rainforests | aussiebirder

One of my primary goals in life is to leave an appreciation of our natural heritage for our youth. Writing my first book (available here online) was one attempt at achieving this, followed by whetting an interest in family and friends to explore our native birds and also our beautiful bush with its unique trees, flowers and animals. Sharing a pair of binoculars many have had their eyes opened to a beautiful living world they had not known, hidden in the very trees they walk past, as they are introduced to the birding experience.

During the recent school holidays one of my grandsons came to stay and my wife and I took him on a bird walk in the Royal National Park near where we live. This park is affectionately known as the ‘Nasho’. You have seen many posts from this park, but it alive at the moment and the birds have returned because of the recent good rains and Spring, the time to court, mate and nest.

There is much song in the bush. Scientists have recently found that our birds not only sing in Spring to attract and communicate with their mate, but also sing both in and out of season for the love of it. Singing stimulates the release of feel good endorphins in the birds brain, making singing a very enjoyable experience. We heard and saw several male Golden Whistlers calling.

My grandson Joel, started enjoying spotting these birds high in the trees, seeing how beautiful they are, and how the binoculars bring them so close. His father had warned us not to take him birding too long, as he might get bored easy, but we kept asking him and he said he was enjoying the experience with us and we went further into the bush spending several hours exploring together. He saw several Golden Whistlers but only the male, as the female is possibly sitting on the nest. Click on photos to enlarge them.

We need to help our youth discover the benefits of birding to save them from the tyranny of the electronic devices that preclude them from healthy exercise and an appreciation of their natural heritage. This grounding has therapeutic effects in actually lowering stress levels.It is not just birds we see but the beautiful Spring flowers high in nectar and food for our many honeyeaters.

Bush Fuchsia

Spider Grevillea

We were quite amazed to find several flowering Waratah flowers, a rare treat, as many of these plants have been stolen from National Parks for their beauty. This is the floral emblem of our state NSW and its botanical name Telopea speciosissima means ‘bright red beauty seen from afar‘, and that is exactly what these flowers are, they are iridescent flower heads made up of hundreds of tiny flowers. It is a difficult plant to grow in your garden at home and can not tolerate transplanting or being moved.

NSW Waratah (State floral emblem)

Waratah

Another large red flower seen in the park is the Gymea Lily a plant indigenous to the Sydney area. It also has many smaller flowers that make up the large flower head. It stands majestically over four metres tall,,,

Gymea Lily

Most of the birds we saw were honeyeaters feeding off the flowering eucalypt trees. In Australia, unlike Europe, pollination is performed by the birds, not bees. Most of our pollinating bees were introduced. The Australian native bee is very tiny and is not the main pollinator. So it is a buz to see this Lewin’s Honeyeater feeding from flowers along with this Yellow-faced Honeyeater.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater feeding.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Lewin’s Honeyeater feeding on Spider Grevillea

Lewin’s Honeyeater

The beautiful Eastern Spinebill was moving rapidly around the flowers and calling to its mates. This honeyeater has a long curved beak enabling it to reach deep into tubular flowers such as Bush Fuchsia (seen above) and larger flower heads.

Eastern Spinebill

This tiny Silvereye was also getting in on the action but was after insects…

It is always a delight to see and hear the Brown Thornbill, another tiny insectivorous bird as it moves around the tree’s lower canopy making its unique call…

Brown Thornbill

By now Joel has seen and heard many birds and been introduced into a whole new world of discovery which we can only encourage him to continue to explore. Not many young people find it their cup of tea, but our desire is that at least some may be given the opportunity to sample the experience and learn the value of conserving our natural heritage for the future years when they will be the voters.

A highlight of the walk was to firstly hear and then site a White-throated Treecreeper as he was making his way up a eucalypt tree. He found an insect in the bark and proceeded carrying it, possibly collecting food for a nestling. The sound file below lets you know what you hear as he climbs the tree.

White-throated Treecreeper

The sound of Yellow-tailed Cockatoo passing overhead caused quite an excitement, but we could only see their silhouette as we were deep in the forest.

So the message is, purchase two pair of binoculars, one for you and one for your birding guest then take your family and friends on a bird walk and share your love and knowledge with them. Your passion and love of birding will have a contagious affect on those who walk with you. Our prayer is that children will appreciate their natural heritage from a young age. I have enjoyed talking at seminars and schools in the past promoting this along with my book, and have had wonderful responses from both parent and child. I love talking to people who share my passion to save our youth from addiction to electronic gadgetry and the physical, social and emotional illnesses that accompany this.

Royal Spoonbills WORKING

Royal Spoonbills RESTING

We may need to help our youth strike a balance between work and rest, as spending time with electronic media etc is stressful work involving active mind and eye activity. The birds know how to work and rest but our modern coffee society has adrenal overload helping to bring on many chronic illnesses, simply because they are over stressed and not allowing enough time for rest and sleep. Self control and developing healthy habits, such as taking a walk in the park or bush each week can help to lower your stress level, reducing the chances of both physical and mental illness. Birding takes resting to the next level with endorphin release in the brain as an added enjoyment factor when a bird is sighted and appreciated. This is similar to what a bird experiences when it sings for the pure joy of it. We have the blessed honor of leaving a positive and memorable influence on our youth, a priceless legacy that may be passed on from generation to generation.

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12

“Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives.”

“Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 (NEV)

Have a wonderful week! I have been asked to continue working on my existing agreement to assist training staff before my full-time position is filled, so my second book writing remains on hold.

If this is your first visit to my blog, please take a minute to check out my website Homepage menu and helpful birding and counselling info. Check out my unique book which can be purchased through secure PayPal here online on my BirdBook page.

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

Birdwatcher, Birder or Twitcher, which are You?

Posted by aussiebirder on September 15, 2018

Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, Holidays, migratory waders, National Parks, Nature, Nature reserve, rainforests, Royal National park, Sydney, Uncategorized, wildlife. Tagged: Birder, Birdwatching, Twitcher.

Aussiebirder birdwatches an Eastern Yellow Robin – truly ‘a bird in the hand’

It has been a couple of years since I visited this topic, and I continue to meet many people who ask me to explain the difference, it is timely that I reiterate, but with more information from more of a counselling and lifestyle perspective.

A group of tourists have an unexpected sighting, a family of Tawny Frogmouth

Most people in our community are only familiar with the term Birdwatcher and what that entails. A person who actively seeks out birds to view them and study them as a recreational pursuit. This title or description, to most people, could be used to generically include all who look at birds as a past-time both recreationally and ornithologically. However, to us who pursue birdwatching as a recreational pursuit and have done so for several years or more, birdwatching is but the first stage or introduction, where interest in birds and their presence begins to ignite a delight and desire within us for more…

Glen, acclaimed naturalist, birdwatching a male Regent Bowerbird

We start to include looking at birds as part of our nature/bush walks and family picnic experiences, this begins as the birds make their presence known or demonstrate some unusual behaviour and we start to have an awareness that the birds are there, and for the first time in our life we start looking for them and expecting them to be in particular places because we have seen them in the same places when passing. Picnic areas and car parks are some of the best places one can see and get close to Australian birds, as they have learned that humans have food.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo at the Royal NP – they know how to get a free feed

However, it is better to feed them their own food if you can.

Hand feeding seed to wild Eastern Crimson Rosella

The Cafes can be good birdwatching places also…

Australian Raven drinking milk at Cafe in the Royal NP

Pied Currawong at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Cafe also drinking milk

For me personally, photographing nature and beautiful vistas was my prime delight for most of my early years, producing My Beautiful Series and the website by that name which many of you may have followed but was recently deconstructed. When my interest turned to birds more specifically, after a visit to Lord Howe Island years ago, in search of the Red-tailed Tropicbird, a whole new interest took my heart. I took less interest in landscape and nature photography and more in photographing birds. I was transitioning into the next stage and becoming a Birder.

