Good Birding Sites
Quite often I come across a good birding site that just cries out to be shared with others. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while – I just haven’t got around to it. So here we go.
I’ve used some basic criteria for selecting those sites I link to in this way:
- The site must be mainly about birds (but this is a flexible rule).
- The site ideally features photos of birds.
- The writing must be interesting and complement the photos.
- The site must be updated relatively frequently (at least weekly).
Here are this week’s links:
- Natural Visions – nature and photography with Kevin Doxstater.
- Ben Cruachan Blog – birding and nature observations in Victoria, SE Australia.
- A Snail’s Eye View – another blog from Victoria, Australia, but with an interest in many things, not just birds.
- Charlie’s Bird Blog – amazing photos from Charlie – his job with an airline takes him all over the world.
- Peregrine’s Bird Blog – this one comes from Northern Ireland and features many photos too. An added bonus on this blog is the incredibly long blogroll; this list could provide weeks of happy surfing.
Enjoy.
Good Birding Site
I recently came across an interesting birding site on the internet. It has heaps of information about birds from all over the world. Each species has a very interesting description of the bird, its habits, size, habitat and other general information. Each species is accompanied by a good photograph of the bird.
Link:
- Birds Guide – A Guide to All About Birds
Birding while travelling
When we travel I enjoy watching out for the birds we see during our journey. Concentrating on driving is the highest priority of course, but it is still amazing what one can see as you go along. For me, it certainly lessens the boredom, keeping me more alert and that has to be a good thing.
Several days ago I wrote about a short break we had in Clare, staying in our daughter’s house. I commented that I didn’t see all that many birds on the way, nothing out of the ordinary anyway. Yesterday afternoon we returned home to Murray Bridge. This time we took a different route. It was a little longer and this didn’t matter as we didn’t have a deadline.
Again we saw the usual species as we travelled. By far the most common were Australian Magpies and Little Ravens. In several places we saw flocks of Feral Pigeons and Common Starlings, especially in the vineyards of the Barossa Valley, arguably Australia’s premier wine growing region. I saw a few Red Wattlebirds, the occasional Crested Pigeon and a few House Sparrows, especially in the towns we drove through and near farm houses.
On our journey to Clare last week I commented on the total absence of birds of prey. They were conspicuous by their absence again today. I only saw two; a lone Nankeen Kestral and a single Brown Falcon, each sitting high atop a power pole.
The highlight of the trip was afternoon tea – no, not the food and the cuppa, though that was very enjoyable and relaxing. We stopped at a park in the old copper mining town of Kapunda, just over an hour’s drive north of Adelaide. My father grew up only a few kilometres from the town.
This park has a number of lawned areas, a barbecue for public use and a number of picnic tables and seats. It also features a small artificial lake. We hadn’t even sat down to pour our cuppa and the stream of ducks was heading our way. It was a fruitless exercise on their part. Also joining the picnic was a family of six baby Eurasian Coots, all fluffy and downy and noisy, begging mother for food while trying not to get too much under our feet.
Naturally I had to race back to the car for the camera. I managed quite a few lovely shots plus a simply lovely photo of a White Faced Heron. Also seen were many Australian Wood Ducks, several Pacific Black Ducks, a single Dusky Moorhen, dozens of White Plumed Honeyeaters and an army of domestic ducks, mostly Muscovy Ducks.
In the nearby trees I heard some Magpie Larks, Rainbow Lorikeets and Adelaide Rosella parrots. I also saw a single New Holland Honeyeater as we drove off.
I am not able to show the photos I took this afternoon. Since the WordPress update we are having trouble uploading photos from our photo gallery to this blog. As soon as this is rectified I will update this post.
Good Articles you may have missed
1 Comment »13th March, 2007; Category: General
The number of readers of this birding blog continues to grow steadily. Readers who may have discovered this blog only recently may have missed some of the interesting articles I have featured here over the last 18 months.
Here is a digest of some popular articles. Many of the articles have comments by readers, so it is worth reading those as well. Just click on the title and that will take you to the relevant article:
- Diamond Firetail Finches – one of our most beautiful birds.
- Eastern Rosella – many comments about this beautiful species.
- Favourite Birding Spots #1 – the first in a series of good birding spots.
- Great Birding Moments #13 – Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
- Do Blackbirds Swoop? How to deal with aggressive behaviour in birds. A very long and detailed article about birds that act aggressively. Includes many comments and observations from readers.
- Gotcha! I finally captured a photo of the beautiful Rainbow Bee-eater in our garden.
Of course this list is merely a sample of the well over 400 articles about birds on this blog. To read more you can click on one of the categories listed on the side bar, or go to the contents section or check out the Archives.
Updated November 2013.
A short break in Clare
On Friday we travelled from home in Murray Bridge to the mid-north town of Clare. Our daughter is a teacher in the local high school. This is a long weekend, so she has taken that opportunity to fly to Sydney to visit her brother and sister in law, as well as friends from England who have recently moved to Sydney. We were left to dog-sit in her house.
I usually take a great deal of interest in observing the birds we see as we drive along. In the farmlands of South Australia there are usually quite a few birds to see along the roads and in nearby paddocks. Interestingly, I did not see all that much of interest. Sure, there were the usual species one would expect to see.
Australian Magpies and Little Ravens are by far the most common birds seen along our roads, closely followed by species like the Crested Pigeon, Common Starling and House Sparrow. Several times I observed Feral Pigeons (Rock Doves) with one flock of about a hundred on the power lines near a bridge. I dare say they breed profusely under the bridge and have food laid on in abundance in the nearby wheat crops and sheds and silos where grain is stored.
The occasional Red Wattlebird flew from tree to tree and several Willie Wagtails hovered near the roadside grass. At one stage the road passes a reservoir. Because we were on a tight time schedule we didn’t have time to check out the water birds there. On other occasions were have seen Australian Pelicans, Black Swans and Little Pied Cormorants on this dam.
Of note was the total absence of raptors during our two hour journey. We usually see quite a few Nankeen Kestrels and Black-Shouldered Kites as we drive along. I’ll especially look out for them on the return trip next week.
Related articles:
- Favourite Birding Spot #4 Lake Inchiquin, Clare – about one hundred metres from my daughter’s home.
- Favourite Birding Spot #4 Lake Inchiquin, Clare – part 2.