Trevor's Birding

New Holland Honeyeater

1 Comment »27th April, 2006; Category: Honeyeaters

Today I was working in my wife’s plant nursery and about mid-morning we stopped for a cuppa. While we were enjoying the cuppa and the lovely sunshine a New Holland Honeyeater came down from nearby trees. It landed a few metres in front of where we were sitting and started feeding on some Correa flowers.

Correas have beautiful bell shaped flowers in a variety of colours, especially pink through to deep red. Some species have yellow or green flowers, or a combination of all these. This small plant was still in a nursery tube waiting to go to a plant sale. It was much smaller than those one would find in a garden or out growing naturally. This didn’t seem to upset the honeyeater; as it started feeding the whole of the plant swayed and leaned over until it had moved through about ninety degrees. The New Holland Honeyeater just kept on feeding until satisfied and then it flew off elsewhere for another feed.

Weebill delights

No Comments »26th April, 2006; Category: Birds, Camera

This morning while working in my wife’s plant nursery (see Mallee Plants Nursery) we were delighted by the many birds calling all around us and feeding in the nearby trees. About mid morning I went inside to “boil the billy.”

I brought the teapot and cups on a tray out into the nursery so we could sit down for a break and enjoy the beautiful weather and lovely surroundings. Imagine our delight when a Weebill, Australia’s tiniest bird, came to sit on the ground no more than a metre from our feet. Of course – I didn’t have my camera at the ready! Next time?

Chucky Goes AWOL

No Comments »25th April, 2006; Category: Birds, General, Parrots and Lorikeets

This blog is usually about Australian birds but I couldn’t resist writing about Chucky the South American blue and gold Macaw. Chucky is a resident here in Murray Bridge South Australia.

Twitchers* – at ease!
Now before we get a huge influx of twitchers* here in my home town , let me explain. Chucky is not a wild bird – well, not normally. He usually lives in an aviary belonging to the Bozetti family. Earlier this week he was spooked by a sudden noise, escaped and flew off into some tall pines in Pine Park in the centre of town. The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was called on to help but Chucky remained up in the tree enjoying his taste of freedom on the wild side.

Fear of Heights

Finally a local engineering firm was called upon. Ignoring her fear of heights Mrs. Bozetti used their cherry picker to go up to 30 metres to where Chucky sat. Everyone was relieved when Chucky calmly walked on to her arm – to much applause from the crowd down below. I guess his bid for freedom comes at a price. Because he is valued at about $9000 I think he will be watched very carefully in future.

*Twitchers

A twitcher is a bird watcher who will travel great distances or make extra special efforts to see a rare bird or a bird not seen before. For more details read the article on bird watching in Wikipedia (click here).

Birds of Monarto Conservation Park

3 Comments »24th April, 2006; Category: Birds, General

Last Saturday my wife and I visited Monarto Conservation Park. This park is about 15 minutes drive from our home here in Murray Bridge South Australia. The park is some 65 km south east of Adelaide. The park consists of a variety of habitats but is predominantly mallee. From a slight rise part way along the only walking trail one can look over a sea of mallee trees.

Plants of the Park
In between thick stands of mallee trees (Eucalyptus diversifolia) there are open heath like patches of vegetation. It is like a natural garden and when the plants are in flower it is really delightful. There is a wide variety of plants present including Daisies, Correas, Acacias, Astrolomas, Baeckia, Leucopogons, Boronias and several types of native orchids. The park promises to be absolutely filled with flowers later in the year. (For more information on the plants check my wife’s blog by clicking here.)

Birds of the Park

Over the years our visits have shown a great variation in the birdlife. Sometimes there is hardly a whisper of birdsong and one has to work hard to list even 15 different species. At other times, usually when the plants are in flower, the chorus of birds is – well, not quite deafening, but noisy – and birds seem to be everywhere. My total species list is around the 50 mark which is quite good for this type of country.

Quiet Day

Saturday as one of those quiet days, despite many plants being in flower. I saw or heard a total of 19 species, with some notable dips. Not seeing a Southern Scrub Robin was the major dip.

Here is a list of the species I recorded, in the order of seeing or hearing them:

Yellow-rumped Thornbill,
Little Raven,
Grey Currawong,
Red Wattlebird,
Spotted Pardalote,
Australian Magpie,
White-browed Babbler,
Welcome Swallow,
Purple-crowned Lorikeet,
Nankeen Kestrel,
Weebill,
Grey Shrike-thrush,
Mallee Ringneck Parrot,
Brown-headed Honeyeater,
Striated Pardalote,
Willie Wagtail,
Red-rumped Parrot
Peaceful Dove.

Misty Duck

No Comments »23rd April, 2006; Category: Birds, Blogs, Photos

It all started with a duck on a misty lake. The resulting photograph started a lifetime enjoyment of birds and bird photography. I discovered this wonderful site called Misty Duck this week. It is the site of Adrian Foster of North Wales in the UK. It features many beatiful photos of birds. An interesting side feature is the Misty Junior pages. It contains photos and hints from his daughter. Cute.

To visit the Misty Duck site click here.