Trevor's Birding

Another new bird for my district list

No Comments »28th August, 2007; Category: Eagles Hawks and Kites, Murray Bridge

I received a tip off from a fellow birder that a bird I hadn’t seen for some time had been seen in the local wetlands just five minutes drive from home. I had some business to attend to in the business section of town so I took the opportunity to do some birding on my way home.

I written before about the Rocky Gully Wetlands area here in Murray Bridge in South Australia. It is usually a fruitful place to stop for a few minutes just to see what is around. I was not disappointed. IN about thirty minutes of birding I managed to list 27 species, including Common Sandpiper, a new bird for my Murray Bridge and district list. I have seen it elsewhere but this was a first her for me. I forgot to take the camera, but I don;t think I would have been able to approach close enough anyway.

Other notable sighting included good views of Superb Blue Wrens, about a dozen Black Winged Stilts and some fine Chestnut Teals. I also had excellent views from the bird hide of two Nankeen Kestrels sitting on a sign. One was obviously a juvenile for it kept begging food from the other. The adult bird flew off for a few minutes and returned with what looked like a mouse. It then proceeded to feed the young one.

Further reading:

A new bird for my district list – Little Wattlebird
Black Swans at Rocky Gully Wetlands
Rocky Gully Wetlands, Murray Bridge

Australian Pelicans, Rocky Gully Wetlands

Mistletoebirds

1 Comment »27th August, 2007; Category: Garden birds

During most days I am quite aware of the birds in our garden and around our five-acre property. From my office where I spend most of my day writing I can hear the birds calling. Most days I usually spend some time outside working in the garden or the shed and on those occasions I get to see the birds as well.

Mistletoebird

One species that is a delightful occasional visitor to our garden is the beautiful Mistletoebird. Over recent weeks I have been hearing this species calling on many occasions, sometimes several times a day. They are elusive little birds however, and I haven’t managed a recent photo of either the male or the female.

Further reading:

Great Birding Moments #3 Mistletoe bird

A bounty of birds in the garden plus one reptile

2 Comments »26th August, 2007; Category: Animals, Garden birds, Murray Bridge

The bird life in our garden seems to have moved up a few notches in the activity levels in recent days. With the extended period of dry, warmer weather – more spring-like than winter despite what the calendar says – birds are becoming quite active. I haven’t taken the time to explore through all the trees and bushes around to see what is nesting, but I am sure that there is plenty of it happening already around here, and plenty more to come.

On top of that we are having visits from a few species we only see occasionally. For example, yesterday morning when we arrived home from visiting friends, we were delighted as we walked from the car to the house. A Peaceful Dove was calling in the trees by the driveway. This species is not resident in our garden but is a very welcome visitor from time to time.

Peaceful Dove, Cleland Wildlife Park

Next we heard some White-browed Babblers calling from the scrub along with a Mistletoebird calling persistently in the trees.

A solitary Nankeen Kestrel flew overhead and both Yellow-rumped and Striated Pardalotes were heard calling as they fed in the trees. A few minutes later two Pacific Black Ducks flew off startled from the swimming pool (it is still too early to clean Le Swamp). At the back of the house two Blackbirds were feeding in the company of several Crested Pigeons and Common Starlings.

Crested Pigeon

A surprising visitor yesterday was an Adelaide Rosella. These are more common in the Adelaide Hills further west from Murray Bridge. A small group of up to four birds has been seen over recent weeks. Later I heard several Weebills feeding in the trees along with a small family of Yellow-rumped Thornbills.

And the reptile?

The most surprising sighting of the last 48 hours was a half grown Brown Snake sunning itself in the driveway. It was probably about 75cm long and still had the features and markings of a juvenile. I guess it is coming into its second summer this year.

Normally we do not see too many snakes around our property even in the heat of summer, and those we do see we always give them a wide berth. I am not keen on chasing after even a small one like that seen yesterday; it can still turn on one and inflict a deadly bite. What amazed me was the fact that it is August – still winter according to our calendar. In December through February we always walk cautiously around the garden and scrub. I guess we should always be vigilant.

Unusual cormorant behaviour

9 Comments »25th August, 2007; Category: Bird Behaviour, Waterbirds

On my recent visit to Loxton in the Riverland region of South Australia I saw about 50 Little Black Cormorants. They were across the other side of the river. Every few seconds about 10-15 of the assembled birds would start madly flapping and splashing the water. They were not diving for fish and remained on the surface throughout the five to ten second splashing routine.

What were they doing?

I’ve never seen this behaviour in cormorants before. I’m at a loss to explain their behaviour. I invite readers to leave their explanations in the comments section below, or use the email contact form here.

Little Black Cormorants, River Murray, Loxton

Click on the photo to enlarge the image.

Apart from the bird on the far left, I didn’t manage to catch the splashing action on my camera. [Sigh]

I and the bird #56 What I did on my summer vacation

No Comments »24th August, 2007; Category: Carnivals, I and the Bird, Non-Australian birds

Here Down Under in Australia we can only dream of summer vacations. The mornings are still quite frosty and the wind can be quite chilling. Summer is far off, but spring is just around the corner. We’ve had enough lovely sunny days over the last week or so to keep us hopeful of a lovely spring (if only we could get a little more rain).

The latest I and the Bird (issue #56) has been posted over at Big Spring Birds. The compiler, Vern, is celebrating the summer vacations drawing to an end in that part of the world. Through this carnival we are taken on a vacation throughout the world of birding.

Plenty of good reading as usual on a wide range of birding blogs.