The Royal National Park

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The Quiet Forest of Autumn – Unexpected Findings

Posted by aussiebirder on March 24, 2020
Posted in: Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Outings, Rainforests, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, Waders, water birds, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments

Green Parakeet

As we globally enter the season of social distancing and voluntary isolation, life as we have known it has changed. Thankfully, we do have our National Parks and Reserves to escape to, to bring healing and some normalization to our lives at this uncertain time in history. Though this also could change in the coming days. My wife and I continue to escape when we can to these havens. Last week we visited Dolls Point to see how our wader friends the Bar-tailed Godwit are doing, as they eat incessantly to fatten themselves for the journey north, which I thought they may have already flown. But with the warm weather remaining longer, they may leave  in the next week or two.  

As you can see they are at various stages of breeding plumage, with the male in this clan brightest orange and the females now showing a much fainter orange. There are also some not showing any breeding plumage which may be immature.

This Godwit below is possibly a female, showing the lighter breeding plumage. The females are also slightly larger and have slightly longer beaks.

A small company of Light-blue Soldier Crabs marched across the mudflats.

As we watched the Godwits to our surprise my wife noticed this small bright green object, which stood out like a sore thumb on the sand. We knew it was a native bird of our country, and suspected it to be an escaped pet as Green Parakeets are American birds. It appeared quite tame and came right up to us, but was not in any distress, but just rested on the sand with other birds nearby.

One think I have learnt as a birder over the years is that birds of the Parrot family as pretty and innocent as they look, are not to be reckoned with lightly by other bird species. They have one of the most painful bites. Even the Noisy Miner gives respect to the Rainbow Lorikeet here in Sydney. Watch how this much larger Silver Gull responds when he approaches this lovely little Parakeet.

Well if you think that this was an unexpected find, so was the much larger bird resting on the shoreline which caught our attention. Yes, it was a Kelp Gull, a bird we seldom see here on our beaches. The lipstick bottom beak identifies and differentiates it from the total lipstick beak of the almost identical Pacific Gull found in southern Australia.

On Sunday afternoon we walked in our local Royal National Park (or Nasho to the locals) , and found not only sparsity of people but also of birds. It was so quiet, as I kept saying to my wife, “It is so quiet! Autumn is usually quiet, but this is too quiet!” As we walked the streams, creeks and waterfalls were all flowing, which was a wonderful sound we have not experienced for a long time. As searched for the Azure Kingfisher beside the river we were greeted by a family of Pacific Black Duck, which are actually brown, not black as named. Yes, these are my wife’s pics, as I continue to wait from my lens repair.

Pacific Black Duck
Pacific Black Duck

This Dusky Moorhen stood by the water flicking its tail, a feature of some waterbirds, including the Australasian Swamphen.  There are several ideas as to why they flick their tail of which I find too diverse to settle on one. We do know it communicates to other birds of the species, some say it may mean a warning or even intention to mate among other suggested reasons… mmm! 

Soon after a young pair of Australian Wood Duck were strolling by the river eating grass seed, as this is what many grazing ducks and other passerines are eating at the end of Summer as the seasons change. Also, on this occasion the Kingfisher eluded us and flew some distance down the river.

As we walked quietly along the trail we  were surprised there were no scratchings of the Lyrebird, nor any sounds of them. Since the months of smoke from bushfires I have not seen or heard them. It is disconcerting, as at this time of year the male will be preparing his mound and beginning to display for the females and mate, as Lyrebirds nest during the winter, unlike most birds. Suddenly, we heard a chattering nearby. It was a single Red-browed Finch, a fast moving little a seed eater.

I had to slow down this video clip so you could see him.

At this time of year there are the least number of nectar producing wildflowers, which means less birds, as most honeyeaters follow the blossom. Even the Banksia were all finished, and as Mountain Devil is not usually seen in the park, the Bush Fuchsiar flower was present in small numbers, which provided food for the non migratory Noisy Miner, which many find hard to believe it is actually a honeyeater, so here is the proof. 

The tingling of the Eastern Crimson Rosella also caught our ear as it proceeded to feed from native berries above our head. On seeing us of course it tried to make itself unseen.

Another unexpected surprise for this time of year was to see a juvenile Black-faced Monarch. These birds usually migrate north to New Guinea and Northern Queensland during our winter months, so this one, born here in the park has not yet left. So we knew the parent was nearby. We saw the parent but it eluded any decent photo. The immature Monarch has much less black on its face. As it matures so the black increases. I slowed down the video so you could see its face before it flew. They are very shy birds, and don’t like their photo taken.

Here you can compare the juvenile and immature with the adult bird. There bright orange underbelly makes them easy to spot. These birds have a beautiful song which often makes them easy to find, but they were not chiming on this occasion.

Black-faced Monarch juvenile
Black-faced Monarch immature
Black-faced Monarch adult

Last of all as we turned to return to our car, my wife saw this Red-bellied Black Snake slithering away beside us on the trail. These are venomous but usually a shy snake,and and seldom cause any problem. They are the most common snake seen in the Sydney area. Unlike other more aggressive venomous snakes, Red-bellies do not need to hibernate through the Winter months. Often to the surprise of many international visitors to the Nasho they can be seen basking in the warm winter sun on the trial. If you approach stamping your feet, usually they will slither into the grass, as they have very poor eyesight and like most snakes have sensory devices on their body to detect ground vibrations. If they stand erect  and challenge you, it is usually because they have young with them or you are standing between them and their nest, so just leave.

To top off the walk and having asked God to show us something special in the quiet forest, my wife potted a large entwined object hanging far out over the river, from a dead tree. It was a large Diamond Python, a beautiful harmless snake which many Aussies have as a pet. They are excellent mousers and ratters, far more effective than cats.  Though my son’s little Toy Foxy dog was also better than cats as a mouser. It just slept in the afternoon sun, away from any contact. It must have heard the Prime Minister’s speech about  practicing social distancing.

One of the important lessons from this virus plague is that it stops us in our busy tracks to consider how we are doing life, and how we might do things better. As from our two outings above, things were different, some were unexpected intrusions or inclusions. How we view change affects our emotional and physical well being considerably. The uncertainty of the untraveled path we are all travelling causes some anxiety for many, but one thing which I have come to know and believe over the years is that there is a Treasure in every Trial to be gleaned out. So I often say to those who ask for help: Don’t Miss the Treasure in the Trial. God may speak to us through our times of suffering and difficulty, and sometimes it is just a nudge to tell us he is there for us so just trust him and lean on him to take you through it.  Unexpected change can bring good things into our lives also, we need to be looking for them with an attitude of gratitude as we all take notes in the Master Life Instructor’s school room of life.

 

Enjoy the rest of your week and stay safe as best you can.

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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The Bird Everyone Loves to See – The Rainbow Lorikeet

Posted by aussiebirder on January 28, 2020
Posted in: Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Outings, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , . 4 Comments

A Rainbow Lorikeet guarding its nest in a hollow of an Angophora costata tree.

This week I will do a character study on one of Australia’s most colorful and popular birds, which people who visit Australia love to lay eyes on, the Rainbow Lorikeet. As my camera lens was wounded due to a fall, it is to receive medical attention, so I apologize for the lack of clarity with some of these photos. This bird is one of our most excited and numerous of the Parrot family often found alongside the larger and raucous Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo warding off a stranger (me) as it guards its nest

Both birds are found down the east coast of Australia’s mainland and are often heard before seen. Both birds share the same kind of nesting tree, the Angophora costata (Sydney Redgum) found in large numbers along the coast.

