Monthly Archives: September 2015

Defending the Roost

Posted on September 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

With Spring in full swing, everywhere I go at the moment I am seeing signs of the change of season and birds well into a new breeding season. I watched for a while as Australian White Ibis started to claim spots on the roosting platforms at the Coolart Wetlands. Ibis would claim a spot and then defend it against new fly-ins with much show and bravado, leaping at each other and snapping away with their long bills. While I was watching at the bird hide a curious Yellow-Faced Honeyeater popped onto a stump in front of my viewing spot to investigate the strange object poking out of the hide and making all the clicking noise.

White Ibis, Coolart Wetlands

White Ibis, Coolart Wetlands


White Ibis, Coolart Wetlands

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White Ibis, Coolart Wetlands

White Ibis defending his patch against interlopers 


Yellow Faced Honeyeater Coolart Wetlands

Curious Yellow Faced Honeyeater, Coolart Wetlands


Flowering Green She-Oak, Coolart Wetlands

Flowering Green She-Oak, Coolart Wetlands

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World’s smallest Cuckoo – the Shining Bronze

Posted on September 22, 2015 | Leave a comment

The Shining Bronze Cuckoo is the worlds smallest Cuckoo. They are often heard in woodlands but not often seen. The Cuckoo is parasitic, laying a single egg in the nest of small Thornbills, Gerygones and Scrubwrens. The new parent then raises the chick as its own. The one below I found at the Coolart Wetlands watching a small group of Brown Thornbills.

Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Coolart Wetlands

Shining Bronze Cuckoo – well camouflaged 

Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Coolart Wetlands

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Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Coolart Wetlands

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Kookaburra on the hunt

Posted on September 21, 2015 | 1 comment

I followed the sound of the Kookaburras hoping to get a clear shot of one. In the forests they don’t tend to let you get too close. I found this one enjoying some late afternoon sun. After a few moments he noticed something behind me and took off and flew straight at me, swerving at the last second and down onto the path 10 or so meters behind me, pouncing onto some prey and then flying back up into the trees.

Kookaburra, Moorooduc Quarry

Kookaburra, Moorooduc Quarry

Kookaburra, Moorooduc Quarry

Kookaburra spotting prey (or my hat)

Kookaburra, Moorooduc Quarry

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Stinkers in the garden

Posted on September 17, 2015 | Leave a comment
For some reason Wallabies don’t seem to panic as easily as Grey Kangaroos. They can be quite approachable particular in areas where they have become accustomed to people walking around. As long as you don’t cut off their escape paths they are happy to keep eating and just keep an eye on you. We recently saw a few Black or Swamp Wallabies at Cranbourne Botanical Gardens – woodlands area. They are usually on their own or with a joey.  We were able to take a few shots and slowly creep forward before they ambled off. They have nice colouring especially in late afternoon sun light. The Grey Kangaroos were much more flighty and generally took off as soon as they saw us.
According to Wiki, the swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)  has some unusual names that I have not heard of before including black-tailed wallaby, fern wallaby, black pademelon, stinker (in Queensland), and black stinker (in New South Wales) due to its characteristic swampy odour (which we did not smell on this occasion but now I am curious).
Black Wallaby, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

Black Wallaby, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

Black Wallaby, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

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Black Wallaby, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

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Black Wallaby, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

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Black Wallaby, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

Black Wallaby also called a Swamp Wallaby

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White Eared Honeyeater

Posted on September 16, 2015 | 2 comments

At this time of year one of the predominate sounds of the woodlands behind the Australia Gardens at the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens comes from the White Eared Honeyeater. It has a variety of distinctive calls and can be quite photogenic when it stays still long enough. It makes a low level, deep, thick sided bowl type nest and lines it with animal fur and hair. We found the Honeyeater below collecting spider webs for its nest.

White Eared Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

White Eared Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

White Eared Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

White Eared Honeyeater collecting spider webs for nesting material

White Eared Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

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With so many Honeyeaters it is little wonder that we also heard and saw Fan Tailed Cuckoos. The nests of White Eared Honeyeaters are parasitised by Fan Tailed Cuckoos.

