Royal National park

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.

 

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.

 

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.

Why not become a follower and receive weekly emails as each post is issued and learn interesting facts about our unique and amazing Australian birds.

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.

 

Down Among the Leaf Litter – A Walk in the Rainforest Part 3

Posted by aussiebirder on May 28, 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: , , , , . 19 Comments

Superb Lyrebird male

This week has been Wild Wet Windy Weather, and quite cold,  a good reason to stay inside. So I continue with a walk I did deep into the rainforest last week, where I went to clear my mind to walk and talk with my Father in his Rainforest Garden, in the Royal National Park. Last week I featured the female Superb Lyrebird, this week the male (above). The male with the beautiful tail. I saw both male and female Lyrebirds foraging quietly, and they allowed me to come close, which is unusual. I was only 2 feet away from one and it was not alarmed. How wonderful that they trusted me. These are birds that feed deeper in the forest away from most human traffic, and are more trusting. If you want to see Lyrebirds, find where visible recent scratchings are on the track and be in that area, early morning after sunrise when they are having breakfast.

The other two rainforest floor dwellers along with the Lyrebird, that I mentioned in the above video are the Bassian Thrush and the Australian Logrunner. These two are very secretive birds and difficult to both find and see as they are found on the dark forest floor among the leaf litter where they find their food. They have excellent camouflage and will stop dead still when they see you. Check them out and you will see what I mean. The Logrunner is a very small bird and often heard before seen, as it flicks the leaf litter with its legs, leaning back on the tail.

Australian Logrunner (male and female)
Bassian Thrush

If you do hear a Logrunner calling and communicating with partner it may sound like this:

If it is a territorial dispute it will sound more like a squeaky toy (a rubber ducky being repeatedly squeezed quickly).

The so called Naturalists from the early European settlement here in the 1800s, invaded our forests with rifles in the name of science (or today scientific research as with the whales Ha Ha). The so called bird lover John Gould dined on Australian birds and bragged about it, as he claimed fame for his 7 volume work on our birds  in 1848. They killed thousands of Lyrebirds to stuff for display back in the homeland, eat, extract their tails from for display and just for the fun of it… don’t that make you a little upset ?

Eventually the Conservation Movement stopped the meaningless slaughter of these and many other native species, some now extinct. Now the ferule cats, domestic cats and foxes continue the slaughter, both here and in the forests near Melbourne, especially Sherbrooke Forest where the population was almost decimated by domestic cats. Local residents by Law now must keep their cats caged.

Last week, my wife and I also visited one of our western Sydney birding spots, as we delivered a book shipment to a warehouse nearby, but most of the birds were gone, that once were in abundance. I have noticed that many left during the months of bushfire smoke late last year. Here’s what we found.

The New Holland Honeyeater is found in abundance in the southern Sydney National Parks and Reserves, especially along the coastline heath. This bird is featured in my book: “What Birds Teach Us” for its Diligence, here is a sample page:

 

The good news is, the final part for my lens has arrived and the camera should be ready by Saturday and this era of movie filling up my website storage may end.  It has been like having a best friend in hospital, and you can’t visit, having my lens out of action for four months. Though my wife has enjoyed having her photos receive encouraging remarks for my dear blog followers.

Thank you to those of you who have purchased my recent release 2nd Edition of “What Birds Teach Us”, some purchases are still making their way through the slower than usual Corona time, especially in the USA, but we are keeping track. We are working at present on new Promo videos and preparation for a book launch at a group of private schools.

Koorong Books has the 2nd Edition now in stock and is available online and in store. Koorong have stores all over Australia, mainly in the larger cities.  Sadly, my previous best sellers, NSW National Parks Visitor Centres are still closed due to Covid.  However at present the best price is to buy here online.

“We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.” – Hebrews 6:11

Have a wonderful week birding… and…. 

My Mission: To encourage all people to make good life choices, using birds to teach important life skills.

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.

