A Laughing Kookaburra comes to lunch
Several days after Christmas last year we had a family picnic at Lane Cove National Park. It was a hot and humid day and the bird life was rather quiet. My son often comes here with his camera looking for birds to photograph. I did manage a modest list for the day, but this was not my main objective. I wanted photographs of species I don’t see at home in Murray Bridge.
After a long walk along the river we came back in time for lunch – hot, tired and not a little sweaty. As we were eating this friendly Laughing Kookaburra joined us. He flew on to a branch only five metres from our picnic table, eying off any food he might snatch in a moment of human inattention. Had he succeeded he would have tasted some of our delicious Christmas lunch leftovers.
Black-backed Magpies
Australian Magpies are widespread throughout the both rural and urban areas. The magpie is one of our most recognised bird species. What many people don’t realise is that there are several distinct sub-species of the Australian Magpie. These were once recognised as distinct species, but more recently have been lumped together as one species. I discuss this issue here. In essence, they are now recognised as one species because they interbreed in the wild. The three races were Black-backed, White-backed and Western Magpies.
While in Sydney recently I managed to get several good photos of the Black-backed race of Magpies. One of these is shown above. The bird on the right is being fed by the adult on the left. The photo was taken in Lane Cove National Park, Sydney.
Bird photography runs in the family
It seems that the love of bird photography runs in the family.
My son has some new photographic gear that he loves using. On a recent visit home he proudly showed me his new equipment: a Canon EOS 40D digital SLR.
Nice camera – bit on the heavy side for my liking, but one can really get into the photo game with gear like that.
Anyway, Simon has been posting a few of his bird photos on his blog. Here are some recent posts that include bird shots:
- Munro park / Tunks Park– (north Sydney
- Parrots at Tunks – King Parrots
- Lane Cove National Park
- Kookaburra on the clothes line – a stunning close up photo
And here is where I wrote about my camera and bird photography:
Birding Bloopers #15
Stephen Ambrose is a regular contributor to the Birding-Aus forum and he has also contributed to this series of posts on birding bloopers. His experience just goes to show several facts about birds:
- Birds are unpredictable.
- Birds do not read the field guides
- Birds never follow your script
- Birds convince you that you must expect the unexpected.
Here is Stephen’s account.
A single Powerful Owl had been recorded roosting by day in bushland adjacent to a major construction site in the Ryde/Lane Cove area of Sydney. The edge of the construction envelope was only 40 m from where the owl had been recorded roosting so, quite understandably, some local residents were concerned that construction activities (which were 18 hrs/day) would disturb both roosting and foraging behaviours of this owl.
This led to me being contracted by the construction company to monitor the use of the bushland by this and possibly other Powerful Owls over a period of several months as partial means of addressing the concerns of the public. The Powerful Owl in question was a young male which did not appear to have a mate or be part of a family group during the period of investigation. It continued to use the same roost site nightly for the 1st month of surveys, after which it disappeared. Four more months of surveys went by without encountering the owl at this roost site.
Eventually the time came for the construction company to begin its work. At this point I was asked to educate the construction workers about Powerful Owls (habitat requirements, general ecology, how to identify them by sight and sound, etc) as part of their worksite induction. Towards the end of the induction session I took the workers for a stroll through the bushland to show them where the owl had been roosting previously. On the way to this site I said to them confidently “we will not see the bird because it has not been there for the last 4 months, but it is useful to identify the area that should not be disturbed”. Famous last words – within 2 minutes of uttering them we arrived at the site and there was the roosting Powerful Owl with a partially eaten possum in its talons! The construction workers were highly amused and I was a little red-faced. The timing of its return could not have been better timed!
Two years down the track and the construction project has just been completed. A single Powerful Owl (possibly the same one) still uses that same roost site on and off. If it is the same bird, then it still doesn’t seem to have a mate.
Stephen Ambrose
My thanks to Stephen for contributing this amusing story.
To read more birding bloopers click here.
Question for readers:
When did you experience an embarrassing birding moment? Perhaps it was a mistaken identification. Perhaps you didn’t look carefully enough and were later proved wrong. Maybe the bird itself fooled you in some way.
I invite readers to submit their birding bloopers in the comments section below. If it’s good enough I might just feature it in a post of its own, with a link back to your blog (if you have one).
Common Redstart, Volubilis, Morocco
On route from Meknes to Fes on our tour of Morocco we stopped to inspect the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis. This was a wonderful introduction to the oldest structures my wife and I have ever seen. It was fascinating, made even more significant in that it was one of many UNESCO World heritage Sites we visited during our tour of Morocco and Spain.
Because the ruins are in the countryside with farmland all around, I managed to see a few birds – in between absorbing the experience of seeing these amazing ruins and taking heaps of photos.
One of the first species I saw was this Common Redstart, a new species for me, that is, it was the first time I had seen this species in my life. It posed nicely for me in clear view. On this leg of the trip I didn’t have a field guide to help me identify the birds I saw. I relied on taking reasobale photos of the birds I saw. It was only when I arrived back home in Australia that I was able to find out the names of the birds seen during this part of our holiday. I must say that some have been a little hard tracking down. Most, however, are covered very well by online sites with good photos. It has enabled me to wander down memory lane time and again as I look at my shots, and remember all the highlights of the trip – of which there were many.
Note: this article was updated and new material added on 12th March 2016.