While we were enjoying our lunch today two Australian Ringneck parrots came to our bird bath. They proceeded to have a very thorough soaking, as the photograph shows.
Australian Ringneck parrots
I guess that they were feeling rather hot. Today is the hottest day we have had since last summer. Spring here in Murray Bridge, South Australia, has been very mild, sometimes even cool with plenty of lovely rain.
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
Yesterday my wife and I visited the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens. These gardens in the Mt Lofty Ranges are part of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and are about 15-20 minutes drive from the CBD.
It was a glorious day and just right for a walk through this delightful spot in South Australia. It was about 25 degrees Celcius, clear azure blue sky with a gentle cooling breeze just right for the exertion of walking uphill. These gardens are a feature of the eastern slopes of Mt Lofty, the highest point dominating the Adelaide skyline.
Rhondodendrons
The section we walked through is dominated by extensive planting of Rhondodendrons. These magnificent plants were mostly out in flower and made a dazzling display in the Australian bushland surrounding them.
The forest we walked through was dominated by an introduced bird unfortunately. I love the call of the Common Blackbird, but when it drowns out the calls of our lovely native species it is disappointing. I must have seen and heard over 50 of this species in the hour and a half walk.
Other species included a small flock of Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoos, several Grey Fantails, a single Eastern Spinebill and many Crimson Rosella parrots. In the upper section of the park the only bird I managed to photograph was a Grey Currawong, too busy searching for his afternoon snack under the bark of the nearby trees to worry about my camera clicking away.
Grey Currawong
After our walk we drove down to the lower section to have afternoon tea in the lakeside picnic grounds. Here I was able to get many good shots of a Black Swan,
Black Swan
a single Magpie Lark,
Australian Magpie Lark
several Eurasian Coot, Pacific Black Duck and many Wood Ducks.
Australian Wood Duck
The Hoary Headed Grebes out in the middle of the lake were too far away to get good photos.
Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens
Working in the garden this afternoon I needed to stop what I was doing to take some photographs of a local species of parrot, the Australian Ringneck (also called Mallee Ringneck). I did not have to go looking for the bird in question. It was almost like it came looking for me! It flew right up to me in our plant nursery and sat on a nearby branch, not more than 3 metres away.
Of course, the camera was in the house, so I tried to casually walk into the house hoping that the ringneck would stay there. It didn’t but flew to a tree some 50 metres away. I continued working, all the time watching for the bird to return. I didn’t have to wait long. It settled in a tree near the house. I quietly went inside with the camera, planning to use our sun-room as a hide. We have three bird baths about six metres from a large picture window. We have had hundreds of very enjoyable meals watching the parade of birds coming to drink or bathe. Again, a very “good” waste of time, being very relaxing and enjoyable.
Today’s visitor was taking quite a deal of interest in the water. After taking some good photos through the window I decided to go outside and see how close I could get to the ringneck. I was able to get to about 3 metres away while the bird came down to the bird-bath and proceed to have a very thorough bath. I managed to get several more excellent photos. I then pressed the video button on the camera and filmed the bird washing and preening for about two minutes. I haven’t yet worked out whether I can make this video available on this blog.
Usually we have only two Australian Ringnecks around in the garden. In recent months there have been four, two of them juveniles. They aren’t in our garden constantly but rather roam over a wide range of the local environment. We usually love seeing them near to the house like today. When they decide to raid the orchard and nip the buds off the pear and apple trees we get just a tad annoyed – no – angry. We also get no fruit! Today I observed only one bird; I wonder if the other is nesting somewhere?
I have started photographing birds in the wrong way. I have taken on those LBBs (Little Brown Birds) which cause so much angst amongst birders. Some of them are annoyingly difficult to identify, even when conditions seem good.
They are sometimes hard to get good views of even when they sit still. Some of them never seem to sit still for even a second. Then they are too far away to be certain about the ID or they are partly obscured by foliage, twigs or branches. The opposite is sometimes a problem; too close to focus one’s binoculars yet too far away for the naked eye!
Our little patch of mallee scrub has an interesting set of LBBs on tap just waiting to annoy me and to engage me in an identification detective trail through several field guides. One species is simple; the Yellow-Rumped Thornbill has a very bright yellow rump displayed prominently as they fly off. The Yellow Thornbill is easily confused with it if the shadows are playing tricks with your eyes; fortunately this species is not resident on our property. It is an occasional visitor.
The Chestnut-Rumped Thornbill, another occasional visitor, should be easy to identify, but this species is easily confused with the Inland Thornbill. Fortunately I’ve only recorded this latter species on one occasion on our property. Still, it shows that one has to be ever vigilant and not assume anything.
Throw into this mess the smallest LBB of all, the Weebill. It is also Australia’s smallest bird. Sometimes the trees around us just burst into song from these delightful little birds. It can seem the the trees themselves are singing. Combine that with the peacefulness of our scrub, the bright sunshine and soft breeze, having to get on with tasks becomes a real challenge in discipline. Much easier to sit back and enjoy the day. Mind you, we sometimes do just that, cuppa in hand. It is a “good” waste of time, our equivalent of taking time to “smell the roses.”
Having said all of that I feel reasonably confident that the three photos in today’s blog are in fact Weebills. Well, I’m not too sure of the last photo; the bill seems too pointed.
I haven’t added an entry for several days. I had a busy weekend and the only free time was taken up watching the amazing battle between Australia and England in the Fifth and deciding Ashes Cricket Test. Watching cricket is another of my passions. I often accompany my daughter Rose to the test cricket at the world’s most beautiful cricket ground, the Adelaide Oval.
My only observation of note today was hearing a Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo near the house. Try as I might I couldn’t even get a glimpse of said cuckoo, never mind attempting to get a photograph. The first cuckoo of the spring I heard about two weeks ago and then only for a few seconds. Today’s individual hung around for about an hour.
Spring is well and truly under way here in Murray Bridge. Many birds are busy breeding, native plants are flowering and exotics like roses are sprouting new leaves in profusion. We have a few vines are they are also showing their first leaves. In our small orchard the fruit trees are either in blossom and have buds about to burst. The above photo shows a beautiful Nectarine blossom. The second photograph shows the magnificent bloom of the Grevillea “Winpara Gem”, a popular Australian plant.
I have noticed that the Crested Pigeons are not very conspicuous at present. I 
wonder if they are nesting somewhere? I must have a good snoop around tomorrow. Meanwhile, here is another beautiful photograph of one of the local Crested Pigeons sun-bathing near the house last week.