Bird Word: Nocturnal
2 Comments »4th September, 2007; Category: Bird Word, Glossary, Nocturnal birds, Owls Frogmouths and Nightjars
- Nocturnal: active at night, such as owls. (The opposite is diurnal, or active in the day time.)
I should go out birding more at night.
After all, if I want to actually see nocturnal birds, as opposed to merely hearing them, I have to make the effort to get out there in the wild of the night.
Owls and Frogmouths
From time to time – usually on those occasions when there is absolutely nothing on television (which is an increasing phenomenon these days) and we are just sitting reading or talking, we are aware of the night sounds outside. We will occasionally hear a screeching Barn Owl or the soft “ooming” of the Tawny Frogmouth. I have yet to get good shots of these two species.
Australian Owlet-Nightjar:
Another nice one to hear is the Australian Owlet-Nightjar, an occasional visitor to our garden. I actually got a really good view of one of these one beautiful afternoon a few years ago. It had settled on a dead limb of a neighbour’s tree and was quietly sunning itself. It was much smaller than I thought it would be.
Southern Boobook Owl
It has been many years since the last Boobook visit to our garden. This would have to be a favourite of mine; the haunting “boo-book” call echoes far in the Australian bush at night. My daughter hears one and sometimes two calling near her home in Clare in the mid-north of South Australia.
Spotted Nightjar
This well camouflaged species I’ve often seen while driving at night. I thought I would never get to photograph this species until a while back when a friend showed me where one was regularly roosting. Read about the Spotted Nightjar here, along with a photo.
Spotted Nightjar
When our children (who are now adults) were little we often went camping. A big part of any camping trip was to go out for a walk after dark with several bright torches. We would search for possums, owls and frogmouths, and any other animals getting out and about under the cover of darkness.
Must start doing that again.
Further reading:
- Spotted Nightjar
- Great birding moment – Spotted Nightjar
- Barn Owl
- Owls, Frogmouth and Nightjars – links to articles from my archives.
Night, night to one poor Night Parrot
No Comments »18th February, 2007; Category: Birds in the News, Nocturnal birds, Parrots and Lorikeets
There has been an exciting discovery in far western Queenland. It has been reported in The Australian newspaper that a dead Night Parrot has been discovered.
The Australian has learned that National Parks and Wildlife Service officers have found a dead night parrot in the state’s far west, confirming the survival of Australia’s rarest bird.
In a discovery of international significance, the parrot was found in November in the Diamantina Lakes region after it flew into a barbed-wire fence. The Government has kept the find secret to avoid birdwatchers searching for night parrots while it does a survey to find more.
A road-killed night parrot found in 1990 near Boulia, in northwest Queensland, by Australian Museum scientists was the first confirmed record of the species since 1912.
Now the Night Parrot, a nocturnal species, is a rather rare bird. In fact, it has only been reliably sighted a handful of times in the last century. It is arguably Australia’s rarest bird – no – make that THE rarest Australian bird.
The Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis is one of Australia’s most intriguing birds and possibly its least known. It lives in remote parts of the continent, comes out at night and runs along the ground like a quail. Since its discovery by Europeans, the Night Parrot has been a subject of debate, particularly in regard to its abundance and natural history. Australian Museum online.
Related articles:
- Night Parrot – Australian Museum online article.
- Not an ex-parrot – article on Snail’s Eye View with several links to relevant sites.
- Bad news for one dead parrot, good news for species – this link is to the original article in The Australian newspaper.
New Species for my Home List
3 Comments »17th July, 2006; Category: Garden birds, Murray Bridge, Nocturnal birds, Owls Frogmouths and Nightjars
After living in the same home for over 20 years it is a rare event to add a new bird species to my “home list.” So it was a delight a few days ago when I disturbed a Spotted Nightjar in our little patch of mallee scrub. It flew before I had seen it roosting on the ground. This is not surprising because the spot where it was sitting was covered in leaves and twigs from the surrounding trees. The spots on its wings were diagnostic, and it was not a Brown Falcon as was my first reaction. Too small, wrong colour and the spots – it had to be a Spotted Nightjar.
Spotted Nightjar
A few hours later I did a thorough search of the area where it might have landed, but it was not to be seen. With its amazing camouflage I may well have walked within a metre and not seen it. While it is exciting to have such a species in our little patch, I am concerned about its future if it hangs around. Being ground roosting during the day, it is in danger of being stumbled upon by the neighbour’s cat. This pet does regular patrols through our garden – despite some attempts at discouragement on our part.
Related Articles:
Barn Owl
Last night we were invited to dinner at our friends’ home. They had a lovely outdoor fire going and we sat around eating and talking until quite late. On our way home we saw a Barn Owl fly off from the side of the road.
Now this in itself is not all that notable, because this species is widespread throughout many parts of rural Australia. What is notable, however, is the fact that I have not recorded this species near or at home for several years, despite being widespread and relatively common.
It was a lovely finish to a special evening.
Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia
Yesterday we had another visit to the arboretum at Wellington in South Australia. I had been contacted via email by several birders nearby and one from interstate wanting directions to see the Spotted Nightjar roosting in the open.
Still There
The nightjar was still there and we were able to show a birding couple from Victor Harbor this amazing and cryptic bird. I also took along my wife and mother-in-law who also thought it was fascinating. My mother-in-law throught at first I was showing her a lizard, such was the camouflage of the feathers. It melded in beautifully with the sand, twigs, leaves and grass.
Other Birds
Although it had been a cold night and morning, by the time we arrived in the early afternoon the sun was shining, the clouds had cleared and the temperature had risen to a bearable 15 or 16 degrees. The sunshine also brought the birds out. I had good views of the male Red Capped Robin, a Grey Fantail, one Silvereye, many New Holland Honeyeaters, a small family of White Browed Babblers, Zebra Finches coming to a dripping tap to drink, Crested Pigeons sitting on the fence and powerlines nearby and a Whistling Kite soaring gracefully overhead. We also saw several hundred Straw Necked Ibis flying over a nearby farm and a single White Ibis as we left the arboretum.