When the Lyrebird Goes Quiet – A Walk in the Rainforest: Part 2

Posted by aussiebirder on May 21, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Rainforests, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, water birds, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 14 Comments

Last week my wife and I went for a longer than usual walk into the rainforest in the Royal National Park. We have been enjoying these long walks in the fresh sunny Autumn weather, and it has been therapeutic emotionally and physically as I continue to come to terms with social distancing, accepting retirement, my camera still being repaired and my book promotion put on hold. 

 

Continuing from my previous post we left early in search again for the female Superb Lyrebirds nesting, as Autumn is the time when she builds the nest and lays her eggs, while the male continues to do his song and dance performances to woo his female fans for mating. Click Here for some of my previous footage, which some of you have seen, to give you an idea how they dance to their own beat, and use their repertoire of mimicry to impress the female.

Male Lyrebird performing mimicry
Male Lyrebird dancing to his own beat.

Like the Bowerbird, the males spend most of their life, and time practicing their performance for that short period of several weeks when they mate. Notice the female photo above (again the work of my dear wife, who wants to thanks those who complemented her for her beautiful Fairy-wren photo featured last week)) has an ordinary feathered tail and a rufous throat, unlike the beautiful male tail. As we walked deeper into the forest we noticed increased scratchings by the track, and soon we started finding the females preparing their nests and just very quietly foraging for food.

It was not long before we found what we were looking for, a female collecting sticks and moss for the nest. Again, she was very careful to not give away the location of the nest. I watched how particular she was collecting the correct stick. She would stop, add to the bundle, pick it up and move to her next pick up.

This particular day we saw no males, though the following week I saw 3 males and 3 females. As we made our way through the forest our stress levels fell and we felt more relaxed.

We started hearing and then seeing the White-throated Treecreeper ascending a tree, silently. Usually you only find them by hearing their loud repeating call. This is a female, because of the orange spot on her ears.

As she ascended you will hear in the background the sound of another Treecreeper climbing, foraging for grubs and insects in the bark of the eucalypt tree. This is a bird seen in greater number during the colder months.

The Golden Whistler is quieter during the winter months also. The males are usually hard to spot during Winter months, as they are shy and not singing as much as they Sing in Spring. The females on the other hand are very curious and will come close to get a good look at you.

One bird you will always hear in our rainforest all year round is the Lewin’s Honeyeater. Their call is similar to the Treecreeper but much faster in staccato. You may remember the call from a previous post, it was also in the background of the female Golden Whistler clip (above).

On this occasion I was able to get closer. Most of our Honeyeaters migrate around following blossom, and avoiding colder weather, but the Lewin’s is a rainforest Honeyeater and is usually territorial remaining all year round, similar to the Miners and Wattlebirds.

One of the encouraging signs after the drought beginning to break from recent rains, is the sound of the many Eastern Whipbirds, which went very quiet during the driest part of last year, as they forage on the forest floor turning moist leaf litter for grubs and insects, in moist gullies.  They are very elusive birds, and in my early birding years had me standing for hours trying to catch a glimpse. This one eluded us also.

Eastern Whipbird sees us and plans his escape
Eastern Whipbird making his gettaway

As we finished our 9 km walk we noticed this Australasian Darter resting, and doing an excerpt from some Bird Ballet for a few seconds.

Darter Ballet

My contemplation for this week comes from the following film clip during my rainforest walk this week. The National Park was spared the horrific bushfires this past year, but has been burnt out years ago in 1994 with a horrific fire click here to see some of the photos. This tall straight forest hardwood in the thick of the rainforest was burnt out but continues to grow strong, because enough of the vital cambium layer just under the thick bark, which feeds the tree, survived the intense heat and fire.

