Trevor's Birding

Birds are a distraction

5 Comments »5th August, 2008; Category: Bird Behaviour, Clare, Garden birds

Magpie Lark

I am currently at my daughter’s home in Clare in the mid north of South Australia. I am busy – trying to study. The birds in her garden are a wonderful distraction from my books and writing.

Yesterday afternoon I took a break from my studies to mow her lawns. Actually – it would be more accurate to say that I removed the jungle. She has been overseas for the last five weeks and it has grown almost out of control. Not for the first time has Dad come to the rescue.

The resident birds are enjoying the cut grass. I guess I stirred up a lot of insects and exposed them to the birds. The Australian Magpie Larks were the first to move in, strutting around as if they owned the place. The Red Wattlebirds do not like their patch being invaded and will think nothing of swooping the poor Peewees (a common local name for the Magpie Larks). The Australian Magpies were not too slow on the update either, coming to feed and then rewarding us with their beautiful warbling and caroling right at the back door.

Australian Magpie (Black-backed race)

The Common Blackbirds quietly scamper from the bushes for a sortie or two before scurrying off to the next bush to hide, their alarm calls warning others. The Crested Pigeons strut purposefully across the grass, pausing every now and then to peck at some tasty morsel. Nearby, the New Holland Honeyeaters flit and parry, swooping down to capture an unsuspecting insect for breakfast.

The only species I haven’t seen at this veritable smorgasbord has been the local Willie Wagtails. They are often the very first to take advantage of such a feast. I guess they have better pickings elsewhere.

I must get back to my studies.

Willie Wagtail

Close view of Birds of Prey

2 Comments »3rd August, 2008; Category: Eagles Hawks and Kites, Raptors

This weekend I am in Clare in the mid-north of South Australia. My daughter teaches in the local high school and my wife is currently doing ten days of teaching there too.

Today we were invited to visit family in Jamestown, about 40 minutes north. We drove there in time for lunch and had a very pleasant afternoon sitting in the lovely sunshine. This was a complete contrast to some of the windy, cold and showery weather of recent weeks.

On our way back to Clare we had the delight of seeing two magnificent Wedge-tail Eagles gliding slowly across the road some thirty metres in front of the car. They were barely two metres off the ground. Several very frightened ducks (species unknown) were flying away at a great rate from the swampy ground near the roadside. I guess they figured that they might easily have been the eagles’ supper. The camera was in the back of the car, but they would have been well out of view before I’d stopped and switched it on.

On the journey up to Jamestown I saw plenty of Nankeen Kestrels soaring near or over the road as we drove along. I did not count them but there must have been about a dozen during the 70km trip.

Related article:

Wedge-tailed Eagles

Little Corellas at Mannum

4 Comments »31st July, 2008; Category: Mannum, Parrots and Lorikeets

Little Corella

A few weeks ago I was a guest speaker at the Mannum Garden Club. After the meeting I went down to the reserve by the river to have lunch. A small flock of about fifty Little Corellas was resting in the trees in the reserve. Several of them posed nicely for me.

Little Corellas can often be found in large flocks numbering in the hundreds. They can pose a threat to crops such as grain crops so they are sometimes not popular with farmers. Little Corellas are largely absent from the wetter eastern and southern coastal areas of Australia except where local feral populations have formed from aviary escapes. In the wild this species prefers the drier inland regions and they can be common to very abundant – even in pest numbers in some areas.

Click on the photo to enlarge the image.

Little Corella

Rufous Songlark

No Comments »30th July, 2008; Category: Garden birds, Larks

Yesterday I wrote about the Common Skylarks calling near our house. During this last week we spent quite a deal of time dodging showers as we worked outside. The fruit trees desperately needed attention; the chain saw was fired up as some branches needed some drastic action.

In between bursts of cutting we heard the distinctive and unmistakable ‘twitchy tweedle’ call of the Rufous Songlark. This species is about the same size as a Common Skylark (and a little larger than a House Sparrow).

They are regular visitors about this time of the year through to spring. Several years ago I thought that a pair was going to nest on our block of land. They hung around the garden and nearby for more than a week, their rich, melodious call filling the air. They didn’t nest here and moved on after their short sojourn which enriched our lives.

Rufous Songlarks are widespread throughout most of Australia except Tasmania and are generally uncommon. Their preferred habitat includes open grassy areas in woodlands and scrubs.

I still need a photo of this species.

Skylarking around

6 Comments »29th July, 2008; Category: Bird Behaviour, Larks, Murray Bridge

Over the last month or so I have been aware of the call of several Common Skylarks in the paddock opposite our place. This is an introduced species to Australia. It is essentially a ground dwelling bird of open grasslands and is slightly larger than a House Sparrow. I do not have a photo of this species to show you, for I more frequently hear it than see it.

What is interesting about this species here in Murray Bridge, South Australia, is that I hear it calling well before dawn. I usually leave home at about 6:15am to go to a friend’s house nearby for a morning walk. In the middle of June it is still quite dark (and cold at that time; first light is about 6:30am and the birds are calling well before that.

During the day when working in the garden I will often hear it calling again during the day. The call seems to carry long distances and continues for long periods of time. It is especially apparent during calm, sunny days.

I have always been of the impression that this is a migratory species in Australia. I have checked in HANZAB (Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds). There is some conjecture as to the actual movement of this species in Australia. Some say there is movement in autumn/winter while others contest this opinion. It could be that individuals – or even whole populations – are more or less resident year round, but they only call for part of the year.

The population near my home is destined to disappear during the next 3 – 4 years. A large government institution is about to be build right where the birds live. Then I’ll have to go a little further afield to see or hear them. [UPDATE: this facility has been postponed for several years.]