Great Birding Moments #14 Cockatoo Close Encounter
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Last week I had a post where I wrote about a close encounter with a small flock of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos in suburban Adelaide. In that post I said I had taken a photo of one of the birds looking directly at me, but that it was blurred.
I was wrong.
It was a fine photo albeit a little dark. With a little computer tweaking I was able to make this a reasonable shot after all.
I wonder what he is thinking?
Great Birding Moments #13 Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Last week my wife was admitted to Burnside Hospital in suburban Adelaide for an operation. After seeing her into the capable hands of the staff I drove off to spend the day photographing birds in the Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills. Rounding the corner into the next side street I was astounded to see a small flock of about eight Sulphur Crested Cockatoos in a street tree. I just had to stop and get the camera out.
Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
The tree was a White Cedar and a branch had broken off, exposing a hollow. Several birds were investigating the hollow as they screeched and carried on just a few metres from my busy camera. I was very pleased with the result because, in my experience, this is not an easy species to get close to in the wild. They seemed more interested in the hollow and each other than the strange creature hovering below them. Actually, one of them did notice me as the photo I took had him looking straight at me with a quizzical look on his face. Pity it is a little blurred.
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are found in coastal and sub-coastal regions from northern Australia, down the eastern seaboard and through to Adelaide. It is also found in Tasmania and has been introduced to Western Australia. They are a delightful and spectacular species but are inclined to be rather noisy.
Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are a popular pet in Australia, and probably elsewhere too.
Update: this photo above – and many other photos featured on this site – can now be purchased on a range of merchandise such as T-shirts, aprons, wall plaques, clocks and mugs. Go to my Trevor’s Photos site here.
Great Birding Moments #3 – Mistletoebird
Mistletoebird
One of the most delightful little birds we have resident in our garden is the Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) shown in the photo above. It is a member of the flowerpecker family of birds.
I was very pleased to have taken a photo of such a beautiful species. The photo shows a male in all of his colourful splendour. The female is less brightly coloured but still lovely.
It is also a very challenging species to photograph because they often feed high up in the canopy of trees and they tend to dart from tree to tree without settling anywhere for very long. Add to that their small size – about 9 -11 cm in length – and you can see what a challenge it is.
Breeding
As soon as we moved to this current location – more than 20 years ago – I wondered which species would be the first to breed in trees or bushes we had planted. Would it be the Willie Wagtail? What about one of the honeyeater species, perhaps the White Plumed or the Singing? Maybe it would be a Crested Pigeon. or would it be the dainty Yellow Rumped Thornbill? Wrong on all counts.
First to Breed
It was the Mistletoebird that became the official first species to breed in a tree we had planted. Mind you, other species may have been the first, but managed to keep it secluded from my prying eyes. In all we’ve observed 31 different species in or near our garden either nesting or feeding fledged young. This is out of a total of 111 species recorded over 22 years.
Damaged Nest
I would have missed this important record too, if it hadn’t been for the keen eyes of our neighbour. The tree in question, a eucalypt only about three metres high and with very little foliage to that point, played host to this pair of Mistletoebirds. The nest was at eye level and had been damaged in a storm. The neighbour had repaired the nest with some old panty-hose stocking material. It did the job and the chicks fledged successfully. The beautiful pear shaped nest was made using small soft twigs, grass, spider’s web and an assortment of other soft natural materials.
Distribution and Habitat
Mistletoebirds are found throughout most of Australia except the very dry regions and those areas lacking trees or shrubs. It can be found in all kinds of eucalypt woodland and forest, rainforests, acacia shrublands and even mangroves. Its preferred habitat is any area that supports the mistletoe species, of which there are many different kinds in Australia. We have a few present on our five acre block. They look for the berries of the mistletoe plant to eat. After the sticky seed has passed through their digestive system – usually in 4 to 25 minutes – they wipe it on to the branch of any handy tree or bush. This seed then sprouts and uses the tree or bush as its host.
Food
Apart from eating the berries of the mistletoe plants this species is also known to eat the fruit of other native and introduced plants. We have many Boxthorn plants on our block (I’m trying to eradicate the beasts) and the Mistletoebird would enjoy its fruit as well. They are also nectar eating and will feed on pollen, spiders and insects to supplement their diet.
References:
- The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia (Pizzey and Knight)
- The New Atlas of Australian Birds (Barret et al)
- Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds Vol. 7 (Higgins et al)
Related article:
My First Blog Entry
Great Birding Moments #2 Pied Currawong
Pied Currawong
Earlier this year we were staying with our son and daughter-in-law in Artarmon, Sydney. One afternoon I was in the kitchen having a drink and noticed that there was something of a confrontation occuring in the back garden. Two Pied Currawongs were trying to ignore several Noisy Miners. The Noisy Miners were objecting to the currawongs coming into their patch. They constantly harassed the currawongs.
In response the currawongs tried to ignore the bombing attacks. This only spurred on the Miners to be bolder in their raids on the heads of the interlopers. After much snapping of beaks and ducking and weaving the currawongs finally got the message and beat a retreat into the neighbour’s garden.
Meanwhile, the kitchen window povided an excellent bird hide. There was enough time to get the camera from the bedroom and then take over a dozen good shots. The beady yellow eye of the currawong in the above photo is quite unnerving.
Great Birding Moments #1 Spotted Nightjar
1 Comment »25th June, 2006; Category: Camera, Great Birding Moments, Owls Frogmouths and Nightjars, Photos
From time to time birders – like anyone passionate about a hobby or interest – experience great defining moments. These special events could include:
- The moment when one sees an elusive species for the very first time.
- When one sees a favourite bird in all its colourful splendour, lit by the bright sunlight and perched picture perfect in full view.
- When a photograph of a bird turns out just right.
- When one has waited or searched patiently for a particular species, only to find it flitting around the car you left hours before your search began. (That happened to me with the Rufous Fantail once.)
- When one has a good view of a rare or hard to find species (like the Lyrebird following me down the track on Royal National Park near Sydney – it may be common to birders in that region but they are only found in the zoo here in South Australia).
My list could go on. One species I’d only had fleeting views of – and then only in the headlights of the car at speed at night – is the Spotted Nightjar. A few weeks ago I found (with some help from a friend) a single Spotted Nightjar roosting on the ground at the Pangarinda Arboretum (Click here for the full story).
Spotted Nightjar