This tree reminded me of me, when years ago I suffered burn out from being too busy and too stressed from the demands of job, family and life itself. Thankfully with God’s provision and help I survived and managed to to come back even stronger, like the tree, which spurred me on to study family counselling and write the books. While I remain connected and rooted firmly to my Life Source I can continue growing and enjoying life, having learnt how to avoid further burn out. My birding walks help achieve this,in a mindful way, like Adam (the first man) I can walk and talk with God alone in his beautiful garden, and be at peace, because I have come to realize his faithful love and provision for me. If you feel safe to check out my Birder Sanctuary pages you will see some of the principles that helped me through the difficult times, and continue to. Interesting enough God used birds to teach, help and even feed man many times throughout  history, and Jesus mentions them more than any other animal.

 Enjoy your week, and especially enjoy a fresh appreciation of  freedom, food, family and friends and our beautiful country as we begin to navigate a new normal as we hopefully come out of the Covid Crisis.

My Mission: To encourage all people to make good life choices, using birds to teach important life skills.

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.

An Early Morning Rainforest Walk – Social Distancing at its Best

Posted by aussiebirder on May 14, 2020
Posted in: 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 11 Comments

Superb Fairy-wren male (non-breeding)

One day last week to set off early to miss the walkers and walk through Royal National Park and search for Lyrebird we knew was nesting near the track, as unlike most birds they nest in Autumn and Winter. We had only just stepped out of our car and we heard the Superb Fairy-wren family twittering right beside us. We always see them in this area, where I researched them for my book. A beautiful male in eclipse or female-like non-breeding plumage was happily twittering and drawing our attention away from his wife and children who were escaping behind him. He stayed as his curiosity gave me some lovely footage, but notice the speed of his every movement, which shows how much faster their thought processes and metabolism is to ours.

The lovely feature photo at the top of the page was my wife’s, as I continue to await my lens repair, which is meant to be concluded this week, however the part has not come in yet. Here is a photo in his breeding plumage last Spring:

Since the Covid crisis my wife and I have been taking longer walks deeper in to the rainforest areas of our National Park to get much needed exercise, to refresh our spirits and distance ourselves even further from the dramatic increase in walkers due to the virus restrictions and the need to exercise.  However, walking but no loitering or picnicking allowed. As you can see below the Cafe is closed and the picnic benches taped over, as the people-less grounds will soon be joined by a leafless introduced tree as it approaches the Covid winter of my life.

Royal NP Cafe outside empty
Picnic tables taped over under a changing introduced tree.

Walking amid the coastal rainforest of eastern Australia is one of the most beautiful and refreshing experiences, especially when one enters pockets of constant bird song, as mixed feeding flocks feed on nectar rich native flora which at this time of year is limited mainly to Banksia ericifolia, which helps carry them through to early Spring.

Our main mission which moved us further into the forest, this particular walk, was to search for the female Superb Lyrebird building her nest. You may recall in this recent previous post the male Lyrebirds have recently been performing to attract females to mate with, as is their custom this time of year. Now the pregnant female is gathering sticks, moss and soft foliage to build it’s unique dome nest. When looking  for Lyrebirds one looks for fresh track-side scratchings. These became more extensive the further we moved into the forest away from people.

Evidence of a recent Lyrebird foraging

Keeping my eyes ever looking ahead, I finally spotted a male foraging quite some distance ahead on the side of the track. This explains the poor quality of video.

The easiest way to discern the sex of a Lyrebird is by it’s tail. The male has the beautiful streaming tail with streamers and net like frills, and the female has a shorter, simple dull brown-grey feathered tail, as does the juvenile.

As we walked further we saw evidence of moss being gathered, and then to our surprise, as well as the female Lyrebird’s, we caught her carrying moss to her nest, though she made sure we did not find the nest.

You can learn more about this bird and the next bird mentioned, in my book “What Birds Teach Us”

We heard the sound of a male Eastern Whipbird calling as he made his morning rounds, but there was no female response. He could be a young male who may find a mate and breed early Spring. 

