I don’t often get the chance to observe the magnificent Osprey. When I do, it is always a special moment. I guess most birders feel the same way about this wonderful bird.

Therefore it was with great delight that I saw a special article in today’s state wide newspaper here in South Australia - The Advertiser - about this lovely bird, complete with a great photograph.

For those who do not have access to our daily paper, the photo and accompanying article can be seen by clicking here. It’s worth a quick visit - even if you only take a look at the great photo.

Happy birding.

Quite often I find eggs lying on the ground in our garden. On more than one occasion I’ve wondered “Whose egg is this?” Last week I had such a request from a reader of this blog. Diana said:

I was just wondering if you could help me out, I’ve found a pure white egg, it was still warm and I couldn’t see a nest around. It’s only about as big as my thumb, what do you think it is? What should I do? Do you think it will hatch and if it does how will I care for it?

My reply unfortunately was less than helpful.

I am sorry but from your description it is almost impossible to tell what species of bird the egg belongs to. Where in Australia was the egg found? Where in relationship to trees, shrubs or buildings? What birds were around at the time? What are the common birds in your area?

There are so many variables that I couldn’t even begin to have a good guess. Eggs are often found on the ground and this is the result of a variety of events. We have some very active cuckoos in Australia which lay their eggs in the nests of other species. The baby cuckoos instinctively push other species eggs out of the nest before they hatch so that they get all the food. (Greedy, heh).

Other species steal eggs from nests to eat - crows, ravens, magpies, currawongs and many others. This is so that they may survive - it is the natural order of things, not cruelty. Sometimes these birds drop the eggs while carrying them.

Some species - especially pigeons and doves - make nests that are so flimsy that the egg simply falls through the bottom. The nests are so insignificant you might not even see them in a tree.

You are best advised to throw out the egg. Hatching it is a specialty job for the birds - or people who keep birds who have special incubators. Even if you did manage to hatch it, feeding the baby is far more demanding than a human baby - and we know how demanding they can be.

When you say it was as big as your thumb - did you mean you thumb nail? If so, it is possible it was a honeyeater’s egg - but which species is very hard to tell.

Sorry that I cannot give you any more help than that.

I know that this must have been frustrating for the reader, but it is really hard especially doing it at a distance via email - even with a photo. Goodness - it is even hard when one has the egg in hand.

New Holland Honeyeater

Only a few weeks ago this blog saw its 3rd Birthday.

Today we celebrate another milestone - 800 articles about birds. Wow - it has been an exciting ride.

This blog has survived where many have fallen by the wayside or lie dormant and unloved.

The longevity of this blog is mainly due to all of my readers and those who frequently comment on what I have written. There are now over 500 visitors every day so a great big THANK YOU to all who have stopped by - especially those who keep on returning. So many of you have left great comments and the discussions have been stimulating. Often I am sent scurrying for my reference books to find the answers to your questions. Keep ‘em coming folks.

Three Invitations:

• You are all invited to leave appropriate comments and questions in the comments section underneath each article. Remember - comments are moderated - so keep it polite.
• Alternatively, you can email me privately using the contact form here.
• I also invite you to dig deeper into all those articles on this blog. If you have recently discovered this blog, I have 800 articles about Australian birds waiting to be read. You can access then in two ways: click on the archives link here or click on any of the categories or contents pages on the side bar.

Musk Lorikeet

Photo gallery:

Don’t forget the family photo gallery here.  Over 2000 photos from all over the world taken by members of my family. Not only bird photos - plenty of scenery, animals, flowers, historic places - well - just go and have a look. We are adding to it regularly too, so you are invited to return often.

I have been so busy with my studies at university in recent weeks that I completely forgot to celebrate this blog’s THIRD BIRTHDAY. (Sings merrily to himself. No one joins in. Looks around - no one else in the room. BIG SIGH)

This blog started on the 3rd September 2005 with this entry.

It has been an intersting journey with many friends visiting on a regular basis. Many people have commented and there have been some interesting debates.

My special thanks to Sim’ my son who keeps it all ticking over nicely in the technological sense.

Just to celebrate, here is one of my favourite bird photos.

Red Capped Robin

White Winged Chough carrying nesting material

Earlier this week I was aware of plenty of noise in the garden coming from the local family of White Winged Choughs. About five or six of them were regularly flying into the garden from next door and then parading around. I noticed several of them collecting tufts of drying grass from the mowing I had done the week before (see photo above).

They were obviously then heading off next door to a tree about fifty metres away. It took only a few seconds for me to locate the partially built mud nest.

As I returned from looking at the nest I disturbed two more near our tank - where there is a slow leak. Ah ha - so that’s where they are gathering the mud for the nest. It has been a busy few days for the family. I look forward to the time when the babies are being fed. There will be a constant flow of traffic feeding them.