Trevor's Birding

Eastern Whipbird, Artarmon, Sydney

10 Comments »4th October, 2012; Category: Bird Behaviour

Last weekend I went with my 4yo grandson to a nearby playground in Artarmon Reserve, Sydney. we’d been there a number of times over recent years and I’ve always taken my camera in case I saw an interesting bird or two. The usual suspects were present: Pied Currawongs, Australian Magpies, Noisy Miners, Rainbow Lorikeets and a few other species from time to time.

On this occasion, I was delighted to hear an Eastern Whipbird in the well vegetated gully below the playground. This gully is the creek bed running along a walking and cycling track (Cordia Way). This waterway drains many of the surrounding streets and eventually drains into Sydney Harbour.

The bird in question called infrequently over the half hour we were there, and I never saw it out in the open. I stalked it for the whole period, but never had a chance to take a photo. This is quite a secretive species, and will stay in thick vegetation most of the time. One day I might get lucky.

Until I can show a photo of my own here, you will have to go here to see one, as well as find out more about the species.

UPDATE: Searching through my bird photos today I discovered this photo of an Eastern Whipbird taken in 2007. I must admit I cheated with this one – the bird is one of the large collection of birds kept in the Adelaide Zoo.

Eastern Whipbird in the Adelaide Zoo

One legged Silver Gull at Horseshoe Bay

2 Comments »3rd October, 2012; Category: Gulls and Terns, Photos

One legged Silver Gull, Horseshoe Bay, South Australia

Every now and then I see a gull with part of a leg missing. The birds with this disability were probably attached by a fish or shark at some stage. Despite not being totally intact, they seem to manage quite well.

On a recent visit to the south coast of South Australia – Horseshoe Bay near Victor Harbor, we saw the gull featured above with only one leg. again, it seemed to be in top notch health and coping really well.

Below I have included a few more photos of Silver Gulls taken at the same time. This continues my photographic fascination with this very common species.

Silver Gull, Horseshoe Bay, South Australia

Superb Parrot near Wagga Wagga

4 Comments »30th September, 2012; Category: Adelaide Zoo, Parrots and Lorikeets

Superb Parrot, Adelaide Zoo

We recently travelled by road from home in Murray Bridge, South Australia (near Adelaide) to visit family in Sydney. The road trip took two days of many hours of travelling because it is a journey of over 1300km. We didn’t have many opportunities to stop and do some birding, so I had to be content with the birds seen while travelling along at highway speeds – usually 95 – 105kph. That’s not conducive to good birding practices, nor does it allow bird photography.

While travelling between Narrandera and Wagga Wagga in central west NSW I saw a solitary Superb Parrot fly across the road in front of the car. This is only the second time I’ve seen this parrot outside of an aviary. This particular area is one of the regions where this species is relatively common. It is a spectacular bird, as shown in the photo above. I cheated with this photo; it was taken of a captive bird in one of the aviaries in the Adelaide Zoo. It’s not a great photo because it was taken through the wire netting of the aviary. One day I’ll see one in the wild, one which poses perfectly for my camera.

Noisy Friarbird and a few other birds

No Comments »27th September, 2012; Category: Bush birds, Honeyeaters

On our current trip to Sydney to visit family, we stopped a few times along the way. As I said yesterday, the journey is over 1300km, so we need to stop a few times for fuel and to change drivers. We also stop occasionally for a cup of tea and a meal break. On these occasions we usually choose a place well away from towns and in a bush setting; the birding is often better.

On the second morning of our trip we stopped at an unnamed rest area on the side of the Sturt Highway between Hay and Narrandera, NSW, in the locality of Tubbo Station. While having morning tea and a cuppa I saw a number of bird species, including Australian Ravens, Australian Magpies, Willie Wagtails, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes, Grey Shrike Thrush, White-winged Choughs and the tiny Weebill. All lovely birds but very common in this area, and all birds I’d seen many times while driving along.

We also saw several Yellow Rosellas, a beautiful bird and less widespread than many parrots. Another interesting bird is the Apostlebird, one I always enjoy seeing on the journey over to Sydney. Undoubtedly the highlight of this brief stop was to see several Noisy Friarbirds, one of the honeyeaters of Australia. While this is a common species in the eastern parts of Australia, it’s not one I’ve seen very often, making it an extra special sighting. I didn’t get a photo of it, but you can read more about this species and see a photo here.

Apostlebird

Baby Emus on the Hay Plains

4 Comments »26th September, 2012; Category: Baby birds, Emus and Cassowaries, Trip reports

Male Emu with babies, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

In my posting yesterday here I mentioned that we recently went on a road trip to Sydney to help out our family living there. At a distance of just over 1300km it is a significant journey to undertake, fully two days of travelling. We’ve done this journey many times over the last 15 years, and now we have the incentive of visiting our only grandchildren in the process.

Because the journey takes up most of the two days there are few opportunities for birding along the way – except from the car while speeding along at over 100kph. It always delights me when I see something special, like the Banded Lapwings yesterday. I usually make a list of the species seen along the way.

One bird species I always look for in the early stages of the trip is the Emu. The western plains of NSW are good habitat for this species and we usually see one or two small flocks. On this occasion we saw two separate groups, the second one being a male adult bird accompanied by about 4 or 5 half grown chicks, a little bigger than those shown in the photo above. This photo was taken some time ago in Monarto Zoo which is close to our home, being only about a 15 minute drive away.