Tasmanian Wildlife blog
This article is well overdue. I should have done this ages ago.
There are literally thousands of excellent natural history blogs on the internet these days. Many of them have a focus on just one area – like mine does with birds. Others cover a much broader range of topics.
The Nature of Tasmania is one such blog. It covers many aspects of Tasmania’s natural history – flora, fauna and geology – and much more. If you are only interested in birds it is still worth paying a visit – even if it is just for the wonderful photos. But this blog is far more than just photos…
Welcome to members of the Mannum Garden Club
Yesterday I had the privilege and delight to be the guest speaker at the meeting of the Mannum Garden Club. If you are visiting my blog as a result of that meeting – welcome. Mannum is a farming centre and tourist town on the River Murray about half an hour’s drive from my home in Murray Bridge, South Australia.
During my presentation I talked about the common birds of the Mannum district. I showed many photos of these birds, many of which have appeared on this blog and are in the photo gallery.
Several of the people present asked help with identification of a raptor feeding on the oval nearby. Several Black Kites were on the grass feeding on what I presume was grasshoppers. Later as I drove past the oval again on my way home, I noticed about 60 Black Kites feeding on the oval.
Black Kites on Mannum Oval
I think I mentioned this before: if anyone reading this blog would like me as a guest speaker about birds, I’d be more than happy to arrange a time providing it is not too far from my home in Murray Bridge – say up to an hour or two travel time. It would be best to use my contact form here to get in touch with me. I will even fly interstate if the ticket is provided!!
Black Kite at Mannum, South Australia
The benefits of the Birding-Aus newsgroup
It has been quite a while since I last promoted the newsgroup Birding-Aus. Currently there are about 790 members and this is growing steadily.
Birding-Aus is an information centre for everyone with an interest in Australia’s wild birds, their conservation and behaviour.
Mailing list
One of the great strengths of Birding-Aus is its mailing list. Once you have joined the list you will receive a number of emails each day specifically about Australian birds. In many cases this includes news about where to find good birding spots, where to see certain birds, news about rare or unusual sightings and discussion on various issues, including the conservation of birds and bird habitats. Once registered, you can contribute your own comments, sightings and ideas.
Archives
Another strength of Birding-Aus is the archives facility. Anyone can access the wealth of information contained in the archives. Most messages contributed to the mailing list have been archived for all to use. With several dozen messages daily and these dating back to early 1995, this is an amazing resource to Australian birders. My on contributions date back to early 1998.
Requests for information
A third great strength of this group is the ability to submit RFIs (Request for Information). This can be done for almost any topic relating to Australian birds and there will sure to be a response or two or several dozen, depending on the topic. Using this facility I have had people phone me for help or offering help, people sending me maps and other information, invitations to visit people, invitations to go out birding with other birders and heaps of useful information.
Link:
- Birding-Aus – join the mailing list or search the archives here.
Noisy Miner
Black-backed Magpies
The Australian Magpie has three recognised races – the White-backed, the Black-backed and the Western.
Here in Murray Bridge the common one is the White-backed Magpie.
Australian Magpie (White-backed race)
From time to time I do see a Black-backed Magpie near our home. Yesterday I saw a single bird of this race just up the road from our home, perhaps about 400 metres away. This is note worthy because it is about the furthest west I’ve seen this race here in South Australia. I must keep a sharp eye out and check all those magpies that visit our garden.
Related articles:
- Australian Magpies – a more detailed discussion on the various races of this species, including notes on distribution.
Birds and Dogs do not mix
My wife had an appointment in Adelaide on Wednesday. I remained in the car in an adjacent park, fortunate to get a shady park on such a hot day. At one point my attention was distracted from doing the crossword in the paper.
A lady entered the park nearby and released her dog from its leash. The dog immediately sprinted across the grass chasing the half dozen or so Australian Magpies and Magpie Larks. The birds abruptly stopped feeding and flew frantically to nearby trees. They did not return to foraging for more than ten minutes after the dog and owner moved out of the park. During the two hours I was there this process was repeated about a dozen times but in less dramatic ways. Most of the other dogs were much more docile, and some were on leads. At one point another dog disturbed a flock of about twenty Crested Pigeons feeding on the ground.
Crested Pigeons
Dogs on the loose can severely impact the feeding habits of many species of birds. For ground nesting birds, especially on beaches, the impact can be devastating. Eggs can be trampled on and broken and nestlings killed and eaten.
There is little I could have done to protect the birds or to make a complaint to the dog owners in this situation, however. The park is one of very few in metropolitan Adelaide as a designated dog park, meaning that the dogs are able to run freely. This has been an area of contention over recent years because there are so few such parks where dogs can roam freely. In my experience dog owners are very vocal and local councils generally listen to their lobbying.
Very rarely does someone speak up for the birds, and that is a concern.
Related article: