An air conditioned Thornbill
Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Canberra
We are in the midst of a heatwave this week. On Monday it reached 40C (104F), yesterday 45C (113F) and it looks like another 40+ day today.
Our poor garden birds – along with birds everywhere, suffer greatly during such extreme temperatures. I try to keep the supply of water in the bird baths up during these times, something they much appreciate if the constant stream of birds is anything to go by.
During the worst of the heat yesterday I was working in my office. I was being kept cool by the gentle flow of cool air from our evaporative air conditioner. This type of cooler needs an open window to create a flow of cool air into a room. The window alongside of me was ajar a few centimetres.
I was suddenly aware of a Yellow-rumped Thornbill cooling itself in the flow of air escaping from my office. He twittered in appreciation for about five minutes, wings held out to catch the refreshing air, before flying off to catch afternoon tea.
It was a lovely interruption to my afternoon of writing.
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A Large Flock of White-winged Choughs
White-winged Choughs, Botanic Gardens, Canberra
At the moment I am working outside in the cool of the evening on my laptop. I’d just sat down to do something with no thought about birding when I was distracted by a flock of White-winged Choughs in our garden.
Normally we have a family groups of about 8 regularly patrolling the grounds, feeding and minding their own business.
I was attracted by the extra noise being created by this flock this evening. I looked up and counted at least 16 birds flying past, all making quite a racket. This number is a little unusual as normally family groups around here number from about five to a dozen, rarely more.
All I can assume is that two neighbouring groups have met where their territories cross over. That was the probable cause of the noisy and larger than normal group. Whatever the reason, they have now moved on and I can no longer hear them. Their territories can cover many hectares.
The photo above was taken a few weeks ago a long distance from here in Murray Bridge. It was taken during a visit to Canberra Botanic Gardens.
Rainbow Bee-eaters
Rainbow Bee-eater
One of the Australian bird species I always enjoy seeing (or hearing) is the Rainbow Bee-eater. This bird is a seasonal visitor in the summer months here in Murray Bridge, South Australia. Small flocks (and sometimes only an individual) arrive in spring and depart on their way north in late summer (about February) or early autumn (March).
Many years ago we had them nesting on our five acre block of land. From childhood I have been intrigued by this beautiful bird that makes its nest at the end of a small tunnel in the sand or in the sandy bank of a road or railway cutting.
I suspect that they currently nest in the banks of an ephemeral creek about hlaf a kilometre from our home. They may also nest up the hill from our place.
This summer they arrived here a little later than usual. Over the last month I don’t know if they have visited our garden as we have been away interstate. Since returning last Friday, however, they have been hanging around almost every day, coming for a short while and then moving elsewhere. I haven’t been able to get close enough for a new photo, so I’ve used one taken several years ago.
White-winged Choughs in the heat
Yesterday I wrote about Magpies in the hot weather we are having. So far we have had a rather mild summer, but the last few days has brought in the hot weather we’ve been expecting for some weeks. More hot days are forecast for the coming week.
During warm weather our bird baths are well used by the resident birds in our garden. When it is hot there is a constant stream of birds of many different species taking advantage of the water for both drinking and bathing. It is great entertainment for us as well as providing a much needed resource for the birds.
At one stage yesterday I was amused by the family of eight White-winged Choughs who all came to have a drink. All at once. I am so pleased that they did not decide to have a bath as well. A single Magpie can almost empty the bird bath in minutes; I’d hate to think how little water would have been left after eight WW Choughs had finished bathing!
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater
We usually have a plentiful number of honeyeaters resident and breeding in our garden and the nearby mallee scrub. Probably the most numerous is the New Holland Honeyeater. This would be closely followed by the Red Wattlebird and the White-plumed Honeyeater. We also have several Singing Honeyeaters. From time to time we have visits from a small flock of Brown-headed Honeyeaters. They love splashing in our bird bath. Several other species visit only rarely. Some I haven’t seen here in many years.
One species we usually have around the garden somewhere is the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, as shown in the photos on this post. This species has been rather quiet lately. Just before I managed to race for the camera and get these shots the adult bird was feeding a young one. They must have been keeping their presence quiet while they were nesting.
This species is found throughout much of mainland Australia but not in Tasmania. It is also absent from the tropical north, coastal south east and far south west of the continent. Its preferred habitats include drier woodlands, scrubs and gardens.
The plant shown in the photos is Eremophila glabra.
When they were little, our children used to call this bird the “yoo-hoo” bird. This is one of its calls and is quite memorable. My wife and I still refer to it by this name.
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater