It has been a long time since I’ve added a new bird to our species list, so I am very happy to share these photographs of a Grey Fantail and the nest the pair of Fantails are building. It is in a position where we can peek inside without disturbing the birds and so far … Continue reading Grey Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa)
Category: Birds
Ducklings: Still Eight, and Growing Fast
Since the loss of the female Australian Wood Duck, we’ve been hoping the male can successfully rear eight ducklings on his own. Ten days later, the eight ducklings are still alive and seem to be growing fast. The family of ducks seem to live just over our boundary fence, and come in to graze or … Continue reading Ducklings: Still Eight, and Growing Fast
Duckling Update: There Are Still Eight Ducklings
After the fox sighting, I was worried when I could count only six heads last night, but two ducklings must have been hiding in the grass. There are still eight of them this morning. A proud Dad was following his brood as they raced ahead of him. He seemed content to let the ducklings set … Continue reading Duckling Update: There Are Still Eight Ducklings
Duckling Worries
Last year, the Australian Wood Duck pair first brought their brood of ducklings to our dam on 14 September, so I have been watching and waiting for ducklings since mid-September this year. Finally, this week they appeared. We first sighted nine ducklings being led by two parents at dusk about a week ago. They were on … Continue reading Duckling Worries
“Kookie” the Tailless Kookaburra
I’ve written about Kookie, the tailless Laughing Kookaburra before. We keep wondering if the loss of its tail is temporary, but after at least 18 months of no tail, we guess it must be a permanent state. I would love to know if this is a result of genetics or an accident or attack. As I’ve … Continue reading “Kookie” the Tailless Kookaburra
Disputed Habitat: Pacific Black Duck vs Australian Wood Duck
This morning I awoke to a wonderful surprise, a Pacific Black Duck with approximately eight ducklings (it was difficult to count them from a distance). I’d not noticed a nest, so I don’t know if they were breeding on our property or a neighboring one. With such young fluffy ducklings, they had obviously walked … Continue reading Disputed Habitat: Pacific Black Duck vs Australian Wood Duck
A Gallery of Favourite Shots 1: Birds
As a companion piece for the “Mind Shifting Moments” series, I will also compile some galleries of my favourite photographs from the last two years. My A – Z Species list Birds page currently has links to 38 different species of birds I’ve photographed on our property. In reality there are more as I have … Continue reading A Gallery of Favourite Shots 1: Birds
A Better Look at the Red-browed Finches
Much to my surprise, the Red-browed Finches were back at the bird feeder today, and they allowed me to walk toward them with the camera without getting too frightened. Knowing it was best not to push my luck too far, I managed to capture a few photographs which show off their beautiful plumage. The … Continue reading A Better Look at the Red-browed Finches
A Gallery: Twenty Minutes at the Bird Feeder
On this day, only three bird species turned up to the bird feeder, but it was still a constantly shifting feast. Each species jostles the others out of position, and it is a constant flurry of wings. Missing were the Galahs, Bronze wing Pigeons and Australian Wood Ducks. The Ducks tend to wait for the … Continue reading A Gallery: Twenty Minutes at the Bird Feeder
Red-Browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
It has been a long time since I’ve had a new bird species to add to the A-Z Native Species list, and small birds are hard to photograph, so I’m especially pleased to add the Red-Browed Finch. Technically it was Richard who saw and photographed these birds. I was somewhere else and missed them. Looking … Continue reading Red-Browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
Grey Currawong (Strepera versicolor)
Last year, I photographed a Black-wing Currawong, which is a race of the Grey Currawong. Here is a Grey Currawong for comparison. The Grey Currawong has light grey colouring, with black primary wing feathers and black around the yellow eye. The bird also has white tips on the tail feathers, white tips on primary … Continue reading Grey Currawong (Strepera versicolor)
Kookie on a Foggy Morning
From time to time I’ve mentioned the Kookaburra without a tail we often see around the house. We’ve affectionately dubbed it Kookie (we don’t know if it is a male or a female). Here is a photo of Kookie on a foggy morning, sitting on the stump just next to our decking. Kookie has found … Continue reading Kookie on a Foggy Morning
