Stirring times for the garden birds
Brown Falcon, Monarto Zoo
We were having breakfast out on the back veranda this morning when there was a sudden stirring of the garden birds. All the smaller birds like the honeyeaters went scurrying for cover in all directions. Their warning calls filled the air.
Just as suddenly the cause of the kerfuffle became apparent. A Brown Falcon came swooping low through the trees and bushes quite close to the house and where we were sitting. The bird continued on through the mallee scrub at the back of our house, unsuccessful in its quest for a tasty meal. It flew off before I could get a photo, so I’ve used a photo of one taken last year at Monarto Zoo about 10km west of our home.
The Brown Falcon we saw was considerably browner than the one shown in the photo. There can be quite a few variations in plumage colours between individuals, from the colours shown above through to almost a chocolate brown in the dark phase. All very confusing really.
Common Blackbird nesting
Common Blackbird sitting in nest
Just before Christmas we stayed for a few days in my brother-in-law’s holiday home in Christies Beach just south of Adelaide. It was a week of lazing by the pool, reading and sleeping after a very demanding and busy year.
I wasn’t intending doing any birding while I was there, so the birds came to me. My b-in-law has a car port attached to the house and enclosed on three sides. One of the cross beams supporting the roof was too enticing for the local resident Common Blackbirds. They’d made a very cosy nest in the corner right up against the roof. We had several days of very high temperatures while we were there so it would have been very cosy indeed!
Common Blackbirds are very opportunistic and creative when it comes to choosing a nesting site. We’ve often had them nesting inside our garden shed – in some empty plant pots. Some of my readers have told me about nests in pot plants – even those with plants in them, nests in hanging baskets and nests in all sorts of locations.
Galah
1 Comment »8th February, 2010; Category: Bird baths, Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Parrots and Lorikeets
Galah
The well known Australian parrot, the Galah, is a very common bird in our district. Flocks numbering in the hundreds are common sights. I can confidently say that this is one species that we would see every day of the year, either flying overhead or perching somewhere in our garden.
Flocks are very common, as are pairs flying overhead. Occasionally I will see a single bird, like the one in the photo above. This one came in to have a drink from one of our bird baths recently.
Providing watering points like this in a home garden is the most effective way of supporting our native species, especially in the harsh, hot and dry climate we have here in southern Australia. If placed close to the house where you can see the birds but they can’t see you – or aren’t disturbed by you – can provide many hours of great birding.
New bird species for our garden list
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
I was sitting outside yesterday morning doing some reading. (Oh the joys of retirement.)
I was suddenly aware of an unusual bird call. After having lived for over 25 years in the same house one’s ears become attuned to what bird calls are normal for this area and anything unusual immediately gets my attention.
I walked warily around the corner of the house to find two Sulphur-crested Cockatoos in the large mallee tree next to our garage. This cockatoo is a common bird in many parts of Australia, but this was the first time I’d seen this species in our garden. After so many years I don’t often get the chance to add a new species to my garden list.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
After I managed several photos they decided they’d posed enough for me and flew off to the eucalyptus trees in our neighbour’s front yard. Later in the morning I heard them squawking raucously as they flew off.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are very common in the Adelaide Hills and the Adelaide metropolitan area but I’ve never recorded them here in Murray Bridge. The nearest I’ve seen them is in Strathalbyn, about a half hour drive SW of here.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Helmeted Guineafowl
Our neighbour’s Helmeted Guineafowl on our property
Over the last 25 years I have observed well over a hundred different species of birds in our garden. I can’t give an exact number because my database is not up to date. I think it’s about 110. Some of the birds I have listed include introduced species (eg House Sparrow).
On at least two occasions in recent weeks we have had a visit from our neighbour’s Helmeted Guineafowl. We often hear them calling when we are out in the garden, but this is the first time we have actually seen them venture into our paddock.
I can’t include this as a species for my garden block list. Being domesticated birds they are not free living, so they can’t be included. In the photo below I managed to fluke taking a Galah in flight.
Helmeted Guineafowl are native to Africa. They eat insects and seeds and nest on the ground. They are large birds which measure from 40-71 cm in length, and weigh 700-1600 g.
Our neighbour’s Helmeted Guineafowl in our paddock