Birds in a heat wave
We are having a record breaking heat wave at present here in South Australia.
Today is the fourteenth consecutive day of above 35C (95F) maximum temperatures. One expects temperatures like this in summer – December through February – but not once autumn has arrived. The previous record of eight consecutive days of above 35C recorded in our capital city Adelaide in 1934 has well and truly been broken. The national record for a capital city was Perth at ten consecutive days in 1988 and that has been beaten thoroughly too. More is still to come; the next cool change is not expected to be here until Wednesday, so this record will be further extended over the next two days.
We normally get some relief in the evenings here in Murray Bridge. Not so this time. Thursday morning we arose at 6am to go for our daily walk. Normally at this time of the year it would be about 15-18C at that time of the day. At 30C with a hot north wind it was very uncomfortable. It is the first time I can ever remember putting on the air conditioner so that we could eat breakfast in some kind of comfort!
Brown-headed Honeyeater
Naturally the birds suffer terribly in such oppressive heat. I have tried to keep the bird baths topped up with water each morning so that some of them have a fighting chance at survival. From first light until mid-morning there is a constant stream of birds coming to drink and/or bathe. From mid-morning to sun down there is very little calling and little movement in the garden. I guess they just find the coolest shade possible and rest up until conditions improve. At one stage I checked the temperature at about midday; the only bird I saw or heard was a Willie Wagtail bravely trying to catch a few insects silly enough to venture out on such a hot day.
Willie Wagtail
Feral Pigeons cause a lousy outcome
No Comments »15th March, 2008; Category: Bird Behaviour, Birds in the News, Murray Bridge, Pigeons and Doves
Our local Police Station here in Murray Bridge has had to close its doors this week. They have had a lice infestation caused by too many Feral Pigeons (Rock Doves) nesting and roosting on the premises. The station was closed so that fumigation could be undertaken. A temporary station was set up nearby in a portable building.
With the late heatwave we have been having over the last two weeks, this would have been quite uncomfortable for the local constabulary. Still, on the comfort scale, oppressive heat in the workplace is probably a few notches higher that constant itching.
Rock Doves, Northbridge, Sydney
Nature in the raw
On our daily early morning walks I usually take a keen interest in the birds seen and heard. Normally I see or hear only the most common birds around this area. On Friday, however, I was delighted to observe an Australian Hobby (also called Little Falcon) sitting on a dead branch atop a mallee tree on the side of the road we were walking on. It stayed sitting there watching us as we passed by, giving us very good views of its markings.
This morning the same bird (I presume) was sitting on the same branch. As we approached it zoomed off low through the roadside trees and began pursuing a Common Starling. I lost sight of the chase as they headed towards a nearby scrub. I hope that the falcon caught his breakfast. Common Starlings are an introduced feral bird here in Australia. They are also a pest species, taking food and nesting sites from our native species. Most people do not like them as they do great damage to fruit crops.
The Australian Hobby is widespread but not all that common in this area. It is therefore always good to see this magnificent species.
Apostlebirds
No Comments »2nd March, 2008; Category: Bird Behaviour
Last weekend we visited my sister-in-law in Peterborough in the mid-north of South Australia. She works as the cook in the local hospital. Whenever we meet she delights in telling me about the latest antics of the Apostlebirds that reside in the town.
It seems that the local small flock of about 15 to 20 Apostlebirds has discovered that the local hospital is the place to get a free feed. For some years now they regularly descend upon the hospital grounds mid afternoon, around afternoon tea time, and wait for some handouts from the elderly residents of the aged care facility attached to the hospital. At least one (and I suspect more than one) of the elderly patients puts out biscuit, cake and bread crumbs, not to mention the occasional piece of fruit for this gang of freeloaders. At one stage they actually had a problem with the birds following the residents into their rooms which open directly on to the garden and lawn area.
Apostlebird
Apostlebirds can be very tame around humans. On many occasions when camping at or visiting Hattah Lakes in north west Victoria we have been almost harassed by this species insisting on having a share of our food. They can be quite persistent and will hop on to the picnic table to have their share of the food.
The population at Peterborough is one of only a handful in South Australia. In northern Victoria and especially in New South Wales they seem to be everywhere in good numbers, but not so here in South Australia. I know of only one other population, and that is on my brother’s farm at Taplan, south east of Loxton and near the Victorian border.
Apostlebird
Yellow-rumped Thornbills
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
I love seeing dozens of tiny thornbills flitting around our garden. The most common thornbill here is the Yellow-rumped Thornbill with its bright yellow tail. Less common is the Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, an occasional visitor to the garden. Even less common is the Yellow Thornbill (also called the Little Thornbill). We recently had several of these quite close to the bird bath, but it didn’t stop to drink so I can’t count it on that list.
The Yellow-rumped Thornbills must have had a very good breeding season; there seems to be about 30 or 40 around at present. It is lovely seeing them come to the bird bath or just hopping around on the ground just a few metres away.
Despite the numbers I have found it very hard to get a good photo of one, especially of the yellow on the rump. They are constantly on the move – and when they move it can leave either a blur or an empty frame in the camera. The two in the photo above were bathing in a little pool of water near the base of a rose bush. They were having a great time on a hot day.
The photo below was taken several years ago in another location. It doesn’t show the yellow rump.
Yellow Rumped Thornbill