A moral dilemma – with a bird’s nest
New Holland Honeyeater nest in boxthorn bush
Today I was faced with a moral dilemma.
I was trimming some bushes and branches with my chainsaw. This included a rather overgrown Boxthorn bush where it should not have been. I ripped into it with the saw, being careful not to get ripped into by the nasty spikes that cover boxthorn bushes. I managed to come away with only one scratch on my arm.
I had almost finished and straightened up to survey my work. A New Holland Honeyeater was going ballistic in the tree above me. Oh no, I thought. My worst fears were suddenly realised. I had partially removed a part of the boxthorn which contained a beautiful nest, complete with two eggs.
Here was my moral dilemma. The local council authorities insist I destroy all boxthorns on my property. My wife wanted the bush removed, and I wanted the nasty thing gone too. On the other hand, the wildlife authorities say that it is illegal to remove or destroy a bird nest.
In a piece of quick thinking I cut off the portion containing the nest. I then removed all of the offending bush. I placed the portion of the boxthorn containing the nest in the fork of the tree less than a metre from the original site of the nest (see photo above).
And I stood back to see to see what would happen. Within a minute the honeyeater was back on the nest. A great sigh of relief. I gave the nest a wide berth all afternoon until carefully taking the photos on this page. The shot below shows the bird still sitting on the eggs, watching me rather warily. (Click on the photo to enlarge the image – this will show the bird more clearly.)
The downside is that a little part of the garden will have to wait for the promised clean up for a few weeks. That’s not a problem – there’s plenty more to do elsewhere.
New Holland Honeyeater nest in boxthorn bush
New Holland Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Every now and then a bird poses just right for a photograph. Every now and then everything goes just right with the camera, and everything is in focus that should be. And to top it all off, the composition seems to be just right.
It happened to me a few days ago when I took this shot of one of the New Holland Honeyeaters in our garden. It was one of those occasions when I say to myself, ‘That’s good.’
I think I’ll print out a copy and mount it in a picture frame.
Bossy New Holland Honeyeaters
Golden Whistler (male) harassed by New Holland Honeyeater
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Yesterday I wrote about the male Golden whistler I tracked down in our garden. I showed a nice photo I managed to get of this beautiful bird. A few seconds after taking that photo the whistler was swooped by one of our resident New Holland Honeyeaters. This species can be very aggressive towards other bird species. In my opinion they are second only to the Red Wattlebird as far as their aggressiveness goes.
Well, the male Golden Whistler was not going to take this affront lightly. I managed to capture the moment on my camera. The head of the honeyeater can just be seen in the lower right hand corner. The whistler, on the other hand, is showing signs of being somewhat upset. It has raised the feathers on the top of its head – almost like a crest. It has spread out its wings and the beak is wide open giving a harsh warning call to the aggressor.
Although the shot is not the best photo I’ve ever taken, I am quite pleased with the result. It is not often one is able to catch moments like these. A split second later would have seen a totally different scene as the honeyeater flew off.
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater
While having a relaxing breakfast a few mornings ago, several Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters came to drink at the bird bath in our garden. Next thing a baby Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater came along begging to be fed. It was just able to fly and its tail was only half grown. Here is an example of another instance where some birds have nested in our garden and remained unobserved. They are so secretive and sneaky that this happens far too often. Never mind; it was good to see the baby getting around.
I commented to my wife that this was one species I didn’t have a photo of yet; I was wrong. I don’t have many, and the one featured above is probably the best.
Bell Miners in Cranbourne Botanic Gardens
2007 Victorian trip report #3
After leaving the home and garden of our friends we drove the short distance to the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. We didn’t have enough time to visit the special new section in the park, so we went to the old picnic area. We had visited this spot on two previous occasions and had enjoyed both visits. That was many years ago.
One disappointment on this occasion was the state of the older bush section of the park. In recent years this area has been sadly neglected and has deteriorated badly. A controlled burn last year turned into a disaster when the fire got out of control. A large section of the natural scrub was burned.
Bell Miner, Cranbourne Botanic Gardens
As we parked the car I could immediately hear a good variety of birds all around the picnic area. I was surprised to hear and soon see dozens of Bell Miners. I was not aware that they occurred here. I knew that there had been a small population in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne for many years. I had also recorded this species on several occasions on the nearby Mornington Peninsula. A few minutes later I spoke to a staff member working nearby and he commented that this population had moved into this area as recently as six months ago.
It was a nice species to add to the trip list seeing I’d missed seeing them in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Even better was a reasonable photo of one. Less pleasing was the fact that they are becoming a pest species in this locality.