Chestnut Teal

All posts tagged Chestnut Teal

Birding in a Heat Wave – What Birds Do When it is Too Hot

Posted by aussiebirder on December 2, 2020
Posted in: Australia, Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird Book, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Nature Reserves, Outings, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, Waders, water birds, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments

The last few days have seen the hottest temperatures for November on record here in Sydney, and much of NSW Friday 36°C (97°F) followed by Saturday 41°C (106°F) with an early morning temp of 30°C (86°F) making sleep an ordeal for many. In the midst of the Friday heat I set out see how the birds in my local reserve were faring, and found most of them sensibly taking the usual precautions for extreme heat, as Aussie birds have learnt to do. I thought it worthwhile to review the ways our birds deal with very hot Aussie days. You may be surprised to know that birds have a higher body temperature than most other creatures (around 40°C) which rises with their very active high metabolic rate.

1. Thermoregulation (panting): When it gets too hot for birds you will see them with their mouths open and silently panting to release heat from inside the body by evaporation in to the air from the mouth (beak). Birds pant like we do when hot for the same reason. One of interesting things each bird I saw on my walk  and even the Grey Butcherbird ‘Butch’ above and his son (below), when they visited the birdbath held their mouths continually open. The Grey Butcherbird seldom hangs around the birdbath, but today he and junior did.

Immature Grey Butcherbird
Immature Grey Butcherbird

As I walked through the reserve, no one passed me, I was alone with the birds, many very quiet in the heat of  hottest time of the day, but they mostly displayed the same cooling mechanism.

Aussie Magpie
Kookaburra
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Aussie Magpie
Dusky Moorhen in the heat
Kookaburra

2. Shade and rest (inactivity): One of the first steps to dealing with hot sun is to get out of its direct heat by resting under shade. Shade and resting under it, both together assist to decrease excess body heat, as work or burning energy with our bodies naturally produces heat, so to rest in the shade is a dual help. Most of the birds were standing or lying idle in the shade when I saw them. Interesting, the always very active Brown Thornbill was even allowing me to photograph it, a rarity.

Noisy Miners resting in shade
Brown Thornbill resting
Rare to see a Thornbill not moving
resting with his prey in mouth
Red Wattlebird
Sacred Kingfisher resting
Pied Currawong resting with prey in mouth
Sacred Kingfisher resting

I found that the several Eastern Water Dragons I saw on the track were actually sunning themselves in the shade, which is quite extraordinary.

Eastern Water Dragon in sunning position

3. Bathing in or standing in cool water: Water is a very effective means of quickly dissipating body heat, especially if the water is splashed over the areas of naked skin on the bird’s body, by lifting wings and thrashing, and lowering face under the water. This is why birdbaths maintained by thoughtful humans are a great asset to local Aussie birds, especially in heat waves. Birds know where reliable water is found, and tell their mates. They also know when you refill or refresh the baths, returning seconds later to use them. See my special article on birdbaths on my Homepage.  If a bird has not enough water for bathing, just standing in the water will assist to  thermoregulate their body temperature as their legs and feet  are actually cooling radiators for their hot body core. This why it is wise to place bird baths under trees in shade. It keeps the water cool and gives them safe fly in and out places to rest and preen.

Alpha Male Aussie Magpie standing quietly in cool water.

Cooling face first

Then the whole body

We saw these Apostlebirds when we were out west a month ago cooling off ona hot day, you may remember the the video.

Or these Rainbow Bee-eaters using the super quick diving in technique to bathe in a lake in Cairns. The video is half normal speed.

Our own local Noisy Miner coalition, headed by Noisy himself do the same,

4. Spreading wings and ruffling feathers: to expose underlying skin: This is usually done when there is a breeze and best after having a bath as the residual water helps to further cool them down. 

Eastern Great Egret with wings out to cool in the heat

These waterbirds showed no heat problem as they were in a cool shady part of the pond, and the water offered a good heat dissipation process considering they were in and on it most of the day. The juvenile Dusky Moorhen and the Chestnut Teal family seemed quite rested.

Dusky Moorhen juvenile
Dusky Moorhen adult watching juvenile
Chestnut Teal duckling

Lastly,  the flowering of the Australian Christmas Bush, is the bush herald of that soon to be celebratory season around the corner. It was lovely to see so much of it in full bloom even in the intense heat.

