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.
Apologies
Apologies to my regular readers.
I have been a little slow at responding to comments over the last week or so. This is because I was on a road trip with my family and had limited (or no) internet access on some days. Over the next day or so I should catch up with all comments.
We travelled from home in Murray Bridge in South Australia for two days so that we could be in Sydney for Christmas with family. After New Year we travelled to Canberra and then along the south coast of NSW and Victoria, staying with friends for a few days just north of Melbourne. Over the coming weeks I will share my birding experiences while on this trip. You can also read about non-birding experiences on Trevor’s Travels.
Late last week we also had a problem with this blog, with no posts since April 2008 showing. Sorry if this confused you. My son Simon maintains my blogs and was doing an upgrade and inadvertently configured this blog to point to an older database. That’s why you couldn’t read all those recent posts for a few hours.
Sorry if this caused you any inconvenience. All is now fixed, thanks to my son.
Skylarking around
Over the last month or so I have been aware of the call of several Common Skylarks in the paddock opposite our place. This is an introduced species to Australia. It is essentially a ground dwelling bird of open grasslands and is slightly larger than a House Sparrow. I do not have a photo of this species to show you, for I more frequently hear it than see it.
What is interesting about this species here in Murray Bridge, South Australia, is that I hear it calling well before dawn. I usually leave home at about 6:15am to go to a friend’s house nearby for a morning walk. In the middle of June it is still quite dark (and cold at that time; first light is about 6:30am and the birds are calling well before that.
During the day when working in the garden I will often hear it calling again during the day. The call seems to carry long distances and continues for long periods of time. It is especially apparent during calm, sunny days.
I have always been of the impression that this is a migratory species in Australia. I have checked in HANZAB (Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds). There is some conjecture as to the actual movement of this species in Australia. Some say there is movement in autumn/winter while others contest this opinion. It could be that individuals – or even whole populations – are more or less resident year round, but they only call for part of the year.
The population near my home is destined to disappear during the next 3 – 4 years. A large government institution is about to be build right where the birds live. Then I’ll have to go a little further afield to see or hear them. [UPDATE: this facility has been postponed for several years.]
White Winged Choughs
White Winged Chough
One of our favourite species of bird here where we live in Murray Bridge South Australia is the White Winged Chough. At first glance, the inexperienced observer might dismiss them as a crow or raven or just another large black bird. We think differently of them.
We have a family of Choughs that has taken to visiting our garden almost on a daily basis. Walking “the estate” (we live on five acres of land) I often see little scratchings in the ground where they have been searching for some tasty morsel to eat.
Choughs are almost always seen in small family flocks numbering from about six or seven through to as many as twenty. Nesting is a communal or family affair. Most of the flock will contribute to the building of the bowl shaped mud nest. After the eggs hatch the whole family helps raise the chicks.
It always amuses me how this species often prefers to walk or hop along rather than expend their energy in flying. At times they can be quite unafraid of humans. I’ve stood in the middle of a flock of about a dozen as they continued to feed on the ground around me, just metres from where I stood.
White Winged Choughs
Ostriches in Australia – and near my home
If I want to see an Ostrich I only have to take a ten minute drive from home.
Now before all you Australian twitchers out there jump in your car or on a plane to “tick” this species off your list, let me explain. The Ostriches I’m talking about are in the Monarto Zoo just down the road from Murray Bridge in South Australia. They have a thriving collection of Ostriches as part of their displays of African animals. Visitors can walk down the hill from the Visitor Centre and get a close look through the fence. You also get excellent views as you do the bus tour of the zoo.
Ostriches at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Ostrich Farms:
Many people would not know that there have been several feral populations of Ostriches in Australia over the last hundred years or so. One such population existed near Port Augusta in the far north. They had been “farmed” for their feathers on a sheep and cattle station there in the late 1800s. A remnant feral population has existed in this region ever since, though their numbers were never more than a few dozen at best. Even though I lived in Port Augusta in the 1970s for ten years, I never managed to see even one.
Other ostrich farms existed in other states and several in the Coorong region of South Australia where a feral population existed for some time. None survive in that area today. A recent correspondent on the Birding-Aus forum lived in Port Augusta in the 1990s and he suggested that the feral population there was captured for sale. At the time Ostrich farming had a sudden but short resurgence. He was of the opinion that a small remnant population still exists in that region. There have been no recorded sightings to my knowledge in the last decade. CORRECTION: There was a report today on Birding -Aus of a sighting of a pair with 9 chicks (May 17th 2009) on Mt Arden Station near Port Augusta. (Note: there is no access to this area for birders.)
Further reading:
- Birds of Monarto Zoo – plus information about the zoo
UPDATE: Would all readers please note – I am not in the business of breeding and selling birds, Ostriches included. This is a blog about Australian birds in the wild.