Listen to the Rain
It’s raining!
What a lovely sound it makes on the roof.
Drought
Normally I wouldn’t make much of the rain on this blog, but the last year has been so dry that a good rain is quite newsworthy. This part of Australia has experienced a serious drought over the last year or so. We are currently on severe water restrictions with the threat of much worse to come. Some other parts of Australia are far worse off than we are, but we seem to be heading in the same direction. Many reservoirs are down to below 10% of capacity with only a few weeks of supply left.
A Day of Rain
At about eight o’clock this morning the rain started steadily. It has been raining now for close to nine hours and shows no sign of letting up. I’ve just checked the radar of the Adelaide Bureau of Meteorology and the rain should continue for quite a while yet, perhaps well into the night. And more is forecast for the coming week.
Birds in the Rain
Most birds just love the rain. I haven’t seen any come to the birdbath all day (not that I’ve been watching it all that much – the rain is far more interesting). The Honeyeaters and Willie Wagtails enjoy having a good shower in rain water. This morning I saw several Australian Magpies just sitting calmly on a post enjoying the water dribbling down their backs. On the downside, I did see one very wet, bedraggled, sad looking Galah sitting on a power line this morning.
Australian Magpie
This photo of a lovely magpie was not taken today. It was taken some time ago when we were on a picnic at a nearby reserve.
The Amazing Superb Lyrebird
No Comments »20th April, 2007; Category: Bird Behaviour
The Superb Lyrebird is an amazing mimic. It is able to imitate about twenty different bird calls heard in the Australian forests. But even more incredible is its ability to imitate mechanical sounds. Have a listen to the sound track on this David Attenborough video of the Superb Lyrebird.
Bird Word: Irruption
- Irruption: when large numbers of a particular species move to an area where they are not commonly found in large numbers, often in response to drought, rainfall or other environmental changes. In Australia, some species of hawks and kites can irrupt into areas experiencing mouse plagues or locusts. Water birds irrupt into areas experiencing sudden flooding.
An irruption of birds can be a spectacular event. This is something that happens quite regularly in Australia, often as a result of our wildly fluctuating environmental conditions.
Mouse Plague
I can remember back to about 1990 when there was a serious mouse plague in the wheat growing areas east of home. Millions of mice infested sheds and barns on the local farms. During this time we went on a camping holiday to Hattah-Kulkyne National Park.We drove through this area and it was impossible not to run over hundreds of mice as we drove along. In fact, there were so many dead mice on the road, they caused corrugations. It was a rough ride.
Letter-winged Kites:
While we were travelling along we kept looking out for Letter-winged Kites. This species is usually confined to areas much further north. Because of the mice plagues they had moved south in significant numbers and were seen in the area we drove through. This Kite is a rather hard species to find normally. I was excited at the prospect of seeing at least one. I still haven’t seen one. [sigh]
Black-tailed Native-hens:
On other occasions I have seen large numbers of other species. I remember seeing literally thousands of Black-tailed Native-hens on the road south of home on our way to Meningie. Normally we might see two or three. At other times Australian Pelicans have been known to breed up in huge numbers, especially after flooding in some areas.
Lake Eyre in flood:
As I write this in mid-March (2007) Lake Eyre in far north South Australia is filling with flood waters from heavy rain in parts of Queensland. This lake is usually a dry salt lake. Over coming months, many species of water birds will breed in massive numbers in response to this water. In a year or two, as the lake dries out, there may well be an irruption of some of these species as they move in large numbers to other parts of the country.
Birding Bloopers #18
Over recent weeks I have been highlighting a number of birding bloopers. These have been shared on the Birding-Aus forum and the contributors have agreed to let me publish them here.
Today I feature another one – this time one of my own experiences.
In the year 2000 my wife and I were visiting our son and daughter-in-law in Sydney. We had planned to visit various national parks near the city during our stay. A park high on our list was Royal National Park just south of the city. Established in 1879 this was Australia’s first ever national park and only the second such park in the world, Yellowstone being the first.
In preparation for birding while on my holiday I bought a book called “A Birdwatcher’s Guide to the Sydney Region”. This book had sections on different parts of the region, maps, how to get there and what to expect to see. In the section on Royal National Park it states that walking down Lady Carrington Drive is a good place to see Lyrebirds.
Yeah – right. Have the birds read this guide?
We parked in the car park and started our walk along this drive. Naturally my eyes were focussed up in the trees, looking for birds. I was quickly adding many species to my notebook. My wife, some 15 metres behind me, gave a sudden urgent call for me to look around. I was being followed by a male Superb Lyrebird!
We had excellent views of this bird only metres away. It was obviously quite used to having people on his territory.
This was before we had a digital camera so I can’t show a photo of said bird. Somewhere, however, in our vast collection of slides and prints, we do have a photo. I must search through and scan it on to my computer and then show it here.
Birds in the News #76
The latest edition of Birds in the News #76 has been posted.
The featured photo this week is a male Superb Bird of Paradise performing a courtship display to a plain brown female. Stunning colours and feather pattern – it is hard to believe it is actually a bird!