Some Blue Bonnets and a Pipit
On the third day of our recent holiday on Yorke Peninsula we drove along the south coast, stopping in various places to look at plants, birds and the general coastal scenery. As the afternoon progressed we visited the small village of Port Moorowie, a collection of nearly a hundred holiday homes and shacks. As far as I could tell there we no shops or other services there but it was still quite a delightful place to spend some time, especially during the summer months.
But not the day we visited. The wild gale force wind from the south west still made it most unpleasant to get out of the car, so we didn’t venture out on this occasion. Add to that the intermittent icy showers and you get a picture of how unpleasant the weather can be. All day the birding had been minimal; most species kept a very low profile.
A few hundred metres after leaving the beach settlement I saw a flock of about 20 parrots fly across in front of the car. I stopped, watching them closely. Several landed about 70 – 80 metres away. The binoculars revealed that they were Blue Bonnets, one of Australia’s colourful smaller parrots. Two landed in a good position for a photo, but unfortunately were too far away for a reasonable shot, even with my good zoom lens. If it hadn’t been raining at the time I might have managed a reasonable photo. I haven’t yet managed a reasonable photo of this species so I can’t show one. Those I took on the day are of such poor quality I don’t want to show them here.
A few hundred metres on I also saw a Richard’s Pipit on the road. It flew off and landed on a farm fence post. Again I was unsuccessful in getting a good photo. You have days like that. I guess if I hadn’t been on a tight time schedule I could have employed a little more patience and just waited for one to land close by, in bright sunshine and posed just right.
Rock Parrot, Marion Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Rock Parrot, Marion Bay, Yorke Peninsula
While we were at Penguin Point at Marion Bay on Yorke Peninsula just over a week ago I braved the wild gale force winds and went for a short walk along the ridge top. As I was returning a green parrot landed on the well made path. It walked a few metres in front of me then stopped to chew on a flower on the edge of the path. I took a few photos and then attempted to get a little closer, but it flew off into the sand dunes and I didn’t see it again.
Rock Parrot, Marion Bay, Yorke Peninsula
I’d seen over a dozens Rock Parrots in this spot on my last visit some years ago. The sight of so many together was unforgettable. This time I had to be content with a brief view of just one. The poor weather probably had something to do with only seeing one, so I considered myself lucky to have seen any at all.
Rock Parrots are one of a family of parrots known as Neophemas. The group also includes the Blue-winged Parrot, Elegant Parrot, Orange-bellied Parrot (endangered), Turquoise Parrot and Scarlet-chested Parrot. The Rock Parrot is generally a bird of coastal regions, its preferred habitat includes granite outcrops, islands, headlands, coastal dunes, scrubs and grasslands near the coast.
Coast dunes at Penguin Point, Marion Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Rock Parrot habitat, Penguin Point, Marion Bay
Plum-headed Parakeet, Adelaide Zoo
Plum-headed Parakeet, walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Australia has many beautiful parrots, some of them like the Galah are seen in flocks of hundreds and sometimes even thousands. One of our most beautiful is the usually hard to find Princess Parrot; I’ve only ever seen it in aviaries.
The Indian sub-continent can boast another truly beautiful parrot, the Plum-headed Parakeet, shown in the photos on this post. This bird was photographed late last year in a walk-through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo, a place I love to go to hone my bird photography skills. There are several walk-through aviaries, each with a good range of birds in them.
Only the male has the bright plum coloured head; the female is a duller grey. In their natural environment they are often found in forests near cultivated areas and orchards. Their preferred food includes fruit, grain and blossoms. They nest in the hollows of trees, laying 4-6 eggs. Both parents share the feeding of the young. The often roost in large, noisy communal flocks.
Further reading:
- Princess Parrot
- Large flock of Galahs
- Articles about the birds at Adelaide Zoo
Plum-headed Parakeet, walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Eclectus Parrot
Eclectus Parrot (male), Adelaide Zoo
Australia has many beautiful parrots. One of the more intriguing – and beautiful – would have to be the Eclectus Parrot, shown in the photos on this post. This is a species I have yet to see in the natural environment which is not surprising seeing it is found in remote locations in far north Queensland, a state I am yet to visit.
The beautiful plumage on this large parrot is interesting because the male (shown above) is not as outstanding as the female (see below). This is unusual in the bird kingdom because most male birds are more colourful than females, but only where there is dimorphism. This means that the male and female plumage is different. Of course, many species display no dimorphism; male and female are identical.
Forget about the scientific explanations: I think the male looks rather neat in green. They both look stunning with such pure and startling colours.
I must attempt to get to northern Queensland soon as see them “at home.”
Further reading:
- Parrots -more articles from the archives of this site
- Eclectus Parrots at Adelaide Zoo
Eclectus Parrot (male), Adelaide Zoo
Eclectus Parrot (male), Adelaide Zoo
Eclectus Parrot (female) Adelaide Zoo
Now we have two Eastern Rosellas
Eastern Rosella
Over the last six months or so we’ve had an Eastern Rosella in our garden. It comes and goes but we see it most weeks. It appears to be trying to form a loose alliance with our resident Mallee Ringneck parrots, but they have consistently rejected his friendship.
The Eastern Rosella is a common bird in the eastern parts of Australia, and in the south-east of South Australia. It has been introduced to the Adelaide region. The nearest one I have seen was about 60km to the west. At first I thought that the bird visiting our garden was an aviary escape. A few days ago, however, I saw two of them flying away from our pear tree.
This caused divided feelings on my part.
- If this species is establishing itself in our town and its environs then this is a significant extension of its range, and this both interests and excites me.
- On the other hand, I felt annoyed because they had obviously been feeding on the near ripe pears in our orchard.
Oh dear, it seems that we can’t have both beautiful birds in our garden AND fruit on our trees.
Eastern Rosella