Angophora costata (Sydney Redgum)

These birds bite out pieces of the dead wood where the tree branch has broken away, leaving a hole, to make a nest. The Angothora tree is a beautiful unique work of art, often called an artists delight due to its unusual branch structure and beautiful orange/pink coloration. It was also is known as the widow maker in days past, as it drops branches silently and without warning causing many casualties. This time of year they shed their bark and remain lighter colored till they regrow a new exterior.

watching from the nesting hole
warding off potential threat

The Rainbow, as we call it, we hear every morning chattering and calling with its high pitched noisy communication as they feed  from our Bottlebrush flowers. They’re favorite foods pollen are nectar from native flowers, as well as insects, fruits as well as their bird candy lerps and psyllids, which most of our small passerines also enjoy. 

Have a careful look at this footage and notice how the Lorikeet uses its tongue to extract food from the nectar rich Endeavour Bottlebrush

As many of you will already know from reading my book ‘What Birds Teach Us’, Rainbows mate for life, and if you see them they will almost always be in pairs, excitedly flying at great speed together, calling to each other, and maneuvering with themselves in amazing accuracy. If a partner dies there is a grieving process similar to our own, and most sad to watch. They will go and fly with a flock.

Similar to the Cockatoo, these birds despite their size, are respected by all other birds, even the ultra aggressive Noisy Miner, as the Rainbows can inflict a serious injury if they are messed with due to their very strong sharp beak. Their vulnerability to raptors and their nestlings to Kookaburras and Currawong are their major points of concern. Nesting close to Cockatoos can be an advantage due to the group evasive action of the Cockies when danger approaches. The Cockatoo crest is a physical indication of the bird’s emotional state at the time. When the bird becomes excited or alarmed it will raise it and when it is resting or sick will flatten it.

Gaurding the nest after the alarm is sounded

Listen to the noisy chatter of a small flock feeding. They have dominance wherever they go when in flock.

There are two distinct subspecies or races [some call the Red-collared Lorikeet (race rubritorquis) a separate species rather than subspecies]. The Red-collared subspecies is only found far north in the states of WA and NT, having a distinct red collar, unlike the green of the east coast Rainbow (race moluccanus). We always love looking for the Red-collared when in Broome, WA.

Rainbow Lorikeet
Red-collared Lorikeet

The juvenile Lorikeet looks much the same as the adult except that it has a dark beak, dark eye and less red on its chest, as seen below with its adult parent.

juvenile with adult

The immature still has slight traces of its juvenile features as it approaches breeding maturity and the bright red beak.

immature lorikeet

One of the things i love about this bird, as with other Parrot species, in particular the Little Corella, is the affection and companionship exhibited between the devoted pair.

This is one bird, like the Cockatoo, that has survived the fires, due to their widespread location and their abundance, however many may have been lost due to the many who would have been caught nesting, as Spring and Summer are the nesting times. The sad thing is that many birds born this season may have been lost due to fires marking a considerable short fall in new bird numbers this year. Watch and hear some live footage of these birds happily feeding.

Here are a few flight shots I managed to capture at high speed.

If you would like to check out my new book releases for this year click here.

If this is your first visit to my blog, check out the rest of my birding website from my Home Page. I post a weekly blog which you can follow (see Follow button at top of page). Also check out my coming book releases. You can still purchase the book referred to in this post, there are a few left for purchase on this website only. 

Lastly, consider these shots of the parent guarding its nest which is deep inside the dead portion of an Angophora tree, trying to ascertain my purpose in observing it. We were just about ten feet away enjoying our Australia Day breakfast with church friends, no one else appeared to notice this colourful head emerging and then disappearing into the hole in the nearby tree.

Notice the head tilt which is common with birds of monocular vision allowing them to observe food or in this case possible raptor overhead with one eye positioned. Birds also have a very acute hearing which allows some species to hear grubs and bugs moving below the surface of the soil, which is useful when they are on the ground dining. We saw this recently with our Magpie. 

The Rainbow Lorikeet keeps watch over its young, sharing the role with its lifetime partner (not pictured here). This  is why these birds survive and breed so well, they are a team and they work together to achieve their goal. The male will be responsible to train and protect the fledgling when it emerges. As a family they will fly together in constant communication as they excitedly feed and chatter to one another. In a good functional family environment, good communication is most important, It is through the words and actions of the parents that children learn how to live, feel safe, loved and cared for. It is how we learn the skills of life and understand who we are.  It is important to add that it is not the words alone but the attitude with which they are transmitted that has the greatest affect on the positive growth and maturity of the hearer. 

