Baby Magpie
We have had quite a flurry of birds breeding in our garden and nearby over the last month or so. White Winged Choughs, Little Ravens, New Holland Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds, House Sparrows, Common Starlings, Blackbirds and Grey Shrike-thrushes to name a few of them.
Australian Magpie
One species that I was surprised about was our resident Australian Magpies. They have been very quiet in recent weeks and I did not find a nest. Not that I looked very hard, mind you. Still, I probably expect them to nest within about 40 metres of the house as is their usual habit.
Yesterday I heard the unmistakable call of a baby magpie calling from the tall eucalypt tree next to the driveway. Sure enough, there was a newly fledged baby magpie all covered in downy feathers and constantly begging to be fed.
UPDATE: I have just written a new articles, with photos, of the latest baby magpie in our garden. To read it, click here.
Newly fledged Australian Magpie
October 2011 Update: This article has seen more visitors and comments than any other on this site. Thanks to all my readers who are so interested in sharing their stories and experiences with baby magpies. I’ve included more photos taken recently in our garden.
Book review: The fearsome flute players is a wonderful books about Australian Magpies and how to care for them. You can read my review of the book here – and there is a special offer for readers of Trevor’s Birding too.
Coffee mugs: you can now buy coffee mugs featuring one of my magpie photos – click here. Search the same site for many other items featuring my bird photos, including shirts, hats, stationery, key rings – and much more.
UPDATE October 25th 2013
Sadly I have had to close comments on this article, the most popular article I have ever written. It has had 488 comments, hundreds more than any other post on this site.
Today I received another 10 comments from someone called LEE who attempted to post some aggressive and crudely worded comments in an attempt to correct what others had written. Such language will not be approved here, nor will very long comments all in capital letters (ie shouting). Please take your inappropriate comments elsewhere – or start your own website.
UPDATE September 24th 2015: Let’s try again. I have reopened comments on this post again. Please keep comments civil.
Baby Australian Magpie just out of the nest
Baby Australian Magpie just out of the nest
Baby Australian Magpie (left) just out of the nest
Baby Australian Magpie just out of the nest
Gotcha! Photo of the Rainbow Bee-eater
Rainbow Bee eater
The Rainbow Bee-eater is a stunningly beautiful bird. Every spring we are always listening for that first call indicating they have returned for the summer months after spending the winter up north.
Over recent days we have heard several of these delightful birds while working in my wife’s native plant nursery. Sightings of them have been elusive – until late yesterday. Near sunset we heard them calling just outside. I raced out with camera in hand and managed three photos. I was hoping for a photo of one sitting on a dead limb of nearby tree – a typical pose of this species. I had to make do with one sitting on the power line leading to the house.
Related article:
Of Cuckoos and Kingfishers
5 Comments »1st October, 2006; Category: Garden birds
This week we have been spending quite a deal of time in the garden and especially in my wife’s native plant nursery. We have been busy sorting through the plants and preparing for a large plant sale in Adelaide next week.
Being outside for much of the day has its advantages as far as birding is concerned. We live in a relatively quiet area and so we can hear birds calling from all around us. We also have a small patch of mallee scrub near the nursery which is at the back of our house.
During this last week I have been aware of several special visitors to our garden. Yesterday I wrote about the Rainbow Bee-eaters returning for their summer holidays in the south. I hope they nest nearby.
Cuckoo calling
On Thursday we were delighted to hear a Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo calling near the house. I caught a brief glimpse of it sitting on the nearby power line but it flew off after a few seconds. We have heard it calling on a number of occasions since. This is another species that travels south for the summer. It is regularly recorded breeding in this part of Australia during the summer months. It is also a regular visitor to our garden.
Sacred Kingfisher
Uncommon visitor
Yesterday we were surprised and delighted to also hear a Sacred Kingfisher calling somewhere nearby. Every time I went chasing the call it would disappear, or stop calling, so I didn’t get to see it. I checked on my computer database and it has been nearly six years since the last visit of this species to our garden. More recently I have seen it on a number of occasions along the nearby Murray River.
The photo above was taken a few weeks ago in the walk through aviary of the Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills.
New Holland Honeyeater v House Sparrow
Some time ago I wrote about bird aggression in the garden. On that occasion there was a dispute between our resident Willie Wagtail and a New Holland Honeyeater.
The New Holland Honeyeaters are currently feeding two chicks in a nest in our garden quite close to our house. They are constantly busy feeding their offspring.
Several days ago I noticed that a female House Sparrow ventured into the Melaleuca bush where the nest is located. The New Holland Honeyeater sent it off pronto, chasing it vigorously around the garden. Both landed on the ground and the honeyeater confronted the sparrow.
The response from the House Sparrow was something I had never seen this species display before; it raised its tail in a fan-like manner. This bold move seemed to work because the honeyeater backed off and soon resumed tending to its young.
It happened too quickly for me to photograph.
Related articles:
European Goldfinch
European Goldfinch
Finches are delightful little birds.
We have a great array of finches native to Australia, from the somewhat plain through to the amazing colours of the Gouldian Finch. There are also several introduced species including the ubiquitous House Sparrow, the rarer Tree Sparrow, European Greenfinch and the European Goldfinch.
This latter species has spread throughout south eastern Australia roughly south of a line from Adelaide to Sydney. Here in my home town of Murray Bridge they are present but not in large numbers. Their distribution around here seems to be a little sporadic. One reliable spot to see Goldfinches is near the local Post Office. I had an excellent view of one sitting on a power line, its tinkling call carrying quite a distance.
Our home is nearly five kilometres from the post office and I have recorded this species on only a few occasions over the years. It has never been resident in our garden, just an irregular visitor. That could be about to change. Over recent weeks I have seen two or three on an almost daily basis. They could very well be colonising this area. There certainly is sufficient feed around for them to survive here.