Western NSW Road Trip – The Beautiful Bird Book Trail – Part 1

Posted by aussiebirder on September 25, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, raptors, Uncategorized, Waders, water birds, wetlands, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , . 10 Comments

Having returned this week from a one week birding and book marketing tour of some the western cities and towns of our state, our first holiday for the year, being unable to holiday interstate due to closed borders, we are very thankful and grateful, considering many are in lock down or suffering much greater restrictions. It was so lovely to visit the places where my book is sold and to be warmly greeted and sometimes excitedly received. It was great to see how the Covid has been a blessing to the sale of my book, as many who would normally holiday outside our state, are making the most of touring it, many for the first time. The feed back has been wonderfully encouraging. Here are just a few of the places we visited where my book is selling well:

After the long initial drive up the east coast to the Mid North Coast NSW, near where I use to live, my wife and I spent the night in a quiet Golf Course Motor Inn at Wingham. We love staying at this place as it is very quiet and off the highway on a golf course, where we always find many birds, as we dodge the occasional stray golf ball. You can see from the photo below, the view from our room is beautiful. The afternoon light shone into the tall trees exposing clearly the birds which were busily getting their last feed for the day in, joining the Evening Chorus, as they prepare for their approaching sleep.

We kept hearing a high pitched ringing call from several birds, which sounded a lot like the Willy Wagtail. As we both looked into the trees I became a little exasperated as I could not see the bird anywhere. Willy usually boldly makes himself known to you, as you shall see in further posts, especially during nesting time, which is now. Then my wife recalled the sound we had recently heard in the local Nasho (The Royal NP), a bird we only had a brief glimpse of and photo of, the Scarlet Honeyeater, which had been a bit like chasing the Scarlet Pimpernel, as we had only heard it but it eluded us during the Winter months. The afternoon Nor-Easter was blowing at the time, so wind noise was present.

Sure enough, as we started looking in the flowering native bushes nearby we were blessed with a multiplicity of male and females in amazing afternoon light. They are so fast moving, and very shy of humans that they tend to keep well away. They also camouflage well in the red flowers they feed from. Spring is the most active time for Honeyeaters as they gorge the nectar rich blossoms  of our native plants. The interesting fact to the converse of our most nectar producing native flowers, is that they grow best in the poorest of soils.

We were so glad for perfect conditions, as we believed this was a gift to us, making up for the absence of these birds in our local area. We looked forward to the evening and coming day when we would spend catch up time with friends and family, who I have not seen now for a year, due to Covid. Here are some shots of the male feeding.

The female Scarlet, as with many species, has much less colouring, keeping her safer from predatorial attack when nesting, as explained in my YouTube Channel video. We did not get a glimpse of a female Scarlet, which is basically brown with a small amount of orange/red on the face only. She may have been nesting already, as many birds are now (Spring). However we did see a couple of immature males having outings with their dad, which is typical of many Australian species, where the male is responsible for the training and feeding of the youngsters.

I noticed that several adult males were flying together with their young males, in a similar way to Magpies.

An interesting observation from studying our bird behaviours are the identifiable  behavioural characteristics peculiar to each specific species. For example the Whistlers tend to tilt their head and look upwards a lot, whereas the Scarlet Honeyeater tends to look downwards a lot.

This was a lovely start to our whirlwind western tour. We enjoyed a lovely meal with friends and set off the next day further inland to a friend’s 50th party. As we visited each town along the way I would drop in to meet and greet the various sellers of my book, which was being sold in most of the towns and cities we visited. One aspect we observed the whole time away, was the aggressive behaviour between particular bird species, from which I collected data for my next YouTube video on Why Are Australian Birds So Aggressive ?

I will let you know when it is posted. You can purchase my book from one of many stores throughout NSW and various other cities throughout Australia, as well as online here on my website. This easy to read and beautifully illustrated book is the perfect introduction to the peculiar characteristics of our most popular Australian birds, from which helpful life lessons are gleaned.

The perfect Christmas or Birthday gift for any age, but especially for Primary School aged children, where it may spark an interest in bird observing, a healthy outdoor recreation. Thank you for the many blog followers who have purchased one or more copies of my book, now in its larger and improved Second Edition, and thank you to those who are supportive in prayer and encouragement for the publication of my second book.

Dorothea Mackellar’s statue at Gunnedah

Visiting the country town of Gunnedah, which was once known as the Koala capital before the drought, we saw the statue in honour of Dorothea Mackellar, one of Australia’s famous poets, who resided in that area. She is known most of all for her poem My Country (full version originally written as The Core of My Heart). I learnt at school to recite the excerpt of the poem below, which beautifully depicts our unique country:

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!

As I was returning to the country which I love, as a country boy, I was reminded of the similar feelings I shared  with Dorothea, who wrote her poem while living some years in England as a home sick young woman who had grown to love Australia’s outback and yearned to return, which she later did. Part of my birding experience is the land and its rugged beauty, as I do not like living in a crowded, noisy, polluted city.

We all experience yearnings, for a better place or better circumstances, often wanting to relive enjoyable times on our lives, especially at present with the virus lock-downs and the many losses and curtailment of civil privileges. The truth is we can not go back only forward. Disappointment is the outcome of unfulfilled expectations, which if unresolved may eventually result in Depression. I knew when I returned to towns I lived in or near for many years, things would not be the same, and that I needed a fresh new view of things as they really are. Too many people get stuck in their past, romanticizing past experiences, but we will now be faced with a new normal, post Covid. It is not healthy to live in the past, on our past feelings and experiences, but only to learn from them. It is important to stay connected to the present, looking into the future with hope.

The wonderful truth about our Creator is that he is always in the present. When Moses asked for the name of the One who sent him, he was told: Tell them I am, who I am has sent me to you. We live and grow in a time and space confined universe, but there is hope of a timeless always present experience offered by that same One, which has been made available to each of us, to escape the decay and declension of our current world, which scientists can concur, reluctantly to their conflicting philosophies, that the world is in fact breaking down and not building up or evolving into a better place. Ask the Koalas what they think. If you want to explore what I believe as a scientist who believes in a Creator, you can explore my Bird Sanctuary page, where you will find hope, help and peace for the present. Be aware that much of modern counselling is based on Judeo-Christian Biblical principles.

Have a wonderful week as best you can and keep safe and be at peace. Our prayers are daily for you, especially those we know that are in lock-down and suffering loss at this time. Next week I will continue our road trip out west. If you have a quiet moment in which to self reflect, read Psalm 139 verses 1 to 18 and consider we are in this together not just with each other.

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.

 

Six Years Blogging Beautiful Birds – Thank You for Following My Blog

Posted by aussiebirder on September 9, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, water birds, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 28 Comments

Six years ago I did not know what a ‘blog’ was until my son and daughter-in-law suggested I start one. My wife and I wanted to encourage birding as a healthy recreational pursuit for families and couples. Most blogs at that time were focused mainly on photography of birds and ornithological subjects, and we wanted something for the beginner and the ordinary everyday person, focused more on enjoyment, observing and learning about our Aussie birds. Stepping onto the page I started a whole new world initiating my weekly blog posts and the Red-tailed Tropicbird avatar for aussiebirder through WordPress, which later moved into aussiebirder.com.

This occurred  as I was writing my first book,and when I was seeing the parallel of bird behaviour with human behaviour, having studied family counselling and having a passion for the future of our younger generation. Over the years this grew into much more than I had originally anticipated.  During that time I have been asked to speak and assist in various projects, as well as market my book and teach through my website which has generated some lovely relationships for myself and my wife, which we continue to enjoy. I personally thank all of my dear blog followers, especially those who take the time to read through my often long posts, with a special thank you for those who are brave enough to give encouraging comments, which at times have helped me continue. The words of Napoleon are true:

I have also created an aussiebirder YouTube Channel since where I am gradually adding interesting videos about Australian birds and their behavioural characteristics, and lessons what we can learn from them at:  aussibirder YouTube

It is Spring here in Australia, as you can see by the Australian Wood Duck featured above. A time for new beginnings and new life experiences. The opportunity for many to pass from the dark winter of the soul to the new life opportunities and experiences of Spring, especially at this time where globally every human alive has suffered one form of loss or another through the extraordinary year that was unexpectedly cancelled. You may recall this video:

By now you are probably asking: “Where are the birds ? !” Well, this week’s post is a little different as I take time to reflect and appreciate the journey thus far as I move into the 7th year.

Now for some birds. I noticed this Noisy Miner yesterday spreading its wings out over a sandy mound in the warm Spring sun. After a few minutes it does a quick preen and lies there again, quite vulnerable to passing walkers. You may have come across this with birds from your own area. There are various proposed explanations of which all may be true. In summary, it can be for shear pleasure as it feels good to bathe in the Spring sun after a cold Winter. It can also be that the heat of the sun forces the lice and mites in the plumage to the edges of the wings and tail for easy removal by the bird, which is why they have short preens between their sun bathing. Some birds do this near ants, where the formic acid in the ants, causes the mites to leave (some species of ants will actually remove the mites). Should they preen immediately before and after they sun bathe, the warmth of the sun assists the preening oil to spread evenly over the feathers.

