Ravens v Choughs
White Winged Chough
In my last post I wrote about the Little Ravens feeding their recently fledged young in our garden. A few hours later I heard a great commotion coming from the mallee scrub near our house. A family of White Winged Choughs was on their regular patrol through our property. The ravens objected to the noisy neighbours coming to visit. Perhaps the ravens didn’t like anyone getting too close to their young.
Protection of young cuts both ways it seems. On investigating the noise I discovered that the Choughs were protecting a number of newly fledged young as well. These were quite small and only just able to fly.
White Winged Choughs
No wonder there was conflict. No wonder they were upset with each other. And it all goes to show that spring is really here in South Australia with the frenzy of breeding all around.
Related articles:
Immature Pied Butcherbird
Pied Butcherbird (immature)
In my last post, I wrote about the quiet day of birding I had at Round Hill Nature Reserve north-west of Lake Cargelligo. I was on my way to Sydney to visit family and made a little detour on the way. The birding was not up to my expectations but I enjoyed the visit anyway. It is certainly a better place to visit in the Spring and early Summer when more of the vegetation is in flower.
Mount Hope
After my visit to the reserve, I continued on towards Mount Hope, a small community of a few houses and a hotel. I stopped here for a few minutes to check out what birds were around but only managed to see seven species. I then drove south towards Hillston, stopping briefly at a roadside rest area. At that point, I had good views of Mallee Ringneck parrots and Blue Bonnet parrots as they flew across the road in front of my car.
Lachlan Valley Way
A little further along in the locality known as Wallenthery I turned east and took the Lachlan Valley Way back towards Lake Cargelligo. This road follows the Lachlan River. At one point I had good views of a Little Eagle and four Yellow-billed Spoonbills flying overhead. Nearby were several hundred Galahs (with a handful of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos keeping them company), a family of six White-winged Choughs and a Wedge-tail Eagle flying low. I also saw a solitary Emu, plenty of Apostlebirds and several small flocks of Blue Bonnet parrots.
At this point, the sun was setting quickly and the clouds were moving in making photography tricky. I only wished that I had more time to spend in this area to capture photos of some of the species mentioned and to seek out others that I may have missed.
Pied Butcherbird
When I returned to my cabin in the lovely caravan park, I was able to get a few shots of the resident Pied Butcherbird shown in the photos above and below. If you look closely at these photos, you will see that the bird has a brown throat and chest meaning that this is an immature bird. It hasn’t yet developed the black throat of the adult bird. If you click on this link, you will see a photo of an adult bird taken earlier in my trip.
This young bird was perched on the gutter of the cabin next door before it swooped down to catch a tasty dinner from the ground. The lawn in that part of the park had been disturbed earlier by one of the park gardeners weeding it. It was a fitting end to a good day’s birding despite some minor disappointments.
Good birding,
Trevor
Pied Butcherbird (immature)
Birding at Euabalong
Galahs, Euabalong, NSW
Last month I drove from home in Murray Bridge to my son’s home in Sydney. At just over 1300 kilometres, it is a drive which can be easily done in two days. In more recent trips over there, I have chosen a variety of routes in order to see more of this wonderful land in which we live. On my most recent trip, I took four days to get there, planning to do some birding along the way.
I stayed for two nights in a cabin in the lovely Lake Cargelligo Caravan Park. This town is situated in the mid-west of New South Wales. It is, in fact, almost mid-way from anywhere in the state. The town caters for most needs of travellers but the area has suffered during the recent years of drought. By way of contrast, the area around Lake Cargelligo had received good falls of rain in the few weeks leading up to my visit. Water was lying everywhere, particularly on the sides of all roads. I hope that this good rain will help the farmers recover from their recent drought.
On the day after my arrival, I had planned to do a whole day of birding in the area. My first stop was at the small community of Euabalong which is about a half-hour drive north. The Lachlan River flows through town (see photo below) and it was certainly worth a stop to observe the local bird population.
Lachlan River at Euabalong, central NSW
I found a dirt track leading to the banks of the river and stopped for a while to make a list of the birds I could see and hear. The local Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (photo below) were making a terrible racket. They were screeching loudly and flying around erratically. I then spotted the cause of the upset. A Little Eagle and a Wedge-tailed Eagle were swooping low over the eucalypt trees where the cockatoos had been perched. They must have been looking for a mid-morning snack. I only saw the two eagles momentarily before they glided out of view. There was no opportunity to get a photo or two. Some Little Corellas (photo below) and Galahs (photo above) were also a part of the ruckus.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo at Euabalong, NSW
After leaving the picnic area next to the Lachlan River, I drove slowly around the small town (population less than 200) to add to my list of birds seen or heard. I could easily have added to this list by stopping elsewhere in the town, but other places were calling me to keep going.