Aust. Christmas Bush flowers
Aust. Christmas Bush

 

Enjoy your week and stay safe and cool. If you are birding make sure you stay well hydrated and sheltered from the sun, with hat and sunscreen lotion. Be on the lookout on the path ahead for snakes sunning themselves on the track and stamp your feet in uncertain areas before proceeding.

My book “What Birds Teach Us” the perfect Christmas gift, is available here online or at any of the listed shops here.

 

It was interesting to find some birds of a specie faring poorly in the heat and others quite unaffected, as was the case for these two siblings, I always meet on the track (I call the twins) as they are always together, and are immature, almost mature late in their third year. They trust me and will allow me to stand and pass within inches without moving away. I found another lying in the blazing sun for several minutes. They usually do this to assist spreading their preening oil and to rid their plumes of lice, but today ? Magpies forage and feed on the ground unlike most passerines. Each bird is an individual and each is affected differently by their environment and lifestyle, similar to us humans. My wife hates being cold, and I love it, but I hate being hot and humid and she loves it. I enjoy red wine she enjoys white. She prefers appearance and I prefer practical. She hoards and I am tidy keeping a minimum of possessions. I enjoy being and working in quiet peaceful places whereas she loves having her music playing when she works or rests at home. Learning to respect and accept each others differences,  is an important aspect of love in any relationship –  we all need To Give A Little Love

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults [differences] because of your love.” – Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” – Ephesians 4:31 (NLT)

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud,  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged” – 1 Corinthians 13:4,5 (NLT)

 

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.

 

 

Winter Migrants Returned – We Are Good to Go for Summer

Posted by aussiebirder on November 5, 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, water birds, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 19 Comments

As we enter November, the last month of Spring, most of our Winter migrants have returned to their exact previous locations for their Summer stopover. Most of the passerine migrants spend our Winter in Far North Queensland, New Guinea, Indonesia and parts of South East Asia. One such bird I spotted calling in our local Oatley Park Reserve, to which it returns each year is the Dollarbird. A beautiful insectivorous bird that commonly sits on the top of dead trees or exposed areas. This one bird had no visible partner and was continually calling, possibly looking for a mate, who was not present as yet. I managed to catch some flight shots. The name comes from a the white marking on the wings which some bright sparl thought it looked like a dollar. The Indian or Common  Myna wing markings look more like a dollar than this bird.

While in the park it was good to see the Chestnut Teal family was doing well and had produced another Spring clutch, though they made it difficult for me to photograph them.

The Pied Currawong is also nesting in the park, and is making sure its nest is near sufficient nests and  nestlings of other small birds so it can feed its young. As you will know from my 2nd Edition, this bird is known to be the great opportunist, being one of our very cunning territorial Aussie birds. Now looking at his wings you could almost call him a Dollarbird also. The Currawong is a very unique Corvid cousin, omnivorous bird with many very interesting calls, and is often tricked by another migrant, the Channel-billed Cuckoo, the world’s largest Cuckoo, who replaces its eggs for its own, as I showed last year.

Here is a male and female Eastern Koel, I sighted recently in the Royal National Park, which is another returning migrant Cuckoo that uses Currawongs as a  surrogate to raise its young. The female bares the Cuckoo stripes and the male is black with a red eye and is sometimes mistaken from a distance as a Satin Bowerbird.

Female and male Eastern Koel
Female Koel spreading wings

So many people have asked me to identify this horrible noise that wakes them up very early on Summer mornings and of course it is the male and female Koels communicating. Can you imagine what it is like having a tree next to your bedroom with these in it ?!

Before sunrise and throughout the day the male location call.

Then there is the other migrant, the Channel-billed Cuckoo, the largest of all, which is also in our neighborhoods at present being constantly chased by most of our local territorial birds, as they know what these birds get up to.

Channel-billed Cuckoo in flight

Another horrible noise to wake up to…

My wife and I woke early yesterday morning to go on a birding date to the Nasho  (Royal NP) to see what new birds have flown in for the Summer months, with the hope of a nice breakie at the Nasho cafe to celebrate the 3rd, as we do each month to mark our wedding anniversary date. The track was still wet from recent good rains and at first we heard the sound of what sounded like a squeaking children’s swing in action, at least that was how my wife described it, and it was none other than the male Australian King Parrot, who landed alone nearby. He sounded and looked like he had recently matured and was calling for a partner, as these birds mate for life and are seldom seen alone.

