Birds and Plants of Pangarinda Arboretum
Banksia flower, Pangarinda Arboretum
Last week we had a short picnic at the Pangarinda Arboretum at Wellington East about a half hour drive south of our home here in Murray Bridge, South Australia.
It was a sunny winter’s day and the birds were very active, especially the honeyeaters. I didn’t get much of a chance to take photos of birds because none would sit and pose for me -except for one very cooperative New Holland Honeyeater.
New Holland Honeyeater, Pangarinda Arboretum
So instead of getting upset with the uncooperative birds, I spent most of my time taking photos of the many plants in flower.
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Wattle (Acacia) flowers, Pangarinda Arboretum
Hakea flowers, Pangarinda Arboretum
Flowers, Pangarinda Arboretum
New Holland Honeyeaters
New Holland Honeyeater
Last week we went for a short picnic lunch to the Pangarinda Arboretum at Wellington East, South Australia.
The breeze was cool – it is winter after all – but the sun was pleasant if you were out of the wind. While we had our lunch about half a dozen Welcome swallows entertained us by swooping all around. Two of them seemed to be having a race (breeding behaviour?) and as they swept past me they nearly collided with my nose.
While there were plenty of plants already flowering this spot will only come into its own in the coming month of so. Many plants were not yet flowering. Despite that the birds were already busy feeding on those plant that were in flower. The New Holland Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds and Singing Honeyeaters were particularly active everywhere through the park. We only stayed several hours but it was a pleasant diversion from the intense writing I have been doing over the last few weeks.
New Holland Honeyeater, Pangarinda Arboretum
New Holland Honeyeater, Pangarinda Arboretum
Galahs nesting
1 Comment »9th August, 2009; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Nests, Parrots and Lorikeets, Plants
Galahs at a hollow
Over the last few weeks several Galahs have been hanging around a hollow in one of our mallee trees near our house. This is the largest tree on our property and is probably well over a hundred years old-maybe several hundred. Only mature age mallee trees have trunks the size of this one. And only mature mallee trees develop branches large enough to create hollows.
Over recent years this hollow hosted a wild bee colony, but that seems to have moved on. Over the last two to three years Galahs have investigated this hollow on many occasions but none has nested in it. One pair even diligently went about enlarging the hollow but with no nesting taking place.
I can’t be sure whether this is the same pair or a new pair trying it on for size. They certainly seem very interested and hang around there off and on for several hours every day. They even chase off other interested tenants, so they must be quite serious about it.
I’ll keep you posted on any developments on the home front.
What is this bird?
Mystery bird, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
What is this bird?
During my visit to the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra early this year I saw the bird shown in the photograph above.
Even though it is a reasonable photo, I am at a loss to determine the species. It was not happy with me being there taking a series of photos. I heard several others but they failed to show themselves. The photo was taken in the fern gully near the entrance to the gardens. Below I’ve included several more photos of the habitat.
At first I thought they were White-browed Scrubwrens, but the call was wrong and there is no prominent white eye-brow.
The closest I can come to identification is Large-billed Scrubwren, but that species is not listed on the bird list for the gardens. Birds Australia atlas site is no help either.
Can any one help me? Leave your suggestions in the comments, or use the contact form.
UPDATE: I put out a request on the Birding-Aus and Canberra Birds newsgroups yesterday asking for help with identification of this bird. I had about 15 people reply and all but one said it was a juvenile White-browed Scrubwren. The mystery has been solved. Thanks everyone. I’ve published some pertinent responses in the comments below.
Fern gully, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Ferns in the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Sturt's Desert Pea, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
Whenever my wife and I travel interstate we look for national parks and botanic gardens to visit. Both afford excellent opportunities for us to pursue our interests. My wife is interested in Australian native plants and flowers – she has a small nursery – and I am interested in the birds that frequent such places.
On our trip through the eastern states last Christmas and New Year we visited Canberra for a short while. Our main objective was to visit the National Gallery to see the special Degas art exhibition. As important was a brief visit to the Australian National Botanic Gardens. These gardens are possibly our favourite in all that we have visited so far.
Outdoor concert, Botanic Gardens, Canberra
We were able to spend about three hours wandering the gardens on this occasion, not nearly enough time, granted, but we were on a tight schedule. During our stay we were entertained by a jazz group playing a variety of pieces. This, we found out, was a part of their Summer Series of concerts on Sunday evenings. Daylight Saving is ideal for such events and it proved to be very popular with many hundreds of people coming in to the gardens. Fortunately the music did not deter the birds, and I was able to compile a nice list and get some interesting photos.
Red Wattlebird, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra
With so many plants in the gardens, and many of them flowering, it is not surprising to find many honeyeaters present and active. The Red Wattlebird shown in the photo above was quite unafraid of me only a few metres away; they are obviously used to people.