‘Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.’ – Proverbs 3:3

Have an enjoyable week and stay safe!

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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After the Smoke has Cleared and the Rain had Come…

Posted by aussiebirder on January 22, 2020
Posted in: Australian Birds, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Outings, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, water birds, wildlife. Tagged: , , , , , , . 10 Comments

Azure Kingfisher waiting for a meal to appear (a survivor)

We rejoice and give thanks for the recent rain and cooler days we just had, though some areas experienced powerful lightning bolts (which destroyed our NBN router), powerful winds bringing down trees and destroying houses and cars. Our national capital Canberra had a massive hail storm being pelted with golf ball sized hail which destroyed  or damaged many cars and houses, taking out many windscreens. Other areas were flooded causing damage and accidents, while in other areas the fires continue their uncontrollable destructive course.  Ah well! at least we got rain, as sadly many drought ridden areas got none or very little. This created another serious problem massive 300 km wide dust storms, lifting our choice dry top soil into massive clouds and creating an eerie night for many towns in the middle of the day. Here is a photo of Australian top soil staining the ice, having been blown over 2,000 km (1,200 miles) across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand in 2006 and was deposited on the Fox Glacier on the South Island. On top of all this our holiday season tourist trade has suffered a great loss, as have many businesses burnt down,  cattle, orchards and farms wiped out all due to fire devastation, and its not over yet.

Australian soil on the ice of the Fox Glacier

Now to a brighter note, where we live in Sydney, the last week we have had cooler weather, the smoke has cleared and much appreciated heavy rain for a couple of days making the grass green again. While many parts of our burnt nation grieve their losses, we also grieve the many wildlife and forest losses, and the possibility that many birds and some animals may either now be extinct or on the brink of extinction.

Regent Honeyeater critically endangered species

Many of our rarer bird species are found in sometimes in very small pockets of forest making their existence very vulnerable to destructive fires. The truth will be revealed later in the year. For now the urgent cry to governments is to get active to exterminate the ferule foxes and cats which are killing the surviving suffering wildlife. Koalas have been declared, in many parts of our state as functionally extinct. Meaning that due to the extreme and total loss of habitat (eucalypt tree leaves their only food) in large areas, the surviving rescued animals cannot be placed back there, but have to be relocated to the remaining unburnt forests that have the tree leaves they require. The poor creatures do not know what to do or where to go without our help, as you can see below…

 

As the summer school holidays continue, we had the privilege of having our grandson Jesse stay a few days. With binoculars, camera and hat we made our way into the Royal National Park, which thankfully is one of the unburnt areas of our state. On arrival at the gift shop and cafe Jesse noticed an important item and drew my attention to it.

At first we decided to walk along the river in search of the Azure Kingfisher which we always love to show our grandies, and lo and behold he was just where we looked, fishing for his next meal, so we watched while I captured the sequence below. This is a small brightly colored and very human shy bird found mainly along freshwater rivers and lakes. It is stunning when flying in bright sunlight.

Azure Kingfisher looks over the river
Azure Kingfisher waiting for a meal to appear
Sees fish and takes a dive
down beneath the surface it captures fish
emerges with fish in beak
flies back to tree
rests with fish in beak
quickly consumes fish and sits waiting again

What a treat for Jesse! On our walk along the forest road we noticed how dry everything was, and how we hardly heard or saw a bird, which is unusual for this time of year when the forest is usually full of song especially from the Golden Whistler which was no where to be found. I mentioned that we would usually see the Eastern Yellow Robin about here, and lo and behold there it appeared, a young one.

We saw a juvenile Grey Fantail also. I mentioned to Jesse that both these birds have a habit of following you along the track being very curious, but also hoping we will cause food to appear by our movement along the track.

