Birds in the News #86
The latest edition of Birds in the News has been posted. It has links to many articles about birds in the news from around the world. It worth visiting just for the lovely photo of a Yellow-eyed Junco.
One of the more bizarre items is a link to an article giving details of how nightingale poo is being used as a beauty aid to treat wrinkles.
Click on the link below:
- Birds in the News # 86
Time for a game about birds
1 Comment »5th June, 2007; Category: General
Making a list:
When I go out birding I usually make a list of the different species of birds I observe or hear. I also record the number of each species seen and this goes in my database records. On most occasions this has to be an estimate. Rarely do I get the chance to actually count the individual birds unless the number is in single figures where it is relatively easy. The larger the flock, the harder it is to get a reasonable estimate.
Counting sheep:
My father was very skilled at counting sheep as they moved through a gate from one paddock to another. In this way he could tell in an instant if there were some missing, such as a group of stragglers left over a hill or behind a patch of scrub. He counted by “chunking” into groups of five or ten or twenty. This works quite well with flocks of birds but it is still somewhat of a rough estimate.
Counting birds:
On a few occasions I have seen a flock of birds feeding on the ground and done a quick estimate by grouping them like my father would with his sheep. I’ve then gone back over the flock counting more accurately. On most occasions I’ve been surprised that my estimate was as much as 25 or 30% below the actual number. My counting by estimation is almost always in error on the conservative side.
A bird counting game:
I recently found out about a game that’s been devised to test a birder’s ability to count a flying flock of birds. It only takes a few minutes to play and it ranks your ability against everyone else in your country. The last time I played I was ranked 11th in Australia. (Not sure how many had played before me.)
Here is the link:
- Irania Bird Counting Game (SORRY -this link no longer works)
Enjoy.
Attracting Birds to your Garden
Some of my best birding moments occur in our own garden. An added bonus is that many of my bird photos have also been taken in our garden. Many people ask me how to attract birds to their gardens so they too can enjoy the bird life that is found in their area.
Here are some very effective ways of bringing birds into your garden:
- Water: Provide a constant source of water, such as a pond, bird bath or dripping tap into a bowl. This is the one most reliable way of attracting birds to your garden.
- Food: Provide a variety of native trees and bushes that become a suitable food source. (In Australia – never put out food like parrot seed for them). Native trees and bushes are not only attractive to birds of course; many other species will love your garden too, from insects through to lizards and butterflies. The extra vegetation will provide nesting and roosting spots for the birds. They will make your garden their home too.
- Protection: Never let your cat roam the garden – and actively discourage neighbour’s cats from entering your garden. In fact – don’t even have a cat; they are a bird’s worst enemy and can also kill many other creatures, like lizards and possums.
- Safety: Provide a safe environment for the birds by not using any poisons like snail bait in your garden.
These are simple and effective methods of ensuring a safe and happy habitat for the birds in your garden.
For extra reading, click on these links:
Links:
- How to attract birds to your garden – an earlier version of this article. It has links to other useful sites and articles.
- Food and Water – a very detailed article about attracting birds to your garden on the Canberra Ornithologists Group web site. Plenty of useful information.
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater
The Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater (shown above) is a resident breeding species in our garden and a frequent visitor to our bird baths.
Click the photo to enlarge the image.
Singing in the rain
Winter is finally here in South Australia. The nights are cool – even a little chilly and the mornings are damp with dew and a lovely crispness in the air. We haven’t had a frost yet which is rather unusual for this time of the year. By the end of May we’ve usually had several – perhaps three or four – but the temperature hasn’t yet dropped below about 6C. Plenty of time for frosts later.
Over recent weeks we have had some reasonable falls of rain. For most of this week we have had periods of light drizzle, several heavy showers and other times of steady light rain for extended periods. Yesterday it rained steadily from about 4am to mid-morning.
Everything looks clean and fresh. A green tinge of grass can be seen everywhere. When the sun emerges like it did this morning, the birds come out to sing. Thornbills twittering everywhere. I heard several Mallee Ringnecks calling as I walked down the driveway to collect the paper. A Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike glided overhead giving its churring call. Honeyeaters are busy collecting their breakfast from the few flowers out at this time of the year. Small flock of Galahs fly overhead and the mournful cry of a Raven can be heard in the distance.
The only downside to all this rain and cooler weather is that few birds come to visit the bird baths. My chief source of photos has dried up, so to speak. I guess I’ll just have to get out there in the bush or down by the river and see if I can get some photos.
Meanwhile, I invite you to head over to another blog I write, Trevor’s Travels. Over the next three weeks or so I am featuring a series of articles on the birds and animals of Nepal.