Birding at Hay, New South Wales
1 Comment »29th December, 2008; Category: Trip reports
Murrumbidgee River, Hay, NSW
December 2008 New South Wales Trip Report #2
After the disappointing lack of birds as we drove over to Hay from home in Murray Bridge I was less than keen to do any birding around the outback town of Hay. After tea we left our caravan park cabin and went for a walk along the banks of the Murrumbidgee River. This walk was partly to get exercise and partly to get out of the very hot cabin.
I didn’t take my binoculars or my camera.
Big mistake.
Rule #1: Always take your camera – just in case.
In the cool of the evening the birds emerged in numbers. We saw dozens of Galahs feeding on the ground. Several babies sat in the gum trees overhead giving their very annoying and persistent begging calls. A small flock of about six Red Rumped Parrots flew overhead. Crested Pigeons strutted along the track in front of us and a Laughing Kookaburra watched us from his perch on a dead branch.
Blue-faced Honeyeater
One of the highlights was seeing and hearing several Blue-faced Honeyeaters, always a good bird to see. Another highlight was the sighting of one Noisy Friarbird, another species of honeyeater and one I have rarely seen over the years. It had been over eight years since my last views of this species. I could have taken several good photos of the Black-backed Magpies also feeding on the ground. Two White Ibis flew overhead and two Yellow Rosellas flew from a nearby tree and across the river. Overhead several dozen Dusky Woodswallows drifted northwards on the breeze.
Murrumbidgee River, Hay, NSW
As we were returning to the cabin we passed a flock of about forty Australian Wood Ducks feeding on the front lawn of a local resident who obviously throws them pieces of bread at regular intervals. Earlier we had seen two adults leading three ducklings across the river.
Bird Wars – Magpies v Falcon
1 Comment »17th October, 2008; Category: Bird Behaviour, Eagles Hawks and Kites, Garden birds, Magpies and Currawongs
A few days ago I was out in our garden. Whenever I’m out there my ears and eyes are on the alert for anything happening in the bird world.
I was suddenly aware of a Crested Pigeon flying at full speed from the direction of the main road past our five acre block. The pigeon seemed in a great hurry – in fact, it seemed terrified. And with good reason.
A Brown Falcon had been following it, obviously thinking that lunch was an easy grab. It had another think coming.
The resident male Australian Magpie had other ideas and swooped aggressively on the now harassed falcon, turning the aggressor into the victim. The Magpie kept on attacking the falcon – from a safe distance of a few metres – until it was well and truly off the property, and presumably out of the Magpie’s territory.
The Crested Pigeon was seen no more as it made its escape over the other side of the house where I lost sight of it.
And the Magpie saved its two babies in the nest nearby.
My advice to all my readers: keep a sharp eye on the behaviour of the birds in your part of the world. You never know when something dramatic will happen.
Birds are a distraction
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
Birds down by the river
Captain Proud at Sturt Reserve Murray Bridge
A few days ago we had some business to do in the CBD of our home town, Murray Bridge. We decided to take the makings for morning tea with us. After dealing with the business side of things we headed down to the river and parked in the shade of tree near Sturt Reserve on the banks of the Murray River.
I was able to get a good list of birds while we had our cuppa. There was nothing spectacular of course, just the usual species I would expect.
Captain Proud at Sturt Reserve Murray Bridge
Probably the most interesting bird seen was a Darter fishing quite close to the bank on our side of the river. Several Crested Pigeons came close to us investigating what we were up to. Three Willie Wagtails fluttered around and near the car. A beautiful Little Eagle soared on high and several Crested Terns patrolled the river looking for a feed.
In all I recorded 22 species, not bad for about forty minutes of birding.
Murray River near Sturt Reserve in Murray Bridge
The above photo shows the low level of the water in the Murray River at present. It is about 2 metres below its normal level and this is a direct result of the poor rainfall in the catchment areas in NSW and Victoria. Excessive use by irrigators in the eastern states is not helping the plight of this endangered river system either.
Australian Hobby
1 Comment »29th February, 2008; Category: Eagles Hawks and Kites
Last weekend we visited our daughter at Clare in the mid-north of South Australia. She was going away for the weekend and needed us to dog-sit for her. (You can read about the Adventures of Nancy – the dog with attitude here.) On the Saturday we went further north for a few hours to visit my wife’s sister in Peterborough. It had been quite a while since our last visit.
I didn’t have much opportunity to go birding while there; just a half hour in the garden before sunset was all. From previous visits over the years I have quite a healthy list for the district, about seventy species in all. On this occasion I only saw a few of the regulars: Galah, House Sparrow, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, Australian Magpie, Magpie Lark, Mallee Ringneck, Crested Pigeon, Yellow-throated Miner, and Red Wattlebird.
One unusual bird I saw was a single Australian Hobby (also called Little Falcon). This is one species I had not recorded for that area before. This bird was continually perching on a high television antenna (Peterborough is a long way from the nearest station) and then swooping down to attempt to catch its prey. At no stage did I see it catch or eat anything. This continued for about ten minutes while I watched it, before it flew off elsewhere.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a photo of the bird as it was about a hundred metres away.
Further reading:
- Australian Hobby
- What is your hobby? This article and the comments discusses the origins of the name “hobby.”