The female response always immediately follows the male whip call. It is only a second after his, how amazing is that. When she hears him she waits and calls precisely after his call. This is what it would sound like if she were there foraging nearby:

It was interesting to find this single male Yellow-tailed Cockatoo calling from a tree. This bird is always found in flocks and pairs, so this fellow either lost the flock or maybe lost the plot as he seemed disorientated. This time of year we see flocks of this bird on the coast exploring the cones from the many pines planted, especially Norfolk Pines planted along the coast.

While we were walking, the flock eventually flew over but without this guy. Listen to their unique call. Birders get excited and run outside with their cameras when they here this sound, especially if a large flock is passing over, they are so loud, even at a high altitude.

The tiny constantly moving Brown Thornbill, an insectivorous local is always seen year round calling and moving through trees, often in MMFs (Mixed Feeding Flocks), delights us with his classic call.

The Sulfur-crested Cockatoo have usually finished breeding in the south, but because of the warm Autumn some are breeding here, as if they are far north. This guy is on nest-watch.

A companion breeder to the Cockie is the Rainbow Lorikeet who competes for tree holes since they often share the same trees at the same time. However, the Rainbow Lorikeet can breed all year round, producing 2 eggs each time, where as the Kookaburra breeds only in Spring. This pair may be checking out this white-ant nest, which has been traditionally the nest of the resident Kookaburras, and has previously caused controversy between the two over the years, which I did show on a previous post last year. Notice how one stands guard while the other looks inside. Not sure what is happening here, whether they are using it at present, before Spring arrives later in the year, or just doing a pre-auction inspection, as this is prime luxury real estate.

Later before leaving we heard the loud sound of many Rainbow Lorikeets in an Angophora tree. We focused our lenses high up in the tree to discover that these birds had discovered a small pool of water sitting in a bowl formation upright in the tree. This unusual tree, which I have shared about many times, is an important part of this bird’s habitat, due to its unique branch formation, and branch ejection system, leaving pockets and holes which birds use to nest in or in this occasion to drink from and bathe in after rain.

Rainbow Lorikeet flying in for a drink, scattering the others.

One bird we always look for along the river before we leave the park is the Azure Kingfisher. We usually spot him zipping in and out of the river. Though it would appear to a brief onlooker he is just resting, he is actually hard at work looking into the water for his next catch, which he will pluck out of the water with precise accuracy and speed, returning with it to the same perch.

The Kingfisher family (of which the Kookaburra is the largest member) have binocular vision, to enable accurate distance assessment using triangulation. In addition they also have the ability to correct for light refraction in water, which enables them to accurately target and catch their prey. It is interesting that what can appear to one person from the context of their own experience to be resting or non-active is actually quite the opposite. It is only when one studies, observes and investigates the facts fully, they can make an informed decision otherwise a false assessment can easily be made, by making a comparison with ones existing knowledge. The chapter on the Australian Raven in my book sheds light on this also. It is one thing to gain knowledge (to know what), and even greater to gain wisdom (to know how to use knowledge) but the greatest treasure one can procure  is understanding (to know why wisdom works). The wisest man King Solomon says:

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” – Proverbs 4:7

“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.” – Job 12:13

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;” – Proverbs 3:5

If you have not done so already please take advantage of my Book Launch Special Offer discount. Find out more about my book and purchase safely online: here.

Thank you so much my dear Blog Following Friends who have already purchased my book, and some have purchased several copies. A school teacher who bought several of my books, exclaimed how much better it was to the first edition, which was very encouraging.

We have planned to have my official book launch at a special Primary School assembly Post-Covid. I did a presentation at this school a couple of years ago and they loved it and sold many books of which $5 from every book sold went to the school. The same school has already purchased 2 books for its library. Find out how your school or club can benefit also if you live in NSW here.

Please, if you have purchased, write a review on your website (as some of you did for my 1st edition and I was most appreciative) or in the Comments field at the foot of my BirdBook page or send it by email and I will publish it: ashley@aussiebirder.com

Enjoy your week and stay safe!

My Mission: To encourage young people to make good life choices, using birds to teach important life skills.