We were hoping to see and hear a Superb Lyrebird as that would have been a real treat for him but there were no sounds or even signs that they had recently been on the track. Possibly like many of our birds they had fled due to the thick smoke of previous months or the dryness of the drought. As the rainforest floor dries out (something never heard of previously) their food source diminishes causing the, the Bazzian Thrush and the Logrunner to go deeper into the moister forest floor for food. However, as we rested we sighted this most unusual looking bird the Top-notched Pigeon. Take a look at its appearance, its hairdo and makeup. We thought there were only two, but when it flew off another twenty followed. These are native fruit eaters, and may be finding it difficult to find food as many trees are stressed and not flowering or producing this year.

Of course there is always a Superb Fairy-wren on our visit to the Nasho, and it always heard right next to where we park the car, almost on every occasion. He draws us away from his family, with his bright breeding plumage.

We discovered this Eastern Water Dragon female resting on a log. It was not at all concerned by our presence or passers by. The males have a bright red/orange chest which intensifies during breeding season.

One feature which reappeared during Jesse’s stay was that of our Australian Eastern (Black-backed) Magpie, which I continually gave him instruction and quizzes on during his stay. Here are some interesting photos we took of a juvenile Magpie morphing its plumage to an immature. Notice how one side of the bird is changing at a time (last photo). Important changes to look for in identifying juvenile birds is dark eye and beak color, often fluffy  marbled bellies and brown or tawny plumage.

Juvenile Aust. Magpie tuning in his senses
Immature Aust. Magpie with morphing plumage
Immature Aust. Magpie from one side
Juvenile Magpie molting to Immature

While Jesse was watching a pair of our resident male Australian Magpies (note: alpha male on right and almost mature male on left). This series was shot by Jesse with his camera, as the Magpies, quite conscious of our interest, continued to perform their ablutions unafraid. This highlights the fact that these Maggies know and trust me as their friend, though he did keep an eye out occasionally.

Meanwhile, Jesse  just kept clicking away as the alpha male took his bath and then preened himself before leaving. Those studying this bird, like myself, may have interest in some of these images. The male on the smaller bath just sat and observed the whole time and was not sure if it would indulge itself.

Let us now trace the washing preening sequence Jesse managed to capture. We believe the reason these birds came, being as intelligent as they are, they knew that this water was frsh rain water that had fallen yesterday and not the less desirable town water which has been chemicalized. I know the difference because when I lived on a property some 20 years ago we had only rain water for drinking and washing, and the difference is amazing,

(1) Bathing:

He starts by just standing for a short while in the large bath, which he knows is his.

 

He then proceeds to wash his beak thoroughly. Remember that Magpies do not hunt their food in trees, they are ground feeders and are constantly thrusting their very sharp steel like beak into the hard earth to find food, so it gets quite dirty. Meanwhile the lesser male continues to stare into the water.

He then follows by fully amercing his front and sides, constantly shaking off water to ensure thorough cleaning in under feathers as well as remove pests and loose feathers etc…

 

 

He then lifts his upper wing plumes to wash his back and secondaries…

This takes a little time as he ensures he is fully wet.

He then leaves the water to rub his beak clean on the back of our metal courtyard chairs…

He now looks quite beraggled and disheveled and prepares for the next stage…

(2) Preening:

The washed male now pokes his beak into his preening gland at the base of his tail where he draws an oily waxy substance. 

He now proceeds to run his tail feathers through his beak coating them with the substance, which he does to condition his plumes, waterproofing  them and helping strengthen them from becoming brittle. 

This process takes a few minutes, where on this occasion he concentrates on his long tail plumes.

 

Having finished some preening he is ready to leave. But take a look at the complex and neatly packed and folded wing and tail arrangement. Only intelligent design could have created such a marvelous flight machine.  He flew into the Frangipani Tree giving me his thank you look indicating that he will be back same time tomorrow for more to be sure, and with his understudy in toe leaves.

