More birds from Down Under

In the weeds at the side of the track was a Richard's Pipit.

Richard's Pipit out in the open.

Mrs_Ed, if we can get enough people to fly with us...we can get a discounted rate or maybe a private plane!

What a cutie, Marg.

Yes, I'd like a private plane please, with beds for the long trip.

Fantastic pictures Margaret! You have such a wonderful place to bird and like everyone else I would love to visit your country someday (but I would have to fly there on my broom)! That Rainbow Bee Eater is sure a gorgeous bird and your Kestrel reminds me of the ones we have here. So many beautiful birds...thanks for sharing them!

Beautiful series of photos, Margaret. I read where there are at least 867 species of birds in Australia. We're counting on you !!! Only 700+ to go ..............

I'm enjoying every bit of it, the Rainbow Bee Eater takes the cake! Thanks again for your mighty efforts Margaret!

Great pics! Love the Bee Eater!

Depending on the election results tomorrow I may be packing my bags and coming to stay for a few years. :) We can all charter a plane! Look out Australia! Here we come!!!

I am so tired of all the political ads. We get national ones, state ones & even NH ads. Much rather get back to plants, gardens birds etc.

no way shan, Margaret's guest bedroom is already spoken for!!! ;-)

Things haven't really been slow. I've been working and the weather's also been pretty awful, but I got a few shots in the yard this morning.

This is one of the Short Billed Corellas that are so fun-loving. There were another half dozen in nearby trees, but didn't get any good shots because they were back-lit in the early morning light.

This is a young Red Wattlebird in a native frangipani. The parents still feed it and its sibling, although less frequently. The parents have nested in various places in our yard for several years, often having four or even five clutches a year. The adult male hates me with a vengeance as I've rescued his babies from perilous situations on several occasions. He doesn't perceive my actions as helpful, even though on each occasion, if I hadn't intervened, the baby would have died or been killed. His name is Snap 'n' Glare.

Raaaar, Mrs ed

I posted this little Grey Butcherbird on the daily pics thread several weeks ago. His right leg was dislocated more than two and a half years ago and sticks out behind him at quite a grotesque angle. However, he seems happy enough, sitting in a tree or on the clothing drying on the clothes line, as he is in the picture (yet another item of clothing back into the wash). We give him supplementary feeds. These birds have the most exquisite flute like song and they are excellent mimics.

edited after DH pointed out spelling erroe

This message was edited Nov 6, 2008 7:49 AM

haha. Raaawwrrr. SNAP

Your little Butcherbird looks so sweet and the Corella is another pretty one!

Aww, what a sweet face!

It's so funny with the Butcher Birds. The Singing Honeyeaters set up an alarm call if they become aware of Butcherbirds in the area. The Butcherbirds take off in fright, not realizing that the alarm had been set up due to their presence.

I'm so, enjoying your birds Margaret. and like all the other the Rainbow Bee Eater is gorgeous.

Yes Gary, the intolerance of some people towards animal life, because it doesn't always fit conveniently into their lives, is so arrogant it never ceases to amaze me. How sad about your pet crow.

Hi Everyone here is a pic of a very friendly Brush Turkey they don't have much of a sense of fear, not around here anyway, they think they own the place. I know their protected (what a shame). One even came into the house (silly me left the door open) had to throw a towel over him to catch him. All's well I'm safe but won't leave the door open again. Next time it might be a big brown or one of the big goannas won't be throwing a towel over them!!

hel, that's what I look like this morning. Lee Referring to the Brush Turkey.

At long last I was finally able to get a shot of one of our most common birds, the Singing Honeyeater. This little nectar loving insectivore landed on a dead tree branch a few feet from me whilst I was sitting (patiently) waiting for some Osprey action. Singing Honeyeaters are the ones who set up an alarm call when any predator is approaching and everything ducks for cover, including the Butcherbirds, when in fact the alarm call may be alerting others to the Butcher Bird's presence.

The warning sound the Singing Honeyeater makes is a trilling noise, not dissimilar to an umpires whistle. In this photo a little bit of orange-yellow can be seen protruding from the end of it beak. This is a small portion of the tongue, which is feathered at the tip to aid extracting nectar, often from deep within flowers.

In past years we've raised many baby Honeyeaters that often well-meaning people have "rescued", when in fact the baby didn't need to be rescued at all and would have been fine if left alone. They are the sweetest little birds imaginable.

New Holland Honeyeater. Focus is dodgy, but I just love the colours.

There are so many different birds in the area where I watch the Ospreys. This afternoon, in addition to these two types of honeyeater I also saw more Rainbow Bee Eaters, a Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike, Kookaburras, Red Wattlebirds, Port Lincoln Ringnecks (28's), Rainbow Lorikeets, Brown Honeyeaters, Willie Wagtails (with babies), Laughing Turtledoves, Spotted Doves and some tiny little birds that I couldn't get a look at.

Down below I saw an Australian Pelican, Pied and Black Cormorants, Silver Gulls, Divers and could hear, but not see Pied Oyster catchers. There's always something to see. At one stage I was torn between getting a photo of the male Osprey who I thought was about to take off and two Rainbow Birds. The Osprey won out as I'd spend an hour sitting on the damp ground waiting for him to move.

Speaking of Ospreys, here's the male leaving one of his favoured perches. He'd glance over to the nest regularly to see that the chick was OK.

Here's the chick about three hours ago. We're expecting a series of fine, cloudless days ahead, so hope to be able to get some good shots of little Aussie.

Great pics Margaret! Love the Singing Honeyeater along with the others.

Those are great photos, Marg. I would not be able to see the chick if he did not have his mouth open.

I hope your ALS class went well!

Kim

Thanks Pelle. I was just saying to DH yesterday that the bird I was having the greatest difficulty capturing was the Singing Honeyeater, and lo and behold, I got one today.

Kim, I was thinking "what's ALS". That's a bit scary isn't it. It was remarkably uncomplicated. Amazing what the brain can retain from a couple of quick reads and a demo.

This tiny bird is a Striated Pardalote.  I was at yet another wetland-park today for a 3rd birthday party (and survived).  This was shot in the gloom of a paperbark copse.  At certain times of the year, particularly early winter, we have these birds in a huge gum tree in our yard, but as they congregate in the canopy, they are heard, but rarely seen.

No shots I got were good quality, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

It flew into a paperbark and grabbed a tiny insect. The quality of this shot is really dodgy, but it's probably the best one to confirm it as a Striated Pardalote.

White-faced Heron.

Yeah Margaret, Good pic. of the Striated Pardalote. Distinctive supercilium. Lee

Love the SP and the White-faced Heron.

Thanks Lee and Pelle. It's Sunday morning here and I'm just about to head off to Herdsmans Lake armed with Camera, 300mm lens and pepper spray. Hopefully will get some shots of new birds or better shots of old ones.

That Striated Pardolate is so sweet. But what a complicated name, for such a small creature. Love the bark of that tree, so interesting.
What type of wildlife are you expecting to use the pepper spray on Margaret?

Burn, the tree is a "paper bark", a species of Melaleuca. They are really beautiful trees and the bark peels off in papery layers. It is so soft to the touch and even in the middle of winter (yeah, I can hear you all laughing) it feels almost warm. The pepper spray? Well.......................