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.

Where Have the Pardolotes Gone? – The Spotted and Striated Pardolote.

Posted by aussiebirder on May 8, 2020
Posted in: Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Rainforests, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , . 9 Comments

Striated Pardolote

One bird that is being seen each year in decreasing numbers is the Pardolote, in particular the Spotted Pardolote. It is one of Australia’s smallest birds and resembles a gum leaf, having the body shape and the size, making it difficult to detect when feeding in the dark canopy high in a eucalypt tree. It feeds mainly on insects and Lerps. Because it feeds also on the Psyllid larvae as well as the Lerps (which is very sought after bird candy covering of the Psyllid larvae) it is attacked brutally and often killed by larger more aggressive birds, in particular the Bell and Noisy Miners.

Bell MIner eating Lerps from a gum leaf. Notice the brown spots where the leaf has died due to the Psyllid larvae.

This is because the Miners are known to harvest Lerps as a family industry, preserving the larvae to produce more Lerps. They have coalitions of police Miners to mark their territory to harass and attack intruders, thus keeping the Lerps and other foods to themselves.  Sadly because the Miners have learnt to lick the lerps and leave the Larvae, eucalypt trees can suffer stress and even die due to excessive guarding by Miners.

The Spotted Pardolote numbers are reducing each year as a result of bird aggression towards them, and their nesting holes being destroyed. Since they nest in soil embankments, making small tunnels which they fly into and out of, they sometimes build nests in soil piled at construction sites which later gets moved or used, thus destroying their nest, and sometimes both birds.

Here is a recent slideshow video honoring this amazing little bird. Enjoy:

Don’t miss out on the Book Launch offer while it is still on. Thank you to those both in Australia and overseas who have already purchased the 2nd Edition. If you want to know about the book “What Birds Teach Us” click here. If you want to take advantage of the special Book Launch Offer (only for a short time) click here.

Stay Safe and enjoy any opportunity to get out and about that you can to stay sane.

My Mission: To encourage young people to make good life choices, using birds to teach important life skills.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social Distancing in Local NP – A Beautiful Autumn Sunday

Posted by aussiebirder on April 7, 2020
Posted in: Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Outings, Rainforests, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , . 13 Comments

Golden Whistler male

In response to an email from NSW National Parks, my wife and I made our way to our local Royal NP for an exercise walk, after a week in isolation at home. It was interesting to see the police and ranger presence, but even more interesting was that there were more people present on this beautiful Autumn Sunday in the NP than I have ever seen at one time, and I am a frequent attendant. It was impossible not to pass another person, but of course always maintaining the 1.5 m distance. It was the most therapeutic option for us locals given the circumstances. Families playing together enjoying the sun on the grass, bike riders peddling past, and many couples and families walking the trails and dodging the many mud puddles along the way, evidence of recent good rainfalls. The creeks and waterfalls were all flowing again. At the start of our walk on each occasion we always scan the banks of the river where 80% of the time we spot the Azure Kingfisher (or its cousin the Sacred, or both). Sure enough my wife spotted it across the river on the far bank.

This beautiful little bird is always a delight to watch fly and fish. Funny to watch is his head as it bobs up and down every time he moves it. My wife is again the photographer of the stills, and these shots were from some distance away, I could not see the bird at all. As we walked we noticed how quiet it was with very few bird sounds, like last week. My wife was cautious, looking out for the Red-bellied Black Snake again, that we saw a couple of weeks ago. Sure enough it was again on the side of the trail hidden in the grass catching the warmth of the sun, hiding from all the passers by, and thankfully quite unperturbed by our presence.

Red-bellied Black Snake sun bathing

It was lovely to see many of the local Gymea Liliy plants preparing to send up stems. This park is known for them as they are a native plant endemic to the coastal areas around Sydney. We even have a town nearby called Gymea which the lily is named after. This healthy specimen has sent three stems up which will be flowering soon.

