So that’s who’s been eating my flowers
We have many birds in our garden. There is a constant passing parade of parrots, honeyeaters, choughs, babblers, magpies, ravens and over a hundred other different species (113 at last count).
Constant delight
Being a birder this abundance brings a constant delight. There is always something happening. There is always something to look at. There is always something calling. There is constant activity. Near our front door we have a beautiful little Eremophila maculata bush (compact form), an Australian native. When in flower this little bush, which is not yet half a metre high, is covered in the most delightful wine-red flowers. Sometimes the ground below is covered with partly chewed bits of the flowers. Now we know the culprit, the Mallee Ringneck Parrot. We caught him in the act – and on the camera (see below).
Mallee Ringneck Parrot
Great Birding Moments #9 Brown-headed Honeyeaters
Brown-headed Honeyeater
We have quite a range of honeyeaters resident in our garden. One of the more endearing species is the smallest of them all, the Brown-headed Honeyeater. This species is usually seen in loose flocks of 12-20 or more. I enjoy hearing their chittering calls as they pass through the garden or the mallee scrub at the back of our house. They seem to be always on the move, rarely settling for more than a few moments.
One exception to this is when they come to the birdbath for a drink or a communal bathing session. We have often been amused as they all line up on a nearby branch, all waiting to take a turn at bathing. Water droplets spray in all directions.
A few days ago I counted at least 18 of them all lined up on the gutter on the roof of the cabin near the house. This time they weren’t politely waiting for their turn to bathe. They all seemed to want a bath at the same time. Again, water droplets sprayed in all directions.
Here is my dilemma: leave the gutter/bath as it is – or should I clean it out thus denying them of this delightful fun?
Vagrant birds in our garden
Over recent days I have written about the bird species that are resident in our garden here in Murray Bridge in rural South Australia. I have also written about birds that are not resident but are regular visitors, some of them seasonal visitors.
Over the last 22 years I have recorded 113 species in total. Of those 36 are resident and many of the rest are regular or occasional visitors. A few species I would regard as vagrants. On this list I would include the species recorded on only one or two or a handful of occasions.
Vagrant Species:
The species I would call vagrants on our home block would include those listed below. The number in brackets is the frequency of recording. (These numbers are not quite up to date). I have kept monthly (sometimes weekly) records throughout the 22 years.
- Australian Pelican (1)
- Little Black Cormorant (3)
- White-faced Heron (5)
- Australian White Ibis (1)
- Wedge-tailed Eagle (1)
- Peregrine Falcon (1)
- Stubble Quail (2)
- Banded Lapwing (1)
- Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (1)
- Budgerigar (1)
- Musk Lorikeet (3)
- White-throated Needletail (1)
- White-winged Triller (4)
- Red-backed Kingfisher (2)
- Australasian Pipit (3)
- Restless Flycatcher (1)
- Jacky Winter (2)
- Flame Robin (2)
- Buff-rumped Thornbill (1)
- Brown Thornbill (2)
- Inland Thornbill (1)
- Southern Whiteface (5)
- White-fronted Chat 3
- Brown Treecreeper (2)
- White-eared Honeyeater (4)
- Yellow-plumed Honeyeater (5)
Some of the species listed above are quite surprising because they are relatively common and widespread in the district.
Occasional bird visitors to our home garden
Yesterday I wrote about the seasonal bird visitors to our home garden here in Murray Bridge, South Australia. Over the 22 years we have been living here, I have recorded 113 different species. Of these 36 could be regarded as resident, meaning that they are always present or are very regular visitors or frequently fly overhead.
Occasional Visitors
More than half the species, however, could only be regarded as occasional visitors. Still others are vagrants, that is, they have only been recorded once or twice. Those that are occasional visitors include:
- Whistling Kite
- Spotted Harrier
- Brown Goshawk
- Little Eagle
- Australian Hobby
- Masked Lapwing
- Silver Gull
- Common Bronzewing Pigeon
- Peaceful Dove
- Little Corella
- Cockatiel
- Crimson (Adelaide) Rosella
- Rainbow Lorikeet
- Barn Owl
- Southern Boobook Owl
- Australian Owlet-Nightjar
- Tawny Frogmouth
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Sacred Kingfisher
- Tree Martin
- Fairy Martin
- Red-Capped Robin
- Hooded Robin
- Golden Whistler (sometimes resident)
- Rufous Whistler (sometimes resident)
- Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
- Yellow Thornbill
- Mistletoebird
- Varied Sittella
- Silvereye
- Masked Woodswallow
- White-browed Woodswallow
- Dusky Woodswallow
- Australian Raven
- Diamond Firetail
- Zebra Finch
- European Goldfinch
Seasonal bird visitors to our home garden
A few days ago I wrote about my favourite birding spot. That spot happens to be my home garden, because I spend most of my time at home. I am therefore very familiar with its bird life and instantly know if there is different call coming from somewhere near the house.
In that post I talked about those species that are resident in our garden, either present all the time or are frequently seen or that regularly fly overhead. Of the 113 different species I have recorded over some 22 years, 36 could be regarded as resident. The remainder would be either seasonal or occasional visitors. Several species I would regard as vagrant, meaning they have been only observed once or on only a few occasions.
Seasonal Visitors
Seasonal visitors to our area would include the following species:
- Pallid Cuckoo (late winter, spring, summer)
- Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo (spring, summer)
- Rainbow Bee-eater (spring, summer)
- Singing Bushlark (late winter, spring)
- Skylark (late winter, spring, summer)
- Rufous Songlark (spring, summer)
- Grey Fantail (winter, spring)
- Striped Honeyeater (spring, summer)
Some of these species are not regular visitors every year. For example, the Rainbow Bee-eater has been recorded breeding here, and sometimes we see and hear dozens of them but some summers we have not seen or heard a single bird.
Some species, it seems, like to keep us on our toes.
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