Taking a quiet walk in my local Nasho park, It was interesting that most of the birds I saw on the walk were juvenile, or at least they were being guarded by very invested parents. But before my visit I watched our two juvenile back yard Crested Pigeon as they rested together on the rooftop, which was their favorite place […]
Our backyard has become a nursery for three of our local native bird species that frequent our birdbaths. In the last few days we were surprised to find two juvenile Crested Pigeon emerge with both parents. We thought something was happening again in our courtyard Bottlebrush tree that overhangs the birdbaths, where these birds usually nest each year. We were […]
Firstly I want to thank those who visited me at my pre-Christmas book signing event at Harry Hartog Bookstore – Miranda last Saturday. It was a wonderful time of sharing, answering questions and introducing my books. This week we will focus on two very peculiar endemic Australian bird species called the White-winged Chough (pronounced ‘chuff’) and the Apostlebird. Both species […]
We have been away this week on the other side on the west coast of Australia in Perth WA to visit family and also to photograph the occasional bird, so a post is not forth coming this week except for this follow up of the young Grey Butcherbird featured last post. which I saw and heard begging today after our […]
This is the final post for this series featuring several more lifers and the important cultural and spiritual connection between one bird species and the people of the Torres Strait Islands just north of Cape York, which we visit after finally standing on the very Tip of Cape York, Australia’s most northern mainland point. This is the sign that awaits […]
This week we travel further north up Cape York Peninsular through the town of Laura to the Lotus Bird Lodge where we stayed in a special retreat accommodation by the small lake known in Australia as a billabong where thousands of water birds of many species gather during the dry season and harmoniously dwell together, resting on and by the […]
As my granddaughter is spending a few days with us during her school vacation, so I will share a brief post of Australia’s only endemic crane which is known as the Brolga, which we saw on several occasions during our adventure north on the Cape. This name is derived from the Indigenous Gamilaraay word burralga for this bird. We were […]
Last weekend we spent the morning with a younger couple of ‘novice’ birders as they described themselves. This was our second outing together, and focused on Mt Annan Botanic Gardens in the hope that the endangered Swift Parrot flock, wintering here, which I had posted several weeks ago, were still present in the eucalypts of this park. Before we got […]
Finally a blue sky and a chance to walk again, though much damage had been done to tracks still filled with puddles of water from the intense rain in the recent week. I thought I would check out the nesting hole again where the resident Southern Bookbook Owl had been lodging, preventing the resident Powerful Owl from nesting again as […]
This post explores more birds from our Mt Annan bird dates. It is interesting how varied particular bird species nesting seasons are, especially for the Rainbow Lorikeet which may nest in Spring Summer or Winter Spring depending on the present food supply and prevailing weather conditions. We found several nests in old eucalypt trees near areas of flowering Grevillea ‘Superb’ […]
This is the final post in the series of our recent stay in South Bruny Island, Tasmania at Inala Nature Reserve. One of the birds we would have seen at Inala if it were Spring and Summer, when it breeds there in the Tasmanian Blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus pictured here), would have been the Critically Endangered Swift Parrot or ‘Swifty‘ […]
During our stay on South Bruny Island and also in the forests surrounding Hobert we managed to see many of the endemic birds and several of the endemic animals, which was a great delight for us. Endemic meaning they are only found in this part of the world and no where else. we saw one other lifer, the Tawny-crowned Honeyeater […]
Last week my wife and I travelled to South Bruny Island, Tasmania in search of the tiny, rare endangered Forty-spotted Pardalote which is now only found in small groups in the far south-west of Tasmania, Australia’s island state. After catching the car ferry across from Kettering, south of Hobart we drove from the North Island onto the South Island to […]
A cool brisk sunny Winter’s morning and we went for a walk in our local Nature Reserve to check out the activity at the owl nesting hole, as this year there appears to have been some disruption to the Powerful Owl (Australia’s largest owl) having its usual nesting hole now inhabited by the Southern Boobook (Australia’s smallest owl). It was […]
Now that the massive deluge has passed and many thousands of people on the mid north coast of our state are in recovery mode, counting their losses from flood and rain damage which includes loss of human lives, many farm cattle as well as pets and wildlife, washed out to sea – then – the sun came out and the […]
Finally, there came a day when I could walk in our favorite reserve after days of rain. While it was still overcast and my wife was busy teaching English for Living, I decided to take a walk alone and chat with God in the quietness of our Autumn forest, which is characteristically the most bird few month of the year, […]