One of his cousins, the Eastern Crimson Rosella appeared to be training a more immature bird and teaching it to drink.

People often mistaken the call of this bird for a Bellbird or Bell Miner.

It was early, and thankfully we were alone from noisy walkers, bike riders and joggers, with the melodic call firstly of the Grey Shrike-thrush nearby, though he was shy and did not want his photo taken.

As we walked along the track I could see this strange object sitting in the middle of the track. As we walked curiously with caution toward it we realised it was an unusual find, a immature Wonga Pigeon. This is a specific rainforest pigeon which is seldom seen and is endemic to our eastern rainforests. As I previously shared we have a variety of native Pigeons and Doves endemic to our rainforests which feed on the fruits from the forest such as fig and palm.

In the distance we could hear the haunting call of the Wonga, which we often hear early in the morning at the Nasho, but never see the bird. The Grey Shrike-thrust can be heard calling in the background.

As usual the male Golden Whistler were in full song and busily finding tasty grubs to feed on.

We were pleased to find the beautiful native Mountain Devil flowering again in the forest after 4 years of drought, and is a great supporting flower during winter for honeyeaters, especially the Eastern Spinebill.

Mountain Devil flower
Mountain Devil bush

Soon I heard the sound of the Scarlet Honeyeater, a very elusive, tiny and eucalypt canopy feeding bird. It was a challenge to actually get it against a cloudy sky as it called to its female mate.

The last photo gives you an idea how small this bird is, and why it is challenging to capture its photo as it mostly feeds on the canopy of very high trees and is constantly moving, only stopping to communicate briefly. We use to confuse its call with the Willy Wagtail and sometimes the Grey Fantail, but we are better at it now.

Another classic rainforest call that gets us on the run to search up the tree trunks is that of the White-throated Treecreeper, which we heard nearby and actually located for a minute. Though this bird is not easy to photograph when it climbs the dark side of the tree, as it does. In the sun it is quite splendid. He was removing bark in search of grubs and underlying insects as he walked up the tree calling.

But our best returning migrant find for the day was the Black-faced Monach which returns each Summer to the park. Sadly this bird hates getting its picture taken and will do everything to hide its face, thinking it makes hi invisible. So it hid in the dark under a tree canopy, so forgive the extreme enhancement.

I usually only detect this elusive bird by hearing its unique call.

Lastly, one rainforest bird we usually always see and hear is the male and female Satin Bowerbird, and we found this juvenile bird being harassed by Noisy Miners as it sat scared alone in a tree, and kept escaping from our camera. Immature birds resemble the female mother and the males will not start to show their mature satin plumage for up to six years.

By that time they should have learnt their mimicry repertoire and dance and have learnt to build a fashionable bower and decorate it.  We found a mature male nearby, also trying to elude us, as the males are the most shy.

My wife felt quite refreshed and happy after our birding date, especially as we enjoyed breakie, though it was quite noisy as they were laying topsoil and  turf to the riverside paddock.

I do hope you have a wonderful week, especially those out and about after extended lock-downs. 

If you are new to my blog and website, why not become a Follower and get an email of my weekly posts and learn about our interesting Australian birds and their unique behaviours. 

The good news is that we are getting closer to negotiating for the publishing of my next book, but there is much more work to be done, even though the book is basically completed. 

If you have not done so already why not view my latest YouTube video at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkRXWRR_uUA

 

Buy the Beautiful Bird Book – “What Birds Teach Us” – the perfect Christmas Gift !

Click on the poster below to find out more.

Each bird has its own unique call or in many cases calls. We identify the bird before we actually see it by its call, which then leads us to its location. Birders develop acute hearing due to their very mindful hobby, and it gives them the rewards they seek. Because many birds mimic other birds, especially the Lyrebird, we can sometimes be mistaken if we do not listen for the subtle nuances, this comes from listening carefully and noting the differences. Do you know what bird or birds this is? 

You would be looking for this bird, possibly for several of them.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Now what do you think it is ?

Here is a tricky one, what do you think this is ? 

Noisy Miner

 

And again, we reveal the truth. 