Common Blackbird
It astounds me how many of the new additions to the Bird Species List have been photographed inside the cat enclosure. Here is another one! Although, due to its size, I can’t imagine how it got into the enclosure. Thankfully I noticed it before the cats caught it, and was able to catch and release … Continue reading Common Blackbird
Long-Billed Corella Flocks
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a single Long-Billed Corella which is often seen with a small flock of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos. I wrote that the flock of Corella we see fly over us twice each day NEVER stops here. Almost as soon as I published that post we have been visited by … Continue reading Long-Billed Corella Flocks
Just one of the flock: A confused Corella
We’ve noticed a single Corella flying and eating with a flock of Cockatoos. Not once, but over an extended time period. Does it think it is a Cockatoo or has it decided that they have a better lifestyle than the flock of Corellas that flies over the property twice a day? It doesn’t even seem … Continue reading Just one of the flock: A confused Corella
Australian Wood Ducks
It has been quite a busy week. In those moments where I just want a break, I have been very thankful for the return of the Australian Wood Ducks which are back after spending the Summer elsewhere. For some reason, they seem much more relaxed near the house, which is fantastic. It has given … Continue reading Australian Wood Ducks
Mudlark or Magpie Lark
I’ve grown up calling these birds Mudlarks, and have always had them around my home. When I was a child, we rescued an almost fledged chick, which managed to tumble from a nest at the top of an electricity pole. There was no hope of getting it back up there, so we kept in inside … Continue reading Mudlark or Magpie Lark
Black-Faced Cuckoo Shrike
Strolling around with my camera mid-afternoon on a hot January day, I saw this fellow sitting high in a tree: a Black-Faced Cuckoo-Shrike. These are the times when I wish I had a telephoto lens. The bird was just sitting there, relaxed and I had the opportunity to take several shots before it moved to … Continue reading Black-Faced Cuckoo Shrike
Learning to Carol
Two young Magpies have taken to using the bird feeder as a convenient platform while learning how to carol. At the moment they produce a mix of squeaky or rasping twiddles and trills that are often grating to the ear, but over time they are developing some melodic notes. I know when they mature their … Continue reading Learning to Carol
An Injured Red Wattlebird
Today the light was eerie (click here for photos of the sky). I took the camera out to capture the colour of the sky, and wandered onto the jetty without looking. A fluttering sound caught my attention, and I turned to see what I thought was a fledgling Red Wattlebird running up and down the … Continue reading An Injured Red Wattlebird
Spurwinged Plover or Masked Lapwing
I’ve always know this species as the Spurwinged Plover, but my field guide to birds tells me that they have been renamed as the Masked Lapwing. The name ‘Spurwing’ refers to the bony ‘spurs’ which the birds have on their shoulder, and which they can use for defence. Appearing approximately eight months ago, the Plovers … Continue reading Spurwinged Plover or Masked Lapwing
Eastern Rosella
At last we have seen an Eastern Rosella! The Crimson Rosella is a common species on our property (we see them every day) but it’s surprising that other common species of parrot aren’t more visible. These birds were extremely shy, taking off at the first sign of movement. We saw them from a distance twice … Continue reading Eastern Rosella
Iridescent Feathers – the Straw Necked Ibis Returns
The Straw-Necked Ibis must have thought the food worth a return visit, for it was back again this morning. Still solitary, it was sharing the bounty with two ducks, two Corellas, a kookaburra and a flock of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. My best guess is that there is some kind of burrowing larvae hatching at this … Continue reading Iridescent Feathers – the Straw Necked Ibis Returns
A Solitary Straw-Necked Ibis
We rarely see ibis here. In the sixteen months we have been here, I can count on one hand the number of days I’ve sighted them. The last time we had Straw-Necked Ibis here, they arrived at dusk to roost and were gone at first light. Given this, it was a surprise to find a … Continue reading A Solitary Straw-Necked Ibis
Fifteen Acres 