Noisy birds in Chatswood
This afternoon my wife and I accompanied our 19 month old grandson and our son on a visit to Chatswood on the Sydney North Shore area. The Chatswood CBD is an easy twenty minute walk from his home. We found a good spot to have a delicious lunch and later did some shopping.
It was dark when we left on the homeward walk. My attention was drawn to an extremely noisy group of birds calling just outside the doors of one of the shopping precincts. In three medium sized street trees there must have been several hundred birds, all calling raucously as they settled down to roost. In the little light coming from the shops I was able to determine that they were Rainbow Lorikeets. I can’t ever recall seeing so many together in such a small area.
Earlier on when heading for Chatswood we saw two Rainbow Lorikeets feeding near the footpath. I regretted not having my camera with me. I would have got some excellent shots. You’ll have to put up with photos taken elsewhere some time ago.
Rainbow Lorikeet, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
Princess Parrot
Princess Parrot, Adelaide Zoo
The Princess Parrot of inland Australia is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of our large array of beautiful parrots. Sadly I have not seen this species in its natural environment, but I have seen it many times in captivity. It is a very popular aviary bird and breeding pairs can be quite expensive, such is the demand.
I took this photo recently through the wire mesh of an aviary at the Adelaide Zoo. Although it is not a brilliant photo I was shooting through black wire mesh so it is reasonable I guess.
The Princess Parrot – also known as Alexandra’s Parrot – is very much a bird of inland Australia where it is quite rare. Any sighting is exciting and notable. Its natural range covers much of NW South Australia, SW Northern Territory and eastern Western Australia. In this range it is highly nomadic, often being absent from any one area for many years until reappearing suddenly in response to good conditions.
That’s not a bird!
Long-nosed Potoroo, Adelaide Zoo
On my visit to the Adelaide Zoo last week I spent some time in a walk through aviary. I wanted to get some more photos of the birds in their collection so I could share them here.
After several minutes in the enclosure my attention was drawn to the wooden walkway I was on. A small furry creature had jumped up on the walkway and came to investigate my shoes. It was a Long-nosed Potoroo, a small Australian mammal the size of a rabbit. He sniffed quite deliberately all around my shoes before hopping off to get a rub and a scratch from some children who had just entered the aviary.
This species of potoroo is found in Tasmania and in small numbers on the mainland, mainly coastal NSW and Victoria. It is not entirely nocturnal (unlike many of our mammals) and lives on fungi, insects, seeds, fruit, and vegetation.
Now to appease the birders who come to this site, here are two photos of birds I took only a minute or so before the potoroo came into my life.
Female Eclectus Parrot, Adelaide Zoo
Male Eclectus Parrot, Adelaide Zoo
Galahs lose their home
Galahs at nesting hollow
A few months ago I wrote about a pair of Galahs investigating a hollow in a large tree in our garden. Every day or so they would come and do a little more in the hollow. I even saw them lining the nest with fresh gum leaves. But it didn’t happen. Their happy homemaking never resulted in the happy – noisy – squawk of little ones.
In the meantime I noticed that they would come every few days, sit at the entrance and screech loudly into the hollow. This behaviour puzzled me. I wondered if some other creature – an owl perhaps – had taken up residence.
A few nights ago I found out what had happened – and I have photographic evidence of who had taken over their cosy love nest. The photos below tell the story.
Brush-tailed Possum
Brush-tailed Possum
Rainbow Lorikeets feeding
Rainbow Lorikeets, Victor Harbor, South Australia
We recently spent a few days in Victor Harbor on the south coast of South Australia. We stayed in the caravan park close to the beach. The park boasts many fine mature trees, including some eucalyptus trees which were heavy in flower. The local Rainbow Lorikeets were flocking in large numbers to feed on the nectar in the flowers, making a constant racket as they fed. During the day this was not much of a problem, though it did get on the nerves a little as it went on hour after hour.
The main problem came at first light, just when one is trying to get that last few minutes of sleep. A Rainbow Lorikeet screeching to his friends a few metres above your caravan is an unsettling alarm clock.
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Rainbow Lorikeets, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Rainbow Lorikeets, Victor Harbor, South Australia