As a recently retired Seniour Scientist,  I focus on using the skills and learning I have acquired over the years to assist, teach and encourage people, especially children and young people, to navigate a happy and healthy life through making wise/good life choices, which many of you know is a feature of my book “What Birds Teach Us” and also my second book “Flight of a Fledgling” to follow later in the year. This is my legacy. This led me to give dynamic interactive talks which I especially enjoyed, such as with this school, where I appear as Aussiebirder, which generated an amazing response in Primary School aged children.

My book has led me to experience the blessing of being given premium space in a very popular local art show and also in the Australian Bird Fair. It was great chatting with people from the community and answering their questions. It is amazing how the book has helped so many people, and my wife and I have received many testimonies of how it helped people of all ages, and has been reported to have helped a suicidal person have a complete change of mind. For this I am truly thankful and feel very humbled and privileged.

OWPS Community Fair
Aust. Bird Fair

Thankfully, the Covid has not stopped my book selling all over Australia, in fact sales have been better than ever at present as our state has been separated from the rest of the country due to travel restrictions and closed state borders, preventing people from holidaying outside the state. Business is booming in many of the shops and visitor centres where my book is sold. My selling clientele has recently expanded and continually expanding to most of the main cities and towns in our state as well as capital cities over Australia, for which I am truly thankful and feel greatly blessed. I love how many of my clients have embraced the vision and legacy behind the book, and not just its beautiful appearance. I am delighted when one of my grandsons discovers my book on display when we visit various National Parks Visitor Centres on our birding outings.

The Royal National Park Gift Shop

This has been a nostalgic moment, though the publishing of the Second Edition mid Covid lock-down was a great achievement. A new beginning for a book that ceased to exist because it was sold out of print. My publisher sent photos of his children copying photos from  book, and how it was already being enjoyed by them during the lock-down.

Speaking of new beginnings ! Spring brings with it the adorning of breeding plumage for many species such as both the Superb and Variegated Fairy-wrens, both species seen again in the same places as last week. These tiny insectivorous birds are constantly on the move. Here I captured the male and female Superb Fairy-wren moving together, soon to be nesting.

Fairy wrens despite my depiction of their heroic actions to protect their family sighted in my book, are quite promiscuous. In fact, Sir David Attenborough has called them “the most promiscuous bird known”. Much research has been done on their sex lives.  Both sexes of the Superb Fairy wren are socially monogamous (staying in the same partnerships), but sexually promiscuous, an aspect I do not condone or highlight in my book. Notice how he is easy to spot even though he is so small. When he is in this bright breeding plumage it makes him more vulnerable to attack from other birds and predators, hence the need to be moving very cautiously and quickly. My challenge is to get him in focus fast enough. Sadly there are many blurred photos before I get a good one, when he stops for more than two seconds.

Again, this Variegated  Fairy-wren male was spotted in the same place as last week. This one is even more difficult to capture.

Another group of birds I found in the same location was this small family of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. One of the youngsters (last photo) continued to call out. The one I managed to capture through the trees in the distance was a juvenile male. Notice the eye ring is not yet pink and the feathers are mottled brown with some black feathers forming.

One little bird I always love to see on my walks and I saw for the first time in a while, is this Eastern Yellow Robin. This is our most common rainforest robin and very curious always coming quite close to take a look at me. Here it is in its classic tree hanging pose. This insectivorous robin feeds from the ground, where it dives from trees to the ground and back up again. It is known to occasionally follow me along the track watching all the time to see if I turn up or stir up any insects as I walk.

The Top-knot Pigeons had gone, as they had eaten all the palm fruits in that area, and I did not manage to see the Scarlet Honeyeater again. The Golden Whistlers continued in full chorus, though I did not manage any good captures, but I did catch this beautiful Little Wattlebird with tongue partially extended. This is one of over 70 of our many species of Honeyeater.

Of course, to finish, a bright red bird, since the King Parrots eluded me today, one that was present in pairs was  this Eastern Crimson Rosella, another chaser of seed from the previous Summer.

Thank you for taking the time to allow me share with you this review. I have equally enjoyed following your blogs and learning more about your birds from different parts of Australia and the world. I do hope you enjoy your week. For those in lock-down and various forms of deprivation and grieving loss, we pray continually for comfort, peace and a resolution for the current global crisis. It is interesting that no other time in history has there been so many people searching on the internet for information about God and Prayer and Faith related issues as now. Everyone seeks peace and consolation of mind and heart to navigate this uncertain time and remain safe and sane.

There was a man called Paul the Apostle who once wrote: 

 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him [God] who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4: 12,13 (NIV)

Jesus himself comforted his followers with these words:

 “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 (NIV)

Finally, a verse that has been a great help to me and which has continues to prove true for me is:

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” – Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

If you would like to explore my Birder Sanctuary page you will find more Faith Based help and encouragement which is gleaned from our birds to help navigate this unprecedented time in our history.

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.

 

Spring is Sprung – Sounds of Songbirds Sweetly Singing

Posted by aussiebirder on September 3, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Rainforests, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , . 12 Comments

Spring has come after good rains that have helped wash away the 4 year drought. Daily temperatures are already climbing unseasonably, causing concern for the approaching bushfire season. The good news is that the forests are alive again with the sweet song of birds courting and nesting. Some calling in the hope of locating possible mates for the season while others preparing to nest, call to one another as they frolic in the sub canopy in the courting process. This locating call of the Golden Whistler was heard all through the forest as about six pairs were heard along the track in our local National Park during our early morning weekend walk. Some were still seeking a mate and putting out location calls, seeking love on the forest dating internet.

As it was early and still very cold as the sun had not yet broken into the forest, it was also poor light for capturing the already difficult to photograph Golden Whistler male and females on this occasion, though those who follow my blog have seen them on many occasions. You can see both male and female in this post.

The great gift granted us on this walk was to see one of the two birds we have been wanting to see all Winter, which appear this time of year, the other we have not seen at all. The bright male Scarlet Honeyeater appeared for a few seconds and fled on sighting us. This timid bird is usually difficult to catch a glimpse of because he spends most his time high in the dark upper canopy of the tall forest eucalypts. As you can see above, he stands out against the green background, as tiny as he is. The more timid female eluded is completely, as the more colourful male took our immediate  attention. My wife at first thought she could hear their sweet high pitched call and she was correct because soon after we saw him for a brief moment. The red colour helps them hide among the red native flowers when they forage low on native Bottlebrush and Grevillea. Numbers appear to be down from last year, possibly the fires.

Male King Parrot
Male King Parrot
Female King Parrot in nesting hole
Curious male KP
Male guards the nesting hole while the female nests
Male enters the nest out of concern
Female KP
Male KP
Male KP
Interesting female pose 1
Interesting female pose 2
Interesting female pose 3
Male King Parrots in flight
Female King Parrot

 

As you can see above, the Australian King Parrot is actively nesting. This is one of our most colourful birds, again the red stands out against the green, and the male is almost all red apart from his wings and tail. These birds have a similar call sound or chime to that of the Eastern Crimson Rosella (pictured below), another beautiful local bird. Here the male and female which pair for life are resting together.

Male and female King Parrot
Male and female King Parrot

Many mistaken the call of these birds with that of the chime of the Bell Miner (Bellbird). As I have shared previously, if you only hear one bird chiming and not too loud, it will most likely be the Rosella or King Parrot. Birds of the Parrot and Cockatoo families use holes in trees for nesting, which our local eucalypts provide in abundance.

As the sun shone into the valley and illuminated the tall palms we approached the the place of our last sighting of the Topknot Pigeon, and lo and behold, the flock were continuing to feed on the ripe palm fruits, we felt truly blessed to see them again and in such good light.

Topknot Pigeon
Topknot Pigeon
Topknot Pigeon
Topknot Pigeon
Check out the hair do
flying to ripe palm fruits
Topknot in flight
Check out the tail spread as it prepares to land
flying off

We just got a glimpse of this tiny Red-browed Finch.

We got excited for a few moments when we heard the call of several Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo in the trees on the hill above us, but could not see them, but for a few occasionally flying off. We thought they had all left, but for the continuous call of what appeared to be a young male having been left sitting alone in a tree. After much looking through branches we located it, but was in the bright sunlight which over exposed its beautiful tail.

We heard the constant song of a Superb Lyrebird for quite some time as we waited expectantly for it to emerge from the embankment below, but it saw us and went quiet, missing a visual opportunity. This what it sounded like.

There were many other birds we were unable to get good photos of, either due to the lack of light or too their fast flight from us, remembering that the bird brain sees, hears and responds much faster than ours. Because most shots are manually focused due to the bird size and surrounding vegetation, it is a challenge on every occasion to get one good photo, especially with my failing eyesight due to the hereditary eye condition of my left eye. It is both blessing and miracle on many occasions that I get a good photo at all, for which I am truly thankful. I feel very blessed for every day that God’s kindness sustains my sight.

Just to hear the multiplicity of bird song was a shear delight, as the forest which for months was fairly quiet, came alive once more. The call of life, new relationships, renewed relationships and prospective new life was electrifying the air. As we joyfully made our way back to our car we passed under the Big Fig which is known for feeding many of the Satin Bowerbird families in the forest. Sure enough as I explained to a family sitting under the tree about the Bowerbirds, the buzzing sound occurred, and we were able to show them both female (pictured below)as well as the elusive male (pictured above), as several birds foraged for remaining figs, which are the main diet of these birds. Notice the satin blue plumage in the sunlight of what appears black in the shade.

Notice also the female plumage how she blends so well into the tree, another protective provision by Intelligent Design. The both sexes of her babies will look just like her for up to four years and males will gain their full satin colour at about six years. By then the males should have learnt how to build a bower, and furnish it, as well as have his courting ritual (dance and song) down pat. My recent book release “What Birds Teach Us” explains both in photo and text the Bowerbird courting ritual. The bower should look something like this, though usually it is less exposed and under thick foliage, which may allow the sunlight in on his bower at a particular time of day as below. The one below is in a rainforest under a very tall tree canopy:

Male Satin Bowerbird with his bower

If this is your first visit to my weekly birding blog and website, welcome ! 

If you explore my Home Page and Menu at top of page, you will find more helpful birding information, especially if you are considering it as a recreational hobby or pastime. 

As mentioned above, you may want to find out about my Beautiful Bird Book “What Birds Teach Us” where you will both see in beautiful colour and read in easy reading text about our unique Australian birds and what helpful life skills we can learn from them, since we know from recent research that birds are very intelligent.

For my Aussie followers, my book is now available in many towns throughout NSW as well as in most capital cities in Australia, and in particular places interstate, which are listed in the Bookstores page. I would be grateful if you recommended it to a visitor centre, book or gift store near you, that does not already stock it. 

Have a wonderful week, and stay safe. Our thoughts and prayers go to all our blog followers who are in lock-down and suffering loss and deprivation because of the current global crisis.

The beauty of the Bowerbird male is only realised when the sunlight shines into it’s plumage, otherwise it could be mistaken for a Raven or a male Koel, but for its eye and beak colour. The light gives beauty and value to the bird, especially when it performs its courting ritual before the prospective female while standing in its carefully decorated bower of blue objects, which he believes enhance his appearance. The light must shine on him to reveal his true glory and desirability as he dances before the bower.

For the Bowerbird it can differentiate mistaken identity from a distance when the sun shines off it. Light brings clarity and truth to everything it touches, exposing what otherwise remains hidden whether it be good or bad. So people who shine or are illuminated in both truth and integrity of being, Jesus says:

“Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” – Luke 11:36 (NIV)

“The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.  He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ” – John 1:9-12 (NLT)

“This is the message we heard from Jesus[c] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” – 1 John 1:5 (NLT)

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – 1 John 1:5

 

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.

 

Morning Walks Through the Local Reserve – Bird Territories

Posted by aussiebirder on August 26, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, Waders, water birds, wetlands, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 15 Comments

During the very cold Autumn winds of the last week I have restricted my walks to my local Oatley Park Reserve which I have blogged many times over the years as a source of my local birds. It forms part of the important tree corridor allowing many bird species to navigate their course through busy suburban Sydney.

Australian Black-backed Magpie male
Chestnut Teal male
Chestnut Teal female
Eastern Water Dragon
Australian Black-backed Magpie male

It also is permanent home to many territorial species, such as Kookaburra, Magpies, Currawongs, Rainbow Lorikeets, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Wattlebird, Noisy Miner, Australasian Swamphen, Pacific Black Duck, Chestnut Teal, Brown Thornbill, Superb Fairy-wrens and Eastern Water Dragon. This means that the predictability of finding particular birds around the same location is high, at certain times of the year, when they are not nesting or having to relocate because of drought. These Eastern Crimson Rosella are seen here mostly at this time of year eating seeds from the native Casuarina trees as well as grass seed which is in abundance here.

Eastern Crimson Rosella
Eastern Crimson Rosella

While some species have returned, many are yet to find their way back, now that we have had good rain for several months. The walk never gets boring seeing the same birds or lizards as there is always some interesting behaviour or activity taking place as they share the forest and interact, for example this stand off with the Kookaburra and the Noisy Miner which later comes to nothing. See how the Kookaburra is crouched low and making strong eye contact with the Miner.

Also, this male Kookaburra (on LHS) has caught a mouse and has been carrying it about for some time, not eating it. Notice the look on the Kookaburra looking on “Aren’t you going to give me any of that !?” I am wondering if this will be a courting gift for some female Kookaburra as breeding season approaches, as some couple will soon be occupying the white-ant nest nearby.

This jerky video will give you a better look at the prey. The riot of Kookaburras have just finished giving their territorial call. Notice its low grade call continuing like a car that is idling, and ready to rev into full call again. They often do this, and sometimes will keep their engine cycling over for several minutes sometimes priming the riot to break into another full on round, but it soon stops when it sees what his companion continues to carry around in its mouth. The first sound you hear is that of the grating call of the Wattlebird.

Here is a different perspective from the same shaky video. It took a while for me to find the group under the dark trees. Notice how the tail of the one idling his call moves up and down with the call. Also listen for the response in the distance of another riot or family group of Kookaburras declaring their territory in response to the call of this family riot.

Another bird which is commonly heard calling with its raspy grating call, which was heard in the recent video background is the Red Wattlebird, but this time of year we also see the Little Wattlebird, which has no visible wattle at all, but an unusual patterned chest. This one is hunting in the lower canopy of the eucalypt trees for lerps, as it is one of our largest honeyeaters. Notice the hole in the leaf, this is where part of the leaf has died due to the Psyllid larvae killing the leaf where it was lodged. You can just see some of the white lerps where the bird is about to eat which is covering a new larvae.

When special seasonal birds appear, it is always an incentive to do frequent walks. This year we have been looking out for the beautiful and rapid moving Rufous Fantail which moves up to us from the south this time of year for warmer weather, but so far we have seen none. I am concerned they may have been one of the victim species lost in the massive bushfires that consumed much of the forests further south late last year. To see this bird fan its tail in the sunlight is brilliant, that is, if you can catch it fast enough.

Rufous Fantail fanning tail (some years ago)

Though one bird we seldom see but are delighted when we do is the Variegated Fairy-wren (see feature photo above), which I saw last week on one walk, but a couple of days later I did not see at all. People can mistake this bright little bird, when it is in breeding plumage with its cousin the Superb Fairy-wren which shares the same habitat in our forests. Compare them here. You can see the different features in the colouring, with an additional chestnut band on the back of the Variegated bird, giving it its name.

Superb Fairy-wren male in breeding plumage
Variegated Fairy-wren in breeding plumage

What a delight to see this tiny insectivorous bird, which is found more inland than here with little family pockets along the coast.

Another bird we are seeing more of in our park as it forages among the reeds around the Ponds is a family of White-browed Scrubwren. These are also very rapid moving insectivorous birds which offer a challenge to the photographer. They always appear to have a serious or angry look on their face.

I did enjoy pursuing this family. Here are two young ones on a branch together wondering what to do.

Here is a quick clip to illustrate what I mean by their continuous fast movement.

Of course I seem to always see or hear the curious female Golden Whistler, and on some occasions see the shy male. These birds are often captured looking upward to the under canopy for food, which is quite a different parctice to other birds which just hang upside down to look.

The last species to showcase from my daily walks and is always found, regardless of season, ascending trees and calling with its sweet little purring sound is the tiny cute Brown Thornbill. Like other small insectivorous Australian birds such as the Fairy-wren and Scrubwren, have no need to migrate, as insects are always plentiful. These birds do cycles many times a day around their claimed territories, calling all the time they move to indicate that this is their territory to others of the same species, and to signal their location to other family members.

I love hearing the sound of this busy little bird every time I walk in my local reserve as it ascends the native Casuarinas.

Well our early Spring here has caused some beautiful wildflowers to appear, especially after the good rain we recently were blessed with.

I had to share this reflection on the still ponds.

In conclusion most birds were found foraging in the same area each day, with a few exceptions where either the bird was not found again, as it is rarer to see it, or it is in a part of its cycle away from the track. Each day always brings something fresh and new, especially when we go birding and ask God to reveal that something, and he always comes through for us.

If this is your first visit to my weekly birding blog, welcome ! While you are here why not check out the rest of my website. You can access it from my Home Page or the above menu. Also why not check out my book which uses the unusual behaviour of our Australian birds to learn helpful hints to live a healthy and happy life.

My thoughts from this weeks roaming of the local reserve come from this little female Chestnut Teal.

She is quite happy to wash and swim up and down this narrow channel while I stand only a few feet away and watch her, quite unperturbed. I posed her no threat and she perceived it, just like the one bold Noisy Miner that is almost a pet of mine, as he trusts me implicitly to watch him wash while I stand next to the bath. He often comes and sits on the chair back and looks at me as if he wants something, or wants to tell me something. All the other birds fly off as I emerge from the house, even the alpha male Magpie, the number one boss bird in our neighbourhood, but not this enthusiastic but trusting little Miner. Even if I make eye contact he does not leave, which is normally a threat to a bird, especially the intelligent Magpie, whom will not fly off if I walk past with my back to him.

My little friend

Noisy  mostly comes alone and shares his enjoyment of the swim with me by calling out to me. I have come to know his voice over time and will come out and watch him enjoy himself. He will look at me as he shakes himself off and stand for a moment and just look at me. He often leads the coalition to the baths and the others follow his lead. He visits throughout the day more than any other bird. I never feed him, just keep the baths filled and clean.  He gets his food from our native flowers in our yard and nearby eucalypts.

Friendships are all based firstly on Trust, as are all loving relationships. Trust allows us to be at peace and be vulnerable in the company of those we trust. Living in trust and being trustworthy have health benefits, which is why surveys have shown that people who have trust based faiths and belief systems live longer happier lives. Trust, Faithfulness and Integrity go hand in hand and sadly are is being eroded daily from our Post Christian society, where a man’s word was as good as a signed contract.  The adage still holds though:  a man is as good as his word. As Jesus said long ago: “You know a tree by its fruit.”  

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” – Matthew 12:33

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3: 5-6

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me;” – Psalm 28:7

Enjoy your week and stay safe and sane ! Our hearts and prayers go out to all in lock-down and those suffering the grief of loss, be it family, friends, job or income.

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.

 

 

Love that Hair Style – Is it a Crest or Knot

Posted by aussiebirder on August 20, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Rainforests, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 18 Comments

After sharing our the progress of our resident Crested Pigeon family, who are currently taking daily excursions as they fly off each morning with a parent to learn how to forage, it was an interesting and timely discovery on our walk in the National Park last week to come upon the resident flock of Topknot Pigeons. While this most extraordinary looking bird is not a pigeon with a crest, it has a very unusual hairdo or head plumage, which actually looks like braiding or dreadlock hair, which some bright spark in the past thought looked like a knot, so it got its common name Topknot.

Unfortunately, several overseas websites, which I will not name, from which many draw their information from when they are too busy to properly research for themselves, or are unaware of the true Topknot Pigeon, also give the Crested Pigeon the name Topknot, which is incorrect. This has come about because people who have little knowledge of our birds, have continued to wrongly identify the bird, and so the error becomes acceptable over time because it was read on the internet. I don’t know how many times my wife and I have corrected our own Aussie friends and visitors, to their surprise, over wrongly naming  the Crested Pigeon as a Topknot, as the Crest is just not a knot. I deal with a similar issue,  using the Tawny Frogmouth, how many miss identify it as an Owl, in the Second Edition of my recent book release What Birds Teach Us.

This is a frugivorous pigeon, which feeds on the variety of native fruits of our rainforests, mainly figs. They are strictly a flock bird and extremely fearful of humans, and will lift as a flock at the slightest provocation. They are often seen feeding beneath the upper canopy on the very tall rainforest trees, which makes them a challenge to photograph, except when the sun illuminates them. Winter is a good time to catch them in the light, as they warm in the winter sun, as they are doing above.

Australia has two species of pigeon with head crests, the Crested Pigeon, which I shared in my previous post and is commonly found all over Australia on both coast and inland desert, and the desert dwelling Spinifex Pigeon, which gets its name from the grasses it hides and nests in, which grow in the desert areas.The Spinifex Pigeon has three distinct subspecies of which I feature below the white-bellied subspecies found in the far north west of the continent. These were photographed years ago in the Bungle Bungle NP. Here is a comparison of our two crested pigeons.

Spinifex Pigeons (White-bellied) race plumifera
Crested Pigeon at Uluru

Note the size of the crest on this bird as it drinks at a spring in the desert. A variety of Finches can also be seen drinking. You will notice how the crest on this bird’s head looks like the top of the Spinifex grass it lives in, yet another provision of Intelligent Design, aiding their ability to hide.

I had to get a bird out of the sun on a fruiting native palm to see its full colour. Notice most of the fruit has already been eaten. Most of the passerine rainforest birds are basically fruvivorous. These include Fruit-doves, Doves, Pigeons and Bowerbirds (which include Catbirds). Sadly my flight shots were not good, but you can get an idea from this one.

After recent heavy rain again, which in the last two months has taken our huge Sydney dam from 40% full (and water restrictions) to now overflowing, all the creeks and waterfalls could be heard noisily making their way down to the Hacking River, which had also recently flooded over the road into the park. The sound of early spring were in the air as wild flowers bloomed and birds began pairing off and pursuing courtship rituals.

Bee on native flowers
Dillwynia glaberrima
Hakea salicifolia

The New Holland Honeyeater, Lewins Honeyeater and Eastern Spinebill are enjoying the new blooms of the flowering eucalypt in our early Spring, as also is the White-cheeked Honeyeater for a short time.

A pair of Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike glided over me several times to check me out. There glide was similar to that of  a Dusky Woodswallow, at first I thought, but they were larger, and when they landed it was obvious what they were.

The tops of high dead trees are excellent surveillance points for many birds, particularly raptors, which love a 360° view, and with their extremely keen eyesight can see small rodents quite well from up there. This is the best viewing tree in the reserve and always one of the first spots for birders to check, as there is always something in it. This Australian Raven was calling from the top of this tree but no one responded. He eventually gave up calling and went to ground level and just stood for some time. The Australian Raven is our most intelligent bird, on par with our Magpie, often displaying very innovative ways of finding food. Notice the beard-like protuberance under its chin, called hackles.

Like many birds coming into the early Spring, many are already in search of mates, which may be what the Raven is looking for and also this lovely female Golden Whistler who was continually calling to a male nearby. She tried hiding from me, but to no avail.

Watch as she puts out her location call for a response.

Another female further on had an insect which it appeared to wondering what to do with.

Of course there is always a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo not far away making a raucous racket, but not this lone individual. Notice the roughed up plumage surrounding its large beak. Cockatoos have movable feathers around their beak. When they are relaxed and feeling friendly, possibly trying to attract a mate, they may do this, as covering ones beak is a non threatening friendly stance, as against aggressively bearing it and opening and closing the beak angrily at your opponent. Cockies are known to be aggressive to one another, especially young males trying to prove themselves. This is another bird features in my book for this reason. Notice the feathers gradually retract in each photo as it becomes uncomfortable with my presence.

Here is an example of an aggressive stance by a Cockie defending its nest.

If this is your first visit to my blog and website, take a few minutes to explore my Home Page. You will find helpful birding tips and information on making birding a healthy recreational pursuit.

Know a young person in the family who is having a Birthday or maybe you’re looking for a Christmas present for them ? Check out my book “What Birds Teach Us”. It is an excellent gift introducing them to our birds. Click on the book cover below to find out more.

In a similar way to the Cockatoo we just observed, body language: facial expressions and how we hold ourselves, shout loudly to the astute and trained observer, without a spoken word. Body language often discloses far more than what the person speaking wants to voluntarily disclose. Pride, shame and fear of rejection can cause people to feel awkward, anxious and insecure causing them to mask their true feelings. For example, when you are talking with someone, and they  suddenly portray the defensive stance, by folding their arms and looking serious and sullen, possibly starting to stare or look away not making eye contact. They may prefer not to continue the conversation, or attempt to aggressively justify the behaviour being discussed. Respectful and skillful questioning may bring to the surface the underlying issue, the source of their insecurity, which is usually a false belief about themselves or what they think others think about them, which they have been secretly struggling to deal with. False fears and false beliefs about self, if allowed to persist and grow, are a formula for depressive disorders due to the unrelenting emotional stress, which eventually results in burn out. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is helpful to replace the lie with the truth, they need to believe about themselves and others. We can help people to health, often by sharing our own experiences, but the most important thing for us all is to find true peace and contentment in self, knowing that we are accepted and loved dearly, and never have to prove ourselves to anyone, as each of us is a unique creation, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139) by a loving Father God.

“Cast all your anxiety on him [God] because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7

Have a wonderful week, and stay safe, especially to our dear friends in forced lock down, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

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.

 

Clash of the Cockies – The Early Aussie Spring

Posted by aussiebirder on August 12, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 14 Comments

Silvereye

After several days of flooding rain, powerful seas and cold gale force winds causing much destruction along the coast, my wife and I decided to take a walk in our local Oatley Park Reserve to give our legs a workout. It was the beginning of our Australian Spring which always starts a few weeks earlier than in the Northern Hemisphere due to our hotter climate.

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo were quite noticeably out house shopping in pairs for their next season family, while the occasional youngster from the previous season, sat alone, silently looked on. Usually they will return to the same tree hole, but there is often conflict and squabbling over accommodation when other Cockies or Rainbow Lorikeets bid for the same dwelling. As we see below in this prime real estate with views, which is inhabited each year producing 2 offspring on average. See how they squawk and raise their cones when they get excited, which is often, as a pair defend their claim.

Home security
Defending the house claim

The beautiful Angophora trees are prime real estate due to the frequent holes left from the unusual way branches fall away. Usually their is some construction required by males when purchasing a new home. The male uses his powerful beak to gradually chew out the hole to the required size as the female watches on and gives directions as to how she wants the house sized up. This can take several days of hard work.

Others return to the same hole, which is already naturally formed for them. This guy is keeping watch and guarding his home, knowing full well that this is peek home procuring period.

Walking around the ponds area which were flooding, as storm water flows into it, a pair of Chestnut Teal rest, while a lone Australasian Swamphen makes lovely reflection in the almost birdless pond.

Chestnut Teal
Australasian Swamphen

This time of year when nectar blossom and flowers are very few, just before Spring, most of the seed eating Parrots are on the coast seeking seed baring cones from the previous Summer flowers. One is the Eastern Crimson Rosella. Of course the Rainbow Lorikeet is always here, nesting alongside the Cockies.

We also were delighted to see this tiny Silvereye in a mixed feeding flock passing through the park, which in some other parts of the world would be called White-eye. Both wrong – the eye is neither, it is only the ring around the eye that is white. 

A bird that is heard and seen all through this park is one of my favourites, the Grey Butcherbird. As you know I do love hearing my backyard friend singing all through the day.

As we made our way back to the car we heard the loud raucous alarm call of many Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, so we looked up hoping to see a raptor passing over, but nothing. As we walked we saw several people pointing off the track to trees with families of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. This was what the noise was all about. The Yellow-tails were resting and preening near the roosting area of the Sulphurs. As the saying goes ‘You seldom find Sulphurs around Yellow-tails‘ as the larger, more powerful, well organised and militant Yellow-tails will drive them out, especially when they have young with them, as these ones do.  I shared footage of this some years ago where we witnessed this process. 

The call of the Yellow-tail flock is unique, and like music to the ears of all birders. We always get excited when we hear their call, there is no other sound like it.

Yellow-tails usually only have one surviving youngster each year as can be seen in this little family preening together. The juvenile or immature sits in the middle next to the female as she preens it and the male usually sits a little bit away always looking out for the safety of the family, ready to act, as a good father/husband should. I apologise for the poor photos due to extreme back-lighting,as they were in front of the sun in diffused light.

 

The male has the pink eye ring, which the female lacks and is always keeping his eye on you. The good news for the Sulphurs, especially at pre-nesting time, is that the Yellow-tails will not be competing for nesting holes, they are just having a stopover, as they will most likely go back to the mountains in Spring to nest. 

Male with pink eye ring
Male with pink eye ring
female with no eye ring
female with no eye ring

Here is a male preening.

After a few minutes with all the human attention the flock leader gave the call and flew off and they all followed further into the valley to find more native Casuarina trees, where they feed on the seed cones, which you can see above and below is what they are resting in. Notice the piece of tail feather that broke off as it left.

Cockatoos are very destructive birds, especially to trees which has become a concern for conservationists and scientists who are trying to address the problem. The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is one bird that should never be fed by humans, as a flock bird they can become very aggressive if fed frequently and are quite capable of destroying verandas and houses (as they do to trees) when they don’t get enough of what they want, when they want it. The sometimes crazy and reckless behaviour of the young males is highlighted in my book.

Tourists are warned of the danger but thankfully they are usually one off situations. However, if one feeds a flock daily for a period of time it can be dangerous and people have been attacked and injured by the flock as the birds attempt to greedily and forcefully access the food. They constantly trim trees and sometimes ring-bark and kill them just for fun, or they may bite off the bark in search of witchetty grubs, a prized delicacy also for our original inhabitants. Look how this tree is left bleeding.

In conclusion, for those interested, having read last weeks post, the two young Crested Pigeon have fledged and survived the storms of the last few days, hanging on tightly to the tree throughout the gale force winds and teaming rain. A large aggressive abusive cohort of Noisy Miner attacked the nest a few days ago, and I managed to send them flying when I turned the hose on them. Now the pigeon family are going on daily excursions as they break in their wings and learn foraging skills.

If this is your first visit to my blog and website, I bid you welcome to my weekly birding blog. You may want to visit my Home Page where you can access other helpful information for birding and also helpful information that can be gleaned from studying the behaviour of birds. 

As I observed the behaviour of these two very different specie of Cockatoo, during our walk in the reserve, I noticed distinctly converse behaviour patterns. The quieter more solid family structure, within the well organised flock structure is vital to the emotional  security of the bird and in its intellectual development and future character. The more intelligent and disciplined Yellow-tailed is a quieter more organised bird than the raucous child-like showoff Sulphur-crested, which is part of the reason they can out maneuver and outsmart the Sulphurs. They work as a flock for the good of the flock. Their flock organisation skills are greater as they are more migratory and need to be committed to the flock, whereas the playful and crazy Sulphurs are more individual and competitive in their lifestyle, in the flock but more out for themselves. Sulphurs are more residential or territorial and do not migrate or fly far from their original roost and nesting area each day. It has been found that when Sulphurs don’t fly from their roosting area during the day, they will tend to be more destructive to the trees they roost in.

Organised squadron of Yellow-tails chasing and herding Sulphurs into a eucalypt tree
Sulphurs captive in the eucalypt tree while the remainder of the Yellow-tails feed free of them in the pine forest nearby

Notice in the rare photos above that though it appears the Yellow-tails are outnumbered 5 to 1 they are in control because they are working together to achieve a common goal, and achieve their goal with skill and commitment to the cause, whereas the Sulphur flock has no plan or answer as they are all out for themselves. This is how the empires of man throughout history rose and fell.

This is similar to the way community work together as a flock for the good of the flock, and not like the many who selfishly break the rules of the flock either to show off gloating over their achievements on Facebook or just refusing to conform or come under authority. It is flock cohesion and commitment to the common good of the flock that brings the reward of peace and security in life for everyone, and not the uncertainty and devastation that the dangerous selfish few generate. Maybe you can see a likeness to our current global situation. A braided rope is stronger than the sum of its individual strands.

‘The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.’ – Proverbs 12:26

‘If two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?’ – Ecclesiastes 4:11

Have an enjoyable week, stay safe and warm and those in lock-down stay sane and at peace by finding creative things to do.

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

‘To encourage people to make good life choices,

using birds to teach important life skills.’

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.

 

 

Backyard Bird Babies – How a Bird Does Family

Posted by aussiebirder on August 5, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, Nature, Outings, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , . 9 Comments

Following on from our study of local Sydney birds, this week we focus again on our backyard, where my wife and I, during our coffee and lunch breaks, frequently sit under the large old Endeavour Bottlebrush tree in the centre of our courtyard, from which you have seen photos of Rainbow Lorikeet and Noisy Miner feeding , when the tree is flowering, which is most of the year.

the well hidden nest in non flowering tree
Rainbow Lorikeet feeding on our Bottlebrush flowers

It became apparent to my wife in the last few weeks, that there was an active nest well hidden deep within the tree, as we frequently heard the sound of the Crested Pigeon, the most numerous of our native pigeons, and a member of the Bronzewing family, as you will see from iridescent markings on its primary feathers. It is now found all over Australia, and has also adapted to become a city dweller over recent years. This is what it sounds like:

Crested Pigeon at Uluru, acquainted with stealing dried fruit snacks from tourists watching sunset on the Rock.

This above photo is significant to my wife and I, as it was the first bird we saw together on our first time away together watching the sunset at Uluru in the red centre of Australia. It had learnt to steal from our dried fruit snacks each time we put them down. It was the next day that we discovered we were both birders, when I saw her get excited, like a little girl, when she saw a bird not common to us and named it.

The widespread local and nominative species
The northern inland Uluru species (dark chested)

We have a resident pair which own our backyard when no human or bird are present. What better place to nest then where you call home. Similar to the speculum on ducks, the Bronzewing plumage changes colour as the sunlight refracts at different angles in the feathers.

The discovery of the nest inspired this post:

Learning to Do Family from the Crested Pigeon

1. Choosing a faithful partner:

The most important first step is choosing a faithful partner. Those who have purchased my book “What Birds Teach Us” will know that I use the Rainbow Lorikeet to depict a faithful lifelong partner, highlighting the obvious advantages. One of the interesting facts raised in my recent YouTube release on my aussiebirder channel in: “Why do birds have several changes of plumage throughout their lifetime?” is that birds which look identical in plumage are often the species that pair for life, and do not require breeding plumage or bright male plumage to attract a mate, more important qualities are sought after, such as affection and the ability to provide and care, similar to us. The Crested Pigeon male and female likewise are similar, and monogamous.

2. Choosing a suitable nesting sight and home to bring up the youngsters:

Location, Location, Location ! is why young Sydney couples pay over 1 million dollars run down house needing much work built in the 19th Century in central Sydney, as my wife’s daughter and son-in-law did. So it is with birds. The four basic rules for a nest that determine location are:

a)  Must be in a safe position (good neighbourhood): As we saw above, the nest is deep within the tree and well camouflaged. As longtime resident birds to our yard (over 40 generations), they had the wisdom to nest during the Winter months (as many Australian birds can and do, such as the Lyrebird nesting at present). This the only suitable tree for them is having a short two month rest from flowing, which means the normal busy time where many birds visit and become aggressive after nectar is not on. The tree stands quiet, and the miners are not interested, but only in the next important concern.

b) Must have fresh water nearby (hot and cold running water): Birds usually nest close to a fresh water supply, as they need to drink and be able to carry water in their beaks to their nestlings in the early stages. If you want to locate nests, look along rivers, swamps and lakes. This has been provided by me, daily, just beneath their nest.

c) Must have a constant food source nearby (walk to shops): The Crested Pigeon mainly feeds on seeds, grains and insects, keeping our courtyard free of crumbs, and eating the seed from any weeds, which are found in the nearby yards and in the park. My next door neighbour has chooks so the pigeon can raid any grain from them.

d) Must have a good aspect (north-south aspect): How we found that the resident couple have had babies was when we first viewed them in the last week in Winter sunlight towards the north, which is the most desirable aspect for building in Australia, as the Winter sun crosses the northern side of the sky. So we found both the juvenile pigeons preening and warming in the sun each morning on the northern side,  less than a foot away from the nest. Sadly, during last weeks storms one of the three nestlings died.

