Trevor's Birding

Messy birds – a reader’s question

7 Comments »19th September, 2009; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds

A very unusual question

I get regular comments from readers here on this blog. That’s great and I enjoy hearing from my many readers. I also get many questions about birds, either through the comments section or via the contact form. Most of these are reasonably straight forward queries, some of them need a little research to find the answers. Today I had a very interesting question from a reader.

I don’t want to mention names, or even quote the question and background information I was given. It is probably the most unusual question I’ve been asked. It seems that in a southern NSW town there is a legal dispute between neighbours, one of them accusing the other of throwing moss from his roof gutters on to his driveway and making a mess.

A relative of one of them asked me whether it was birds causing the problem. Below is my answer.

In actual fact it could be any number of birds that are the culprits. I would most certainly think that a bird or birds of some sort are responsible for the mess being created.

Peewees (Magpie Larks) are near the top of my list. They are always mucking about in our gutters. What is more, they make a mud nest and moss would make a lovely lining. It would also help bind together the mud they are using.

It could also be Australian Magpies, though I doubt if they are using it as nesting material. They tend to use only sticks – but then, they don’t read the books about how they are supposed to behave. Wool and cloth have been used – so why not moss?

Both of the above species could also be searching in the moss for tidbits to eat, things like worms and beetles.

Another possible culprit is the Common Blackbird. They are notorious for flicking mulch from gardens on to paths and driveways in their attempt to find a feed. Drives some people crazy. Again, they could be looking for food in the moss, but they too could use it as a nesting material. Common Starlings also do the same.

Other candidates include Currawongs, Ravens, Thrushes, Swallows (mud nest), White-winged Choughs (mud nest) and I wouldn’t be surprised at any of the flycatcher family using moss, including the Willie Wagtail, the Rufous and Grey Fantails. I should also mention the robins – of the 5 different species in your area, all but one use moss to line their nests. Superb Fairy-wrens also use moss.

This list comes from just a quick flip through a field guide – there are probably many more I haven’t listed. And remember, birds don’t read the guide books – they are all capable of behaviour not mentioned in the books.

So, as you can see, there are many possibilities. You just have to catch the culprit in the act!

Male Flame Robin, Mt. Macedon, Victoria

Possible Galah nesting attempt

8 Comments »18th September, 2009; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Murray Bridge, Nests, Parrots and Lorikeets, Photos

Galahs at nesting hollow

The beautiful Galah is a very common bird around where we live in Murray Bridge, South Australia. Flocks of several hundred are a common sight in the summer months.

Over the last few weeks two Galahs have been investigating a hollow in an old growth mallee tree near our house. This hollow is in clear view from where we often have meals on our new back veranda. The tree is about 30 metres away.

I hesitate to call them a “pair” because I haven’t actually seen them mating. I have strong reasons for calling them as such because one is a male and the other is a female and they are displaying typical nesting behaviour. (The female has a red eye, the male a dark brown eye.)

This pair has been hanging around this hollow for several hours every day now for many weeks. Both often go into the hollow to check it out. I can’t tell if they are actually enlarging it or not. They allow us to get quite close to the tree without flying off.

Then last week while we were having lunch they started breaking small leafy twigs off the tree and taking them into the hollow to line their nest. Seems fairly conclusive to me.

The only downside it that we will have to put up with some very noisy little neighbours later in the year. Baby Galahs can be very demanding and very noisy.

I’ve taken quite a few photos. Below is a selection of the best of them. Click on the photo to enlarge the image.

Galahs at nesting hollow

Galah at nesting hollow

Galahs at nesting hollow

Active Yellow-rumped Thornbills

5 Comments »16th September, 2009; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Thornbills

Yellow-rumped Thornbill

One of the common resident bird species in our garden and on our five acre block is the Yellow-rumped Thornbill. Every day we see flocks of 8-10 foraging on the ground in most parts of our property. I love seeing them hopping around or flying low across the garden, their bright yellow tails brilliant in the sunshine. They are regular visitors to the bird baths too during the warmer months of the year.

At present they are extremely active. The warmer spring weather is with us and so they are probably nesting somewhere too. It’s just that I haven’t yet found their nest.

Related articles:

Yellow-rumped Thornbill

What a thriller – it’s a White-winged Triller

8 Comments »15th September, 2009; Category: Garden birds, Migratory birds, Murray Bridge

White-winged Triller (male)

I had just hung out the washing this morning and was on my way back inside. A different bird call drew my attention so I raced inside for the camera and binoculars. Sure enough, we had a male White-winged Triller in our small patch of mallee scrub. This species is an irregular visitor here, usually in the spring or summer.

White-winged Trillers can be seen throughout most of mainland Australia and northern Tasmania. In my experience they are widespread but not common, and certainly not found in large numbers, usually seen singly or in pairs. They also occur in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. They are a breeding migrant in the southern parts of the country. In the winter months they spend time in the northern and inland regions.

The call is a rich, far reaching, descending ‘chip-chip-chip-joey-joey-joey.’

Related articles:

White-winged Triller (male)

Friendly Welcome Swallows

No Comments »14th September, 2009; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Murray Bridge, Swallows

Welcome Swallows

Welcome Swallows are a common species throughout much of southern and eastern Australia. Here in Murray Bridge, South Australia they are the most common of our swallow species. Along the River Murray they can often be seen in loose flocks of hundreds. Even in the streets it is not unusual to see 50 – 100 resting on power lines.

Strangely, they are not all that common at our place, situated about 5 kilometres from the river. When we do have them around it is usually fleeting visits by no more than 2 – 6 at a time. In recent months, however, their visits are becoming a little more regular. Instead of once a fortnight on average, they appear to be around most days. They are probably more frequent visitors than I realise with me being stuck in my office with my writing for long hours most days.

Several days ago I was delighted to hear the soft ‘seep, seep, seep’ call and twittering quite close to the office. I left my computer to find two of them – dare I call them a “pair” (?) sitting on the storm water down pipe coming off the office roof (see photos) They could well have been calling to me to ask permission to visit!

One of them occasionally would fly off in tight circles around the nearby garden and through our new back veranda. Were they checking it out as a possible nesting site? I’m not sure, but they were very interested in the locality for about ten minutes before flying off.

Related articles:

Welcome Swallows