The tell tail sound of the Lyrebirds own call and interspersed beat it uses to dance with gives the sound away briefly. Yes we can definitely hear the call of both the Cockatoo and Miner but it is not them giving it, it is a copycat version, and a very good one at that since Lyrebird’s hearing and mimicry so outclasses all other birds in that it can make the sound appear like several birds calling at the same time and also alter the volume to sound like they are coming or going. All this with only three syrinx muscles instead of the usual four for Australian songbirds. Wow!  What about you Mr Lyrebird, your an enigma !

This is a lesson to us all that we may meet people who talk the talk but may not necessarily be walking the walk, and I confess there have been times in my own life where this has been true. We can think that when we meet people and they seem so nice and polite, appearing on the outset to be good, honest kind people living in happy loving family relationships. but this may actually be a front or copy of the person they are making themselves out to be at the time, and in actual fact there true nature and species remains hidden from us behind closed doors.

The Covid has been a relationship test for many families, and with it the increase in domestic violence and family abuse has been noted in our country, and is currently a major problem, and a stain on our civilized society. If we think this is the case for anyone, or any family we know at this time it is in their family’s interest and well being to help them get help, as often pride and shame prevent this until it is too late and injury, broken marriage or even death results as has recently been the case in our own country.

White Ribbon Australia: Prevent Violence Against Women is part of a global attempt to reduce the problem, not to punish men, but to help them get the help and counselling they need, as many of these problems stem from copying their own dysfunctional family of origin examples, which are being exacerbated by the inability to cope with their own current stress and loss of self esteem. My new book hopefully will help in a non confronting way to assist young adults in becoming aware of why they are and act the way they do, and what they can do to change this. If you know anyone who needs help: 1800RESPECT. 1800 737 732

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” – 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 (NIV)

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 Brings New Things – Birding Date with Table Service

Posted by aussiebirder on October 4, 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 11 Comments

Rainbow Lorikeet in flight

Having enjoyed the beautiful Spring weather on a birding date with my wife, I decided to have a break from continuing with Part two of our journey out west and share our latest birding date very early Friday morning in the Nasho (The Royal National Park). Early, to avoid the crowds that would come now that school holidays are underway, and early to hopefully see Lyrebirds and other people shy birds, that bikers, joggers and loudly talking  walkers often drive back into the bush on their approach. To our delight we were some of the first to arrive. It was a cool 11°C in the crisp valley air as we made our way along the trail, which initially was faily quiet but for the noisy Rainbow Lorikeets feeding on the eucalypt blossom.

As we continued the sound of the Whipbird nearby as the male and female were communicating, but they both remained illusive as per usual. Several groups of Golden Whistler were in song along the trail, each singing a different tune. We only managed to catch one male just after he caught some food. He held on to it and waited for us to go before leaving for (what most likely is) the nest, since her did not eat it immediately.

The native wild flowers were in bloom as many varieties lit up the trail. This variety of Red Spider Grevillea had an Eastern Spinebill feeding from it. These nectar rich flowers feed our many Honeyeaters, as they grow in our very nutrient poor Australian soils, this is a miracle in itself.

The very large Gymea Lily flower which has been developing for months is finally in full flower throughout the park.

Here are some of the other unique and beautiful wildflowers currently in flower in our park.

As expected this early in the morning we came upon this female Superb Lyrebird foraging for worms and insects. This rainforest bird spends most of its life scratching through leaf litter and moist soil for its food, and only flies out of necessity to avoid danger or cross the  river. The female is easily identified by its rufous throat and very plain tail plumage.

Female Superb Lyrebird.

As usual the Eastern Yellow Robin followed us for a bit of the way, from tree to tree. This bird feeds from the ground also, and would currently be nesting and out looking for food.

Suddenly the lens is pointed skyward as we both excitedly hear the call of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo and saw this pair fly over head.

As we walked on the buzzing sound was heard in a nearby tree, the classic call of the Satin Flycatcher which I only managed these two shots.

As we walked deeper into the rainforest we heard the classic sound, we had never heard here in our own Nasho, but had heard in others, the sound of a pair of Green Catbird calling to one another. This usually occurs at night, but here as loud as anything we heard and finally with much effort finally sighted this very elusive bird which is very shy and very difficult to see in a dark canopy. The Catbird is actually a member of the Bowerbird family and has many attributes like the Bowerbird. Listen to what we heard:

These were the only decent enough photos one of the birds would permit us before leaving.

