Spring must be here
I have a sneaking suspicion that spring has arrived in South Australia.
My reasons?
- It has stopped raining every day.
- The nights are warm enough not to have a heater going.
- The days have more periods of sunshine than cloud.
- I’ve had serious bouts of hay fever.
- The birds are busy nesting.
And today I recorded two species of birds in our garden that usually arrive from up north about this time of the year.
The first was one of my favourites: the Rainbow Bee-eater.
Rainbow Bee-eater
The second species was the Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo. I only heard this one briefly late in the afternoon. This is the first cuckoo I’ve heard this spring. I will be listening carefully for the other species of cuckoo that occur here at this time of the year. And with so many other species breeding they shouldn’t have trouble finding a host for their eggs.
Spotted Turtledoves nesting
Spotted Turtledove
The Spotted Turtledove is an introduced bird species in Australia. They are very common in many cities and towns in much of Australia. We usually have a few resident in our garden and near the house. On many occasions they have made nests and raised little ones.
Two weeks ago we had a near disaster in our garden. We had a very large 15 metre gum tree come down in our driveway in a violent storm. You can see pictures of some of it on my writing site here.
A few days after the storm I noticed a Spotted Turtledove gathering small sticks on the ground just outside my office. It was carrying the sticks into the thickest part of the canopy of the fallen tree. Little did it know that I was about to cut up that part of the tree the next day. Our movement nearby and the noise of the chain saw just metres away obviously frightened it away.
Two days later my wife saw the bird carrying sticks to another tree nearby. This time it had chosen a tree which was not on my demolition plans. The next day it had changed its mind and was building a nest in a thick bush on the other side of the house, a site they had used successfully in previous breeding attempts. I will keep an eye on it.
Rufous Songlarks have arrived
Over recent days we have had the delight of hearing two Rufous Songlarks in our garden and in the nearby scrubland. This species is one of those that arrive in the springtime to breed. They spend the autumn and winter months in northern Australia where it is warmer – clever birds.
Around this time of the year they migrate south to breed. We don’t have them in our garden every year, but when they do come we love hearing their rich, melodious call echoing through the scrub. Some field guides describe the call in this way: “twitchy-tweedle”. I like that. You can hear a recording of the Rufous Songlark here, but be warned – it is not a very high quality recording and their call is partly drowned out by another bird, a calling Common Blackbird.
I will be keeping an eye on them in case they decide to make a nest nearby. I also need a photo of this species.
Little Ravens caught thieving
Little Raven about to steal some of the mat on our back veranda
Over the years I have found that many birds can be quite enterprising in their daily endeavours. One such example occurred a few days ago on our back veranda.
Little Ravens are very common in our part of the world here in Murray Bridge, South Australia. I often see a dozen or more flying overhead. Sometimes they gather to feed in a loose flock of many dozens in the paddock opposite our block of land.
Recently I had seen several of them close to the house and in the garden. I’d also seen them carrying nesting materials. A few days ago I looked out through one of the windows overlooking the back veranda, only to see one of the ravens tugging at the mat on the edge of it. In the photo above you can see how frayed one end of it has become, so I gather they’ve been thieving from our mat for some time.
And I thought the mat was becoming worn through wiping our muddy shoes on it!
A sparrow has little accident
A female House Sparrow seconds after an accident
This morning my attention was caught by a large bang on our kitchen window. I immediately went outside with my camera to see what had caused the noise.
On a table on the veranda was a female House Sparrow looking very sad indeed, but still breathing. I only took the one photo and backed off so I wasn’t adding to the bird’s stress. After about ten minutes she flew off, probably with a very sore head.
Window strikes are very common and can cause birds severe damage and often death. In our case, in certain light conditions, birds flying along in our garden think they can see the way clear to keep flying further into the garden. The reflection fools them into thinking the way is clear – until their flight comes to a sudden thudding stop when they hit the glass. Sadly, there is little we can do to prevent this. I am pleased the bird recovered and was able to fly. Some are not so fortunate.
A little later I discovered a dead male House Sparrow lying in the driveway. I’m not sure if his demise occurred at the same time as the female. Perhaps he was chasing her to mate. I guess it’s possible.