One bird that finally sat still – Eastern Spinebill
Eastern Spinebill
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report #12
The Eastern Spinebill is one of Australia’s more colourful honeyeaters. We do not have this species in our garden in Murray Bridge, so I have to travel up into the Adelaide Hills, or interstate, to see this lovely bird.
It is a relatively common species in its range which extends along the coastal regions of eastern and south eastern Australia, from near Brisbane through to north of Adelaide. Its preferred habitat includes gardens, forests, heathlands and woodlands.
This particular species has caused me some angst over the last two years. Although I’ve seen it quite a few times, I haven’t been able to get any individuals to sit still long enough for me to focus the camera. Until my recent visit to the Australian National Botanic Gardens, that is. It’s quite a long drive to find one cooperative bird. Never mind, get it I did. It’s an even longer drive to see its cousin, the Western Spinebill in Western Australia. That one will have to wait a little while to appear in my camera lens.
Click on the image to enlarge the photo.
Further reading:
- To access the archived articles about honeyeaters click here.
- Great birding moments – a list of articles about some of my great experiences in birding.
Close Encounters of the Bird Kind
Red Wattlebird
2007 Australian Capital Territory trip report # 11
In the afternoon of the day we went to visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra we had a short break. We’d been walking for hours and we were a little leg weary. We stopped at a convenient picnic table to have a light snack and a drink.
We’d hardly sat down when a Red Wattlebird decided we might be an easy touch for a snack of his own. Like so many birds in Australian parks and picnic grounds, this individual knew that humans meant food. So he came and sat on the table next to us.
He didn’t seem at all threatened by my camera whirring and clicking less than a metre away. It is times like this that I love having a camera in my hand all ready to shoot.
Red Wattlebird
New Holland Honeyeaters breeding
One of my readers left the following comments and question on a post from last year about New Holland Honeyeaters:
We’ve been watching a pair of New Holland Honeyeaters building their nest in an ornamental tree in our courtyard in Kensington (SA). Really been lovely to watch them.
Do they stay together as mates?
That is a very good question Tony. It is one I hadn’t given all that much thought to, so I had to do my research.
Leave them in peace:
It is indeed a great delight to watch birds nesting and as they go about feeding the young. The urge to breed is very strong and they will tolerate people going about their daily lives only metres away. If you have birds nesting in your garden, try not to disturb them too much.
Breeding behaviour:
The pair that have mated and built the nest will generally feed the young together. In some bird species only the female sits on the eggs and feeds the young while the male defends the territory (for example, Australian Magpies). In other species the whole thing is a cooperative affair. With the Australian Fairy-wrens for example, the whole extended family will build the nest and feed the young.
Monogamous pairs:
As far as New Holland Honeyeaters are concerned they tend to breed in monogamous pairs; they stay together as mates for the entire breeding cycle. They will often breed several times in a season. If still alive the next breeding season they will also bond together again as a pair.
Again, my thanks to Tony for a great question.
Further reading:
- Great Birding Moments: New Holland Honeyeater
- Great Birding Moments – more good reading.
New Holland Honeyeater
A new bird for my district list
Little Wattlebird
It is not often that I can add a new species of bird to my home list or my district list. Last Thursday was one of those special days, but it nearly eluded my attention.
I had just taken my vehicle in for a service. I declined the offered ride home because I needed the walk. So did Nancy, my daughter’s dog. We are currently dog-sitting the Grand-dog while said daughter is on holiday in Brisbane.
The walk home takes about half an hour and takes me through some scattered housing on the western outskirts of Murray Bridge. Most houses in this area are on small blocks of between one and five acres in size. It was a pleasant early morning walk, milder than a few of those frosty mornings we had a few weeks ago and certainly without the showery drizzle we’ve had over the last week or so.
I was passing one property where there were quite a few trees and shrubs planted around the house and along the boundary fence. A Wattlebird flew across the road a few metres in front of me. I noticed that it was a little smaller than the Red Wattlebirds so common around here. What struck me most prominently, however, were the rufous wing patches quite evident on the wings. At the time I thought that it was different but thought little more about it.
A few hours later I was reading an email from a fellow birder who commented on the rufous wing patches of the Little Wattlebird. The significance of what had seen that morning suddenly hit me: I’d seen a Little Wattlebird!
On checking through my database I discovered that I’d never actually seen or recorded Little Wattlebirds in the Murray Bridge district before, even though they are to be found in the surrounding areas. In my experience they are by no means really common here in South Australia but they are widespread.
It just shows me that one must always be on the lookout for something different.
Crescent Honeyeater
3 Comments »10th May, 2007; Category: Honeyeaters
Crescent Honeyeater
On a recent visit to Newland Head Conservation Park near Victor Harbor in South Australia we stopped in the picnic ground for morning tea. Near the picnic table there was a tap. Someone – probably the park ranger – had constructed a small concrete bowl under the tap. This tap provided a vital water source for the local birds. As I had my cuppa I watched expectantly for any birds to use this drinking spot.
I was not disappointed. After only a few minutes a Crescent Honeyeater came to drink from the water. This species of honeyeater is locally abundant in some parts of its range. It is not normally found in the drier areas like at home in Murray Bridge. It seems reasonably common in the Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia. It is also found throughout coastal SE Australia, the islands of Bass Strait and throughout Tasmania.
It was a pleasant surprise to see this species, one that I have not had regular sightings of anywhere.
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Related articles:
- Picnic at Newland Head Conservation Park – from my travel blog.
This post was updated in July 2015.