Red-tailed Tropicbird in flight

Red-tailed Tropicbird

Red-tailed Tropicbird in flight

A large percentage of Birdwatchers become Birders, a term which is mainly used by Birders themselves to describe their passion or differentiate themselves from others with greater or lesser enthusiasm in the recreational vocation. A Birder is a person who deliberately and passionately pursues birdwatching, particular bird species and bird habitats to actively engage with and view birds in their native habitat. The birder studies the birds and seeks to gain an active practical knowledge of bird species, their appearance, their call, their food, their habitat, their breeding, their migratory patterns and their peculiar characteristics. You could possibly use the term a recreational ornithologist.

For me personally, I call myself a Birder, along with my wife. The change to Birding meant a change in my camera lens from 18-250mm to 100-400mm. It also meant purchasing some books on where to find various birds including several different kinds of Bird Field Guides, taking interest in native bird conservation groups such as Birdlife Australia, joining a local bird observer club and checking on latest local sightings on eremaea birdlines or ebird websites. Many an avid birder, but not me, wear bush camouflage clothing, and purchase camouflaged binoculars, telescopes and camera lenses. Another sign is that the equipment used becomes more expensive some moving to high powered lenses including tripods and telescopes.

I started meeting other people, singles and couples, armed with binoculars and cameras with long lenses like mine. I would usually greet them and get right to the point by asking the question ” Are you a Birder?” or ” Are you into Birding?” The conversation would then include latest sightings and what was seen so far on the current walk. It could include name sharing of Birders we may share in common. You know your family know when all your gifts for whatever occasion have something to do with birds.

It was not till on our Honeymoon that my wife and I first seriously understood the term Twitcher, which is when one takes birding to the next level. When we shared with a lady how we met and found out later we were both Birders she gave us a copy of the movie The Big Year and said it was a must see for us. If you have not seen it is is as humorous as it is sad, starring the three funny men, Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black but depicts a nonfictional story from a 2004 book called The Big Year. In a nutshell a Twitcher is a person who has an active addiction to Birdwatching and has become an obsessed Birder. These people seek out particular birds including rare bird species at any cost to themselves, their relationships and their health. They may devote a whole year to tick off a list and try and see the most birds in that year.

From the movie ‘The Big Year’ available on DVD – 3 Twitchers on their Big Year

The term originated in the 1950s in reference to a British birdwatcher Howard Medhurst who would get showing nervous shaky behaviour when he started thinking of and pursuing a rare bird. His mate would say he is ‘on the twitch’. He is thought to have started the idea of travelling long distances purely for the purpose of seeing a particular bird species. Read this interesting article on the origin of the term ‘twitcher‘. Some have said it comes from the term tick hunter as they would be trying to tick off their list of birds to be seen, These people have taken the joy of birdwatching to an extreme, where it can become a quite competitive task, rather than a delightful enjoyable experience. Watch the above mentioned movie to learn more.

The above mentioned person may need personal counselling to rectify their behaviour when it starts to place important life relationships and care for one’s self and others on a lower priority to their bird quests. Sadly, as the movie shows, as with any addition, the lies that are told, the moody behaviour with its accompanying anxiety, is ultimately destructive, and also to those in relationship with the Twitcher. It is said that the natural hunter instinct of man is enacted in the process.

It easy to get overly passionate about birding – the hunter instinct

I have to confess that there was an occasion where I almost crossed over, and this can so easily occur as we begin to become passionate about our new found hobby, if we do not check our behaviour at regular intervals, or have not been trained to do so. People living stressful lives, driven to achieve, with extreme goal orientation, are more prone to become Twitchers. I pulled back as I saw I was being consumed by my obsession to find new birds, and I listened to my wife tell me the changes that she was seeing in me that were not healthy for our relationship. I thank God I pulled back and saw what she saw, and established guidelines for my behaviour.

I pulled back from almost ‘crossing over’ – almost becoming a Twitcher

I have drawn up my own comparison here for you to consider. I pray this will be helpful, even if only for one Birder on the brink of crossing over for I speak from experience, but not just as an almost victim, but also as a self assessing family counsellor. Please note: My definition of Twitcher may not agree with all who call themselves Twitchers. My main purpose is to highlight healthy from unhealthy behaviour, as the term Twitcher encompasses many displaying addictive behaviour.

Birdwatcher	Birder	Twitcher
Thinks about birds occasionally and does not distract from normal life.	Thinks about birds daily, possibly talks about them, this may only occasionally distract and interfere with normal life, but rarely.	Thinks about birds most of the day and takes up most of their conversation, and may interfere and distract them from normal life on a regular basis.
Seeks birds occasionally when on an outing, not necessarily to reason for the event.	Seeks and pursues birds recreationally on a regular basis, birds being the prime purpose of the outing.	Seeks birds and pursues them as the prime focus of thir life, always thinking of the next encounter and how & where they will view them.
May or may not use or even be aware of an ebird app. This will have little impact on weekend plans unless the sighting is nearby and unusual.	May use an ebird app at least once a week or more to help plan a weekend birding adventure, and may travel several hours or more to location but minimise cost.	Will most definitely use an ebird app and other means to access live and recent sightings. This will help determine their next day. They may travel long distances at great cost.
Weekends away & recreational walks may include bird watching, Binoculars may be optional unless kept in the car. Only done outside work hours.	Weekends away and day trips prime focus on finding birds. Always brings binoculars and camera. Only outside work hours with very infrequent day off during the week.	Any time during the week when rare birds and rare sightings seen, may interrupt normal work week and family functions to pursue birds on a regular basis.
Stress level Low to Moderate – seeing birds adds an interesting dimension to the outing and assists in lowering stress levels. They share their delight with those with them.	Moderate stress level – birding a healthy distraction from busy & stressful life. Excitement or disappointment with pursuit of birds mostly lowers stress levels but can at times be stressful. They love sharing their delight and knowledge.	High stress level – driven with high expectation and personal achievement. Addiction is stressful causing anxiety lacking peace. Hence the ‘twitch’ in Twitcher. Can be very selfish, guarded, not wanting to share.

Birding is an enjoyable experience most of the time. It is good and healthy to be passionate about people we love and things we love to do, but only when we have control of our passion, not allowing it to take control of us. Addiction encourages and paves the way for demonically inspired behaviour, which is physically, emotionally, socially (relationally) and mentally destructive. When I look at Jesus I see a man who was passionate for the good of others (unselfish love), having a totally balanced character, always in control of his person. Jesus was man as God had intended him to be, growing in all 4 aspects of life – healthy mind(pure loving thoughts with emotional stability), body(stature or health), spirit (with God) and relationships(with man). He trusted God’s Holy Spirit to guide him through life.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” – Luke 2:52

May your week be peaceful, satisfying, full of joy and enjoyable birding experiences.

If this is your first visit to my blog, why not check out my birding website pages from my Homepage.

Also check out my book you can purchase here online with secure PayPal or at any of these places. Check out the promo below.

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

Travelling further north in Far North Queensland we spent a night at Mission Beach where it is known one would see the world’s most dangerous and Australia’s second largest flightless bird, the Southern Cassowary. All visitors to the top end are warned ‘Be wary of the Cassowary’ not so much because of the bony head piece or casque, but because of their huge clawed feet with three toes, the innermost having a huge claw which it uses to attack. After tearing open the victim they jump on them. They have been known to bang on doors and break glass to get entry, or to attack their own reflection.

It is one of the few birds that can and has killed humans and animals when provoked. We were at Mission Beach on the weekend of the Cassowary Festival, but not one bird could be seen. However there are signs all along the road warning of recent Cassowary crossings. A friend gave us a tip off to go to nearby Etty Beach and that is where these photos came from. A pair quite tame birds, did the rounds for food in the caravan park, hiding out on nearby private property. This video shows how tall they can stand when picking fruit.

Humans driving cars are the reason numbers are depleting, including depleted habitat. When people feed wild animals they come to them for more food. A car means humans means food, to a unsuspecting Cassowary, which results in death, as you can see by the sign warning below. These birds are fruit eaters, and it has recently been realised they are most important in maintaining the integrity of rainforest by pooing out the seeds from the fruit they eat at various locations. When these birds are gone the rainforest may start to deplete itself of new growth and die.

Another lifer, the Pheasant Coucal, was sighted from quite a distance coming out of the rainforest for a moment and I managed to get one shot before it saw me and fled. I had seen these beautiful birds several times flying off into the forest as I drove along the road A tourist from the Czech Republic joined me as we tried to find the bird. Click on photos to enlarge them.

Leaving the coast we made our up into the hinterland of the famous Atherton Tablelands where the thickest rainforest exists, and the home of the Tree Kangaroo which we managed to see in the pouting rain. We had to go over unsealed rough roads with the hire care at only 20 km/hr, but we were determined and praying the whole way that the car would be OK, and thankfully it was. It was pouring rain most of the time up there, and this footage was taken high up in the light deprived canopy.

Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo is the species found almost exclusively in this region. Papua and New Guinea also have their own species. They feed on leaves and fruit from the native forest. Their very long tail has no visible function as it does not grab or hold, it just hangs down. This was a lifer in the wild for us both. Unlike other kangaroos it spends its life in rainforest trees where it seldom comes down, but to relocate to food sources.

Tree Kangaroo

While up in the Atherton area we actually stayed in an Eco Lodge deep in the rainforest, where each morning and night we not only heard the rain and the the strange sounds of the rainforest birds calling, but actually got to feed some of the regular visitors to our cabin. The two lifers that came to visit were the Spotted Catbird and the female Victoria Riflebird. Sadly the colorful male Riflebirds are usually further north this time of year. The chubby Lewins Honeyeater, a rainforest bird we are well acquainted with down south was our most frequent visitor, eating pieces of fruit we put out on the railing, as we sat and sipped our wine and cheese.

Apologies for the visual noise in the video clip as it was quite dark facing into the rainforest most of the time, especially in the rain. Most of the rainforest birds, and in fact most Australian birds are fruit eaters, nectar eaters, insect eaters and Lerps eaters, but for rainforest birds native fruits and insects are thew main diet..

Each morning we were awakened to the sounds of the Catbird calling and the Orange-footed Scrubfowl. You can’t mistake the loud Catbird sound which woke us up, and the Scrubfowl is making the unusual loud warbling cackle occasionally and some other bird is making the regular single note chime. It sounded like this…

We did manage to see an Orange-footed Scrubfowl digging outside of the forest while the common Australian Brush Turkey wandered around. The Brush Turkey is very brazen and has no fear, it would try and steal the food we put out for the shy rainforest birds. They are a problem in Sydney also for destroying gardens and building their mounds in unpopular places.

Orange-footed Scrubfowl

Australian Brush Turkey females

Orange-footed Scrubfowl

Australian Brush Turkey females

The Little Shrike-thrush was a common bird here in the rainforest also, it was frequenting the gardens of the Eco lodge.

(race rufogaster)

While near Atherton we took drive to famous Hastie’s Swamp a great haven for waterbirds, and always full of Plumed Whistling Ducks, they were there in their hundreds whistling away.

They are a beautiful looking bird, the males have the larger longer plumes, and a true flock bird. We saw many of these birds in various places on our travels far north.

Plumed Whistling Duck male

Plumed Whistling Duck

Several families of Pink-eared Duck and a few only of Australia’s rarest endemic waterfowl, the Freckled Duck, which is not normally seen this far north. Freckled Duck but they like usual, being shy of humans were some distance and sleeping on the water as you will see in my one good shot below..

Freckled Duck sleeping

Pink-eared Duck

You can learn more about the Pink-eared Duck from reading my book “What Birds Teach Us” which you can order here online. Visit my BirdBook page to find out more. Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful reviews, so glad it is blessing people of all ages.

Also, if you have not visited my new Special Sightings page and seen my latest entry the Powerful Owl (male and female), Australia’s largest owl, we saw last weekend, with Possum prey hanging on display from beneath the talon of the male click here. and I’ll take you there.

You may remember this sequence of events in the first video clip of this post…

The lesson I learn from the Southern Cassowary is that so called human kindness can be to the dire detriment of the bird. No matter how tame the bird might appear to be, this camper is doing the right thing in preventing the bird from stealing his food, he as the saying goes being cruel to be kind by discouraging the bird from coming to humans for handouts, which is the main cause of them being killed on roads, as well as attacking people and destructively breaking into houses. Notice how this man wisely rebuked the bird standing behind the table and making minimum eye contact. It was the following picture, my wife took, which caused me to see the spiritual aspect in all this.

Here in this photo man and wild bird have respect and lack of fear for each other, the man appreciating this special moment with this bird which is capable of killing him if it felt threatened or become aggressive demanding food. Many of Australia’s territorial birds are aggressive. As an aside: Australia has the largest percentage of aggressive birds in the world, and it is partly due to their diet and their territorial controls, as they compete for nectar, lerps and fruit. You are more likely to be attacked by a bird in Australia than any where else, and other birds and other animals are included as victims.

Interesting enough, the above picture occurs after the above series of the man chastising the bird for trying to steal his food. Today, sadly, we are seeing many problems with youth not having respect and consideration for others. This selfishness is partly due to the lack of discipline the parents have not employed during the child’s formative years. The secular humanistic philosophies which have departed from the life principles of the Creator has contributed to this. The spare the rod and spoil the child has come about because many parents disciplined out of anger, frustration and cruel punishment instead of out of loving correction, which uses a bare minimum of physical corrective contact while the child is very young. As with the Cassowary, when a child is allowed to always have its way, and becomes dependent on us to give it what it wants, we set a pattern for their future downfall in life, leading to possible depressive and loveless mindset, and in some cases suicide (internalized rage) or violent anger (externalized rage). As parents we need to firstly model the behaviour we want for our children by loving them, and the most important way we can do this is to love our spouse, for this is what they will learn more so than words, as the old adage says: it is better felt than telt. We teach our children and grandchildren more from how we live and speak than from anything we tell them to do, or even discipline them for. All discipline is meant in to be loving correction of bad behaviour BEFORE it gets out of hand, not for our own gain, but for the overall future good of the child. The types of discipline change with the growing child. God himself does the same with me, as she shapes my life and disciplines me when I become selfish and do things in a way detriment to his best for my life.

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.’ – Hebrews 12: 5-11 (NIV)

Have a wonderful week!

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

Leaving Townsville, we drive a hire car up the coast northward to our next stop, the Tyto Wetlands Centre in Ingham. Birders had told us this was a must visit place and we were not disappointed seeing several lifers, the first being the Crimson Finch, pictured above. These tiny birds were constantly flying and landing in the tall grass where they find their seed diet. The male is bright crimson and the female mainly around the head and tail. and juveniles mainly grey/brown. Click on photo to enlarge it.

Crimson Finch (male)

Crimson Finch male

Crimson Finch (male)

Crimson Finch (female)

Crimson Finch (juvenile)

Female Crimson Finch

The name Tyto is named after the rare Eastern Grass Owl (Tyto capensis) which is found there in the grassland during the latter part of the year. This wetlands is well cared for by the local council and has well marked walks, including crocodile warnings, which concerned my wife, though the only croc we saw while up north was a baby one in Reef HQ (the largest coral aquarium in the world, at Townsville). Crocs are river dwellers mainly, and can get washed out into coastal areas during the wet season.

Walking the circuit we saw several types of habitat including bush, open forest, grassland, lake, and pandanas forest.

The red-backed Fairy-wren was again a great delight.

One of the common birds seen up here quietly sitting in trees is the Spangled Drongo, which is usually identified by its classic tail and shimmering bluish/black metallic plumage.

We were surprised to find two kinds of Shrike-thrush next to each other in the woodlands both different races of Little Shrike-thrush, both lifers. These races (subspecies) are found only in this part of Australia.

(race parvula)

Little Shrike-thrush race rufogaster)

I had wondered where the Rufous Whistlers had gone during the drought, finding one here.

But another lifer brought excitement to my wife, the White-browed Robin which is only found in Far North Queensland, her namesake. The English have a Robin but we have 17 different species of Robin. No these are not the same photos notice the tail, a feature of the robins is how they flick their tails up and down while perched.

Another bird only seen this far north was this White-gaped Honeyeater. I guess when you have over 70 honeyeaters and many have white markings on their face, it gets difficult to name them accordingly, so this one is gaped.

Another passerine lifer was this Brush Cuckoo, which has the feature of looking like a cuckoo but without the usual white tips on the upper tail being obvious. If you look closely you can detect bands showing through the brown upper tail, this can make it difficult to call.

The most prolific bird seen here by the lakes is of course the Forest Kingfisher, beautifully attired in his bright blue vest, standing out against the brown mud and reeds. I managed to convince him to fly so you can appreciate his full beauty.

Forest Kingfisher resting

Forest Kingfisher resting with Peaceful Doves

Forest Kingfisher in flight

Other classic waterside birds included the Australasian Darter and the Intermediate Egret, one we do not see much of down south.

So we come now to the lakes, the actual wetlands. Here is a panorama of the area, which includes the Comb-crested Jacana who was my first bird seen here on the water, and quickly hid from me.

But the most exciting find on the water was not the Hardheads which were close to shore, but the unusual looking birds afloat, way out in the middle of the lake, well away from us. My wife trained her trusty binoculars, which she proudly purchased from the London Wetlands Centre a few years ago, on these birds which turned out again to be lifers. The Green Pygmy-Goose and the Cotton Pygmy-Goose were peacefully together with the Hardheads and the Wandering Whistling Ducks. The Cotton Pygmy-Goose was a lifer for me not just in the wild but ever.

Green Pygmy-Goose pair

Green Pygmy-Goose with Hardheads

Green Pygmy-Goose

Cotton Pygmy-Goose and Wandering Whistling Ducks

Green Pygmy-Goose pair

Hardheads landing near Cotton Pygmy-Goose

Green Pygmy-Goose flying off

Notice the black eye marking of the male Cotton Pygmy-Goose and the lack thereof in the females, one fore and aft of the male.

And of course, there is always one lone Australasian Grebe, this one with some breeding plumage, in the lake. I am sure there are others somewhere else.

Our visit here had been a great delight, though the fear of crocs was a little off putting for my wife. We had seen several lifers. We would now make our way further north to the rainforest areas visiting Mission Beach and the Atherton Tablelands for some very unique birdlife, but that will be in my next post.

Check out my NEW Special Sightings page. which shares special local birding highlights, unique and rare sightings. See my latest shots of the Powerful Owl with prey. Check out my HomePage for more birding tips, inspirational and info pages.

At Reef HQ in Townsville we saw many species of coral and tropical fish including the most unusual Clownfish which spends most of its time swimming in among the tentacles of the Sea Anemone. Sea Anemones are predators that attach themselves to rocks or coral. There, they sit and wait until a fish swims close enough to attack with its tentacles. Clownfish are one of the only species that can survive the deadly sting of the Sea Anemone.

By making the anemone their home, Clownfish become immune to its sting. These fish will gently touch every part of their bodies to the anemone’s tentacles until it no longer affects them. A layer of mucus then forms on the clown fish’s body to prevent it from getting stung again. This relationship reminds me of living under my Father God’s loving care. As I grow from a child to an adult I am initially disciplined so as to learn to live a good life.

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?” – Hebrews 12:7

As I remain under the care of our loving Father we remain protected from the Enemy, that is not the Anemone, who we are warned, lurks about the world around us, seeking to lead us to destruction.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8

Abnormal, selfish, destructive addictive behaviour results when I make myself vulnerable to bad decisions and thoughts. I am only safe in my loving Father’s own prescriptive plan for a good life, which he designed and created for,when I remain in his loving protection close to Him, knowing He is always close to me. His Love Letter the Bible contains all I need for His best for my life.

‘Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.” – Psalm 16:1,2

Check out my book “What Birds Teach Us” on my Birdbook page.

Now that I have cut back from full-time work, my second book is under way, featuring more Australian birds and their unusual characteristics. In a similar way to the first book, it is set in a counseling context, but for families, many of which are also in crisis and need of life skills to assist them with proven life experiences and life skills for making good life decisions. This book “Birds of a Feather – Family Forever.” will again be a unique work presented in a simple readable format similar to my first book. I have been greatly encouraged by many important people in my life, who are awaiting this much needed work, and hopefully will become another non-confronting counseling tool for all ages. This book will be an asset for young adults planning for relationship and family giving helpful tools and insights for a Together Forever life.

Please Note: Increases to postage, packaging and handling fees required the small increase in purchase price. However, buying here online remains the least expensive place to buy your copy compared to most retail shops which sell for $35 in Australia.

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

Continuing our Far North Queensland birding adventure we share this week two major lifers. A true lifer for me is one that I spot and photograph in the wild in its usual habitat. It was in a beach side park on Magnetic Island, a resort island just off the coast of Townsville that we saw our first Blue-winged Kookaburra (see male above). Magnetic Island gets its name because of the apparent “magnetic” effect it had on the ship’s compass of Captain Cook as he passed the island when sailing up the east coast of Australia in 1770. Click on photos to enlarge them.

Male

Female

The wonder of our discovery was that we saw both mail and female together in the same tree, and they were not afraid to sit and watch us give them so much attention. The key differentiation feature is their tail. The male has a blue tail and the female a brown (see above).

These Kookaburras not only look different to our Laughing Kookaburra but they also sound different. In their almost cricket like call, undertones of their cousin can be heard.

Both specie of Kookaburra are found up here. This Laughing Kookaburra was singing while he held his prey in his mouth. A pair of Blue-faced Honeyeater, which are known to be aggressive, looked like they were about to take him on but it was a stand off. They may have a nest nearby to protect.

The Laughing Kookaburra puts the true “Kook, Kook” sound into Kookaburra.

Seeing the the pair of Blue-wings was a real treat for us, especially seeing the male flying as you can see below. Here you can see the difference in species. They both have blue on their wing but the Blue-winged as much more.

Male

Female

flight shot

While spending a day on the island we saw several raptors including an immature bedraggled Brahminy Kite, a Whistling Kite, Rainbow Bee-eater, and two kinds of Kingfisher, both Forest and Sacred. It was interesting to see the Sacred Kingfishers on the beaches. We drove around looking for a lagoon we could not find access to and passed a grassed fenced cow paddock and saw these Agile Wallaby grazing as were Straw necked Ibis.

As we admired the Wallaby we noticed two strange creature resting under a small tree right in the centre of the field, YES! they were the Bush Stone-curlew, we were looking for on the island, as we were told they are common here. They are usually in pairs, resting in the day and hunting at night where they feed on feed on insects, molluscs, small lizards, seeds and occasionally small mammals. They were some distance from the road.

