Pigeons by the dozens (almost)
Crested Pigeon, Mildura
I had a doctor’s appointment this morning. Nothing major; just a check up.
As I was driving out of the driveway I noticed that one of the bushes in our garden had suddenly “sprouted” some extra colour. (Confession: the bush is actually dead – I just haven’t got around to removing it yet, or replacing it with something living.)
Eleven crested pigeons were sitting there all fluffed up against the chilly morning and enjoying the early morning sunshine. It wasn’t a very big bush, so it looked really great.
Crested Pigeons are very common in our area. I frequently see loose flocks of a dozen or more – sometimes as many as 30 or 40 – perched on power lines or fences. Once I even counted about 60 all in close proximity to one another. It was quite a sight.
Crested Pigeon, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
Kestrel flyover
1 Comment »5th August, 2011; Category: Baby birds, Bird Behaviour, Eagles Hawks and Kites, Garden birds
Nankeen Kestrel, Laratinga wetlands, Mt Barker SA
Earlier this week I took a mid-morning break to have a coffee and to do some reading. It was a beautiful day with bright sunshine, moderate temperature and no clouds. It was the complete opposite of some of the dreary,gloomy, drizzly weather we’ve had this winter. I was enjoying the warmth of the sun, and the coffee wasn’t bad either.
As I read, a bird call nearby attracted my attention from my book. I’d heard this call several times in the previous few days but had not managed to catch sight of the birds. I recognised the call as that of a juvenile Nankeen Kestrel begging for food from the parents. A few seconds later an adult bird flew overhead, closely pursued by two young ones begging as they flew.
They went across our garden so quickly it was only a brief glimpse. They didn’t land nearby so there was no opportunity for a photo or two, so I’ve included a photo of a different bird of the same species taken in nearby Mt Barker some months ago. I have observed that they had been landing regularly on the cross bar of a nearby electricity power pole. Getting close enough without disturbing them can be a challenge as they can see me coming.
I’ll keep trying.
Good birding.
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Crested Pigeons at rest
1 Comment »17th January, 2011; Category: Pigeons and Doves
Crested Pigeon, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
On a recent visit to the Laratinga Wetlands in Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills I came across this Crested Pigeon having a little rest on a wooden fence rail. It was quite unconcerned about my presence a few metres away and posed nicely for my camera. In fact, it went straight back to sleep, closing its eyes and enjoying the warm summer’s afternoon sunshine (see photo below). There was another Crested Pigeon just to the right of the photo, but that one was a little more wary of me and my camera.
You can learn more about this beautiful pigeon here: Great Birding Moments: Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
Ducks upside down
Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
On my recent visit to Laratinga Wetlands at Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills I saw many water birds, including plenty of Pacific Black Ducks. This is a common Australian duck species found throughout much of the country where suitable habitat exists. They are often found in wetlands like this one, but also swamps, lakes, rivers, creeks, reservoirs, ponds, parks and gardens and even in suburban home swimming pools. We’ve had ducklings in our swimming pool on many occasions.
What amused me on this occasion was capturing a number of them upside down – see the photo below. They were all feeding on the bottom of the pond, tails stuck up in the air.
See also: Rescue of the ten little ducklings
Pacific Black Ducks, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
Pacific Black Duck, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, South Australia
Australian Reedwarblers in full song
Australian Reedwarbler, Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, Sth Aust
During my visit to the Laratinga Wetlands in Mt Barker, Adelaide Hills, last week the reed beds were constantly alive with both Little Grassbirds and Australian Reed-warblers singing. Every patch of reeds seemed to have 4 to 6 individual birds of each species. I didn’t do a count as it would be very hard to do this considering that both species can be very secretive in the reeds. I tried to get photos of the Little Grassbird, but they were too shy and stayed mostly in the reeds. I did see the occasional one flit from one reed patch to another but far too quickly for a photo.
The reed-warblers were a little more cooperative. I stood patiently for about half an hour on the jetty in the middle of the photo below. One section was about 3 – 4 metres from the clump of reeds in the photo above. Several reed-warblers kept flitting around on my side of the reeds, in full sun for my benefit. After many failed attempts I was able to get one reasonable shot as shown above.
I took a much closer shot of this species some years ago, and I’ve posted this at the bottom of this post. This photo was taken at Cleland Wildlife Park of a captive bird in a walk-through aviary.
Laratinga Wetlands, Mt Barker, Sth Aust
Australian Reedwarbler