Oatley Park Reserve

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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.

 

 

Morning Walks Through the Local Reserve – Bird Territories

Posted by aussiebirder on August 26, 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, wetlands, wild flowers, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 15 Comments

During the very cold Autumn winds of the last week I have restricted my walks to my local Oatley Park Reserve which I have blogged many times over the years as a source of my local birds. It forms part of the important tree corridor allowing many bird species to navigate their course through busy suburban Sydney.

Australian Black-backed Magpie male
Chestnut Teal male
Chestnut Teal female
Eastern Water Dragon
Australian Black-backed Magpie male

It also is permanent home to many territorial species, such as Kookaburra, Magpies, Currawongs, Rainbow Lorikeets, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Wattlebird, Noisy Miner, Australasian Swamphen, Pacific Black Duck, Chestnut Teal, Brown Thornbill, Superb Fairy-wrens and Eastern Water Dragon. This means that the predictability of finding particular birds around the same location is high, at certain times of the year, when they are not nesting or having to relocate because of drought. These Eastern Crimson Rosella are seen here mostly at this time of year eating seeds from the native Casuarina trees as well as grass seed which is in abundance here.

Eastern Crimson Rosella
Eastern Crimson Rosella

While some species have returned, many are yet to find their way back, now that we have had good rain for several months. The walk never gets boring seeing the same birds or lizards as there is always some interesting behaviour or activity taking place as they share the forest and interact, for example this stand off with the Kookaburra and the Noisy Miner which later comes to nothing. See how the Kookaburra is crouched low and making strong eye contact with the Miner.

Also, this male Kookaburra (on LHS) has caught a mouse and has been carrying it about for some time, not eating it. Notice the look on the Kookaburra looking on “Aren’t you going to give me any of that !?” I am wondering if this will be a courting gift for some female Kookaburra as breeding season approaches, as some couple will soon be occupying the white-ant nest nearby.

This jerky video will give you a better look at the prey. The riot of Kookaburras have just finished giving their territorial call. Notice its low grade call continuing like a car that is idling, and ready to rev into full call again. They often do this, and sometimes will keep their engine cycling over for several minutes sometimes priming the riot to break into another full on round, but it soon stops when it sees what his companion continues to carry around in its mouth. The first sound you hear is that of the grating call of the Wattlebird.

Here is a different perspective from the same shaky video. It took a while for me to find the group under the dark trees. Notice how the tail of the one idling his call moves up and down with the call. Also listen for the response in the distance of another riot or family group of Kookaburras declaring their territory in response to the call of this family riot.

Another bird which is commonly heard calling with its raspy grating call, which was heard in the recent video background is the Red Wattlebird, but this time of year we also see the Little Wattlebird, which has no visible wattle at all, but an unusual patterned chest. This one is hunting in the lower canopy of the eucalypt trees for lerps, as it is one of our largest honeyeaters. Notice the hole in the leaf, this is where part of the leaf has died due to the Psyllid larvae killing the leaf where it was lodged. You can just see some of the white lerps where the bird is about to eat which is covering a new larvae.

When special seasonal birds appear, it is always an incentive to do frequent walks. This year we have been looking out for the beautiful and rapid moving Rufous Fantail which moves up to us from the south this time of year for warmer weather, but so far we have seen none. I am concerned they may have been one of the victim species lost in the massive bushfires that consumed much of the forests further south late last year. To see this bird fan its tail in the sunlight is brilliant, that is, if you can catch it fast enough.

Rufous Fantail fanning tail (some years ago)

Though one bird we seldom see but are delighted when we do is the Variegated Fairy-wren (see feature photo above), which I saw last week on one walk, but a couple of days later I did not see at all. People can mistake this bright little bird, when it is in breeding plumage with its cousin the Superb Fairy-wren which shares the same habitat in our forests. Compare them here. You can see the different features in the colouring, with an additional chestnut band on the back of the Variegated bird, giving it its name.

Variegated Fairy-wren in breeding plumage

What a delight to see this tiny insectivorous bird, which is found more inland than here with little family pockets along the coast.

Another bird we are seeing more of in our park as it forages among the reeds around the Ponds is a family of White-browed Scrubwren. These are also very rapid moving insectivorous birds which offer a challenge to the photographer. They always appear to have a serious or angry look on their face.

I did enjoy pursuing this family. Here are two young ones on a branch together wondering what to do.

Here is a quick clip to illustrate what I mean by their continuous fast movement.

Of course I seem to always see or hear the curious female Golden Whistler, and on some occasions see the shy male. These birds are often captured looking upward to the under canopy for food, which is quite a different parctice to other birds which just hang upside down to look.

The last species to showcase from my daily walks and is always found, regardless of season, ascending trees and calling with its sweet little purring sound is the tiny cute Brown Thornbill. Like other small insectivorous Australian birds such as the Fairy-wren and Scrubwren, have no need to migrate, as insects are always plentiful. These birds do cycles many times a day around their claimed territories, calling all the time they move to indicate that this is their territory to others of the same species, and to signal their location to other family members.