Bush Stone-curlew on Magnetic Island

The next day, back in Townsville as drove through a noisy intersection we saw a very large fenced oval in one of the suburbs, when my wife excitedly called out “There they are, pull over quickly!” There were about twenty Bush Stone-curlew occupying family groups all around the field, keeping distance from each group. They appeared safe from dogs in this closed area which they could move out from at night. They rested out in the open using their camouflage plumage and remaining completely motionless. They appear to stand looking male to female but this is pure protection as they cover each others back from all directions. It is safer to stand in an open field where you can easily see who is approaching, so you have no surprise attacks, and there is time to fly to safety.

strutting to safety

resting while others are on the lookout

gathering around the waterhole

resting

A dog in a ute started barking while the car waited for the lights to change which set the bunch into alarm calls for a minute or more. The dog had been driven away, but they continued to cry for a time. This is how it sounded:

Here is some video footage from the same field:

That night we decided to eat at a lovely waterside restaurant on The Strand. To our amazement and delight we saw many Bush Stone-curlew walking around the streets, waterfront reserve and beach hunting. Many people were also out going to and from dining venues and the birds kept their distance but seemed tame enough to walk around us walking away when approached, something they had possibly done for many years as they shared this space with humans at night. We often heard the screaming of these birds at night as they met socially and hunted, however they appeared to hunt individually, returning to their safe havens by morning. This was a daily occurrence in Townsville and Magnetic Island. Sadly I did not have my movie camera with me to capture footage of this, but next time your in Townsville at night you can see it for yourself. So there you have it, two wonderful lifers we experienced.

So it was the sighting of these Agile Wallaby that caused us to notice the birds we were seeking, and could not find, as they were standing in the same paddock, but under the cover of a small tree. God sometimes is trying to teach us something in life but we fail to see or understand what it is, even though the truth he wants to convey is right in front of us. So he positions the Wallaby to catch our attention and finally cause us to notice what is right before us, but standing under the tree. So often we look for life’s answers in the wrong place, from the wrong source or the wrong people, when God in his loving kindness keeps pointing us back to his promises and assurances given to us through faith access in Jesus. To do this he helps us refocus and re direction our looking by replacing the wrong with the right advice, from the right source by the right person. God’s book the Bible gets us back on track.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” – Psalm 119:105

“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 mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.” – Proverbs 14:6

Simon Peter answered him [Jesus], “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” – John 6:68

Take a look at my HomePage there is a new addition in Something Special.

Before you go you might like to view my personal Blood Moon shots from the lunar eclipse early Saturday morning on my BloodMoon page.

Thank you Takami from Japan and other followers who have recently purchased my book here online, and thank you for the wonderful encouraging reviews I have received. For those who have not checked it out, you can read for yourself Takami’s comment/review is on my birdbook page. Check out the rest of my website for birding info at my Homepage.

Have a wonderful week!

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 Should you desire to use any of the material published on this website please contact the author as a Comment or by email via the AboutUs page

Exploring Our Tropical Rainforest in Far North Queensland

Posted by aussiebirder on July 6, 2018

Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Cairns, Far North Queensland, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature reserve, rainforests, Uncategorized. Tagged: Atherton Tablelands, Australian Tree Kangaroo, Spotted Catbird.

My wife and I have just returned from an exciting time birding in the dense tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland in the pouring rain of course,being a rainforest, yet as unseasonal as it was for this time of year. I will fill you in with more interesting findings in my next post, next week when I have time to put together a decent post. The Spotted Catbird was one lifer we became well acquainted with, of which I will give more info next week. One other finding my wife and I experienced at great cost during the rain was to actually see the Australian Tree Kangaroo in the wild. Here are some pics. This unusual creature lives in the trees and eats the leaves of particular species. It is currently only found in the deep forests of the Atherton Tableland in the hinterland of Cairns. We were so excited to see them. The long tail does not wrap around the tree branch but just hangs there.

The second one we spotted was grooming his tail and was more difficult to see. The darkness of the raining rainforest makes the images appear dark. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Tree Kangaroo

These precious creatures had signs erected to warn drivers of their presence.

Stay tuned for next weeks post as I do a special series on birds of Australia’s tropical north.

Checkout my website for more birding info at aussiebirder.com

My book is a wonderful Christmas or Birthday present for a preteen, or anyone who loves birds, or whom you may introduce Australian birds to. At a bargain price much cheaper than the book shops you can buy it here online from my website. Read more at my birdbook page. Here is a promotional video for National Parks shops.

Sample page from ‘What Birds Teach Us’

The verses that inspired me to write the book, and as I I have shared in many of my talks , there is evidence to support that Jesus himself was a birder, and watched and studied birds.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at [study intently] the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? – Matthew 6:25-34

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 Should you desire to use any of the material published on this website please contact the author as a Comment or by email via the AboutUs page

One of my greatest photographic delights is shorebird reflections on the waters edge of lakes and lagoons. The Black-winged Stilt always wins the prize for me as one of the best reflectors, as you can see in above photo kissing its own reflection. They are shorebirds or waders as we call them, wading the shallow waters edge in search of aquatic insects and crustaceans. There long needle-like beak is ideal for piercing the wet mud.

My wife and I happened to be passing this lagoon north of Sydney and discovered these non-migratory waders feeding together in perfect harmony. Even the Magpie-lark (PeeWee) were getting into the act, considering they are passerines and not waders. Click on photo to enlarge it.

The Masked Lapwing (formally the Spur-winged Plover) was also grazing in a small flock, but not reflecting as well (‘not as reflectagenic’)

The lagoon showed the affects of drought, having receded significantly over the year due to our extreme summer heat and long drought, which is still unbroken. This meant we had to walk some distance out to the shoreline, making us more visible to our avian friends.

Pitt Town Lagoon

Some saw us coming and moved to safer quarters, producing lovely flight shots as they departed.

Black-fronted Dotteral

Grey Teal

Black-winged Stilts

One of the highlights of this visit was to find our two smallest waders together. The Black-fronted Dotterel and the Red-kneed Dotterel, dottering about the waters edge. These tiny birds are difficult to photograph from a distance using a short depth of field lens as they are so small and close to the ground surface when focusing. These birds are a species of small plover. There are some good reflection moments in some of these shots.

Black-fronted Dotterel

Another amazing reflection photo is this one, which I particularly liked.

Another highlight, just as we were leaving was to see this Golden-headed Cisticola female, just before it flew off from one set of dead reeds to another. This bird is usually found near fresh water lakes in reeds, and initially can be mistaken for an Australasian Reed Warbler. The male has the afro golden head it gets its name from.

Later in the week I needed to out out in the quite of the rainforest, away from the noise of humans and their machines, so I went to the ‘Nasho’ or ‘Royal’ (The Royal National Park as non locals know it). I walked to a place where a Noisy Pitter had been recently sited and found a film team with smoke machines filming an add for Omo washing detergent. What!! in a sensitive rainforest area of National Park!! Speaking with one of the crew, he did not know why they chose this spot either. As for wildlife, forget it, the noise and smoke effect, and small of diesel from van generators would drive any creature away. So I walked on out of earshot of this invasion…

the track

palms

Gymea Lily ready to bloom

an elcorn

As I walked the track I saw some of the usual birds, but was unable to do the deeper rainforest area due to the film crew presence.

Lewins Honeyeater

But the greatest delight was to walk right up to this male Superb Lyrebird foraging by the track. It is easy to tell when the lyrebirds have been recently on the track by their scratchings.

Then you listen for their calls, and work out where they are. This one was quiet and I could have easily scared him if I had not seen his beautiful tail protruding onto the track. Watch carefully as he downs a white grub he has dug up.

Finally, I thought I should check out those militant Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. I patched into their conversation some months ago you might remember. They were meeting again at Wattle Flat by the river, but had taken control of the main picnic table closest to the river. I wasn’t able to catch their conversation on this occasion as they were talking quietly, but it looked like they were planning to make a statement by taking control of the table, as they wanted it for themselves, after all it was a National Park to protect wildlife, and wild these guys are.

As it is Mothers Day tomorrow when we honour our mother and mothers worldwide, we see how dependent we are on their sacrificial love for us when we are so vulnerable in our early years. Mums are the ‘glue’ of the family, their love nurtures us in the most practical way, and seeks to give for the good of the family, often at great cost to herself. She works hard to keep the family together, and ensure that everyone has their needs met, and have been listened to. Her finger is on the pulse of her family.

“The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly;
whoever fathers a wise child will have joy in them.
May your father and your mother have joy;
may she who bore you rejoice.” – Proverbs 23:24,25 (NET)

Happy Mothers Day all you mums out there!

If you are new to my website feel free to check our my other interesting pages from the menu on my Home Page.

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

Last weekend we flew up to Port Macquarie to visit my daughter and family, and to have a restful Easter weekend by the Hastings River. We always love to visit Sea Acres Rainforest Centre, a place where my wife and I have fond memories when courting. We took my daughter and grandson Jesse along though little Pippa was sick and her daddy stayed at home with her. On arrival my grandson soon found that Pa’s book was quite visible with its bright blue cover. This was one of the first places to sell my book, and they sell very well here.

It is actually a declared NSW National Park and houses some of the last remaining subtropical coastal rainforest, with extensive elevated boardwalks for easy access, and very good cafe where we later celebrated my daughter and wife’s birthday with lunch. However, the long dry and very hot summer has had its toll on the usually lush green forest. Click on photo to enlarge it.

Rainforest boardwalk

Palm flowers

Strangler fig around tree by road

One of the first birds one might see in coastal rainforest due to its year round territorial presence making it predictably discoverable, along with its curious nature, is the Eastern Yellow Robin. Yes, and it was the first bird we saw there. This insectivorous robin will sometimes follow or lead you down the track.

We were amazed as we walked along the boardwalk, how quiet it was, as we were accustomed to hearing the constant sound of bird song from many species, but now, just an occasional sound, it was just too dry, and there was little native fruit present. We were occasionally excited when we heard the sound of the elusive Green Catbird, but never saw it, though it would have seen us. I did record its sound for you.

One of the few birds we did see was this immature Grey Butcherbird which sat on the side wire and allowed us to get very close, as it had not yet developed fear of our presence.

This was a great opportunity to teach my grandson about the forest and birds, and highly recommend you grandparents do the same, as we need to show them there is a beautiful world outside of their technology devices. One bird which brought a moment of excitement was the very fast moving Crested Shrike-tit, a true rainforest bird though small, uses its powerful small beak to dislodge bark from trees to uncover underlying insects and grubs. You discover this usually quiet bird by the noise of falling bark. I was only able to get a few pics before it saw us and left.

Probably the most heard bird in the forest the whole time we were there was Lewins Honeyeater, a classic rainforest honeyeater for the east coast of Australia. Its

Lewins Honeyeater

The White-throated Treecreeper is another bird often difficult to spot as it climbes the tree trunk on the dark side under the canopy. This is a female (see the orange spot on face). It makes it call as it climbs the tree in search of insects.

White-throated Treecreeper

The last birds we heard and saw was the Satin Bowerbird male and female high in the tall tree canopy, but it was difficult to photograph them, only a female was clearly visible.

Female Satin Bowerbird

You will often hear the scratching of the Australian Brush Turkey as it lifts the lesaf litter in search of insects, in a similar way to the lyrebird which sadly was not found in this forest area. This female was actauly well adapted to searching through the bags of picnicers in the beach nearby while unattended.

Brush Turkey

After lunch I wanted to show Jesse the huge Lace Monitor goannas that haunt the picnic ground down on Shelly Beach (part of the national park), but they were not present. This is what we had seen the day before.

Lace Monitor

Lace Monitor head

This family of monitors was checking out the picnic of a family of humans who were watching with feet up on chairs as they checked for any food scraps. These goannas are notorious for robbing picnic tables while no one is watching.

The Little Wattlebird is common find in the coastal forest, we saw this one in the back yard of my daughters new home.

Little Wattlebird

As we left the park we spied these rainforest birds high up in a huge eucalypt tree some distance way, and they seemed quite curious to us, as to what these two bird species were doing. The common Rainbow Lorikeet were checking out the not so common Scaly-breasted Lorikeets who just happened to be in the neighborhood.

Rainbow and Scaly-breasted

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Rainbows in flight

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

We stayed at a boutique resort by the river, where we saw many waterbirds. We also saw this Brown Honeyeater enjoying nectar from the beautiful Bird of Paradise flower by the pool. You can see here how the curved beak assists in getting deep into the flower base to retrieve nectar.

My wife enjoyed the pool on the unusually hot autumn days, I soon learned that I needed to have my camera ready by the pool as bird stuff was going down all the time we were there. The most notable bird activity was the noise flock of Little Corella moving too and fro across the bay, feeding from pine cones and grass seed.

Every so often there would be a sudden flurry and cry of the flock as they flew all over the sky. I thought ‘look up, must be raptor in sight’, and sure enough this Brahminy Kite was doing the rounds, but was against the sun and a fair way up so my shots are bot pristine.

The comical Australian Pelican was doing its preening from the top of the lamp post, which is a common site here at Port. Lo and behold, should your car be parked beneath such a post, you would not believe what these birds could do to your car when they defecate.

While all this drama is taking place, this lone White-faced Heron fishes quietly along the shores. We saw it in the same area each day.

White-faced Heron

Each day after everyone had finished using the swimming pool this pair of Australian Wood Duck came flying in and felt quite at home swimming in the pool and camping beside it for the night. The male has the dark brown head.

The last birds we saw as we drove to the airport to fly home after a wonderful weekend away, was this small flock of Straw-necked Ibis working this grassy paddock.

Straw-necked Ibis

One of the features of the Port coastline is the many small rock islands and formations along the many beaches, and this large rock seemed to host hundreds of gulls and terns. What makes one rock more homely than another? Maybe its the company of others…

These rocks receive a constant buffeting from the ocean, which caused me to ponder the following as I watched the waves crash…

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NLT)

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” – 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

Have a wonderful week exploring this amazing planet of ours. Check out my website for more birding information and helpful hints.

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

Norfolk Island Green Parrot (Tasman Parakeet)

My wife and I took a much needed break from our hectic life to the quiet sub tropical paradise called Norfolk Island, a small island in the south pacific. An Australian territory about 1,400 km east of the mainland. To my surprise the island had remained in a time warp and was very much the same as it was when I visited in 1976, a real ‘laid back and friendly Aussie island lifestyle’. Norfolk Island is famous for its popular seaside tree, the Norfolk Pine which originated from this island, which originally was covered in this tree. This tree is now found throughout seaside areas on the east coast of the Australian mainland. In my next post I will share how this tree is important to the survival of a beautiful sea bird species.

The fronds of this pine unlike those in northern hemisphere point upward, as snow is not a problem here. The tree is depicted on the flag. To understand the political tension here and the three settlements you will need to read elsewhere. Captain James Cook originally claimed it for Britain in 1774 on his second voyage funded by the Duchess of Norfolk (in England), hence the honour of the island name. The first settlement of the uninhabited island was as a penal colony ( see ruins below) later closed leaving buildings intact due to its brutal tortures. Later the English sailors who mutineered the HMS Bounty from cruel Captain Bligh bred with the local Polynesians and settled an uninhabited Pitcairn Island nearby. Queen Victoria later granted them Norfolk to settle in response to their plea for more land. Later, free settlers from Australia and New Zealand came as the the third settlement. There since has been contention with the Pitcairn descendants and the Australian Government over sovereignty.

One of our objectives beside resting and swimming, was to explore the islands rainforest in the National Parks, in search of the rare species endemic to the island. Above is the rare and critically endangered Tasman Parakeet or Green Parrot (to the locals), which we were blessed to see after several days searching, and then on several occasions. The best and easiest place to hear and possibly see this bird is in the Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens, where there are many variety of native island rainforest fruit, fruiting while we were there.

