CONGRATULATIONS to Trevor’s Birding for 1000 posts
CONGRATULATIONS.
Congratulations to Trevor’s Birding blog.
This article marks the 1000th post on this blog.
It has been quite a journey, from a hesitant start on another platform through to the introduction of photographs and on to this point. It has taken a little over 4 years with plenty of interesting articles – I hope. The readership has steadily increased to over 20,000 visits per month – and growing. The readership also extends to over 100 countries every month so we are getting around. Only wish I could visit all those countries to watch the birds there!
To celebrate I would like to list the most popular articles over the 4 year period based on the number of comments:
- Baby Magpie (255 comments)
- Common Blackbirds (176 )
- Pesky Plovers – dealing with swooping birds (174)
- Do Blackbirds swoop ? How to deal with aggressive bird behaviour (107)
- Crested pigeons as pet birds (66)
- Eastern Rosella (61)
- Great birding moments #5 Crested Pigeon (53)
- Welcome Swallows (53)
- The problem with Common Blackbirds (49)
- Australian Magpies (47)
Why not visit some of these articles and read some of the comments?
Feel free to add further comments of your own. (Note: first time visitors will need to be moderated before the comment appears.)
Now that we’ve reached a thousand articles, why not dig deeper into the archives? You can access the archives by clicking here or on the link called ‘Archives‘ at the top of each page. You can also search for particular topics via the categories on the sidebar, or through the search box at the top of each page.
Photos:
Over the life of this blog I have shared thousands of photos. I take every opportunity to add to my collection. Later this week I might feature my favourite photos. In the meantime here is my all time favourite photo taken on holiday in Victoria earlier this year.
Australian Pelicans, Mallacoota, Victoria
New Holland Honeyeaters feeding
New Holland Honeyeater feeding in Eremophila youngii
We have many Australian native plants in our garden, and on our property. They are a magnet for the many honeyeaters we have resident around the garden.
I particularly like the many varieties of Eremophila we have growing, as these seem to flower for long periods of time creating a steady supply of food for the birds. The species shown in the photos above and below is Eremophila youngii which particularly appeals to the New Holland Honeyeaters that frequent this particular plant. An added bonus is that we can see this plant and the birds coming to it from the spot where we usually eat our meals and read the daily paper. It is also a few metres from the bird bath, another attractive part of the garden for our bird friends.
Further reading:
- Mallee Native Plant Nursery – eremophila – from the archives of my wife’s blog.
- Eremophila youngii – article on my wife’s blog
Eremophila youngii in our garden
Butterfly at Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington
No Comments »27th December, 2009; Category: Photos
Australian Admiral (Vanessa itea), Pangarinda Arboretum
Earlier this year we visited Pangarinda Arboretum at Wellington, about a half hour drive south of Murray Bridge in South Australia. This collection of native Australian plants has been set up and maintained by local plant enthusiasts. It is a great place for flower photography as well as birding. On this occasion I managed to get several photos of a beautiful butterfly.
The butterfly in question is an Australian Admiral Vanessa itea, and is relatively common in this area. we often enjoy seeing them fluttering through our garden.
On this occasion the birding was rather slow, so I took delight in taking flower photos. This butterfly was a bonus.
Australian Admiral (Vanessa itea), Pangarinda Arboretum
Australian Magpie sunning itself
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
I’ve had this set of photos waiting for several months until I found the time to post them. I finally got around to it.
I observed the male Australian Magpie shown in the photos in our garden one sunny day. I can’t remember how hot it was, but I was intrigued by the bird’s behaviour. It was quite unconcerned by my presence a few metres away, but this is not unusual. Our resident magpies are quite used to us moving about the garden, and although they are still a little wary, they will come quite close.
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
This one stayed almost in the one spot over about five minutes while I took the series of photos shown here. It did some preening of its feathers, but it also appeared to be sunning itself. Sunning behaviour is quite common in many Australian species. I have most commonly seen it in various species of pigeons and doves. Sometimes I’ve also seen it in association with sand bathing; House Sparrows often do this.
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
One of my reference books records instances where the wings of magpies can stretch above the head until touching during sunbathing behaviour. The bird I observed only briefly opened the wings.
These photos were taken mid morning. Many species will use sunning behaviour first thing on cold mornings. I guess we all need a good stretch and warming up on a cold morning.
Update Feb 29th, 2016: It is thought that birds probably sunbathe to rid their plumage of lice. Read the article Sunny Side Up for a long discussion on this.
I have seen this sunbathing behaviour in the following species: Crested Pigeon, Spotted Turtledove, House Sparrows, Red Wattlebirds, and Noisy Miners.
I have since written another article about this behaviour called Topsy the Crested Pigeon.
For a much longer explanation of why birds sunbathe read this article: Sunny Side Up on the Australian Birdlife site.
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
Male Australian Magpie sunning itself
Christmas Greetings
No Comments »25th December, 2009; Category: General
King Parrot at Adelaide Zoo
Christmas greetings to all of my loyal readers.
I appreciate all of you – those who visit only occasionally, those who visit regularly and those who take the time to comment, or ask questions.
This birding blog has grown from strength to strength with increasing numbers of visitors and people commenting. Several records for this blog have been broken along the way during the year and interest in Australian birds continues to grow.
I especially want to thank all of the kind readers who have made flattering comments about the photos posted here. Your kind words have encouraged me to keep on going.
A few weeks ago I mentioned that this blog has just had its 3000th comment, a significant milestone on this journey. In a few days’ time this blog will reach another significant milestone. Stay tuned – it will happen before the end of 2009.
In the meantime, may you have a wonderful, peaceful, blessed and enjoyable Christmas.
Male Flame Robin, Mt. Macedon, Victoria
White Faced Heron