Weebill delights
This morning while working in my wife’s plant nursery (see Mallee Plants Nursery) we were delighted by the many birds calling all around us and feeding in the nearby trees. About mid morning I went inside to “boil the billy.”
I brought the teapot and cups on a tray out into the nursery so we could sit down for a break and enjoy the beautiful weather and lovely surroundings. Imagine our delight when a Weebill, Australia’s tiniest bird, came to sit on the ground no more than a metre from our feet. Of course – I didn’t have my camera at the ready! Next time?
Chucky Goes AWOL
This blog is usually about Australian birds but I couldn’t resist writing about Chucky the South American blue and gold Macaw. Chucky is a resident here in Murray Bridge South Australia.
Twitchers* – at ease!
Now before we get a huge influx of twitchers* here in my home town , let me explain. Chucky is not a wild bird – well, not normally. He usually lives in an aviary belonging to the Bozetti family. Earlier this week he was spooked by a sudden noise, escaped and flew off into some tall pines in Pine Park in the centre of town. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was called on to help but Chucky remained up in the tree enjoying his taste of freedom on the wild side.
Fear of Heights
Finally a local engineering firm was called upon. Ignoring her fear of heights Mrs. Bozetti used their cherry picker to go up to 30 metres to where Chucky sat. Everyone was relieved when Chucky calmly walked on to her arm – to much applause from the crowd down below. I guess his bid for freedom comes at a price. Because he is valued at about $9000 I think he will be watched very carefully in future.
*Twitchers
A twitcher is a bird watcher who will travel great distances or make extra special efforts to see a rare bird or a bird not seen before. For more details read the article on bird watching in Wikipedia (click here).
Birds of Monarto Conservation Park
Last Saturday my wife and I visited Monarto Conservation Park. This park is about 15 minutes drive from our home here in Murray Bridge South Australia. The park is some 65 km south east of Adelaide. The park consists of a variety of habitats but is predominantly mallee. From a slight rise part way along the only walking trail one can look over a sea of mallee trees.
Plants of the Park
In between thick stands of mallee trees (Eucalyptus diversifolia) there are open heath like patches of vegetation. It is like a natural garden and when the plants are in flower it is really delightful. There is a wide variety of plants present including Daisies, Correas, Acacias, Astrolomas, Baeckia, Leucopogons, Boronias and several types of native orchids. The park promises to be absolutely filled with flowers later in the year. (For more information on the plants check my wife’s blog by clicking here.)
Birds of the Park
Over the years our visits have shown a great variation in the birdlife. Sometimes there is hardly a whisper of birdsong and one has to work hard to list even 15 different species. At other times, usually when the plants are in flower, the chorus of birds is – well, not quite deafening, but noisy – and birds seem to be everywhere. My total species list is around the 50 mark which is quite good for this type of country.
Quiet Day
Saturday as one of those quiet days, despite many plants being in flower. I saw or heard a total of 19 species, with some notable dips. Not seeing a Southern Scrub Robin was the major dip.
Here is a list of the species I recorded, in the order of seeing or hearing them:
- Yellow-rumped Thornbill,
- Little Raven,
- Grey Currawong,
- Red Wattlebird,
- Spotted Pardalote,
- Australian Magpie,
- White-browed Babbler,
- Welcome Swallow,
- Purple-crowned Lorikeet,
- Nankeen Kestrel,
- Weebill,
- Grey Shrike-thrush,
- Mallee Ringneck Parrot,
- Brown-headed Honeyeater,
- Striated Pardalote,
- Willie Wagtail,
- Red-rumped Parrot
- Peaceful Dove.
Misty Duck
It all started with a duck on a misty lake. The resulting photograph started a lifetime enjoyment of birds and bird photography. I discovered this wonderful site called Misty Duck this week. It is the site of Adrian Foster of North Wales in the UK. It features many beatiful photos of birds. An interesting side feature is the Misty Junior pages. It contains photos and hints from his daughter. Cute.
To visit the Misty Duck site click here.
Galahs in the rain
The Galah is possibly Australia’s best known parrot. We often have flocks of Galahs flying over our house and garden. Sometimes these flocks land in one of the large mallee trees on our 2 hectare (5 acre) property. These flocks vary in size from a half dozen or less up to 50 to a hundred.
During some rain recently I was aware of some noisy Galahs in the tall tree just outside my office. It seemed to be more than the usual few noisy individuals. Sure enough, on checking outside, there were some 60-80 in the tree. No wonder they were noisy. I must have disturbed them because they all took flight. They only went about fifty metres before alighting on the power lines out the front of our place, joining the 250 or so already lined up along the wire.
Large flocks of this size are not unusual. They can be quite noisy when they all start calling together.