The conservation program to save the remaining birds by relocating the young to nearby Phillip Island, a bird protected sanctuary island, has so far not been successful.

Phillip Island (Norfolk Is)

One of the keys to locating the bird is its peculiar call, which gives its position away. The loud kek, kek, kek ,kek can be heard quite a distance away.

The Parakeet is being threatened by loss of habitat, but more so by introduced black and Polynesian rats eating their eggs and young. A program of eradication has been in operation for some time. The other problem is the Crimson Rosella, introduced from Australia’s mainland by former prison officers, being released on their exit from the island. The Rosella outnumber the Parakeet and take their nesting holes.

Norfolk Island Green Parrot

The Tasman Parakeet is more accustomed to human presence than the Crimson Rosella, and tends to forage in the lower lying fruit tree branches, allowing one time to watch them, before they fly off. We watched one feeding on native fruit in the rainforest, so I apologise for the dark footage, as rainforests do not allow much light in through the canopy. We took many trips to the Botanic Gardens before we finally heard this bird and quickly advanced on its location.

The Norfolk Palms are currently fruiting in the mountains of the National Park and this will provide more food for the fruit eating parakeet.

The second endemic bird which is not so threatened as the parakeet is the Norfolk Island Sacred Kingfisher, which looks very similar to our local mainland species. We did not get many good shots of this bird due to the sun gleaming off its shiny plumage. Pictured below is our mainland Sacred Kingfisher alongside the NI sub species, but three of the birds are juveniles with brown plumage and mottled black chest. These birds were quite shy and flew off when they saw you paying them attention.

Sacred Kingfisher (mainland Aus.)

Norfolk Island Sacred Kingfisher

The third bird endemic to the island is the Norfolk Island is the tiny Norfolk Island Gerygone (Grey Warbler to the locals). Similar in appearance to our mainland species with the white eyebrow line, they have not suffered too much from human habitation, except for the black rat infestation, similar to the Tasman Parakeet.

This little bird makes a loud beautiful song which rings through the forest as they communicate to one another. It constantly moves, in a similar way to our mainland variety, and is difficult to photograph such a small bird in a dark forest.

The fourth endemic species was that of the Norfolk Island Pacific Robin. This robin is a subspecies of our mainland Scarlet Robin. The male has the distinctive black head with white forehead and bright red chest, and the female and juveniles brown with a very light orange chest, the juvenile having lighter chest colour and more brown plumage.

Pacific Robin male

Pacific Robin female

These were quite tame birds and very curious of humans, coming quite close to view us, especially tame in the deep forest of the National Park in Palm Glen near Mount Bates. This walk up and down steep ex volcanic mountainside was quite strenuous, and very healthy for us sedentary folk. Our legs knew it the next day. The Norfolk Island Tree Fern also endemic to the island are recorded as the tallest Tree Ferns in the world, growing up to 20 meters in height. So tall I can’t get them all in the picture.

The next endemic species which is also very curious of humans is the Norfolk Island Grey Fantail, similar to our mainland species. When we were deep in the forest at Palm Glen one of these birds flew continuously around me from branch to branch, it was so close I could not get focus. It was quite amusing to watch as I spun around with this bird. In the Botanic Gardens we found a pair of juveniles playing together having recently fledged and still having their fluffy front plumage. They landed right next to us without fear. There call is similar to our mainland species.

A rarer endemic to the island is the Norfolk Island Long or Slender-billed White-eye which has a longer and slightly downcurved beak compared with the mainland Australian Silvereye which is also on the island as an introduced bird. I will compare them on a later post. The white-eye has a dull green plumage with a yellow throat.

Our final endemic species for the island is the Norfolk Island Golden Whistler, which is quite different in appearance (especially the male) to the mainland and Lord Howe Island species. The male and female look alike with the male having a slightly golden chest plumage, and the female much less chest coloring. Their call is commonly heard throughout the forest.

Compare the above male with the mainland male below.

Golden Whistler (male)

Golden Whistler (male) whistling

You will notice I did not edit out me shushing my wife, she often talks while I am doing live footage, it is one of the challenges of bird photography.

Stay tuned for next weeks post as we explore the sea birds that live and breed on the island. Meanwhile today our family mourns the loss of our dear old dog Bella as she lay in my wife’s arms and fell asleep. It was a very sad and emotional day for us all.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” – John 11:25

Have peaceful and rested weekend.

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed by the site owner and remains his copyright 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

As the past year fades away, my wife and I set goals for the new year and look at ways to improve our life together. We ask what can we do better? What do we need to change? What do we need to start doing to achieve our goals for 2018? When we go birding in our local Oatley Park Reserve we find this male Superb Fairy-wren pictured above, eclipsing (this means it is changing its plumage from non breeding to breeding plumage). The male Superb Fairy-wren when not breeding looks very similar to the female, but for its blue tail. You can see the blotchy changes, as it starts to gradually change to its blue coat.

Superb Fairy-wren male in eclipse

Superb Fairy-wren female

It is quite amusing to watch the eclipse process taking place, as the blotchy appearance forms into the beautiful male in breeding plumage. This is how it is for us during seasons of change, where there is uncertainty and fear of the unknown ahead. As with the Fairy-wren, we courageously move forward, trusting God to bring us through our blotchiness to the blessing of eventually being transformed into the person we are becoming, with a beauty we display in being wiser, more thankful, gracious and loving.

Superb Fairy-wren (morphing male)

As many Australian birders know, the male fully eclipses to breeding plumage, he dons his beautiful blue suite, attracting the female to breed with him and have his family. When the breeding season is over he reverts back to his brown and white plumage, retaining only his blue tail to signify his maleness. Click on images to enlarge them.

Male Superb Fairy-wren

We all have to adapt to the season of our life, and the changes it brings to us, and we need to do this gracefully, to meet the challenges that may lie ahead. Some birds like the Red-browed Finch do not undergo any change at all during their breeding season, and stay the same throughout their life.

We may not change our appearance but our circumstances may change and call for a change in the way we live our lives. This White-faced Heron shows the difference in breeding plumage to non breeding but it does not change what he does each day. How we accept these changes is part of our character development which is so important in our growth as a person.

Change and new experiences should not be seen as problems to be solved but as challenges to encounter. It is a positive approach to what life throws at us that gives us the ability, enlisting God’s help, to meet the challenge and win the day. This Royal Spoonbill undergoes this head dress development during breeding season which offers a challenge to its normal life for a time.

Royal Spoonbill in breeding plumage

As I have shown in previous posts, colour change is a common breeding appearance in waders during breeding season, as with this Bar-tailed Godwit, the worlds most endurant bird, develops an orange appearance in our Autumn, before flying 16,000 km to have their young in the Arctic region of the Northern Hemisphere, returning in Spring.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Let the changes that come into your life be used for growth and positive change in the new year. Look for the treasure in the trials of life and remember that everything that happens to us is for a reason, for growth and development into the person we are being formed to be. So make the changes work for good in your life, as my wife and I are seeking to do in ours. Have a truly happy and prosperous new year, and may you prosper and grow in each aspect of life: not just physically but also, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually as Jesus did when he lived with us here on earth, thus developing our whole person.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” – Luke 2:52

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” – James 1:5

Check out the various pages of my website for more birding information and 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

Introducing Our Youth to the Birds and the Bush – A Walk in the Nasho

Another large red flower seen in the park is the Gymea Lily a plant indigenous to the Sydney area. It also has many smaller flowers that make up the large flower head. It stands majestically over four metres tall,,,

The beautiful Eastern Spinebill was moving rapidly around the flowers and calling to its mates. This honeyeater has a long curved beak enabling it to reach deep into tubular flowers such as Bush Fuchsia (seen above) and larger flower heads.

