Baby Willie Wagtails – at last
Willie Wagtail
I have been puzzled throughout the spring about the absence of a Willie Wagtail nest in our garden. The resident adults have been flitting around all through the spring with no sign of a nest anywhere. Everyone else seemed to be busy raising their families. There have been nests everywhere and more recently baby birds calling to be fed all over the garden.
Willie Wagtail
But not the Willie Wagtails. They usually nest within about twenty metres from the house for some reason. There are many suitable trees further a field but they insist on keeping close to home – our home that is. Despite thorough searches I have been unable to locate a nest this spring. Two days ago I observed both adults giving one of our Australian Magpies a very hard time, swooping and harassing the magpie until it flew away. A-ha I thought. There must be a nest somewhere nearby – but where?
Willie Wagtail (baby)
Today we discovered two lovely recently fledged baby Willie Wagtails keeping their parents busy bringing them food. Whenever we approached too close the parents would tell us off in a very noisy manner. Keep away they seemed to be saying.
Despite even more searching I still didn’t find that nest.
Related articles:
- Why do baby birds disappear – an article about baby bird deaths.
- Babies, the birds and the bees – a list of species nesting in our garden this year.
Updated Nov 2013.
Beware of the Pelican!
I’ve always had a deep respect for the pelicans of this world. Sitting on a park bench quietly eating my picnic lunch (a meat pie from a wonderful bakery across the road) it was quite disconcerting to have an Australian Pelican waddle up and stand only a metre in front of us and eyeball us – or at least our lunch.
Snail over at A Snail’s Eye View writes poetically about pelicans. Then she goes and shatters the peace by including a video of a London park dwelling pelican with a taste for pigeons!
Check it out here:
- A Wonderful Bird is the Pelican. Be warned – the video clip is not for those with delicate stomachs.
A related article I have written about aggressive birds can be found by clicking here.
Wattlebird rescue
The death rate of young birds can be quite high and most of us would be astounded if we knew the true figures. I have written before about this here.
The fact remains: all baby and young birds run the terrible risk of not surviving the first few days or weeks of their fragile lives. There are many hazards for the young bird. One I did not mention was drowning. A large number of Australian homes have swimming pools or garden ponds. I’d only be guessing here, but I’d say that probably up to ten percent of homes have some sort of water feature in their garden.
Our in ground swimming pool (“The Swamp” as I affectionately call it) is an unintended hazard for young birds still learning to fly. Probably five or six times a year I need to rescue a bird that has not been able to escape from the water. This morning was one of those occasions. The poor bird was very waterlogged. It was probably getting quite exhausted too as it flapped and flapped trying to escape. Fortunately I found it in time.
Over the coming months I must be quite vigilant. We have had many very hot days already, and summer officially only starts on Friday. The birds are attracted to the water on the hot days so a pool is irresistible. We do have three bird baths which we keep topped up but this does not seem enough.
Related article:
- Why do baby birds disappear? An article in response to a reader’s question.
Grey Currawongs
Grey Currawong
Grey Currawongs are widespread throughout the area where I live in South Australia but they are not common anywhere except perhaps in the Adelaide Hills. Around home here in Murray Bridge their preferred habitat is mallee scrubland. There are still a few remnant patches of scrub ranging from a few hectares to several hundred hectares. In addition, there is a significant amount of remnant mallee scrub that makes up the roadside vegetation in this district. These remnant habitats are probably very important to the Grey Currawong’s continued existance in the mallee areas of our state.
Unlike the Pied Currawong in other parts of Australia, the Grey Currawong here is not an urban dweller. It was with a little surprise then that last week I saw a group of three currawongs in a park next to one of the factories here in Murray Bridge. This park is surrounded on all sides by either light industrial establishments or low density housing.
Perhaps they are moving from the bush to become “townies”.
Willie Wagtail v Brown Falcon
I was amused while out in the garden yesterday as a Brown Falcon glided low over the tree tops nearby. Our resident Willie Wagtail was harassing the much bigger bird, seeing it off over the road.
It seems oddly out of place to see a Willie Wagtail, at about 20cm in length, attacking the falcon at about 50cm in length with a metre or so of wingspan. Willie Wagtails are quite often seen attacking birds many times their size. This is particularly so in the breeding season.
This brings me to another point. I have yet to find a nest of the Willie Wagtail this season. They usually nest within about twenty metres of the house. Not so this year. I wonder if it is the severe drought we are currently experiencing?
Willie Wagtail