I love hearing the sound of this busy little bird every time I walk in my local reserve as it ascends the native Casuarinas.

Well our early Spring here has caused some beautiful wildflowers to appear, especially after the good rain we recently were blessed with.

I had to share this reflection on the still ponds.

In conclusion most birds were found foraging in the same area each day, with a few exceptions where either the bird was not found again, as it is rarer to see it, or it is in a part of its cycle away from the track. Each day always brings something fresh and new, especially when we go birding and ask God to reveal that something, and he always comes through for us.

If this is your first visit to my weekly birding blog, welcome ! While you are here why not check out the rest of my website. You can access it from my Home Page or the above menu. Also why not check out my book which uses the unusual behaviour of our Australian birds to learn helpful hints to live a healthy and happy life.

My thoughts from this weeks roaming of the local reserve come from this little female Chestnut Teal.

She is quite happy to wash and swim up and down this narrow channel while I stand only a few feet away and watch her, quite unperturbed. I posed her no threat and she perceived it, just like the one bold Noisy Miner that is almost a pet of mine, as he trusts me implicitly to watch him wash while I stand next to the bath. He often comes and sits on the chair back and looks at me as if he wants something, or wants to tell me something. All the other birds fly off as I emerge from the house, even the alpha male Magpie, the number one boss bird in our neighbourhood, but not this enthusiastic but trusting little Miner. Even if I make eye contact he does not leave, which is normally a threat to a bird, especially the intelligent Magpie, whom will not fly off if I walk past with my back to him.

My little friend

Noisy  mostly comes alone and shares his enjoyment of the swim with me by calling out to me. I have come to know his voice over time and will come out and watch him enjoy himself. He will look at me as he shakes himself off and stand for a moment and just look at me. He often leads the coalition to the baths and the others follow his lead. He visits throughout the day more than any other bird. I never feed him, just keep the baths filled and clean.  He gets his food from our native flowers in our yard and nearby eucalypts.

Friendships are all based firstly on Trust, as are all loving relationships. Trust allows us to be at peace and be vulnerable in the company of those we trust. Living in trust and being trustworthy have health benefits, which is why surveys have shown that people who have trust based faiths and belief systems live longer happier lives. Trust, Faithfulness and Integrity go hand in hand and sadly are is being eroded daily from our Post Christian society, where a man’s word was as good as a signed contract.  The adage still holds though:  a man is as good as his word. As Jesus said long ago: “You know a tree by its fruit.”  

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” – Matthew 12:33

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3: 5-6

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me;” – Psalm 28:7

Enjoy your week and stay safe and sane ! Our hearts and prayers go out to all in lock-down and those suffering the grief of loss, be it family, friends, job or income.

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.

 

 

Clash of the Cockies – The Early Aussie Spring

Posted by aussiebirder on August 12, 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, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 14 Comments

Silvereye

After several days of flooding rain, powerful seas and cold gale force winds causing much destruction along the coast, my wife and I decided to take a walk in our local Oatley Park Reserve to give our legs a workout. It was the beginning of our Australian Spring which always starts a few weeks earlier than in the Northern Hemisphere due to our hotter climate.

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo were quite noticeably out house shopping in pairs for their next season family, while the occasional youngster from the previous season, sat alone, silently looked on. Usually they will return to the same tree hole, but there is often conflict and squabbling over accommodation when other Cockies or Rainbow Lorikeets bid for the same dwelling. As we see below in this prime real estate with views, which is inhabited each year producing 2 offspring on average. See how they squawk and raise their cones when they get excited, which is often, as a pair defend their claim.

Home security
Defending the house claim

The beautiful Angophora trees are prime real estate due to the frequent holes left from the unusual way branches fall away. Usually their is some construction required by males when purchasing a new home. The male uses his powerful beak to gradually chew out the hole to the required size as the female watches on and gives directions as to how she wants the house sized up. This can take several days of hard work.

Others return to the same hole, which is already naturally formed for them. This guy is keeping watch and guarding his home, knowing full well that this is peek home procuring period.

Walking around the ponds area which were flooding, as storm water flows into it, a pair of Chestnut Teal rest, while a lone Australasian Swamphen makes lovely reflection in the almost birdless pond.

Chestnut Teal
Australasian Swamphen

This time of year when nectar blossom and flowers are very few, just before Spring, most of the seed eating Parrots are on the coast seeking seed baring cones from the previous Summer flowers. One is the Eastern Crimson Rosella. Of course the Rainbow Lorikeet is always here, nesting alongside the Cockies.

We also were delighted to see this tiny Silvereye in a mixed feeding flock passing through the park, which in some other parts of the world would be called White-eye. Both wrong – the eye is neither, it is only the ring around the eye that is white. 

A bird that is heard and seen all through this park is one of my favourites, the Grey Butcherbird. As you know I do love hearing my backyard friend singing all through the day.

