Willie Wagtails calling at night
Willie Wagtail
I recently had a comment from a reader about Willie Wagtails calling at night. This reader and his wife were constantly being woken at night by the loud calling of a Willie Wagtail in the tree outside their bedroom window. It seems that this was driving them crazy and wanted to know if I’d heard of this happening before, and what can be done about it.
Nocturnal Song
This calling is known as the bird’s nocturnal song. Other Australian species, like the Magpie, also call nocturnally. It is a widespread and commonly observed action and is well documented in the literature and from studies of these species. There is quite a lengthy discussion on this in HANZAB (Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds) which forms the basis of what I have to say on this matter.
Moonlit nights
The nocturnal call of the Willie Wagtail is most commonly heard during moonlit nights and especially during the breeding season (August to February). From my own experience, the presence of a bright street light or car park lighting can also contribute to this phenomenon. Once started, the song can continue for lengthy periods, often stimulating other birds nearby to also call.
Reasons
It is thought that the nocturnal song in Willie Wagtails is used to maintain its territory. During the night there is no need for parental duties such as feeding the young or protecting the nest, so the song can be used to consolidate the territory. Sound tends to carry further at night and there are fewer sounds in competition and this adds to its effectiveness. It has been found that most nocturnal songs are from a roosting bird some distance away from the nest.
Solutions
Unfortunately for my reader there is no easy solution I know of for this problem. Moving to sleep in a room in a different part of the house may minimise the impact of the noise. Double glazed glass and better insulation may also help. Wearing ear plugs is another possible way out.
A change of attitude might help too. If a native bird is calling outside my bedroom window at 2am in the morning I can respond in several ways. I can get very agitated and annoyed and consequently will have a restless night. I could also take a more phlegmatic view and ignore it, not letting it get to me. I take the same approach when sleeping in an unfamiliar setting with plenty of traffic noise. One soon learns – by choice – to block out the noise, becoming accustomed to it. Or I can delight in the fact that this lovely little creature chooses to reside in MY garden. This positive feeling allows one to relax and get back to sleep.
Annoying ravens
My last suggestion didn’t work for us last summer. We had a Little Raven that would come at first light every morning and bang his thick, strong beak at his reflection in the glass of our bedroom window, calling raucously as he “attacked” this interloper. Being woken by such a noise about a metre from one’s sleeping head is not nice. Not nice at all. We were pleased when it stopped after about a month.
Related articles:
- Great Birding Moments #4: Willie Wagtails
Grey Fantail visits our garden
The Grey Fantail is one of Australia’s better known birds. Along with its cousin, the Willie Wagtail, it is a member of the flycatcher family of Australian birds. Like the Willie Wagtail, the Grey Fantail is an endearing bird, often coming quite close to people while they visit parks and gardens, or even in house gardens in suburban areas.
Grey Fantail
I love having this cheeky and inquisitive bird nearby, and its beautiful, lilting flute-like ascending call is one of my favourite bird calls in the Australian environment. Unfortunately we only have occasional visits from this species in our garden. One visited us a few days ago, perching on a dead branch near where I was working. It had a close up look at me before flying off again. I didn’t have my camera with me; one day I’ll get a better shot than the one above.
Grey Fantails are found throughout Australia except for the very dry parts. Its preferred habitats include open forests and scrublands, orchards, golf courses, parks and gardens and along watercourses. It breeds in the latter half of the year. Its nest is a delicate, cup shaped bowl with a tail like a wineglass without a base. The nest usually consists of fine grass, spider web, bark strips or plant fibre. They usually lay 2 to 3 eggs, sometimes four.
Willie Wagtail
Restless Flycatcher
The Restless Flycatcher would have to be one of my favourite Australian birds. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it is the clean, beautiful lines of its plumage. Perhaps it’s the quite distinctive calls, the harsh “zeeep” contact call or the fascinating grinding, churring sounds it makes when hunting for a feed. Or perhaps it is the vernacular name of “scissors grinder” that really appeals to me. Whatever the reason, it is always a delight to see and hear.
Restless Flycatcher
The Restless Flycatcher can easily be mistaken for a Willie Wagtail. Unlike the Willie Wagtail this species has a white throat, not black. The call is quite unlike the Willie Wagtail but the habits are similar with both flitting about seeking a feed, tail wagging all the time.
Distribution:
The Willie Wagtail is found throughout most of Australia. The Restless Flycatcher on the other hand is widespread through northern, eastern and southern Australia and tends to avoid the hotter, drier inland regions. Where I live in the Murray Mallee districts of South Australia it is widespread but nowhere common.
Habitat:
The Restless Flycatcher is found in a variety of habitats, including parks and gardens, farmlands near vegetation, roadside verges, open woodlands and forests, mallee scrubs, golfcourses and orchards.
Our garden:
We have a resident pair of breeding Willie Wagtails in our garden. I have seen the Restless Flycatcher in a number of places around my home town but only once have we seen it in our garden until recently. The first time was about five years ago and a single bird passed through the garden one morning. It stayed less than two minutes. I happened to be having breakfast and heard its distinctive call and quickly raced out to see it fast disappearing down the road.
Until last week.
This time I was working at my computer in the office trying to concentrate on my writing. A sudden, harsh “zeeep” call and I was racing out with my camera in hand. (It was on the desk alongside of me after downloading some photos of Galahs.) Sure enough, a single Restless Flycatcher was at the birdbath and it posed for me for about ten seconds. (Pity about the twig of the branch in the way.) It was having a confrontation with the resident, bossy Willie Wagtail who didn’t want to share the water. After a few seconds it flew off into the nearby mallee scrub. I tried to track it down and found there were two of them. I gave up as they flew off over the neighbour’s house.
To read more about Flycatchers click here.
Restless Flycatcher
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.
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