This tiny Silvereye was also getting in on the action but was after insects…

It is always a delight to see and hear the Brown Thornbill, another tiny insectivorous bird as it moves around the tree’s lower canopy making its unique call…

The sound of Yellow-tailed Cockatoo passing overhead caused quite an excitement, but we could only see their silhouette as we were deep in the forest.

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12

“Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives.”

“Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 (NEV)

Have a wonderful week! I have been asked to continue working on my existing agreement to assist training staff before my full-time position is filled, so my second book writing remains on hold.

If this is your first visit to my blog, please take a minute to check out my website Homepage menu and helpful birding and counselling info. Check out my unique book which can be purchased through secure PayPal here online on my BirdBook page.

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Birdwatcher, Birder or Twitcher, which are You?

It has been a couple of years since I visited this topic, and I continue to meet many people who ask me to explain the difference, it is timely that I reiterate, but with more information from more of a counselling and lifestyle perspective.

However, it is better to feed them their own food if you can.

The Cafes can be good birdwatching places also…

Birdwatcher

Birder

Twitcher

Thinks about birds occasionally and does not distract from normal life.

Thinks about birds daily, possibly talks about them, this may only occasionally distract and interfere with normal life, but rarely.

Thinks about birds most of the day and takes up most of their conversation, and may interfere and distract them from normal life on a regular basis.

Seeks birds occasionally when on an outing, not necessarily to reason for the event.

Seeks and pursues birds recreationally on a regular basis, birds being the prime purpose of the outing.

Seeks birds and pursues them as the prime focus of thir life, always thinking of the next encounter and how & where they will view them.

May or may not use or even be aware of an ebird app. This will have little impact on weekend plans unless the sighting is nearby and unusual.

May use an ebird app at least once a week or more to help plan a weekend birding adventure, and may travel several hours or more to location but minimise cost.

Will most definitely use an ebird app and other means to access live and recent sightings. This will help determine their next day. They may travel long distances at great cost.

Weekends away & recreational walks may include bird watching, Binoculars may be optional unless kept in the car. Only done outside work hours.

Weekends away and day trips prime focus on finding birds. Always brings binoculars and camera. Only outside work hours with very infrequent day off during the week.

Any time during the week when rare birds and rare sightings seen, may interrupt normal work week and family functions to pursue birds on a regular basis.

Stress level Low to Moderate – seeing birds adds an interesting dimension to the outing and assists in lowering stress levels. They share their delight with those with them.

Moderate stress level – birding a healthy distraction from busy & stressful life. Excitement or disappointment with pursuit of birds mostly lowers stress levels but can at times be stressful. They love sharing their delight and knowledge.

High stress level – driven with high expectation and personal achievement. Addiction is stressful causing anxiety lacking peace. Hence the ‘twitch’ in Twitcher. Can be very selfish, guarded, not wanting to share.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” – Luke 2:52

May your week be peaceful, satisfying, full of joy and enjoyable birding experiences.

If this is your first visit to my blog, why not check out my birding website pages from my Homepage.

Also check out my book you can purchase here online with secure PayPal or at any of these places. Check out the promo below.

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Birding in Tropical Queensland – Rainforest Birds (Part 5)

The Little Shrike-thrush was a common bird here in the rainforest also, it was frequenting the gardens of the Eco lodge.

While near Atherton we took drive to famous Hastie’s Swamp a great haven for waterbirds, and always full of Plumed Whistling Ducks, they were there in their hundreds whistling away.

They are a beautiful looking bird, the males have the larger longer plumes, and a true flock bird. We saw many of these birds in various places on our travels far north.

Several families of Pink-eared Duck and a few only of Australia’s rarest endemic waterfowl, the Freckled Duck, which is not normally seen this far north. Freckled Duck but they like usual, being shy of humans were some distance and sleeping on the water as you will see in my one good shot below..

You can learn more about the Pink-eared Duck from reading my book “What Birds Teach Us” which you can order here online. Visit my BirdBook page to find out more. Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful reviews, so glad it is blessing people of all ages.

Also, if you have not visited my new Special Sightings page and seen my latest entry the Powerful Owl (male and female), Australia’s largest owl, we saw last weekend, with Possum prey hanging on display from beneath the talon of the male click here. and I’ll take you there.

You may remember this sequence of events in the first video clip of this post…

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Have a wonderful week!

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Birding in Tropical Queensland – The Amazing Tyto Wetlands, Ingham (Part 4)

Walking the circuit we saw several types of habitat including bush, open forest, grassland, lake, and pandanas forest.

The red-backed Fairy-wren was again a great delight.

One of the common birds seen up here quietly sitting in trees is the Spangled Drongo, which is usually identified by its classic tail and shimmering bluish/black metallic plumage.

We were surprised to find two kinds of Shrike-thrush next to each other in the woodlands both different races of Little Shrike-thrush, both lifers. These races (subspecies) are found only in this part of Australia.

I had wondered where the Rufous Whistlers had gone during the drought, finding one here.

Another bird only seen this far north was this White-gaped Honeyeater. I guess when you have over 70 honeyeaters and many have white markings on their face, it gets difficult to name them accordingly, so this one is gaped.

Another passerine lifer was this Brush Cuckoo, which has the feature of looking like a cuckoo but without the usual white tips on the upper tail being obvious. If you look closely you can detect bands showing through the brown upper tail, this can make it difficult to call.

The most prolific bird seen here by the lakes is of course the Forest Kingfisher, beautifully attired in his bright blue vest, standing out against the brown mud and reeds. I managed to convince him to fly so you can appreciate his full beauty.

Other classic waterside birds included the Australasian Darter and the Intermediate Egret, one we do not see much of down south.

So we come now to the lakes, the actual wetlands. Here is a panorama of the area, which includes the Comb-crested Jacana who was my first bird seen here on the water, and quickly hid from me.

Notice the black eye marking of the male Cotton Pygmy-Goose and the lack thereof in the females, one fore and aft of the male.

And of course, there is always one lone Australasian Grebe, this one with some breeding plumage, in the lake. I am sure there are others somewhere else.

Check out my NEW Special Sightings page. which shares special local birding highlights, unique and rare sightings. See my latest shots of the Powerful Owl with prey. Check out my HomePage for more birding tips, inspirational and info pages.

As I remain under the care of our loving Father we remain protected from the Enemy, that is not the Anemone, who we are warned, lurks about the world around us, seeking to lead us to destruction.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8

‘Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” – Psalm 16:1,2

Check out my book “What Birds Teach Us” on my Birdbook page.

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Birding in Tropical Queensland – Magnetic Island Lifers (Part 3)

The wonder of our discovery was that we saw both mail and female together in the same tree, and they were not afraid to sit and watch us give them so much attention. The key differentiation feature is their tail. The male has a blue tail and the female a brown (see above).

These Kookaburras not only look different to our Laughing Kookaburra but they also sound different. In their almost cricket like call, undertones of their cousin can be heard.

Both specie of Kookaburra are found up here. This Laughing Kookaburra was singing while he held his prey in his mouth. A pair of Blue-faced Honeyeater, which are known to be aggressive, looked like they were about to take him on but it was a stand off. They may have a nest nearby to protect.

The Laughing Kookaburra puts the true “Kook, Kook” sound into Kookaburra.

Seeing the the pair of Blue-wings was a real treat for us, especially seeing the male flying as you can see below. Here you can see the difference in species. They both have blue on their wing but the Blue-winged as much more.

A dog in a ute started barking while the car waited for the lights to change which set the bunch into alarm calls for a minute or more. The dog had been driven away, but they continued to cry for a time. This is how it sounded:

‘Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.” – Psalm 16:1,2