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Black Kite, Monarto Zoo

No Comments »30th October, 2009; Category: Eagles Hawks and Kites, Raptors, Zoos
Black Kite, Monarto Zoo

Black Kite, Monarto Zoo

Black Kites are very common birds of prey throughout their range which includes Africa, Eurasia and most of Australia (except Tasmania). I have seen them in many places here in Australia and this species is also on my Thailand and Nepal lists. It is a bird that is hard to miss.

Strangely enough, even though they are regular visitors to our home block – or should I say, birds that regularly fly over our block – I had not managed to get a good photo of one. They are usually too high up for a good shot as they soar overhead.

On a recent visit to our local open range zoo, Monarto Zoo, a solitary Black Kite came down close overhead and soared around several times checking us out. It was a good opportunity to get a reasonable photo.

Black Kite, Monarto Zoo

Black Kite, Monarto Zoo

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Brown Falcon at Monarto Zoo

7 Comments »28th October, 2009; Category: Eagles Hawks and Kites, Murray Bridge, Photos, Raptors, Zoos
Brown Falcon, Monarto Zoo

Brown Falcon, Monarto Zoo

A few weeks ago we went with our family to visit Monarto Zoo near our home town of Murray Bridge. This open range zoo is a part of the Adelaide Zoological Gardens and being only a few kilometres down the road from our home we like to visit often. Being a Life Member I like to visit often.

One of the features of the zoo is the large tract of untouched mallee scrub where visitors can walk on the numerous walking trails leading from one enclosure to another. The regular shuttle buses moving around the zoo make this a very attractive part of the visit. All tracks are easily negotiated, even by wheelchair.

Walking through the mallee scrub is a good way to observe many of the local bird species abundant in the area. On this visit I had great views of this Brown Falcon. Normally a reasonable shy bird, this individual decided to pose nicely for a few photos.

Brown Falcon, Monarto Zoo

Brown Falcon, Monarto Zoo

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The Budgerigars are coming

6 Comments »27th October, 2009; Category: Bird Behaviour, Murray Bridge, Parrots and Lorikeets
Budgerigars, Cleland Wildlife Park

Budgerigars, Cleland Wildlife Park

The much loved Budgerigar is one of Australia’s favourite birds. Many millions are kept as pets in Australia and in many other countries of the world.  One of the most amazing wildlife scenes in Australia is to see a large flock of hundreds and even thousands of  Budgerigars.  I’ve only even witnessed this on one occasion; it’s marked in my memory as one of the special birding moments.

Over the last week or so there have been numerous reports of these beautiful birds moving into the southern parts of Australia, including close to my home here in Murray Bridge. I’ll have to keep a special lookout for any that come our way.

Reader activity:

If you have one of these beautiful Australian parrots as a pet, tell me about it in the comments section.

Budgerigar

Budgerigar

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Eastern Rosella – a new species for our garden list

1 Comment »17th October, 2009; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Murray Bridge, Parrots and Lorikeets
Eastern Rosella

Eastern Rosella

Eastern Rosellas are one of the colourful parrot species to be found here in Australia. It is a relatively common parrot found in south eastern Australia and Tasmania. It has been introduced into the Mt Lofty Ranges and Adelaide region of south Australia as well as New Zealand.

Here in Murray Bridge I’ve only recorded it once several years ago. On that occasion it appeared to be an aviary escape. The nearest naturally occurring birds are some 60 kilometres to the west.

Over recent days we have had a single Eastern Rosella flying around our garden. This is a new species for my garden list. It does not appear to be a cage bird as it is very flighty. I struggled to get close enough for a reasonable photo. The photos on this post have been enhanced – zoomed in and brightened to show the beautiful colours. Consequently they are not top quality shots.

Eastern Rosella

Eastern Rosella

The behaviour of this individual was interesting. We have several Mallee Ringnecks resident on our property. Recently they produced two young ones that follow them everywhere and beg to be fed. The Eastern Rosella tried to adopt this family who were having none of it. They tried to chase it away but it was most insistent and would fly up and sit close to one of the ringnecks. The ringnecks would then attempt to chase it away again. This continued for about twenty minutes before the rosella gave and flew away. It has been back several times so I don’t know whether it intends taking up residence or not.

It would be a very colourful addition to our garden birds.

Eastern Rosella

Eastern Rosella

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Guest speaker

No Comments »15th October, 2009; Category: General

Today I was the guest speaker at the Mallee Aged Care, a group which meets in the local soccer club rooms every fortnight. The organiser invited me – and my wife – for lunch and after that I gave a one hour presentation, talking about Australian birds. I illustrated my talk with photos of our lovely birds. Most of the photos have been shown here on my blog over recent years.

While many in the group were hard of hearing, all said they could hear me clearly – it must be the remnants of my teacher voice at work.

All said they enjoyed the talk very much and learned so much about our birds. One lady even started taking notes on a paper napkin!

I’ve done similar talks to various group before, and the requests are becoming more frequent as word gets out. It’s something I enjoy and I not only love sharing about Australian birds, as a former teacher I love imparting knowledge about them with any who will listen. Friends and family know this and often ring or ask about something they’ve seen birds doing.

An offer too good to refuse:

I am prepared to go anywhere to talk about Australian birds. If it’s interstate just provide the air fare and I’ll be there. What the heck – I’ll even fly overseas to talk about Australian birds.

Emu, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Emu, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

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