This is what the flower head will look like when it opens…

Since we were here last week the Banksia ericifolia flowers have started coming to full bloom, which becomes one of the main nectar sources for honeyeaters during the early Winter months, as does the Bush Fuchsia, flowering also at the moment. This Lewins Honeyeater is enjoying a feed.

We often would hear the high fast staccato call of this bird as it seemed to follow us down the track. You will get to see it calling in a later video in this post, and how it involves its whole body. Finally, we arrived at Bill’s Rock as us locals know it. This is where Bill a large male Superb Lyrebird flies up to from across the river, to make his way up the embankment on the other side of the track. The amazing Angophora tree is growing on top of the rock, where we and others sometimes sit and wait for Bill. 

Bill’s Rock with Angophora costata tree growing on top of it.

Lo and behold, we were both confronted with the sounds of several Golden Whistlers calling to one another nearby, quite out of character for the season, though they were communicating and the male was not delivering his courting and nesting warnings, as that season had passed.

We looked for them and finally laid eyes on both a male and a female. My wife took the lovely photo of the male featured at the beginning of this post. They called continuously to one another the whole time we were there. There may have been a youngster also as there were several callers.

Lo and behold again! We could hear Bill calling from below near the river, practicing his display for his courting dance and song, which consist of a repertoire of mimicry formed from the sounds of neighboring birds and noise making things. Listen as I identify some of the sounds in the following video. At this stage the Superb Lyrebird male is performing out of sight in the bush below the cliff face. He will have his tail feathers up over his head and will be dancing to his own music.

Here is another recording to listen to…

Finally, as we both stood together on Bill’s Rock, we saw him in the bush scratching for worms and insects in the leaf litter.

While he was calling continuously, our Lewins Honeyeater who was following us came to take a look at us. You will hear the Lyrebird calling in the background and at the end of the clip see and hear the call of the Lewins Honeyeater as he declares his presence.

We also caught a glimpse of this Eastern Spinebill, another nectar eater common to the park, usually in great numbers during the Summer months, but numbers are reduced due to lack of nectar producing flowers.

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OR  Continue and discover lessons we can learn which have been gleaned from today’s post. If you proceed please be aware, at times quotes from the Christian Bible and other sources are used with reference to my own personal faith context:

My Personal Bird Reflection for this Week

Several times I have posted the following photo when visiting the Royal NP because of the beauty and aspect of this Angophora tree as it hangs over the bend in the Hacking River. It is one of my favorite pics.  

These remarkable trees seem to grow in the most unexpected and impossible places, where other trees could not survive. The weight and size of the tree make one marvel at this tree, which almost crosses the river with its topmost branches, as it remains solidly fastened to the rock base. These trees appear to grow out of the rock. See also the tree on Bill’s Rock previous. 

Angophora costata (Sydney Redgum)

It is in times like the present, when many of us are having our ability to stand strong and secure tested, that we need to ensure we are firmly and securely planted. Many would say we need faith to ride the storm, but faith is of no use if it is not in something that is strong enough to hold us as we lean or falter. It is not faith that saves, but the object of our faith, what we are believing in that has the saving or securing power we seek that brings peace.  Even as we lean perilously out over deep river, it is not our ability to hold on that saves us, though it is an important factor, it is the solid, secure, unmovable rock my roots are fastened to.  Yes, it is the platform or base upon which our faith is grounded that holds us safe and secure, bringing peace in uncertain times. Jesus explains this using a parable comparing the house built on sand and the house built on rock. When they are tested, or put under trial, only one remains. 

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” – Matthew 7:24

“I waited patiently for the Lord;  he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” – Psalm 40:1,2

“The Lord has become my fortress, and my God the Rock in whom I take refuge.” – Psalm 94:22

Enjoy your week ! Stay Safe! We commence our staycation this week and will have to decide which part of the house we will travel to, since we are not travelling over seas as was the plan. 

My Mission: To encourage young people to make good life choices, using birds to teach important life skills.

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.

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