Thankfully my wife and visiting grandson managed to have a walk in our local nature reserve on a day that rain was predicted, but unexpectedly turned out to be a beautiful sunny winter morning. On our walk we were told by other birders that our Powerful Owl was quite visible, so we quickly made our way to the nesting tree, […]
Taking a walk in our local Nature Reserve my wife and i noted how quiet the Winter forest was in the non breeding season when many of the birds are feeding much quieter than in the Summer breeding months. We wondered how much quieter it might become if the H5 Bird Flue, which has now entered Australia’s south west, spreads […]
This week I focus on a bird that is endemic to Australia yet I seldom post but is quite unique and remarkable in how it spreads the Mistletoe which is an obligate hemiparasitic plant. Mistletoe grows and hangs from tree branches having been sown from the faeces of the Mistletoebird where the seeds of the fruit have been rubbed onto […]
Yes, it is that time again when the Powerful Owl nests annually in the same tree in our local Nature Reserve. We knew to start looking about now and we were pleased to spot the male already watching the nest from the same vantage point as previous years, always with a direct line of sight to the nest. The sun […]
It is most enjoyable to experience a week of lovely mild sunny blue sky Autumn days, a change from the unseasonable weather on the past months. We have been told we are heading toward a year bringing drought, heatwaves and bushfires possibly worse than previous years. My wife and I decided to have a day out together so we headed […]
On another of our beautiful warm crisp Autumn afternoons my wife and I took a walk along the rivers edge in Botany Bay to see if all the migratory waders had flown north for the winter, and yes, the beaches were bear and only gulls remained on the beach where they were often seen. We had missed viewing their breeding […]
We finally received a really lovely warm Autumn afternoon for a walk, so my wife and I asked a friend of hers to join us for a bird walk down our usual National Park track. After a tasty burger lunch from our local award winning burger shop we drove to our usual parking spot and commenced our walk. We did […]
Last weekend while recovering from our recent illness my wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary in the Capertee Valley in Gardens of Stone and Capertee National Parks staying at a luxury accommodation called Belle Bois (beautiful timber or trees) which we highly recommend which is owned and run by Wendy who is the chairperson of the annual Capertee Valley […]
The Spotted Pardalote is Australia’s smallest bird with a body length of only 8-10 cm (3.1-3.9 ins) and is one of the most difficult birds to observe since it feeds high inside the dark canopy of eucalyptus trees. Since its body is the shape and size of a eucalypt (gum) leaf it is able to camouflage itself from predation by […]
Australia is blessed with some of the world’s best mimicry birds. Many of our endemic birds have the ability to mimic and understand the language of other bird species that share habitat in their territories. Should one visit the rainforests in the National Parks along the east coast of NSW and Victoria, Australia, they may be surprised to hear flowing […]
This week, after last weeks bizarre anti-birding weather, our focus is on the Intelligent Design variations in the bills of some of our fresh water waders . The feature photo is of the Red-necked Avocet, a flock bird of around fifty to several hundred birds. They use a fast scythe action to scoop from the bottom of the shallow lake […]
Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve we just wanted to get out of the house and be out in the fresh air again, so my wife and I took off to the Nasho for our last walk of the year. Time to reflect and project into the coming new year, seeking our all wise God’s direction. It was a lovely […]
Last week I featured some of the new seasons bird babies. Today’s post features some more we saw on our walk through the Nasho a few days ago. Firstly, the feature bird was this juvenile Satin Bowerbird. we captured in a tree As with most juvenile birds, the plumage resembles that of the mother bird and is usually dull brown, […]
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 […]