Here is a list of birds I listed:
- Australian Raven (several)
- Crested Pigeon (2)
- Magpie-lark (2)
- Red-rumped Parrot (4)
- Galah (about 30)
- Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (100+)
- Little Eagle (1)
- Wedge-tailed Eagle (1)
- Black-backed Magpie (2)
- Peaceful Dove (1 heard)
- Apostlebird (5)
- House Sparrow (30)
- Welcome Swallow (2)
- Pied Butcherbird (1)
- Little Corella (2 photographed but there would have been more in the flying flock)
My next stop was Euabalong West, just several kilometres to the west. There I added the following species:
- Superb Parrot (1)
- White-winged Choughs (15)
- Noisy Miner (5)
- Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (1)
- White=plumed Honeyeater (5)
Happy birding,
Trevor
Little Corellas, Euabalong, NSW
Park like area near the Lachlan River at Euabalong
Birding is easy
It has a been a long time since I wrote a basic post about birding.
Some years ago I wrote a series of 21 articles called How to be a Birder.
This post is not an update on that series. This is just a heads-up to new readers of this site. I was encouraged to write this in response to an article I recently read here. That article is for American readers. What I have to say is largely for my Australian readers – but the same principles apply nearly worldwide.
Birding is really easy
Birding is quite easy. Just glance out of the window into your garden. Do you see any birds? Perhaps you can see a pigeon or a dove or possibly a sparrow. You’ve just become a birder. One of our common birds here in South Australia is a Crested Pigeon, shown below. (Okay – some of you will know it as a “Top Knot” Pigeon, but strictly speaking, that official name belongs to a bird found in the eastern parts of Australia.)
“Topsy” the Crested Pigeon
Binoculars and Bird Baths
I usually keep a cheap pair of binoculars handy where I can get to them quickly. We often spend a good part of the day in our sunroom which overlooks a part of the garden. A large picture window in this room gives us a great view of several bird baths. The binoculars give me a great view of any birds which come for a drink or a bath. Installing a bird bath in your garden, even a small garden, can help to bring the birds closer for you to watch – birds like the honeyeater in the next photo.
White-plumed Honeyeater
Into the garden
A short stroll out into the garden or even down the street can reveal plenty more birds. Keep a watch out for any movement in plants, bushes and up in the branches of any trees growing nearby. Pay special attention to any flowers you see – Australian honeyeaters and parrots love the flowers of both native Australian plants as well as exotic plants. The Noisy Miner shown in the photo below is sure enjoying a feed from a red hot poker flower.
Noisy Miner
Go for a picnic
Another good way to become a birder and to begin enjoying our birds is to go for a picnic. This could be to a local park, a nearby river, lake or beach or to your nearest botanic gardens. In these places, you are sure to find a good variety of birds, especially if there is a water feature or natural body of water. Becuase such places often have crowds of people, many of the birds will have become quite accustomed to humans and you will be able to get up quite close. Near and in the water you will find ducks, geese, herons, egrets, grebes, coots, moorhens, cormorants and many more that I haven’t listed here.
Although it may be tempting and satisfying, please do not feed the birds. Human food, especially bread, is not suitable for Australian birds. In fact, it can kill them.
Grey Teal, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker
Go hiking or camping
Australia has hundreds of National Parks and Reserves in every state. These locations are almost always excellent places to go hiking, having a barbecue or picnic or even camp overnight or for longer. Because these areas are usually natural bushland, the birding can also be wonderful, especially in spring here in Australia when many birds are nesting. Keep on the lookout for birds in the bushes and any vegetation, as well as higher up in the branches of the trees. The photo of a Galah shown below was taken at a wetland area near my home. The wetlands area is actually a sewage installation, beautifully landscaped with many bushes and trees.
Female Galah, Laratinga Wetlands (the male is working the hollow below her)
Birding while travelling
Warning: keep your eyes on the road and on the traffic all around you!
Yes, I also watch out for the birds I see while travelling. We have relatives and friends in many parts of Australia and visiting them sometimes entails many hours – and sometimes days – of travelling our countryside. As we go along I keep my eyes on the traffic and road conditions, but over many years, I have also become adept at watching out for any birds on the side of the road or flying over the road. Birds of prey like eagles and hawks are common along our country highways, as are ravens, choughs, magpies and currawongs. Sometimes this can be frustrating when it comes to identifying them as we speed by in our car, only getting a brief glimpse of the bird.
