Red Capped Robin
8 Comments »5th June, 2006; Category: Robins
Red Capped Robin
One of the delights of birding is to have close up views of some of the brilliant birds we have here in Australia. Today it was a male Red Capped Robin that caught my attention. I was quick to whip out the digital camera and begin stalking this brilliant bird. To be able to photograph this species showing its stunning red, white and black feathers in full sunlight is a sheer delight.
After ten minutes of trying to get close enough for a reasonable shot, the bird in question gave in and had pity on me. Either that or it was curious about this odd fellow with the funny thing in his hand. It came and sat on a branch about 2 metres from me! Wonderful.
The location of this close encounter was at the Pangarinda Arboretum at Wellington East, about 30km south of where I live in Murray Bridge. (The arboretum is about 90km SE of Adelaide.) Volunteers at the arboretum have never recorded this species there over the last 10 years of observations. The neighbours over the fence had never seen the species there either.
Red Capped Robin
Ben Cruachan – a blog about birds and nature
This is something I meant to do ages ago. Duncan on his blog called Ben Cruachan has a brilliant site that I visit regularly – usually every day now. Duncan lives in eastern Victoria on the south eastern coast of Australia. He must have a great camera and he shares his photographic skills with his readers. He must also have a great garden going by some of the flower photos he has posted.
To visit his blog click here.
Pelican Attacks
While watching the local news last night I was interested in one item relating to birds. At Waikerie in the Riverland area of South Australia two people were on the river bank fishing. According to the report one of the local pelicans came up and attacked the person fishing from his wheelchair, knocking him into the water. The victim’s friend came to the rescue, holding his head out of the water with one hand while ringing for an ambulance with his free hand.
This is not an isolated incident. Years ago I heard of a rogue pelican at Renmark, about an hour’s drive upstream from Waikerie. This pelican had been harassing people have picnics on the lawns in front of the hotel. There was even a report of a small dog being eaten by this pelican.
More recently, my daughter-in-law nearly lost her lunch when confronted by a pelican on the riverfront lawns at Mannum, which is further downstream. It was quite scarey for all of us sitting on the picnic seat. A fully grown pelican is quite a confronting beast about a metre from your face!
Australian Pelican
Related articles:
- Beware of the pelican
- Pelicans, Shelducks and Teal
- Australian Pelicans
- Pelicans – a list of articles about pelicans from my archives.
Notorious UK Egg Collector Dies
The most notorious egg collector in the UK, Colin Watson, died when he fell out of a 12 metre tree. Egg collecting has been illegal in the UK since 1981 and offenders risk heavy fines if caught. Any activity near the nests of rare birds attracts immediate police attention.
It was the end of a life which saw a schoolboy hobby develop into a passion that made Watson the most notorious collector of wild birds’ eggs in Britain for two decades. He was convicted six times under wildlife protection laws, fined thousands of pounds and finally had virtually his entire collection – the largest in Britain – confiscated after a raid on his home by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
For the full story click here.
Golden Whistler visit
We just had a beautiful bird visit our patio area next to the house. A female Golden Whistler was hopping about the pot plants just outside our lounge room. We have seen this beautiful bird in the garden and in the plant nursery but rarely does it come so close to the house. We were able to watch it from inside the sliding glass door as it hopped around for several minutes, catching the insects near the plants.
Although the female seems to be a dull brown colour, up close like this, one is aware of the subtle markings on the wings and back. I must keep a lookout for the male; he is coloured bright yellow – golden yellow, hence the species name.