Trevor's Birding

Spring is on the way – and so are the cuckoos

No Comments »25th August, 2011; Category: Cuckoos, Garden birds, Nests

Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo

Earlier this week I was sitting on our back veranda doing some reading – and enjoying the lovely sunshine. After many weeks of gloomy, drizzling weather it was wonderful to soak up some warmth.

My reading was suddenly interrupted by the distinctive call of a Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo. I looked up and saw this bird perched near the top of a nearby mallee tree. (The branches are dead because they have been ring-barked and subsequently killed by two Galahs chewing the bark.)

I raced inside for the camera and managed a few reasonable photos before it flew off, probably looking for an unsuspecting host to care for its eggs and young. Like most cuckoos in Australia (and elsewhere), this species is parasitic, meaning that they lay their eggs in the nests of other species. Around our garden this probably means the nest of a thornbill.

The unsuspecting host pair hatch the cuckoo’s egg and then feed the young cuckoo. The young cuckoo will even tip the other young birds out of the nest – and thus get all of the food.

Since hearing this bird I’ve heard others in the district, so the spring/summer breeding season is definitely on the way.

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Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo

A bush picnic – but few birds

No Comments »24th August, 2011; Category: Trip reports

Bushland nature trail near Walpeup, NW Victoria

Sydney Trip Report June 2011

On the first day of our trip to Sydney earlier this year we stopped for a picnic lunch at a roadside picnic area near the small township of Walpeup. This farming community is between Ouyen in NW Victoria and the South Australian border. This picnic area came with a short nature trail through the native scrub next to the road. Some of the plants were of particular interest to my wife who is an avid grower of Australian native plants.

Despite the day being quite sunny, the weather was most unpleasant. A stiff breeze blew from the south bringing bitterly cold air all the way from the Antarctic – or that’s what it felt like. The birding was very poor and I only heard a handful of individual birds calling. I didn’t actually see anything.

The following is a very short list of birds heard over the 20 minute period we were there:

Singing Honeyeater
White-browed Babbler
Grey Shrike-thrush
Little Raven

Oh well – you get days like that.

Good birding – and I hope you get a better list than that!

Now here’s a common sight in Australia

No Comments »22nd August, 2011; Category: Camera, Photos, Pigeons and Doves, Trip reports

Grain silos at Lameroo, South Australia

Sydney Trip Report June 2011

Grain storage silos are a common sight throughout the cereal growing areas of Australia. Almost every small town has some and they make up a prominent feature of the landscape. On our trip to Sydney earlier this year we passed many such structures along the way. They become so commonplace one almost forgets that they are there.

Not me.

I usually give silos more than a quick glance as they flash by, checking out each one for any interesting birds perching on the building or flying nearby. Sadly I’m usually disappointed because the most common inhabitant of these artificial “cliffs” are Rock Doves (feral pigeons), usually in their hundreds. Quite often they are in the company of just as many House Sparrows.

On the odd occasion, however, I have seen Nankeen Kestrels, Black-shouldered Kites, flocks of Galahs and Corellas and even cockatoos. At Lameroo I only managed to see some Rock Doves (see photo below). It’s not a brilliant photo, but considering the silos were some 200 or more metres away, the zoom on my camera is impressive.

Sometimes one has to be content with the common, ordinary species and a not so wonderful photo.

Rock Doves (Feral Pigeons) at Lameroo, South Australia

Interesting Magpies at Lameroo

No Comments »19th August, 2011; Category: Magpies and Currawongs, Trip reports

Male Black-backed Magpie at Lameroo, South Australia

Sydney Trip Report June 2011

The various races of Australian Magpies make a fascinating – albeit confusing – study. Here in Murray Bridge, South Australia, the magpies are almost all of the White-backed variety. The further one drives east, the Black-backed magpies become the dominant race until over in Victoria and into NSW they are all Black-backed Magpies. Travelling north into Queensland or south into Victoria and the races (and amounts of black v. white change). Travel to Western Australia and the races change again. It can be quite confusing , especially when the races interbreed. Layer upon this the colour variations of juveniles and you have a recipe for a headache trying to identify which race you are seeing.

On our trip to Sydney earlier this year we stopped for morning tea at Lameroo in eastern South Australia. In the picnic grounds of Lake Roberts I took the photos on this post of a nicely coloured male Black-backed Magpie (see above and below). Interestingly, it was accompanying a White-backed female (see photo below). They were feeding together. I wish I was visiting Lameroo in the coming weeks to see if these two individuals breed together, or are just being sociable (as magpies are known to do).

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Male Black-backed Magpie (left) with female White-backed Magpie (right)

Male Black-backed Magpie at Lameroo, South Australia

Masked Lapwings, Lake Roberts, Lameroo

No Comments »17th August, 2011; Category: Bush birds, Lapwings, Trip reports, Waterbirds

Masked Lapwings, Lake Roberts, Lameroo, South Australia

Sydney Trip Report June 2011

As I wrote yesterday, we stopped at Lameroo on the first morning of our trip to Sydney earlier this year. Lake Roberts on the eastern edge of town is a good birding spot with a mixture of bush birds and water birds inhabiting this artificial wetland area. On most of my visits I have seen at least two Masked Lapwings. They feed on the grassed area around the lake and picnic area. Behind me where I took these photos is the small caravan park which is also a grassed area. Last year we saw several chicks in the caravan park, running after the adults.

We stayed at this spot for about 20 minutes while we had a cuppa and morning tea. The following is a list of birds observed during that time:

Black-shouldered Kite
Brown Falcon
Nankeen Kestrel
Little Pied Cormorant
Muscovy Duck (introduced species)
Masked Lapwing
Rock Dove (introduced species)
Crested Pigeon
Galah
Variegated Fairy-wren
Red Wattlebird
Magpie Lark
Australian Magpie (both Black-backed and White-backed)
Little Raven
White-winged Chough
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

Some of these were seen in the town or on the road leading into town and not at the lake.

Lake Roberts, Lameroo, South Australia

Masked Lapwings, Lake Roberts, Lameroo, South Australia