From time to time, it is safe to stop and get a closer look at a bird, even getting a photo if I have the camera handy. A few years ago I was driving slowly in an Adelaide street after dropping off my wife at a hospital. I was able to stop safely and quickly and get the photo of a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo which I have shown below. There was a small flock of these lovely birds right there in a suburban street tree.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Birding at night
For some people, this might be a little difficult, depending on the environment surrounding their home. It possibly wouldn’t work if you live in a high-rise apartment in the heart of a city. On the other hand, we live on the edge of a large country town with plenty of natural and planted scrub all around. We quite often switch off the television at night; there’s often nothing worth watching anyway.
The area around our home is often very quiet with very little traffic. On these occasions, we occasionally hear nocturnal birds such as owls, frogmouths or nightjars calling. The Southern Boobook Owl shown below was photographed in our garden some years ago.
Southern Boobook Owl
Birding while commuting
One way of usefully using the time spent commuting is to do some casual birding from the bus, tram or train. I haven’t done this much in my life because I always drove a car to work. To illustrate my point, we recently did a bus tour of Morocco. Wonderful country. Along the way I was able to see quite a few birds while travelling along, even getting the occasional photo, such as the egret shown below, taken from the bus. On the other hand, travelling at 300 kph in the high-speed trains in Spain is just a little too fast to be watching out for any birds. Exhilarating, yes, but difficult.
Little Egret, Morocco
More unusual birding places
In Bed: I like lingering in bed some mornings, trying to identify the bird calls outside without actually seeing them. This is particularly enjoyable when out bush camping, or in our caravan.
In church: I must confess that I have taken notice of birds while sitting in church. Our church has several windows which give me a good, but limited, view outside. Not getting distracted from the sermon can be a challenge.
At a funeral: Again, I confess to sometimes being distracted by birds at a funeral, especially during the committal if this is held outdoors. I refrain from taking my camera or binoculars on such occasions. The same applies to when I am in church.
In a plane: It is possible to see some high flying birds from planes, but I am talking about birds seen on the tarmac while waiting for the plane to leave, or while taxiing on the runway. I managed to see birds from the window of a plane in Adelaide, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Addis Ababa. Now if you add birds seen from the terminal while waiting for a flight, the list gets longer.
On a canoe, boat or ship: I have watched birds from my canoe on many occasions. I have also taken many photos from a friend’s boat on a nearby lake (see the pelican below). I even did some birding while travelling on a ship (ferry) from Morocco to Spain.
In hospital: Thankfully, I have only been in hospital on a handful of occasions. I have, however, visited people in hospital. Whenever there is a suitable window with a garden outside, there is always the potential to even be a birder while recuperating in bed.
Pelican over Lake Alexandrina, South Australia
How about you?
- Over to my readers; where do you like to go birding?
- What unusual places have you been birding?
- Leave a comment or two; I would really appreciate that.
Good birding,
Trevor
Postscript: In a restaurant: we stayed in a beautiful riad in Marrakech, Morocco. Because it was open to the sky, the birds were free to fly into the restaurant area. The owners even put out seed to attract them. See the photos below.
Common Bulbul in our riad in Marrakech
Common Bulbul in our riad in Marrakech
In our riad in Marrakech
Birds in the heat
No Comments »22nd January, 2016; Category: Bird baths, Bird Behaviour, Bush birds, Garden birds, Honeyeaters, Pardalotes, Pigeons and Doves
New Holland Honeyeaters at our bird bath
Here in South Australia we are experiencing our hottest summer on record. I won’t bore you with the details, but just say that we have had far too many days in the 40s (45C is equal to 113F). During such heatwaves – which can last for several days – our bird population suffers terribly. On these days the resident birds in our garden really appreciate the various bird baths we have placed in suitable locations.
Even on a warm day we get a constant parade of birds visiting the various bird baths in our garden. Our sun room overlooks several of them and this affords me an ideal location to take photos of them. Some birds still visit the water even on quite cold days – but we haven’t had many of those lately.
Probably the most common visitors would have to be the honeyeater species, including:
- Red Wattlebirds,
- White-plumed honeyeaters,
- New Holland Honeyeaters,
- Brown-headed Honeyeaters
- Singing Honeyeaters
- Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters
Other regular visitors include:
- Australian Magpies
- White-winged Choughs
- Grey Currawong
- Australian Magpie Larks
- Crested Pigeons
- Spotted Turtledove
- Striated Pardalote
- Spotted Pardalote
- Silvereyes
- House Sparrow
- Common Starling
- Common Blackbird
White-plumed Honeyeater
Male House Sparrow at our bird bath