How to be a lazy birder revisited
At this time last year I wrote a series of articles about how to be a lazy birder. It is about time we revisit these articles. At this holiday time in Australia many people take annual holidays after a very busy year at work. What most people want is not more busyness pursuing their hobby. So it was with this in mind that I wrote this series; just click on the link to take you to the relevant article.
Warning: do not strain yourself too much reading through these articles.
- How to be a lazy birder part 1 – in the garden.
- How to be a lazy birder part 2 – on the porch or veranda.
- How to be a lazy birder part 3 – set up a simple bird bath.
- How to be a lazy birder part 4 – from the car.
- How to be a lazy birder part 5 – from your bed.
- How to be a lazy birder part 6 – while watching television.
- How to be a lazy birder part 7 – watch a video or DVD about birds.
- How to be a lazy birder part 8 – while in the office or at work.
- How to be a lazy birder part 9 -while travelling.
- How to be a lazy birder part 10 – by reading about birds.
- How to be a lazy birder part 11 – surf the internet – or read my blog.
- How to be a lazy birder part 12 – watch a movie.
So there you have it – 12 ways to be a lazy birder. Enjoy.
Bonus hint:
Visit your local zoo or bird park.
Watch the birds in the cages.
This is a really good, lazy method of birding; the birds will not fly away from you.
If you want more information about how to be a birder go to my series of articles called How to be a Birder.
Budgerigars, Cleland Wildlife Park
Christmas Greetings and a Christmas Bird List
Christmas Greetings to all my readers.
I hope you had a great day. Here in my part of Australia in was 28C (82F), bright sunshine with not a cloud in the sky and a gentle breeze. It does not get much better than that. We had a quiet Christmas with just a few family members for a Christmas lunch. Didn’t do any serious birding and just casually observed or heard a few birds in the garden or on a short drive.
These common birds included:
- House Sparrow
- Common Starling
- Galah
- Common Blackbird
- Australian Magpie
- Australian Magpie Lark
- Little Raven
- New Holland Honeyeater
- Red Wattlebird
- Crested Pigeon
- Spotted Turtledove
- Willie Wagtail
- Singing Honeyeater
This is not an amazing list and these species are regularly present in our garden on a daily basis. Overall, I did observe that most birds were rather quiet all day. I guess that many of them were busy celebrating Christmas too.
I saw this bird and I thought of you
4 Comments »23rd December, 2007; Category: Birders, Birds, General, Plovers Dotterels and Lapwings, Waterbirds
A friend sidled up to me the other day and said, “I saw this little bird and I thought of you, Trevor.”
Now – I’m not sure whether that ever happens to you or not, but it is becoming a rather frequent occurrence in my life. You see, I’m not slow at letting people know that I am a birder, someone whose passion is watching birds in the wild. That’s what this blog is all about after all.
Said friend went on to say that this little bird actually attacked him. I pressed him with several key questions, such as, size, colour, location and what was it actually doing. Within a minute I had established that it was probably a Red-capped Plover (see photo), a small wading bird common around the coast of Australia and in suitable wetlands inland. It was “attacking” my friend because it either had a nest with eggs or newly hatched chicks nearby.
Red-capped Plover
It is nice to be recognised for one’s expertise in this way. What annoys me, however, is the growing number of friends and acquaintances who say the same thing after they return from a holiday in some exotic location.
“Oh Trevor,” they chirp as happy as a Sparrow with a bowl full of seed, “we saw this beautiful parrot in Cairns (or Broome or Darwin or wherever) and we immediately thought of you.” After the initial polite smile and excited ooohs and aaahs I go away fuming. I’ve NEVER seen that species in my life. And they’ve seen it and they are not even birders. Grrrrrr.
So what do I do about this annoying situation?
Perhaps I need to go for more holidays to exotic places. Then I can blithely reply, “Yeah, but did you see the Scarlet-crested Rainbow-winged Blue and White Cockatoo*?. It sat on my shoulder and nibbled at my ear.”
Or some other suitable anecdotal put-down.
*There is NO such animal – I just imagined it, but it sure sounds exotic and fabulous.
Birding in the heart of Melbourne
2 Comments »22nd December, 2007; Category: Trip reports
Melbourne CBD
2007 Victorian birding trip report #12
On the Sunday we drove into Melbourne CBD. We attended a photographic exhibition which was very interesting. It featured the photographs of one of our more prominent politicians, Senator Bob Brown. Most of the photos had an environmental theme which is not surprising because he is a member of the Greens Party here in Australia.
After lunch we went wandering around the Queen Victoria Markets, an eclectic collection of stalls selling everything from vegetables to paintings to handbags to a wild collection of tourist knick-knacks. I wasn’t going to buy anything but I found some lovely fridge magnets featuring Australian birds. At five for ten dollars I just couldn’t leave them there. They will join my growing collection on my filing cabinet at home.
I wasn’t taking all that much notice of the birds in the city centre. I did notice plenty of House Sparrows, Rock Doves, a few Common Mynas and the occasional Australian Raven. Mind you – I didn’t go in to the city to watch birds – they were a bonus. Oh, I forgot the Silver Gulls. The port facilities are not all that far from the markets, and I guess they are attracted to the junk food left lying around.
Silver Gull
On the way in I had good views of three Wedge-tailed Eagles hanging on the breeze near the Melbourne International Airport. A small population has lived in that area for many years. The most common bird on the road to the city was the introduced pest species, the Common Myna. Which reminds me; I still do not have any photos of this species. I don’t think I’ll bother.
Birding on Mt Macedon, Victoria
No Comments »21st December, 2007; Category: Trip reports
View from Mt Macedon, Victoria
2007 Victorian trip report #11
While staying with our friends in Gisborne north of Melbourne we went on several drives. On the Saturday we drove up to the top of Mount Macedon just to the north. We went to the top of the mountain and had a brief look at the surrounding view. Even though it was a bright sunny day the surrounding area was very hazy and Melbourne itself was hardly visible.
Mt Macedon Victoria
We stopped at the café for a pot of tea (I had a hot chocolate) and enjoyed the lovely sunshine coming in through the window. I saw a few birds off in the distance as but only identified a single Pied Currawong. I think I heard several Yellow-faced Honeyeaters in the trees and precious little else. This is the second time our friends have taken us to the top of Mt Macedon and on both occasions I have been very disappointed by the lack of birds. I guess the constant flow of people visiting may be scaring them away. I haven’t walked any of the local walking tracks; they might be more fruitful with bird numbers and varieties.
Mt Macedon War Memorial