I and the Bird #32
No Comments »14th September, 2006; Category: Carnivals
The latest edition of I and the Bird Carnival has been posted over at Sand Creek Almanac. Well done Deb on collating all of the submissions.
Lots to look at, plenty of reading and some great links.
Links:
- I and the Bird Carnival – home
Grey Butcherbird
2 Comments »14th September, 2006; Category: Garden birds
Grey Butcherbird
The Grey Butcherbird is a widespread species found throughout many parts of Australia. It has the general shape similar to a magpie but the colouring is quite different. I love hearing the rich, deep melodic call of this species.
We often hear the calls of the butcherbird in the distance when we are out in the garden. It doesn’t actually come into our garden all that often. Yesterday was an exception. I had the camera handy and was able to get the photo above before it flew off. It certainly looks as if it is a juvenile Grey Butcherbird, as it hasn’t yet developed the darker black feathers of the adult.
The photo below is of an adult. This was taken while camping at Gluepot Bird Reserve about twelve months ago.
Grey Butcherbird
Red Wattlebirds breeding
Spring must be here.
Birds are nesting or have young everywhere.
Yesterday I wrote about the resident New Holland Honeyeaters nesting in our garden quite close to our house. Today it is the turn of another species of honeyeater, the Red Wattlebird. Over the last week or so I have been watching their nest near the driveway. This one was some 4 metres up in a mallee tree; the New Holland Honeyeater’s nest was less than a metre above the ground.
Newly fledged Red Wattlebird
The baby wattlebirds have been chirping from the nest for some days. Today they ventured out of the nest for the first time. They are not yet confident flyers but they make up for this with their incessant chirping. This is to attract the parents to the spot to which they have awkwardly fluttered.
Related articles:
Red Wattlebird
New Holland Honeyeater nest
Nest of a New Holland Honeyeater
Birds can be very sneaky at times.
We were having breakfast in our sunroom this morning. As we ate, my wife observed a New Holland Honeyeater flying to what appeared to be a nest in a nearby bush in our garden (a Meleleuca lanceolata). A closer inspection of the bush revealed a dainty nest with two eggs.
Right under our noses they had built this nest and laid the eggs without us noticing.
Amazing.
This gives us a good opportunity to observe the progress of the nest and the young as they hatch. The trick will be to keep away and not inspect the nest too often. I do not to disturb them, seeing it is so close to the house.
New Holland Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
What is an Ornithologist?
4 Comments »13th September, 2006; Category: Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about birding #2
Today I continue with this series of short articles about birding.
- What is ornithology? This is the serious study of birds in the natural environment, often as a part of someone’s employment.
- What is an ornithologist? This is a person who studies birds in a serious way and includes those people whose employment requires them to watch and study birds. These people usually keep extensive notes of their findings, write articles for magazines and scientific journals and sometimes even write books or make films about birds.
Grey Butcherbird