The plumage in the  juvenile bird, as explained in my YouTube video, is more earthy dull coloured, for protection from predators, the beak is darker and flesh coloured, the eye ring not established and the crest is not properly formed or dark tipped. Compare the above features, as the adult grooms and preens one of the youngsters in the sun. Aspect includes an easy and safe escape from the tree taking them away from our house which is south of the tree.

Juvenile and adult primary plumage comparison
compare beak and plumage
note beak differences
note adult eye ring
juvenile beak

 

3. Being devoted to caring for, feeding and instructing the new family members (modelling love):

In the act of preening being modeled to the youngster above, the youngster is learning how it is done. This is how it is with our children, we teach by example, more so than by word. It is felt rather than telt, as the old English saying goes. Birds learn most of their behaviour in the juvenile stage, much the same as humans. The more intelligent the bird species, the more that has to be taught and caught, as with the Australian Magpie, which is why birds raised in captivity from a young age can not survive in the wild, but are dependent on human generosity, because that is all they have been taught. You may recall a recent post on a birding date to Lake Wallace where we saw a pair of immature Magpies being trained to feed from humans, from my wife’s Anzac bickies.

Magpie immature learning to feed from humans

This what should be happening:

One of the other ways Pigeons in particular protect their family and flock is in the peculiar noise they generate when they fly, especially when they take off. The level of sound (the pitch) warns other pigeons of impending danger and to use caution. Watch and listen as this adult responds to seeing me at the door.

Birds communicate using their own species language and local or flock dialect, similar to us humans. What sounds like just hooting sounds of the pigeon to us, is actually language. In some languages such as Chinese (Mandarin), one word can have two or more meanings depending on how long or inflected the word is pronounced. This is a tonal language, similar to birds. Listen to this Chinese tongue twister.  In a similar way our original inhabitants repeat the same word to signify many or large or greatness about an object, as I have shared in previous posts.

An economical way of using fewer sounds, but very exacting, as you could insult your mother by calling her a horse. Listen carefully to the hoot (language) of the adult Crested Pigeon as she instructs her babies near the nest, and you will hear a short higher response from the juvenile. Birds raised in captivity also lack their native language, and associated social skills which like food finding skills, are also learnt behaviours. Our ears are not as acutely tuned to sound as birds are. They hear, see, act and move faster than we can, to their advantage and survival.

We patiently await the next stage, where these birds start to fly and forage in our courtyard as they are instructed by example from their parent. It appears that one parent goes to work or shopping while the other stays with the kids and visa versa. A great model for a happy family. These pigeons are peaceful birds, never aggressive, always considerate of other birds, setting a good example to their children.

If this is your first visit to my blog and website, check out my birding info pages from the above menu or HomePage. There is much information on learning to become an experienced birder. There is also information on life principles we can learn from the birds in my Birder Sanctuary. Looking for the perfect Birthday or Christmas gift ? One which will increase their interest in our beautiful Australian birds ? Look no further click here.

We glean that birds are intelligent creatures, far more so than we have previously given them credit. They do family well. They know how to keep the nest clean from poo, as you will also see on my Home Page and YouTube channel. The dedication and faithful commitment to each other and the family is impressive and an example to us all. They model this throughout the stages of the young bird’s life, as they will learn to do also and eventually model.

The love and commitment we show to the one’s we love, including any dysfunctional selfish or unkind behaviour we have not discarded, is what we model, often unwittingly, as it is often unwittingly adopted by the child as normal behaviour.  Acceptance,Trust, Respect, Forgiveness, Kindness, Faithfulness and Honour are important aspects of a loving relationship. Watching birds do life, often reminds me to check myself and my behaviour. Monday was the 3rd of the month. My wife and I have made it a practice in our marriage to celebrate the marriage date in each month, so that we stop and recount our blessings and also take stock by asking each other: How are we going ? Is there anything I/we can do better ?

 “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” – Eph 4:31,32

Have a wonderful week and stay safe, as best you can. Praying peace, provision and safety to you.

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

‘To encourage people to make good life choices,

using birds to teach important life skills.’

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.

 

Birding Around Sydney – Honouring Our Local Birds – Part 2

Posted by aussiebirder on July 30, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, raptors, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, Waders, water birds, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , . 15 Comments

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Following on from last weeks post where I deviated from our birding date in the Royal National Park to birds in my backyard, we continue down the fire trail at Mount Bass where we see some the local common bush birds of the Sydney area. Sydney is surrounded by several large National Parks, some of which were burnt during the Summer fire storms, thankfully our local park has survived untouched so far. As we walk down the track listening to the sound of Red and Little Wattlebirds calling and flocks of Rainbow Lorikeet playing (photos lost to technology) we noticed that many wildflowers were already blooming, and it is mid Winter.

Australia does not have the same 4 seasons as the Northern Hemisphere. The original inhabitants (The Australian aborigine) will tell you Australia has 6 seasons that cycle each year. Our Spring is a couple of months earlier and Summer a couple of months later. These additional seasons are more noticeable in the northern tropics of Australia. As we walked enjoying the crisp fresh Winter air and warm Winter sun, and the quietness, and lack of noisy walkers, bikers and joggers, we came across several Grass Trees with actively flowering spear heads. These tiny flowers are source of nectar for the honeyeaters during the Winter months when nectar flowers are very few. Several Silvereye were going back and forth feeding from the tiny flowers.

This flower head had an unusual kink in it.

We walked further, hoping to find the Southern Emu Wren, but there was not sound or sight of such, but we did hear the Grey Fantail. This curious bird, in a similar way to the Eastern Yellow Robin will suddenly come so close to check you out, that your camera will be out of focus. These little insectivorous guys will sometimes follow you down the track. He was not actively fanning today. They seem to have fanning and non fanning tail days.

My wife noticed a distant White-bellied Sea-Eagle flying past.

 

One of the most common bush birds of the rugged coastal heath is the New Holland Honeyeater. This is one of the first birds to be named when the British began renaming the Australian birds. Australia was known as New Holland as it was the Dutch explorers who found it before the British and French. This bird is featured in my book for its industrious efforts.

It later received the name of Australia, or Terra Australis the great south land. As Sydney had the first British settlement, this bird would have been numerous in the Sydney area. This busy bird is seen flying at great speed all over the park in small flocks. It is a local resident all year round here. This time of year they are joined by the White-cheeked Honeyeater which looks very similar as you can see below, especially when they are flying in and out of trees at great speed..

 

Another common tiny insectivorous bush bird the Brown Thornbill is more often heard rather than seen due to its size and ascent up through the dark tree canopy. This bird can be a challenge to photograph as it constantly moves and is in the dark most of the time. We so enjoy listening to his beautiful purring call as he ascends the tree.

As we just about come to the end of the trail our excitement rose as we heard the unique call of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, a bird occasionally seen in our area, especially in Winter months, eating the native Casuarina seed cones and gum nuts. A very large flock of these birds live in the west side of this park. We spent several minutes trying to locate these birds through the bush, but could not get close due to the thick scrub. We heard a few more calling and came to join them, it appeared to be a family flock. Note the male has the pink eye surround. They sat looking at us from a distance.

I tried to catch them flying over head but they were very close and it was difficult as they came so close.

So at lunch time we pulled out the thermos and the Leek and Sweet Potato Frittata my wife had made and watched the birds together, before returning home.

Another bush bird we frequently post which we both love hearing and seeing is the Golden Whistler.  It tends to go quiet during the Winter months but becomes quite vocal during the Spring breeding season. Its joyous call is the reason this bird also features in my book. It is always a joy to see them both and hear them communicating to each other.

We saw both male and female of together today on our early morning birding date in the rainforest today. Sorry for the poor blurry shots as it was somewhat dark and difficult to capture them both in the moment.

I loved the way the light caught the eye of the male.

The heavy rain recently had flooded the river and the track in parts, and the waterfalls and creeks were rapidly and noisily flowing, a lovely sound to a land previously in drought for over 4 years. As we walked the mushy track we happened upon a very trusting immature Superb Lyrebird foraging by the track. We were only a few feet from as we passed and it was not perturbed at all. It is difficult to determine the sex accurately of the bird at this stage as they all resemble their mother until they begin to mature over the next few years, when the male develops his beautiful tail plumes and the female retains her tail and rufous throat colour. From close observation of the tail it may be a developing male.

If you want to find out more about why birds change their plumage several times during their lifetime: Check out my new YouTube video on my aussiebirder channel.

Immature Superb Lyrebird
Immature Superb Lyrebird

During the next few years, and for the rest of his life, if it is a male, he will compose a song list of mimicry and develop his own dance where he dances to his own beat similar to below, in preparation for displaying to females so as to attract them to mate with him, during the Autumn months.

The temperature in the mountain valley was only about 10°C so as the sun shone on the trees saturated with rain from the previous night this is what we saw…

This steam was quite visible, appearing at first like smoke, as it streamed from several trees that were suddenly lit directly by the warm Winter sunlight in the dark  cold forest. This caused me to consider the fact that, if this occurred on a much warmer day in a well lit open woodland, we may not have noticed this steam (tiny water droplets illuminated) coming from the tree, yet it would be taking place exactly the same as we see here. The cold air temperature together with sunlight, has helped to expose and make visible what is normally invisible to our attention. This reminded me of my life growing up in a dysfunctional family. In that environment, life was modeled to me as my normal, and the best I could expect knowing later what what my parents had suffered from theirs, was from a young age, depression, fear of making mistakes, a low sense of personal value, a large love deficit and emotional pain.

However, as a teen I had the privilege of spending a day with a family who modeled practical love, joy and peace in both parents and children, showing continual gentleness, respect and encouragement. I was amazed and as a result, strongly longed for their normal, which like the warm sunlight shining on my cold dark tree, became visible to me. I wanted to know more of what they knew and thankfully I eventually did. I later was blessed with a family life where our children experienced the new normal that was revealed to me, by that family through God’s grace. When I see people living in my old normal, I want the love, joy and peace from my new normal to illuminate their lives and give them hope also. I thank God for the delight of being engaged with him in his transformation project in my life and that of those whom I have the privilege to share with.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” – Ephesians 4:2

Enjoy your week, even if the only birds you can see in lock-down are out of your window or in your back yard. We give thanks daily and pray for you all for health and that our needs are met, as there are many who suffer great loss at this time and we pray for them daily. Stay safe and keep warm. 

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

‘To encourage people to make good life choices,

using birds to teach important life skills.’

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.

 

 

Birding Around Sydney – Honouring Our Local Birds – Part 1

Posted by aussiebirder on July 24, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Rainforests, raptors, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, Waders, water birds, wetlands, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 12 Comments

Eastern Crimson Rosella

As you have probably heard there is a second outbreak of the Covid in Sydney, which has put us all on high alert. Last Sunday my wife and I needed to get out and walk, so we went early to the Royal National Park, to hopefully escape the usual crowd, but it is now near a new virus hot-spot and locals were already there in large numbers, with some Victorian number plates sighted as well. So we decided to find a trail which no one was on to explore an area where someone had mentioned Southern Emu-wrens were sighted, a bird we have never seen, on the Mount Bass Fire Trail. Sadly, due to a technical problem, I lost many of my photos and was unable to retrieve them all, so what I have here are the ones I could retrieve from our birding date.   This Eastern Crimson Rosella, is one of the many bird species from the Parrot family in Australia, the land of the Parrot. It is frequently seen and heard around the forests of Sydney.

Last week I asked some passing walkers what birds they have seen. The reply came: “I heard A Bellbird !” and I will respond saying “I don’t think so, not here in this park. But if you only heard one bird, it was probably not a Bell Miner (known as Bellbird) as they are a community bird, and they call to each other, so there are usually many. What you heard was most likely an Eastern Crimson Rosella. Listen for yourself to the chime of the Eastern Rosella calling to its mate, it can easily be mistaken. The Rainbow Lorikeet is calling noisily, as they do, in the background.

Now, before I get started on this birding date trail I want to explain that for the next few weeks I will be featuring the common local birds one can find around and in Sydney, where we live. We have many species, at throughout the year, and most local species remain all year round, and are very territorial, which means that when visiting birders ask me to take them out birding, and they name their list, I can usually find the bird they want with a reasonable probability.

Such as the Laughing Kookaburra which can be predictably found in the same location, sitting quietly watching as you pass by. We have these birds in our street, and they do occasionally visit our home and mark their territory, but choose to stay away rather then face abuse from the Noisy Miner coalition. These gentle patient birds are usually human friendly, and will come very close, especially if they see meat on your BBQ, or watch you digging in the soil. You can often get a shock when they fly suddenly down in front of you and grab a work you did not see. They have excellent binocular vision, being the largest bird in the Kingfisher family.  Listen to their territorial call, it is very difficult to film them calling, as they tend to stop if they see you watching, so this is shot from a distance excuse the movement due to hand held full lens extension. This is Australia’s morning alarm clock, calling its inhabitants to rise and shine at sunrise.

This series of local birds was inspired by a request made by a blogger friend and blog follower, Takami from T Ibara Photo who showed special appreciation in my Pacific Black Duck photo, asking if I could show more of the common local birds where I live, as these often get left out, as we have so many interesting bird species.

Red Wattlebird

Now back to trail. The first birds we heard calling and making a loud raucous metallic cough-like like sound were the Red and Little Wattlebirds, calling and feeding. The Red Wattlebird is our largest honeyeater in Sydney and is very aggressive and controlling, where as the Little (or non wattlebird as I call it) as it has no visible wattle, is not as common and mainly seen here now in Winter. Both species feed on nectar, blossoms, fruit, lerps and insects. Listen to calls and judge for yourself.

Red Wattlebird in flight
Red Wattlebird in flight
Little Wattlebird
Little Wattlebird

You will usually hear in the background the excitedly call of the Rainbow Lorikeet, in both above sound files. They are our most common small Parrot family bird and the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo our most common large. Both birds are found nesting in the same trees and sometimes competing for nesting holes, as I have shared previously, it is all about the Sydney Red Gum (Angophora costata) tree. Both these birds pair for life. The cone or crest of the Cockie is raised when the bird is alarmed or excited to communicate to their flock, acting somewhat like an emotional gauge. It also aids as a deterrent to any threatening situation.  Both species feed on seeds, fruit, flowers, lerps and some insects, and both are featured in my book.

Rainbows drinking from tree
With raised cone
pair in flight

I love watching the Lorikeets feeding on our Bottlebrush tree each day. The excited chatter and call is continuous as the pair call to each other. So there may be many pairs feeding but they know the call of their mate. If a group alarm is sounded they are gone in a second, like airborne torpedoes they can fly with amazing accuracy past your head by an inch and through the tiniest space. I love watching the pair at the birdbath. I always get the best comments of appreciation from posting this colourful bird.

Probably the most common bird in largest numbers found around Sydney, and newly featured in the recently released 2nd Edition of “What Birds Teach Us”, is the Noisy Miner, one of the world’s most aggressive and brave birds, and Australia’s most aggressive native honeyeater. This bird has no fear when either alone or in coalition, to attack raptors, cats, dogs, humans and even kill smaller birds. This bird is a good example of a bully. It takes possession quite literally of an area of trees, and terrorizes any bird that they do not approve of, driving them from the area. They are very noisy as they put out calls to the coalition to come, and use their constant call as another form of harassment, like being in a house with the alarm going off, it is unbearable, especially to the ultra sensitive hearing of the bird.

The coalition of 6 visit my birdbath daily for their ablutions, at about 1:00 pm every day. The leader of the pack, pictured below, is now so use to me that he will often come and sit on the chair back next to me and just look at me for a few seconds. They know I fill their water for them, as all my backyard birds do. They will wait in nearby trees  and on power lines, till I refill the bath, and then converge on it, madly ducking and splashing and all the time making a noisy racket, which sounds like: ” Hey, get out its my turn !”

Noisy Miner making noise

Of course they soon disperse to the tree when the alpha male Magpie comes, he is king pin and nobody argues with his very strong beak, and his powerful bite, for this territory is shared by Noisy Miners, Rainbow Lorikeets, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Currawong, Australian Raven and Australian Eastern Black-Backed Magpie, which all drink and bathe here.

Australian Magpie bathing

 

This is the little guy I call My Little Mate who makes my heart rejoice every time I hear him call through the day his beautiful song. I reckon he laughs a better laugh and a happier one than the Kookaburra.

He is like a pet to me, and you may remember last year how he brought his two fledglings to show me (see above). This is a younger photo of him. I never feed him, he just drinks and visits each day, sometimes several times. His call can be heard all through the day, and he varies it, so it is not monotonous.

Grey Butcherbird calling

Here are his children later on calling in the morning like their dad from the TV areal next door.

What about the lonely Pied Currawong. These are very deceptive and covert birds, known for their opportunistic behaviour, for which they have been a new inclusion in my 2nd Edition. They do have many beautiful and interesting calls, often the first call before sunrise.  They silently sleek about and their bright yellow eye is constantly on the lookout for an opportunistic moment to score. In my book they teach the universal life principle of “A man reaps from what he sows.” or “What comes around goes around.” He is related to the Corvid family, and is uniquely Australian.

My Backyard Currawong usually only visits my birdbaths when no one else is around, bird or human. He is a bird of stealth and secrecy and quite shy.

Pied Currawong

Speaking of Corvids, the last bird I see near home, but rarely visits my baths is the Australian Raven, our most intelligent bird. A family flock moved into our neighborhood last year during the fires and at the beginning of the Covid. Now we have a large flock of them, but they keep well away from us and the Miners.

Our Australian Raven is quite a different bird to the crows of the Northern Hemisphere. Note its hackles beneath its chin, a distinct feature. This very intelligent bird, also has a tight social and complex structure similar to the also very intelligent Australian Magpie.

 

A bird I often see flying over head almost every day is the Australian White Ibis which has become in recent years a pest to Sydney gaining the name of the bin chicken. This is because it has learnt to remove garbage from bins and make a mess. Ornithologists have been studying this change of behaviour for some years now, as this recent increase in numbers within the city of Sydney has become a interesting problem. In one town nearby in the palm trees of the nature strip dividing one of the busiest roads, these birds are seen sitting on nests, perched precariously hanging from these palms while noisy traffic surges beneath. When roosting and nesting. like many flock birds, they find safety in numbers.