Then the Noisy Miner comes for its turn, but only after our neighborhood’s most powerful and dominant bird has left. It is amusing to watch how all the other birds scatter when the alpha male flies in. The Miner checks that it is safe before getting wet.

Here is some live footage Jesse captured. Oh, I forgot, the understudy finally took the plunge just before he left. I think he may have waited as a sign of respect, or possibly still learning how to bathe the Magpie way as all their behaviour is learnt over a 3 to 4 year period.

The Second Edition of Book 1 is with the publisher and almost ready to check its first draft. The following link will take you to a page which I will update as we move closer to launch date. Click here to view information about both the Second Edition of Book 1 and also Book 2. 

It was interesting that just before the alpha male got quite wet, the lesser male started communicating to another Magpie in the distance, to which the alpha male joined in briefly. Magpie communication is one of the most complex of any language or call, and some scientists have devoted their life work to studying it. These birds during their warble are able to move between two octaves in a millisecond. 

Magpies are known to warble for sometimes over an hour to one another from a distance, in this case the distant call was was inaudible to us humans.  Magpie and most all bird hearing is so much more acute than ours, which is why they may fly off at the slightest sound. These birds can be taught to talk human words and phrases, as many of our birds can mimic. It is interesting also that the Magpie made a choice to place communicating above his bathing ritual, which was a most enjoyable experience in fresh rain water. It can not be stressed enough that the priority of good communication is the most important principle to any relationship following that of trust. Like the Magpie we must first prime our ears to silently listen carefully before replying. We need to make sure we understand what is being said, and if we do not ask for explanation. Most relationship breakdowns are over poor communication skills being employed. The most successful and proven way of listening well with empathy and to gain understanding, used by counselors, is Active or Reflective Listening.

Magpies wait for the other communicating Magpie to finish when communicating to another, they do not interrupt but wait their turn (of course when they call together in the morning chorus this is not the case). This is a skill not easily becoming to us men as we tend to want to fix everything with our answer. It is a lesson constantly being learnt by myself and my male friends.

‘Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” –Stephen R. Covey.

‘One of the most sincere forms of respect is to listen to what others have to say.’ – Bryant H McGill

‘We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.’ – Epictetus

‘Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry’ – James 1:19

Have a great week and STAY SAFE! 

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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In Springs New Things – The New Generation of Birds

Posted by aussiebirder on October 24, 2019
Posted in: Australian Birds, Australian wildlife, Bird watching, Birding, Birds, Birdwatching, Fauna, National Parks, Nature, Outings, Royal National park, Sydney, Australia, Uncategorized, Waders, water birds, wildlife. Tagged: , , . 14 Comments

Sacred Kingfisher

Now here we are well into Spring, where we hear the father whistlers sing, announcing to the world they  bring, their joy for a new and marvelous thing…  new life ready to begin.

Spring is a beautiful time of year to go out birding. There is so much activity and song in the bush as new families are established. For some it is their first season, and others they have lost count, having brought possibly a hundred new lives into the world. This activity is centered around nesting, providing for the nest, protecting the nest and training the new nestlings/fledglings. In this post I will share some of these activities I noticed this week,

1. Nesting: Eggs are laid by female bird and then incubated as she keeps them warm and covers them with her body to protect them. Sometimes the male may help, depending on the specie. In many cases, such as with the Black-winged Stilt which are nesting in Olympic Park, Sydney, the male will keep watch to ward off intruders. The nest is a simple hollow on dry grass next to the lake.

Thankfully, special artificial islands were created for nesting well away from nosy birders, which have proven to be a great success. Yes blue-green algae has been a problem after a hot winter drought. 

2. Protecting Nest, Nestlings and Fledglings: There is a lot of aggressive activity at the moment between species that usually co inhabit territories. We saw a few weeks ago the merciless aggression of the Magpie placing a 100 meter no go perimeter around its nest. Here I watched a Silver Gull continuously chase a Blacked-winged Stilt at the edge of the lake. The Gull was protecting its immature youngster but the Stilt was protecting its nest with his mate sitting on it by the lake. Both these birds are bold and can be aggressive. However, in the end the Gull moved its youngster away from the nest and peace prevailed.