As we made our way back to the car we heard the loud raucous alarm call of many Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, so we looked up hoping to see a raptor passing over, but nothing. As we walked we saw several people pointing off the track to trees with families of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. This was what the noise was all about. The Yellow-tails were resting and preening near the roosting area of the Sulphurs. As the saying goes ‘You seldom find Sulphurs around Yellow-tails‘ as the larger, more powerful, well organised and militant Yellow-tails will drive them out, especially when they have young with them, as these ones do.  I shared footage of this some years ago where we witnessed this process. 

The call of the Yellow-tail flock is unique, and like music to the ears of all birders. We always get excited when we hear their call, there is no other sound like it.

Yellow-tails usually only have one surviving youngster each year as can be seen in this little family preening together. The juvenile or immature sits in the middle next to the female as she preens it and the male usually sits a little bit away always looking out for the safety of the family, ready to act, as a good father/husband should. I apologise for the poor photos due to extreme back-lighting,as they were in front of the sun in diffused light.

 

The male has the pink eye ring, which the female lacks and is always keeping his eye on you. The good news for the Sulphurs, especially at pre-nesting time, is that the Yellow-tails will not be competing for nesting holes, they are just having a stopover, as they will most likely go back to the mountains in Spring to nest. 

Male with pink eye ring
Male with pink eye ring
female with no eye ring
female with no eye ring

Here is a male preening.

After a few minutes with all the human attention the flock leader gave the call and flew off and they all followed further into the valley to find more native Casuarina trees, where they feed on the seed cones, which you can see above and below is what they are resting in. Notice the piece of tail feather that broke off as it left.

Cockatoos are very destructive birds, especially to trees which has become a concern for conservationists and scientists who are trying to address the problem. The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is one bird that should never be fed by humans, as a flock bird they can become very aggressive if fed frequently and are quite capable of destroying verandas and houses (as they do to trees) when they don’t get enough of what they want, when they want it. The sometimes crazy and reckless behaviour of the young males is highlighted in my book.

Tourists are warned of the danger but thankfully they are usually one off situations. However, if one feeds a flock daily for a period of time it can be dangerous and people have been attacked and injured by the flock as the birds attempt to greedily and forcefully access the food. They constantly trim trees and sometimes ring-bark and kill them just for fun, or they may bite off the bark in search of witchetty grubs, a prized delicacy also for our original inhabitants. Look how this tree is left bleeding.

In conclusion, for those interested, having read last weeks post, the two young Crested Pigeon have fledged and survived the storms of the last few days, hanging on tightly to the tree throughout the gale force winds and teaming rain. A large aggressive abusive cohort of Noisy Miner attacked the nest a few days ago, and I managed to send them flying when I turned the hose on them. Now the pigeon family are going on daily excursions as they break in their wings and learn foraging skills.

If this is your first visit to my blog and website, I bid you welcome to my weekly birding blog. You may want to visit my Home Page where you can access other helpful information for birding and also helpful information that can be gleaned from studying the behaviour of birds. 

As I observed the behaviour of these two very different specie of Cockatoo, during our walk in the reserve, I noticed distinctly converse behaviour patterns. The quieter more solid family structure, within the well organised flock structure is vital to the emotional  security of the bird and in its intellectual development and future character. The more intelligent and disciplined Yellow-tailed is a quieter more organised bird than the raucous child-like showoff Sulphur-crested, which is part of the reason they can out maneuver and outsmart the Sulphurs. They work as a flock for the good of the flock. Their flock organisation skills are greater as they are more migratory and need to be committed to the flock, whereas the playful and crazy Sulphurs are more individual and competitive in their lifestyle, in the flock but more out for themselves. Sulphurs are more residential or territorial and do not migrate or fly far from their original roost and nesting area each day. It has been found that when Sulphurs don’t fly from their roosting area during the day, they will tend to be more destructive to the trees they roost in.

Organised squadron of Yellow-tails chasing and herding Sulphurs into a eucalypt tree
Sulphurs captive in the eucalypt tree while the remainder of the Yellow-tails feed free of them in the pine forest nearby

Notice in the rare photos above that though it appears the Yellow-tails are outnumbered 5 to 1 they are in control because they are working together to achieve a common goal, and achieve their goal with skill and commitment to the cause, whereas the Sulphur flock has no plan or answer as they are all out for themselves. This is how the empires of man throughout history rose and fell.

This is similar to the way community work together as a flock for the good of the flock, and not like the many who selfishly break the rules of the flock either to show off gloating over their achievements on Facebook or just refusing to conform or come under authority. It is flock cohesion and commitment to the common good of the flock that brings the reward of peace and security in life for everyone, and not the uncertainty and devastation that the dangerous selfish few generate. Maybe you can see a likeness to our current global situation. A braided rope is stronger than the sum of its individual strands.

‘The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.’ – Proverbs 12:26

‘If two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?’ – Ecclesiastes 4:11

Have an enjoyable week, stay safe and warm and those in lock-down stay sane and at peace by finding creative things to do.

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.