You can appreciate why this bird is so difficult to locate in a dark rainforest, and this photo has been light enhanced.

We commenced our return along the track on our way back to dine at the park Cafe which now for the first time on many months (pre-Covid) now with the return of table service, for their beautiful cooked breakie we love, to celebrate our anniversary for tomorrow. Oh, I best remind you if you are unaware, we celebrate our wedding anniversary every 3rd of every month, as it was on the  third of the third we were married. This allows us to ask each other how we are going and assess what we can do better, a good practice for a good marriage. As we walked we heard a an immature male Superb Lyrebird practicing hsi courtship song and dance from a very young age, considering he still had his tummy fluff, and resembled his mother with rufous throat and plain tail, but with male plumes finely developing beneath it on close observation. As will most juvenile birds they resemble the female until they approach mature breeding age around 4-6 years. By then they should have learnt and perfected their repertoire of many different bird sounds and dance routine to his own beat. Watch and note that this one has not developed his song list and most of his sounds are his own specie sounds. Note in the second part of the video he is starting to move his wings with is beat song.

This the very early stages of his dance being constructed, which he will perfect with much enthusiasm with daily practice for the next few years, and all for his few moments on his performance mound to impress females enough to mate with him. Notice he even practices his vocabulary as he preens, which made me chuckle.

As we came to the Big Fig Tree where many of the fruit eating birds are currently feeding as ripe native figs are on offer, we looked for Satin Bowerbirds which frequent it, and could be heard with their purring call. Both male and female were present feeding, but also very shy, especially the male, as usual. The male has the beautiful satin plumage and the female the olive green patterned chest with olive brown primaries.

Mature female Satin Bowerbird

As we looked, to our pleasant surprise, we sighted a small flock of Top-knot Pigeon, a bird we had seen some weeks ago feeding from the palm fruit deeper into the rainforest, which they had finally depleted. Most of the rainforest birds are native  fruit eaters. They do not normally eat nectar, lerps or seed as most other passerines.

Finally we made our way to the cafe where we sat outside and had a wonderful breakie served by very efficient and friendly staff. We were greeted with a very excited “We have table service now, please take a seat and we will come and take your order.” It was only a few weeks ago where we were served outside through a window and had to sit out on the grass distanced from each other. We are very pleased with our government and their handling of the pandemic in our state and pray they be given wisdom to navigate us through it daily. We are blessed to be living in one of the worlds best managed states. This is the photo my wife took while waiting for our meal. A Waratah flower (our NSW state floral emblem) on our table next to her very good and compact binoculars (she purchased at the London Wetlands Centre) and her summer hat.

Welcome to my blog, especially if this is your first visit to my website. Check out my Home Page menu to discover  more. If you have not already done so check out my book, it will make the excellent Christmas or Birthday gift, especially for a young person. To find out more click here.

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Spring is the time of hope, new life and new beginnings. We saw Dusky Moorhen with their new babies busily feeding them. So dependent, so trusting, so ready to learn and grow strong. As their parents feed them, they are also learning where and how their parents are retrieving their food. This will soon become their way of life also, there means of survival, so it is important they observe and learn, and not just wait to be fed, thinking this will be their future. Watching to learn.

Nearby the Chestnut Teal family, foraged. These little ones knew what to do as they are now copying their parent’s example, but still they are in the process of discerning what is edible from what is not. They soon realised after ingesting indigestible matter what is food and what is not. Here the parents are able to rest a while as they watched their keen young students practice what will become their way of life. Practicing to become Independent.

Every aspect and moment of our lives is teaching material for us to build on and grow in wisdom and character from, in a similar way to these young ones above. The most constructive and positive take on life is that we learn from its difficulties and challenges. As a CEO has hanging above his head in his office “There is no such thing as problems only challenges.” and likewise my saying concomitantly agrees saying to always look for the Treasure in the Trial. I believe there is a purpose in all of life’s buffetings and challenges, it all develops character and respect if we choose to learn from them.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4

For those of us who believe that their loving Creator Father God is working in their life to grow and mature their character:

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?  If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.  Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:1-11 (NIV)

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.