After the ordeal, the Gull parents were confronted with a hungry junior, and try to avoid its cries. One of the joys of parenting no doubt! Note the classic bowing and bobbing of the youngsters head, seen in many species of water birds when begging.

The two most intelligent bird families clashed as this immature Australian Raven was attacked and turned away by this Australian Magpie male, obviously protecting its nest. Thankfully it did not see my wife and I as a threat.

3. Feeding the Nestlings/Fledglings: In many Australian species this is done primarily by the male and relatives, as is the training of the Fledgling, especially with the Magpie and Kingfisher. Here a Sacred Kingfisher catches a worm and waits for the juvenile to come to it and then passes it to the juvenile to eat.

Adult Sacred Kingfisher
Juvenile Sacred Kingfisher

4. Training: It is usually the male who models feeding and behaviour, which shows to us humans the importance of fathers being present and being good role models to their children. Children get much of their self identity and self confidence from the dad. These two juvenile Magpies are out on an excursion with their dad. As he feeds them they learn. Note how only one takes the initiative to follow dad and follows in his shadow. It so reminds me of my eldest son during his early years.

juvenile Magpies waiting in the shade.
one goes to folloe dad.
note juvenile is brown and has a dark eye and dull beak.
following dad
learning from dad

Here we see the youngsters decision to follow dad pays off as he gets a treat from dad as a reward for his following. I love the fact that no coercion is used in their training, those who want to learn do, and those who don’t there is later on when they are better prepared.

The Australian Wood Duck family is a beautiful example of the perfect family, with both parents faithful for life, devoted to each other and to raising their family together. The father leads the family to safety and to good feeding grounds. This clutch produced 14 live babies, and was one of two that I saw in the Royal National Park this week. The family strayed onto the road so dad and mum led them back down onto the green flats by the river. Thankfully, in this peaceful family, these ducklings learn to forage very quickly and less parental training is required. 

As you watch the Wood Ducks come into their grazing area listen and you will hear an immature Laughing Kookaburra practicing his laugh. Unfortunately he eluded me for some time.

As an aside, this flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo flew over at great height. It is always a treat to see this bird, and especially to hear its unique call. Listen as they fly over. You may see some touches of yellow on their ears and tail.

As I have shared in recent weeks some birds develop breeding plumage during their breeding season, and of course the Superb Fairy-wren is no exception, being in full colour which would lure any available female. His lady may already be sitting on the nest somewhere nearby as he hunts for food.

One of the delights of not having to work during the week is I get to see birds that may not normally be seen due to the high people presence in National Parks and Reserves during weekends. This pair of Wonga Pigeon are a good example of stumbling upon a great find. This rainforest pigeon is sometimes seen by the river banks at Wattle Flat in the late afternoon grazing, always the same pair. I love the arrow like markings on their under body. They are so quiet that you could easily miss them.

Wonga Pigeon
Wonga Pigeon pair

Finally, to conclude is this series of the very shy Kookaburra flying off:

The importance of good parenting and its ongoing effects well into the life of the child are emphasized in recent research. The child carries the experiences of their upbringing into the rest of their life having a considerable influence on their well-being. This includes physical, emotional, mental, sexual and social health, including longevity. This YouTube video from one of my studies sheds light on this, and the need to instruct our children and grandchildren with gentle kind love.

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” – Ephesians 6:4 (MEV)

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, lest they be discouraged..” – Colossians 3:21 (MEV)

“He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.” – Timothy 3:4 (NIV)

Have a wonderful week! If this is your first time visiting my blog, why not visit my Home Page and check out my birding website for more birding information and encouraging stuff. Yes, there are still more books left for sale to make a positive influence in the life of your special young person and for that Special Christmas Gift. I have just about finished editing my second and third book, but it will be next year for printing.

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.