Australian Magpies at the bird bath
Australian Magpies
We have quite a few resident Australian Magpies in our garden and on our five acre property. Every year we watch out for nest building time to see which tree they will use; sometimes they refurbish an old nest.
In the hot weather anything up to 6 or 7 of them gather under the shade of our back veranda, often crouching under the easy chairs we have there for extra coolness. The sun in the open on hot days can be as high as 50C or more, while under the veranda it can be 10 degrees cooler – which is still very hot!
Our bird baths are also very popular with all species. Most smaller birds tend to fly off when the magpies occupy the cooling water.
In the photos shown today, the bird on the left is a juvenile, possibly a female. The one on the right is a mature male.
Australian Magpies
Australian Magpies
Birds in the heat
No Comments »8th January, 2013; Category: Bird baths, Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Magpies and Currawongs
Close up view of a Magpie Lark
Southern Australia is experiencing a series of very hot days since Christmas. Here in Murray Bridge, South Australia, we have experienced most days over the temperature of 35C (95F) with several days getting as high as 45C (113F). It’s been hot, very hot. On days like that I appreciate the fact that I don’t have to go out to work in the sun. I can hunker down inside, get on with my reading or writing with the air conditioning drifting cool air throughout the house.
Not so for our bird life. Many of our wonderful garden birds really suffer during such hot spells. I keep our various bird baths topped up with clean fresh water, and there is a constant stream of birds visiting for a drink, and often for a splash. The Magpie Larks (see photo above) are really keen to come to the bird bath in our front garden. We have a good view of this spot from our sun room which also doubles as a bird hide suitable for photography as well.
The Magpie Larks don’t have the water all to themselves. The local resident Australian Magpies also love to come for a drink and to bathe. The magpies can be very bossy, too. They like to either stand in the water – or sit in the water, often for an hour or more at a time. No sharing, just exclusive occupation.
Perhaps I need to set up a booking system.
Angry birds in our garden
No Comments »13th December, 2012; Category: Baby birds, Bird Behaviour, Eagles Hawks and Kites, Garden birds, Magpies and Currawongs, Pardalotes
Young Grey Currawong
Last week I wrote about the young Grey Currawongs being fed by the adults in our garden. They are still hanging around and squawking noisily whenever they get hungry – which seems to be most of the time.
Yesterday morning I was doing some reading in our sun room when a sudden screeching noise outside interrupted my thoughts. I grabbed the binoculars (but not the camera, alas) and raced outside. High up in the sky above our house a Little Eagle was soaring around on the gentle breeze, obviously looking for something to eat for lunch.
The eagle seemed oblivious to the fact that both currawong parents were attacking it, screeching loudly in order to chase away the offending predator. Slowly, almost nonchalantly, the eagle glided away out of sight and the currawongs calmed down and resumed feeding the young ones., and peace resumed in the garden.
More angry birds
The currawongs are not the only angry birds resident in our garden. The Australian Magpies chase off the Grey Currawongs and the White-winged choughs, the Willie Wagtails are constantly attacking all three already mentioned and the Red Wattlebirds appear to have a distinct dislike towards anything with wings, including the hapless tiny Pardalotes. This latter conflict is a real miss-matched war: wattlebirds are bout 36cm long compared with the pardalotes weighing in at only 8cm. I reckon the wattlebirds are the big bullies in our little patch.
Spotted Pardalotes
Red Wattlebird
Baby Currawongs in the garden
2 Comments »6th December, 2012; Category: Baby birds, Garden birds, Honeyeaters, Magpies and Currawongs
Young Grey Currawong
I had almost finished dressing this morning when my wife called to me from the kitchen. She had just seen a bird she didn’t recognise fly onto the branch of a tree in our garden. I grabbed the camera and headed out to capture said bird on film – well, digitally, anyway.
It turned out to be a very downy young Grey Currawong waiting patiently for the parents to come feed it. Both parents were hovering in the background waiting for me to move back indoors. Later, from a distance, I saw another young bird being fed in trees a little further distance from the house.
Only a few days ago I was wondering why we hadn’t seen any currawongs in our garden recently. They must have been nesting elsewhere and busy feeding these two large babies. Nice to have them around again, though the smaller birds like the honeyeaters detest them, especially when they still have young in the nest. A baby honeyeater, pardalote or thornbill makes a tasty meal for a fast growing currawong.
Young Grey Currawong
Young Grey Currawong
Grey Currawong
Magpies up close and personal
I was working at our picnic table on our back veranda yesterday. I was marking a brilliant essay written by one of my uni students; she obviously listened well to my lectures and absorbed all the important points. Either that – or I’m a good teacher. The house was cold after a frosty night and the table was bathed in beautiful winter sun. I decided to take advantage of the sun while it lasted.
Half way through my work one of our resident Australian Magpies – a brilliantly coloured male – flew in, perched on one of the chairs and then onto the table where he proceeded to strut around in front of me, not more than a half metre from where I sat. He was obviously looking for bread crumb scraps left over from our lunch.
He stayed for several minutes before a juvenile bird joined us, sitting on the BBQ a few metres away. A sudden squawk from other magpies in the orchard startled them both into action, and they flew off rapidly in that direction.
Pity I didn’t have my camera with me.
Never mind – a similar incident happened to us last year near Mildura when we were having a roadside picnic. On that close encounter, the birds did score a few crumbs from our biscuits – and nearly nabbed a whole one from the biscuit tin left open on the table. The photo below was taken on that occasion.
Australian Magpie (black backed)