Magpie nesting time in our garden
No Comments »28th September, 2011; Category: Baby birds, Garden birds, Magpies and Currawongs, Nests
Australian Magpie (male)
Over recent weeks we’ve been watching an Australian Magpie’s nest on our property (see photo below). This nest has been used by the same pair of birds over the last 4 or 5 years. Each year they just refurbish it a little before settling down to the important job of raising a family.
Last week we were working in the garden and watched with delight as the adult birds strutted around where we were working, looking for tasty morsels and then flying straight to the nest to feed the newly hatched young. Each visit resulted in excited squawks from the hungry young.
I was very surprised to find out a few days later that we actually had another nest with young magpies barely 50 metres from the other. To have two active magpie nests within such close proximity has never happened before on our property in the last 25 years. All I can surmise is that there has been a very drastic realignment of the local magpie territories over the last year.
And we are so pleased that none of them swoop us while they are nesting.
Australian Magpie nest
Australian Magpie (male)
Wattlebirds and grevilleas
3 Comments »19th September, 2011; Category: Flowers, Garden birds, Honeyeaters, Plants, Trip reports
Grevillea flowers, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
A few days ago I wrote about our short visit to the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens in southern NSW. We were on our way home from holidaying in Sydney with family. These gardens are small but hold a nice range of Australian and exotic plants. It’s also a good spot to get right off the highway, relax with a picnic or a cuppa, and enjoy the range of birds resident in the area.
On this visit I managed to photograph several of the Grevillea species in flower, and while doing so I also captured a Red Wattlebird feeding on one of the bushes (see photo below). It must have been hungry, for the bird almost completely ignored me and my camera only a short distance away. I guess it also needed to stock up on energy for the cold night which was quickly closing in. It had been a bitterly cold day, quite unpleasant for being out and about.
While my prime objective is to photograph our wonderful Australian birds and showcase them here in this site, I also enjoy getting great shots of our native flowers like the Grevilleas. (You can see more photos of flowers, both native and exotic, on my other site, Trevor’s Travels. Click on the Parks and Gardens category or click here.
Red Wattlebird feeding on Grevillea flowers
Grevillea flowers, Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
White-eared Honeyeater
White-eared Honeyeater, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
A few days ago I wrote about our visit to the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens on our visit to Sydney earlier this year. One of te species present was a solitary White-eared Honeyeater shown in the photos on this post. I’m sorry about the quality of these shots; it was very overcast and late on a winter’s afternoon. (These are also the only photos I have of this species.)
This was a pleasing sighting as it is one species I’ve not seen very often, despite it being widespread in the region where I live. Indeed, I have even recorded in our home garden. The last sighting here at home was in 1989, well before I was into bird photography. I must get out birding more often so I can get some better photos of this lovely bird.
Good birding
White-eared Honeyeater, Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, Sydney
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
When we stayed with family in Sydney earlier this year we struck an unusually cold and wet period. We were confined to quarters for much of our stay. This was a blessing in one sense; we could spend extra time with our wonderful 2.5 year old grandson. On the other hand it was disappointing not to be able to get out and about exploring some of the wonderful places in and around the city, especially places like the botanic gardens. Birding was consequently not a high priority considering the weather.
One afternoon it cleared up enough for us to make a hurried visit to the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden. We had been there on several occasions before and I knew that the birding can be very good. My wife always enjoys seeing which wildflowers are blooming. Our interests are very complementary.
On this occasion we were both disappointed. While there were some bushes in flower when we visited, we could see that many were still only in bud; we were probably 4-6 weeks early. As for the birding, it was still overcast with dark heavy clouds, occasional drizzle (yes, we had our umbrellas – and used them) and late in the afternoon in fading light. All these elements conspired against seeing many birds.
I only managed a short list of species seen:
- White-eared Honeyeater
- Red Wattlebird
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Rainbow Lorikeet
- Silvereye
- Australian Magpie
- White-browed Scrubwren
- New Holland Honeyeater
- White-throated Tree-creeper
Not an inspiring list, but better than none at all. I managed some poor shots of the lone magpie (which I won’t show here) and several average shots of a solitary White-eared Honeyeater which I’ll post here in a few days’ time.
Meanwhile I’ll show some of the wildflowers seen.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, Sydney
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, Sydney
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, Sydney
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, Sydney
Spring is on the way – and so are the cuckoos
Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo
Earlier this week I was sitting on our back veranda doing some reading – and enjoying the lovely sunshine. After many weeks of gloomy, drizzling weather it was wonderful to soak up some warmth.
My reading was suddenly interrupted by the distinctive call of a Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo. I looked up and saw this bird perched near the top of a nearby mallee tree. (The branches are dead because they have been ring-barked and subsequently killed by two Galahs chewing the bark.)
I raced inside for the camera and managed a few reasonable photos before it flew off, probably looking for an unsuspecting host to care for its eggs and young. Like most cuckoos in Australia (and elsewhere), this species is parasitic, meaning that they lay their eggs in the nests of other species. Around our garden this probably means the nest of a thornbill.
The unsuspecting host pair hatch the cuckoo’s egg and then feed the young cuckoo. The young cuckoo will even tip the other young birds out of the nest – and thus get all of the food.
Since hearing this bird I’ve heard others in the district, so the spring/summer breeding season is definitely on the way.
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Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo