White Browed Babblers and water
Some time ago I wrote about White Browed Babblers and water. In that article I stated I’d never seen this species coming to drink:
White Browed Babblers are frequent visitors to our garden. They come in their family group, scuttling through the low bushes, scurrying up the branches of the mallee trees searching for insects and spiders and filling the air with their cat like calls.
From time to time their foraging antics bring them close to the bird bath. Sometimes they get as close as a metre away. I have never seen them land on the bird bath, let alone take a drink or bathe.
Proved wrong:
I have been proved wrong.
A few days ago a group of babblers came to the part of the garden near the bird baths. One of them landed on one of the bird baths and briefly stopped for a drink. I was fortunate to have the camera ready for this shot. It’s not a great photo but is it made more interesting by having caught a House Sparrow in flight and about to land on the bird bath too.
White Browed Babbler
Related articles:
- Birds at our bird baths – a collection of articles from my archives where I have written about the birds that come to the bird baths in our garden.
Attracting Birds to your Garden
Some of my best birding moments occur in our own garden. An added bonus is that many of my bird photos have also been taken in our garden. Many people ask me how to attract birds to their gardens so they too can enjoy the bird life that is found in their area.
Here are some very effective ways of bringing birds into your garden:
- Water: Provide a constant source of water, such as a pond, bird bath or dripping tap into a bowl. This is the one most reliable way of attracting birds to your garden.
- Food: Provide a variety of native trees and bushes that become a suitable food source. (In Australia – never put out food like parrot seed for them). Native trees and bushes are not only attractive to birds of course; many other species will love your garden too, from insects through to lizards and butterflies. The extra vegetation will provide nesting and roosting spots for the birds. They will make your garden their home too.
- Protection: Never let your cat roam the garden – and actively discourage neighbour’s cats from entering your garden. In fact – don’t even have a cat; they are a bird’s worst enemy and can also kill many other creatures, like lizards and possums.
- Safety: Provide a safe environment for the birds by not using any poisons like snail bait in your garden.
These are simple and effective methods of ensuring a safe and happy habitat for the birds in your garden.
For extra reading, click on these links:
Links:
- How to attract birds to your garden – an earlier version of this article. It has links to other useful sites and articles.
- Food and Water – a very detailed article about attracting birds to your garden on the Canberra Ornithologists Group web site. Plenty of useful information.
Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater
The Spiny Cheeked Honeyeater (shown above) is a resident breeding species in our garden and a frequent visitor to our bird baths.
Click the photo to enlarge the image.
Rufous Whistler
Rufous Whistler (juvenile male)
Over recent months we have had several visits from Rufous Whistlers in our garden. The most frequent of these has been a juvenile male. In the photo above one can see the streaking on the front indicating a young bird. The next photo shows the back of a juvenile with more definite marking. This could well be the same bird because the photo was taken a few weeks later.
Rufous Whistler (juvenile)
The third photo (below) shows the young bird developing more definite markings and colours on the front. The rufous belly and breast-feathers are starting to take on the colour of a mature bird. Interestingly, at the same time I also managed to get a great backside shot of a Spotted Pardalote drinking from the bird bath.
Rufous Whistler (juvenile)
In the final shot we see a side on view of the bird. The black throat band is particularly prominent.
Rufous Whistler (juvenile)
Click on any photo to enlarge the image.
Rainbow Lorikeets
Rainbow Lorikeet
Yesterday afternoon I was taking the washing off the clothesline before the next shower of rain came along. Hanging the washing on the line, or taking it off the line are excellent birding times. They force one to look skyward.
This time I was not disappointed. A small flock of four Rainbow Lorikeets flew high overhead. This is always a lovely species to see, with all those bright rainbow colours on their feathers. This species is widespread throughout the district around Murray Bridge without being in the large numbers one can observe in the Adelaide Hills or other parts of the Mt Lofty Ranges.
Rainbow Lorikeet
Rainbow Lorikeets are only occasional visitors to our garden. We more often have the smaller Purple Crowned Lorikeet.
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Related articles:
- Close views of Musk Lorikeets – seen at Victor Harbor
- Great birding moments – Budgerigars
- Great birding moments – Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
- Eastern Rosella – seen in the Wittunga Botanic Gardens
This post was updated on 1st March 2017.
Laughing Kookaburras
Laughing Kookaburra
We had a delight a few nights ago. Just on sunset we had two Laughing Kookaburras come to visit our garden. We would not have been aware of their presence but for their raucous calling quite close to the house.
Laughing Kookaburras are not a resident species in our garden but they are occasional visitors, and most welcome visitors at that. This species is widespread in small numbers in our district, especially along the River Murray (5km to the east) and the throughout the Mt Lofty Ranges (40 – 60 km to the west).
I didn’t get a photo of these special visitors to our garden. They didn’t stay long enough. It was probably too dark for a good shot anyway. The photo shown above was taken last year in the Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney.