong NE winds. It was lovely to spot one juvenile with its parent.

Terns and Gulls are often seen resting together. Notice they all face into the wind.

Just then I heard this raucous screeching of hundreds of Little Corella rising up out of the pine trees along the shore. I also noticed many of the Gulls and Terns looking anxious, with some taking flight. I knew to immediately look up, as a raptor had to be circling above, and yes it was a Nankeen Kestrel. However when it flew over the sun I lost it and only got one almost decent shot.

The flock taking flight is a power strategy of the flock, which not only destroys the raptors attempt at stealth, but also confuses the bird making it difficult to pick one out. The loud noise also discourages attack. Birds who share a local habitat, learn the alarm calls of other species, and will respond to their calls. Birds of the Parrot species are particularly skilled at this as they are mainly flock birds, and as my book shares, there is protection in the flock.

After things settled I noticed the shyest of waders and the largest, the Eastern Curlew, on the far side of the river, which a Pied Oystercatcher had decided to befriend and follow, much to the disinterest of the lone Curlew. The Curlew appeared to be only recently maturing. These birds are critically endangered and we are seeing less of them return from migration every year, as they are an easy catch for the Asian fowlers, who sell them in the markets after capturing them while they feed on the crustaceans when they stop for a break during their migration.

Before leaving I watched a immature Australian Pelican land. You will notice the brown patches changing from its juvenile plumage.

Here is a little treat for my overseas followers of a bird you all love to see, and which we hear and see constantly here in Sydney. I captured this footage as this Rainbow Lorikeet fed from eucalypt blossom in our local park, just before the storm. You will notice it does not have the long beak or tongue of the honeyeater, but that it rolls the nectar with its stubby tongue from the flower into its mouth.

Enjoy your week and stay safe. The cooler wetter weather continues here, and I know from reports the ultra cold winter freeze continues in the northern hemisphere. Here is a funny joke someone posted on Facebook:

Funny and silly as this joke appears, there is an element of truth to be gleaned from it. You see, the truth is that we are meant to be constantly moving forward through the tunnel and out to the other side, where one can get off the track and be safe again from the dark and gloomy emotional experiences we each experience at times in our lives. These situations may occur as one grieves a significant loss, of loved one, relationship, job or finances for example. Most people resolve their grief over a period of time, but there are those occasions where people may hang onto it and become locked into it which is known as becoming stuck in one’s grief. Resentment, Bitterness and Unforgiveness of self and/or others is often the cause of the prolonged Winter of the soul, which over a period of time leads to depression. Grief is natural protective mechanism provided by our Creator to enable us to step out of our busy life for a moment to reassess our loss, re establish our new normal minus the loss, and step back into life to a new Spring, at the other end of the tunnel. Only resolving grief will bring in the Spring. Unresolved grief may also be the result of false guilt, whereby the sufferer blames themselves for the loss, when it was not their fault. This needs lots of positive reassurance. Prolonged unresolved grief may need counselling therapy to help the sufferer to become unstuck. It usually requires forgiving someone, since unforgiveness is the main reason people remain trapped in the dark tunnel of gloom. As the rhyme goes: to Blame is to Remain. Handling grief is one of the topics dealt with in my next book soon to be released called “Flight of a Fledgling”.

“But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” – Matthew 6:15 (NIV)

Matthew 18: 21-35 is one of the best teachings on grace and forgiveness which Jesus shared. The crux of the parable which many have a problem understanding is this part:

“… In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” (verse 34)

The inference to torture in this parable is referring to the self imposed prison that one places themselve in when they hold a grudge and fail to forgive. My wife says it this way, speaking of the the one not forgiving: The sufferer drinks the poison hoping that the offender will die. This of course illustrates the futility of unforgiveness. It does not get them off the hook, they are still guilty when you forgive them, but it allows you to get yourself off the blame and shame hook, which eventually will cause physical and emotional illness, as it keeps the unhealthy flight and fight hormones over active, which causes anxiety and loss of peace, increases blood pressure and the risk of many different diseases, including auto immune syndromes, which are on the increase in our modern society. Forgiveness returns the feel good hormones and also returns the peace.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

It was mid-week and my wife and I decided to have a birding date preceded by a lovely breakfast at the local Nasho cafe before our rainforest walk, as we expected their would be less walkers and riders on the tracks, which to our delight was the case, in the early part. We met several couples, like ourselves, and some birders, enjoying a stroll along the track, which brought to our attention this Collared Sparrow-hawk while chatting.

It was quiet, but for some pockets of cicadas, which had driven many songbirds deeper into the forest, because of their loud incessant noise. Many birds had also finished nesting and are fledged, so their parents had become quieter. This was the first warm day we had in a week of most unseasonable cold, wet windy weather. We came across this Red-browed Finch, one of the Firetails, which could be called Red-browed Firetail, as you can see below. This little guy was using a small tree to position a blade of grass seed while he ate from it.

Extracting the seed

The firetail displayed

We just loved its little expressions as it wondered what we were up to watching.

Further on this female Superb Fairy-wren was preening in the sun. The male kept out of sight from us. The female is the unattractive one in the species and does not change its plumage during breeding like the male. This of course is of great value in keeping hidden from predators when nesting. Click a photo to enlarge.

To our delight I spotted the Rufous Fantail again. It has appeared now that several families of this bird, which mainly see in Winter for a few of weeks are now residing here, possibly because of destruction of habitat by devastating 2020 bushfires. It is always a buzz to both capture this bird in bright sunlight and while not moving around too much, both seldom occur.

As we approached the picnic clearing this Eastern Water Dragon was sunning himself on one of the seats. Males have a rufous chest that becomes bright red during breeding season.

As we walked further, one of the walkers was photographing this Short-nosed Echidna foraging by the track. These unusual monotremes, of which the Platypus is the other, are the only mammals that lay eggs outside their body.

These creatures were called Spiny Ant-eaters and are not at all a kind of Porcupine. The echidna has spines like a porcupine, a beak like a bird, a pouch like a kangaroo, and lays eggs like a reptile. What an interesting creature.

As we walked on I heard the chime of the King Parrot as he hid in the dark of a tree, but I managed to enhance his appearance for you.

King Parrot male

Finally, we saw a pair of juvenile Pacific Baza resting in trees high on the side of the track. The rufous neck markings indicate their immaturity. We have seen Baza here a year ago being harassed by Noisy Miners. However, the main diet of Baza or Crested Hawk as they are also known because of their head dress, is large insects, frogs and native fruits.

They have an unusual hunting technique whereby they fly into trees and catch prey as they move rapidly through the canopy. Here are some flight shots we managed to catch. Remember that these have had to be lightened up because of the dark under-story.

Though we did not see or hear as many species as usual on this walk, we were delightfully rewarded with some special moments, for which we are truly grateful.

Have a most enjoyable week. I have noticed our northern friends are experiencing extremely cold conditions at present, which in itself is a challenge apart from the Covid. We pray you all stay well through this season. We have been experiencing a colder and wetter Summer in contrast to the drought, heatwaves and bushfires this time last year. If this is your first visit to my Blog and Website, Welcome. Check out my Menu at the top of this page. Some of my pages have been recently updated. Don’t forget fellow Aussies to keep your birdbaths filled and cleaned, especially during the Summer months when you can enjoy your local birds calling around for a wash and a drink. To find our more about birdbaths Click here.

I was walking in my local park yesterday and sighted several immature Magpies. One of a pair was acting strangely. After walking about foraging it simply laid down by the track, unperturbed by my close presence. A little time later I found it in this position, which was even stranger. Was it sick or wounded, I did not know? Its sibling seemed to continue foraging normally.

It just lay peering into the weeds. Birds are known to lie down and spread their wings in the sun, but it was not doing this, and it was not sunny. It also occurred the bird may have just been resting in an unusual manner, or maybe It may not have been successful in its foraging and was undernourished. Such thoughts came and went. Many times when we hear and see people do things out of character we easily make judgments based on what we know or think when the person may be having a difficult or stressful time and just need some encouragement and someone to ask “How are you going ?” Just listening to a person share their pain and their story actually lowers their stress level and helps them process their thoughts, which gives better understanding to both them and yourself. A life can be saved simply taking the time, when we see someone acting out of character and removed and quiet, by asking and listening.

“let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—” – Proverbs 1:5

“To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.” – Proverbs 18:13

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W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

In All Kinds of Weather – The Thornbills

Last weekend we traveled to the Blue Mountains National Park for the final stage of my wife’s birthday week with her children. We stayed in a home overlooking the Jamison Valley at Echo Point, Katoomba. This is our view as the local Pied Currawong clan hark in the morning.

Most of the valley is dense rainforest and rivers, waterfalls and usually lots of rainforest birds. The most fun way to get down into the valley is by the Scenic Railway, which is the steepest railway in the world. The journey only lasts a few minutes and here’s why…

This tiny insectivorous bird is a bird of all seasons and weather and sometimes when I am out birding in the worse windy weather these little guys will be merrily making their way up all manner of trees making their beautiful call. I love their little purring sound.

They spend most of the time moving upward within the thick dark branches of the tree and seldom are in good light to photograph, which makes them a challenge along with their constant movement.

There are several species of Thornbill of which the Brown is the most common. These birds are often found in MMFs (Mixed Feeding Flocks) often with other small insectivorous birds similar in size. No matter how strong the wind they manage to continue their rapid forage unimpeded.

Each evening the local Pied Currawong clan came in large number to roost in the tall eucalypts nearby, making their classic evening calls as they call in their flock. This very interesting and unique Aussie bird was a new addition to the 2nd Edition of my first book.

With omnivorous Corvid like characteristics it has a very opportunistic nature and has many beautiful calls which is often the first and last heard each day joining in with the Magpies, Kookaburra, Butcherbird and Miners along with any others to form the morning and evening chorus.

Occasionally the Eastern Crimson Rosella would land nearby as it joined the Currawong and the Red Wattlebird as they fed from the flowers and fruit in the yard next door.

Enjoy your week as the seasons change all over the world, and beautiful autumn days with colder nights become the current norm for us Aussies.

Welcome to new visitors to my blog and website. Please check out my birding pages on my Home Page.

Check out my unique books on Australian birds and their interesting behaviours from which valuable life lessons are gleaned. Thank you to those Followers who have already made their online purchases, some have taken advantage of the special 2 book deal. Click on the book covers to find out more.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NIV)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

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W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.’

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Autumn Birthday Birding – Lake Albert

Of course there are the usual waterbirds, but not many as the rise in water level meant the wetlands were difficult for waterbirds to feed on the weed below.

The morning chorus always commences here with the resident Eastern Aussie Magpie clans calling in chorus to each other to remind each other of their territories and catch up on the latest news. We just sit on the verandah and take it all in.

Down by the lake the trees were buzzing with the sound of the Common Starling which breeds there. They do look quite beautiful iridescent in the sunlight.

This lone Red Wattlebird tried to join them but was not welcome by the clan.

As I walked around the lake I was pleasantly surprised to find this Grey Shrike-thrush under a bush foraging in the late afternoon light.

Feeding in the grass was this pair of Red-rumped Parrot, which we always see here. The male constantly checked that I was not a threat. Only the male has the red rump, the female has the green one. This bird can be mistaken for the Turquoise Parrot from a distance.

This Willy Wagtail, a true Aussie flycatcher, was busily communing with members of his family as I studied him.

Most of the day flocks of Galah constantly fed on the grass seed by the lake, which is normal custom for the Parrot family after Summer has passed and the grass has seeded.

One last western bird we always see here is the very tiny White-plumed Honeyeater, as it busily feeds on the flowers high on the canopy of the River Gums, as well as searches for available lerps.

Have a most enjoyable week and weekend !

If you have not done so yet check out my new book release Flight of a Fledgling and take advantage of the 2 book deal (Book 1 and Book 2) which is going for a short time. Both books are available on my website. Click on the picture below to go to the page.

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W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.’

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Waste Water Wonderland – A Waterbird Haven

Last Saturday, two days before the release of my new book Flight of a Fledgling, my wife and went on a short road trip down south to make some early book deliveries to Kiki’s in the Grove on the Federal Highway, Collector, one of my best sellers, and The Argyle Emporium Bookstore in Goulburn.

We soon notice, as the group moved out, two pairs of the these ducks starting to vortex. This is a peculiar phenomenon to these birds which have these very specialized bills for sifting the water for micro marine organisms.

Sure enough the Australasian Shovelers were not far away, but only a couple of pair and one juvenile. The male is leading with female following.

They tend to join the like beaked cousins as they forage the same way and can assist each other at times. You can see them here with the Pink-ears, and one Hoary-headed Grebe has joined them for company.

Our next find was small flock of Hoary-headed Grebe with some juveniles.

The female Musk Duck looks almost identical to the female Blue-bill, except the beak. In the picture below a female Musk duck in the foreground is next to a female Blue-billed Duck. Both ducks lie low in the water.

The Grey Teal is also present in some numbers, as this is one of the most numerous waterbirds found all over Australia.

The other numerous duck is the Pacific Black Duck which was onlu in very small numbers here.

We usually see small birds in the tall grass around the ponds and we did see a male and female Golden-headed Cisticola.

Some last Pink-eared Duck photos. The pink ear is on the mature adults, more predominant on males and lesser and almost absent on female and immatures.

Have a wonderful week ! As I have already shared, my new book Flight of a Fledgling Growing Up and Leaving Home, is now released and available here online for purchase.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”‘John 3:16-17

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W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.’

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The Bird That Makes Me Smile – The Butcherbird

The male may also do this to impress a new mate and present her with food, to show he is a good provider and that he will feed her when she mounts the nest to incubate the eggs. The hooked beak is feature like raptors for tearing prey. Here are some immatures calling in the morning to their parent.

Butcherbirds usually have 2 to 3 nestlings each season. My father of our local Grey Butcherbird clan brings his juvenile youngsters to visit me and introduce them to our source of water and shade.

The Pied Butcherbird is not found around Sydney but is further up the coast. Listen to the melodious chimes of this bird, which are hauntingly beautiful in the early morning. These were the first sounds I would hear each morning when I lived in the country.

This immature Pied is practicing his song.

This is the Western race of the Pied Butcherbird which inhabits the desert regions and is more contrasting than our Eastern race. We saw this guy at Uluru in the red centre.

We would see this juvenile each morning sitting out near our open air dining area.

It is hard to believe that as the juvenile develops it will one day turn black when it matures.

This little guy had found something but not sure what.

Click on the pic below to see some news footage from Channel 9, of a man saving his pet Emu from the flood waters:

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W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.’

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Fast and Furious Feeders – “Godwits Are A Go !”

Yes its that time of year again when I honor the bird featured in my previous book as our most endurant bird, the Bar-tailed Godwit, which many of you know is one of my favorites. Click on photos to enlarge them.

Here is an example of a family walking together with juveniles trailing. In this case the female has a crab and is not letting anyone take it.

Here is one furiously feeding male…

The Crested Tern family were unimpressed by all this activity, as they are non migratory and had recently fledged their young here. Several were in resting mode after an early morning feed.

First, we stalk the fish in Heron style…