This bird is meant to be on mud flats and grassy fields prodding the earth with its long beak for insects and crustaceans.This is another new inclusion to my book, replacing the Glossy Ibis which is not an Australian bird but a migrant found worldwide.

Well, I have  deviated from my birding date somewhat and ending up in my backyard, where we have shared some of the most common birds we see every day in the Suburbs of Sydney. I will come back to our walk again next week. One bird that has become a very real problem, even worse than our own native Noisy Miner, is the introduced Indian Myna or Common Myna. Efforts to cull this fast breeding bird have failed, and it is taking over and pushing out many of our native species. It was reported on the front of the newspaper as “The myna bird has become a major problem.” Thankfully my little coalition of 6 keep them away and they thrive further down the street. These birds have infiltrated many parts of the world with amazing success.

Indian Myna (Common Myna)

I managed to share the common or local birds that visit my back yard, as I digressed from my birding date, which I will return to next week where I will feature more local birds that are not found in my back yard. I would be interested if other bloggers would share their local backyard birds as a one off, in a blog, as some of my blogger friends have already done.

If this is your first visit, I bid you a warm welcome to my blog and birding website.

Check out the helpful hints and interesting information about birding and how we can learn from the current research on birds from my Home Page and above menu.

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Check out the link to my book and consider it as a wonderful and unique gift for your young child or grandchild for Birthday or Christmas. The feedback and sales, even amid the Covid have been an amazing blessing. Thank you to many of my online blog followers who have purchased one or more copies for gifts.

IMG_1482.JPG

I guess the best message we can gain from this weeks post is that it is too easy to take the things we experience daily for granted. We are constantly exhorted in the Bible to give thanks in every situation, and rejoice in all situations whether seemingly good or bad, because they are all sent to mature our character and make us into endurable people who live more by faith rather than sight. The outcome is we worry less and trust and rest and know peace more. We can only achieve this level of peace and sense of safety if we have faith in a trusted and tested source. As Jesus tried to show his followers long ago, and stands today, it is not so much how much faith one has , but the object we place our faith in that matters. This takes the pressure off of us to produce the peace, and rests it with God, who has the power to do it.  (see Matthew 17:20). It is not science (though I am a scientist), nor mankind or luck, which are known from experience to be always unpredictable and constantly changing, but it is the unchangeable omniscient omnipotent loving Father God, with whom my wife and I find peace and rest in at this historically unprecedented turbulent and anxious time of uncertainty. I can understand now how the apostle Paul was able to say through the many and life threatening experiences he had: 

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” – Philippians 4:12 (NIV)

Have a wonderful week my dear friends and stay safe !

To privately contact the author of this website email: ashley@aussiebirder.com

otherwise, please leave your comment below.

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

‘To encourage young people to make good life choices,

using birds to teach important life skills.’

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.

 

Return to Birding Dates – Seeking Freshwater Birds (Part 2)

Posted by aussiebirder on July 16, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, raptors, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, Waders, water birds, wetlands, wildlife. Tagged: , . 22 Comments

Continuing from last week’s Birding Date, my wife and I took the opportunity to get another a couple of days later. Again we pursued freshwater birds, in particular the ever elusive and shy Blue-billed Duck, at Bushell’s Lagoon, a well known birding place I have shared many times before, nestled in the more rural northern side of Sydney surrounded by market gardens. We were surprised to find so few birds, even though the lagoon (lake) was quite full after recent rains. On arrival the above Whistling Kite was attempting to circle over the lagoon, which it does daily. 

A Masked Lapwing was noisily pursuing it. This Kite is often chased by smaller waterbirds, especially when they have young to protect, as these can easily become food for it, as well as, the four other species of raptor that cruise over this often bird filled lagoon. People ask, how come these large raptors which normally kill and eat such birds, do not turn on their pursuers and make a meal of them? The smaller more agile bird has the edge on the larger less maneuverable bird, which usually plucks its prey from the ground. I have observed one Noisy Miner chasing a Whistling Kite back and forth, for over twenty minutes, and trying to bite its back (as they do). 

This little family of Black-winged Stilt were feeding on the waters edge. You will note that junior has a black patch over its eye.

Black-winged Stilt in flight
Black-winged Stilt in flight
Stilt family
Black-winged Stilt in flight
Parent and immature Stilt

We saw several groups of Australasian Grebe, and this parent displaying breeding plumage had an immature with it.

Australasian Grebe

One of the Grebe couples was continually calling, which enabled a recording of their unique sound.

This Eastern Great Egret is always seen standing on this mound as if it owns the lagoon. I have not ascertained why it spends so much tine there.

Then there were the more normal Great Egrets, grazing and flying about. When Egret  stretch their neck tall, after sighting you, it is because this is their defence mechanism to ward off threats. The psychology is that by making oneself appear taller, appearing larger, it will deter confrontation.

This pair of Pacific Black Duck are often left out by birders due to their common appearance, but I did like this photo.

 

Our eyes were turned to the sky again as this Nankeen Kestrel hovered about, the second and smaller raptor for the day. The Sea-Eagle and Swamp Harrier did not appear.

About the same time this small flock of Straw-necked Ibis flying in formation flew over. In large flocks they can take ten and more minutes to work out the formation before they move off. Sometimes circling for ages constantly changing positions in the formation, till finally the leader flies off and the V shape is formed. They can fly great distances once they have worked it out. This means of conserving energy and changing position allows the weaker younger flyers to fly in the slip-stream of the others.

The bird that marked our day was a passerine which we have never seen in so great number here. Several pairs of Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike were present, looking for opportunities, with some immature from last season. The black face is often a challenge to photograph, and the light has to be just in the right place to catch their face. Here are three images where post production has given different outcomes.

We were delighted as we enjoyed seeing so many of this bird which often fleet away from us. The younger birds have less black on their face.

We were surprised to hear the call of an Olive-backed Oriole in a tree, calling in a most unusual manner. Normally this bird would have migrated north for Winter. We have noticed several birds which normally migrate, staying in Sydney for the winter. Of course he had choose the darkest tree covering, so it is light enhanced.

We were curious as to why this Yellow-rumped Thornbill was out and about  alone, as it is usually a flock bird found further inland. This unlike other Thornbill species, is more of a ground grazer.

Lastly this Silvereye caught our eye. After failing to get a photo of a very shy Golden Whistler we made our way to Windsor for our usual FishnChip lunch in the park observing the new bridge across the Hawkesbury River, after which we made our way home.

You may be interested to see this interaction between a mature White-bellied Sea-Eagle and an immature. It is difficult to understand what the adult is trying to do, but some have interpreted that the adult is displeased with the kind of prey the immature has lifted from the ocean, as we would be also. Here is the link to Daniel’s post. Click on the first photo and arrow through.

If this is your first visit to my blog why not check out my birding website HomePage for more helpful information.

If you have purchased my book “What Birds Teach Us” and would like to share it with a friend who may like birds, or have a child between 7 and 12 years why not direct them to:  https://aussiebirder.com/birdbook/ 

Most specie of Duck nest on the ground or in reeds over water, but the Australian Wood Duck nest high up in eucalypt trees, especially in the natural holes of the Angophora costata tree, and usually over or beside water. I have on previous occasions described this as the perfect nesting tree for the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Rainbow Lorikeet which we also have in abundance around Sydney. This is why these ducks nest and thrive along the river in the Royal National Park. It does seem interesting and somewhat out of place to find a non passerine waterbird, which does not have the clasping claws for perching, standing on a branch high in a tree.  These very faithful partners and parents are always found together as they pair for life.

Australian Wood Ducks (Male and Female)

If I did not know the Aussie Wood Duck nested in trees I could interpret their presence there as trying to escape danger below, which is often the case for the Lyrebird, another ground grazer. This teaches us how easy it can be to misinterpret people and their actions without finding out the full and true story.  This is what the Australian Raven teaches in my book “What Birds Teach Us”. We need to remind ourselves and others about the danger of making ‘Global Statements’

A Global Statement is one which says: “You always…” or “… all of the time.” “They all…”, when what we really mean to say, more accurately, removing the emotion, the need to justify oneself and any anger, is: “You have on occasions…” or “Sometimes you…” “I have noticed that recently many/some…”. This will help to defuse any argument that may arise, taking the blame away and helping to identify the problem in a fairer and more honest light. This helps the other person to identify and own their problem, because when we put a label on someone we have judged them, rather than their misdeed.

Australian Raven in defensive stance

For example, a person who tells a lie, yes that is wrong, but to call them a liar is to label them as one who perpetually lies, denigrating them and their character, when it may have been a one off event. “You have lied to me.” or ” You have told a lie.” is more accurate, and focuses on the wrong deed and not the person. Of course if they frequently lie. “This person’s word may not be trustworthy, as they have been known to frequently lie.” Thus focusing on their word (action) and removing the character destroying global comment  is a healthy, loving and honest way to navigate improving relationships. We all need positive encouragement to do life better, rather than judgmental accusations which tear apart one’s character and cause a person to go on the defensive to protect themselves. Both win when love has prevailed to bring correction and healing.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly [is impetuous or rash].” – Proverbs 15:1

“Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” – Proverbs 10:17

If you have not already gone to my new aussiebirder YouTube channel click here.

Why not subscribe to my channel. New material will be added from time to time.

Have a wonderful week and stay safe !

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

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.