Masked Lapwing flyover
I’ve just come inside after hanging out a load of washing. While this necessary task interrupts my writing, I do welcome and enjoy it. Firstly, it stretches my legs and gets me out of my chair and away from the computer for a few minutes. Then I enjoy the breath of fresh air. Finally, it allows me to be outdoors with my head up – always a good pose for birding.
This morning’s delight was two (a pair?) of Masked Lapwings (plovers) flying noisily just over my head. This is a very common species in this area, but strangely, we don’t often get them landing on our 5 acre block of land. They also don’t often seem to fly directly overhead either. We usually only hear them in the distance.
Last week on a visit to the nearby Monarto Zoo I photographed a Masked Lapwing sitting on a nest. In another enclosure we saw a pair escorting three young chicks. I hope they didn’t venture into the nearby cheetah enclosure!
Masked Lapwing on nest, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Related article:
- Masked Lapwings -articles about lapwings from my archives.
Varied Sittella
No Comments »24th April, 2009; Category: Garden birds
One of the regular tasks I usually attend to each week is to hang up the washing on the clothes line. I enjoy this simple task for a number of reasons. Importantly it gets me away from the computer keyboard or my study books for a break. Good for the eyes. Good for the brain to crank down a little. And good for the lungs to get some fresh air.
But the most important reason I enjoy doing it is for the birding I can do. When one is hanging up the washing, your eyes are often cast skywards. In this way I am able to see birds I normally would probably miss. Then I will also hear birds I couldn’t hear from in my office.
This is what happened a few weeks ago. Nearby I could hear some birds chirping. I immediately realised that this call was not one of the normal species we have in our garden. I raced inside for the binoculars. Sure enough, the birds I heard proved to be a small flock of Varied Sittellas. These wonderful little birds are widespread in our district without being common anywhere.
Sittellas are widespread throughout much of Australia. There are 5 or 6 distinct races but there is hybridization where the races overlap in their distribution. They are very communal birds, moving through woodlands in a small family group of 5-7 individuals. They feed on insects found under the bark of trees, hopping along the branches in their quest for food.
I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo on this occasion.
To see several photos, and to read more information about this species go to the Birds in Backyards web site.
An awesome sight
Hanging the washing out on the clothes line is often a very interesting birding time. It has the advantage of casting one’s eyes skywards and I have frequently been delighted with the sightings I’ve made during this otherwise mundane household chore.
Yesterday morning was one of those awesome moments not easily forgotten. I heard the alarm call of the resident New Holland Honeyeaters; this always prompts me to quickly scan the sky for any birds of prey lurking around.
I was just quick enough to see the final stages of the stoop of a Peregrine Falcon, wings swept right back, as it swept low over the trees heading for a small group of Common Starlings. I couldn’t see if it caught its breakfast.
The traffic past our property travels at about 80kph. This bird was going at least twice that speed.
What an awesome sight!
Pity I wasn’t quick enough to race inside, get the camera and take a photo.
Rainbow Lorikeets
Rainbow Lorikeet
Yesterday afternoon I was taking the washing off the clothesline before the next shower of rain came along. Hanging the washing on the line, or taking it off the line are excellent birding times. They force one to look skyward.
This time I was not disappointed. A small flock of four Rainbow Lorikeets flew high overhead. This is always a lovely species to see, with all those bright rainbow colours on their feathers. This species is widespread throughout the district around Murray Bridge without being in the large numbers one can observe in the Adelaide Hills or other parts of the Mt Lofty Ranges.
Rainbow Lorikeet
Rainbow Lorikeets are only occasional visitors to our garden. We more often have the smaller Purple Crowned Lorikeet.
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Related articles:
- Close views of Musk Lorikeets – seen at Victor Harbor
- Great birding moments – Budgerigars
- Great birding moments – Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
- Eastern Rosella – seen in the Wittunga Botanic Gardens
This post was updated on 1st March 2017.
Birds in the News #78
I am a little late in posting this.
Issue #78 of Birds in the News can be found here.
It features:
- A wonderful photo of three Rhinoceros Hornbills
- News of many Common Murres and other birds washed ashore on the beaches of California, Oregon and Washington.
- A campaign to conserve Columbia’s wax palms and the Yellow-Eared Parrots.
- The success of the captive Kiwi breeding programme at Auckland Zoo.
- Australian twitchers descending upon Darwin to tick a rare occurance of a Javan Pond Heron.
- A Bar-Tailed Godwit has been tracked by satellite – and set a new long-distance non-stop flight record of 10,200 km.
- And much more.
Link: