Birds in a heat wave
We are having a record breaking heat wave at present here in South Australia.
Today is the fourteenth consecutive day of above 35C (95F) maximum temperatures. One expects temperatures like this in summer – December through February – but not once autumn has arrived. The previous record of eight consecutive days of above 35C recorded in our capital city Adelaide in 1934 has well and truly been broken. The national record for a capital city was Perth at ten consecutive days in 1988 and that has been beaten thoroughly too. More is still to come; the next cool change is not expected to be here until Wednesday, so this record will be further extended over the next two days.
We normally get some relief in the evenings here in Murray Bridge. Not so this time. Thursday morning we arose at 6am to go for our daily walk. Normally at this time of the year it would be about 15-18C at that time of the day. At 30C with a hot north wind it was very uncomfortable. It is the first time I can ever remember putting on the air conditioner so that we could eat breakfast in some kind of comfort!
Brown-headed Honeyeater
Naturally the birds suffer terribly in such oppressive heat. I have tried to keep the bird baths topped up with water each morning so that some of them have a fighting chance at survival. From first light until mid-morning there is a constant stream of birds coming to drink and/or bathe. From mid-morning to sun down there is very little calling and little movement in the garden. I guess they just find the coolest shade possible and rest up until conditions improve. At one stage I checked the temperature at about midday; the only bird I saw or heard was a Willie Wagtail bravely trying to catch a few insects silly enough to venture out on such a hot day.
Willie Wagtail
Wedge-tailed Eagle overhead
Yesterday morning I took a short five minute break from my studies. I thought I’d go for a short walk up our long driveway. A quick glance at the sky – a common enough action for me – revealed an eagle not far away. I raced back inside to grab the binoculars. There was a Wedge-tailed Eagle soaring overhead.
Camera. Grab the camera was my next thought – I don’t have a photo of a WTE in my collection yet. (The photo shown on this page was taken by my son.) As I raced outside again I discovered that the batteries in the camera were flat. Change the batteries. The next set was also flat. The third set worked – but by then the bird had flown away. That’d be right. Never mind.
Wedge-tailed Eagles are widespread in our area but are not all that common. In over 20 years I have only once before recorded this species on my Home Block list and, like this one, was soaring high overhead. It would be a significant day if one landed on our block or in a tree in our garden.
Wedge Tailed Eagle - Healesville Sanctuary
Yellow-rumped Thornbills
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
I love seeing dozens of tiny thornbills flitting around our garden. The most common thornbill here is the Yellow-rumped Thornbill with its bright yellow tail. Less common is the Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, an occasional visitor to the garden. Even less common is the Yellow Thornbill (also called the Little Thornbill). We recently had several of these quite close to the bird bath, but it didn’t stop to drink so I can’t count it on that list.
The Yellow-rumped Thornbills must have had a very good breeding season; there seems to be about 30 or 40 around at present. It is lovely seeing them come to the bird bath or just hopping around on the ground just a few metres away.
Despite the numbers I have found it very hard to get a good photo of one, especially of the yellow on the rump. They are constantly on the move – and when they move it can leave either a blur or an empty frame in the camera. The two in the photo above were bathing in a little pool of water near the base of a rose bush. They were having a great time on a hot day.
The photo below was taken several years ago in another location. It doesn’t show the yellow rump.
Yellow Rumped Thornbill
Thirsty time for the birds
Mallee Ringneck Parrot
After a very warm summer it was a relief to have a series of much cooler days recently. In fact, some days, and especially the evenings, were decidedly cool. The last few days have seen the return of some really hot days. Yesterday was over 40C and today is shaping up to be another sizzler. Last night was oppressively warm all night and at 6:20am when we went for our walk it was still very mild. As the sun rose the air quickly become warm again.
After our walk I had breakfast. I was fascinated by the constant parade of birds coming to the bird bath in our garden. First came the Yellow-rumped Thornbills – it seemed like there were dozens of them. They were quickly followed by a much larger bird, a single Grey Currawong. This was a new species to add to the list of birds that have come to visit the bird bath. A few moments later a Crested Pigeon came for his turn, and he made way for the bossy Red Wattlebird. Seconds later one of the resident Willie Wagtails came for his drink.
The next shift was taken by a mixture of Yellow-rumped and Striated Pardalotes, each flitting in and out in nervously. A flash of iridescent spots on an otherwise plain bird indicated that a Common Starling had arrived, followed quickly by another import, some House Sparrows. Another introduced species, a male Blackbird also skulked his way up the bird bath for a quick drink.
Interestingly, the single Wattlebird was the only member of the honeyeater family to pay a visit this morning. Usually the Brown-headed Honeyeaters, the New Holland Honeyeaters and the White-plumed Honeyeaters come in wave after wave of splashing excitement. But not today. Maybe they were at the bird bath earlier – while I was still on my walk.
Further reading:
- Time for a bath – visitors to our bird bath – includes a complete list of species observed.
New species for our bird bath
Black-Faced Cuckoo-Shrike
We have several bird baths in our garden. These are placed where we can see the bird baths from the house, usually in rooms where we spend quite a deal of time. We delight in watching the birds come to drink, especially on those hot summer days like we’ve been having this year. We also enjoy watching the birds bathing and squabbling over the water.
Over the last few years I have kept an unofficial list of the species that have visited to bird baths, either to bathe or to drink. A few days ago we noticed that a single Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike came to drink. This is the first time we have noticed this species drinking there. This species is more often seen flying overhead on its way somewhere else. We are pleased that this one decided to stop long enough for a drink. Even better – it stopped long enough to pose for my camera.
Further reading
- Bird baths – more articles on this subject from my archives.
- Time for a bath – a complete list of species – both birds and other creatures – that have visited our bird baths.