Fan-Tailed Cuckoo, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

Fan-Tailed Cuckoo, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

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The Common and not so Common…

Posted on September 14, 2015 | Leave a comment

New Holland Honeyeaters dominate the formal parts of the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens. They are generally easy to get a nice image of but it can be much more time consuming trying to get a shot with a bit of personality. Many of the native plants are flowering at the moment so there are good opportunities to find an ideal bush with nectar filled flowers and wait for a Honeyeater to turn up. Many times they land on a high point behind you, you notice, you spin around and it takes off, then you curse yourself as you realise you just missed the shot that was right in front of you. I recently visited with a few bird photography friends and we had a challenging time attempting to find “the” shot – a never ending quest. It seems harder to get a good shot, that you are happy with, of a fairly common subject while often we seem happier with average shots of a rarer subject.

New Holland Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

New Holland Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

New Holland Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

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New Holland Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

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Olive Backed Oriole, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens

Olive Backed Oriole, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens – a rare bird for me, only seen a few times before. 

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Bathing in a puddle

Posted on September 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

There is nothing like a nice afternoon bath in a small fresh puddle – perfect temperature, perfect depth. This New Holland Honeyeater was one of several birds that made quick flights into the water. After a quick dip and a splash around it would take off to a nearby branch to groom and then back into the water again. Bathing, grooming and keeping the feathers in good condition are extremely important to birds. It is fun and challenging to try and take decent images when the opportunity arises…

Bathing New Holland Honeyeater VI, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

Bathing New Holland Honeyeater, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

Bathing New Holland Honeyeater VI, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

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Bathing New Holland Honeyeater VI, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

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Bathing New Holland Honeyeater VI, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

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Bathing New Holland Honeyeater VI, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

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Bathing New Holland Honeyeater VI, Cranbourne Botanical Gardens,

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Spotted a Pardalote or two

Posted on September 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

Spotted Pardalotes are tiny colourful birds that mostly feed in the tree canopy. They have quite a distinctive call but are not often seen. During the breeding season they come down from the trees and rather than build a nest in the branches they dig a small tunnel in a sandy bank – the tunnel has a small mouse sized opening but can be a metre long. I found this little family trying out a bank near where I happened to be photographing a family of nesting Yellow Robins. They had dug a few test holes and were looking at each others work. For such a shy bird they were very focussed on the potential nest holes and ignored my presence.

Female Pardalote, Moorooduc Quarry

Female Pardalote, Moorooduc Quarry

Female Pardalote, Moorooduc Quarry

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Male Pardalote, Moorooduc Quarry

Male Pardalote, Moorooduc Quarry

Male Pardalote, Moorooduc Quarry

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Male Pardalote, Moorooduc Quarry

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Male Pardalote, Moorooduc Quarry

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Above the Pardalotes were three White-naped Honeyeaters chasing each other. This one stopped and watched the Pardalotes for a while. The White-nape has a interesting call and bright Orange eye marking.

White Naped Honeyeater, Moorooduc Quarry

White Naped Honeyeater, Moorooduc Quarry

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More Moorooduc Magic

Posted on September 3, 2015 | 1 comment

Moorooduc Quarry is fast becoming one of my favourite places to bird. It is a compact site with a variety of vegetation and landscapes and many bird species.

On the latest visit to check in on the Yellow Robin family I found the Robin now sitting on eggs in the nest.

Brooding Eastern Yellow Robin II, Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve

Brooding Eastern Yellow Robin.

Brooding Eastern Yellow Robin II, Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve

Keeping a careful eye on me – I kept my distance

I also found a few regulars and a new one for my site records – a Bassian Thrush – a speckled bird a little larger than a blackbird that loves to forage in the understory of thick cooler forests. While I was trying to photograph the Yellow Robins it popped out to see what the fuss was – posed for a few moments and then dashed back into the thick scrub. I have rarely seen a Bassian Thrush and this is only the second time I have been fast enough to get a photo.

Bassian Thrush, Moorooduc Quarry

Bassian Thrush, Moorooduc Quarry

Bassian Thrush, Moorooduc Quarry

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Grey Butcherbird, Moorooduc Quarry

Grey Butcherbird watching the antics of the Galahs

Galah, Moorooduc Quarry

Female Galah watching the nearby group of male Galahs, Moorooduc Quarry

Galah, Moorooduc Quarry

Male Galah enjoying some dandelion seed heads.

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Moorooduc Woodlands Flurry

Posted on September 2, 2015 | 3 comments

In a follow-up visit to the Moorooduc Quarry to check on the progress of the little Eastern Yellow Robin nest, I found a completed nest, many other birds and another Drey (they seem to be popping out everywhere now I know they exist). A busy flock of Male Golden Whistlers came through and it soon became a little crazy with birds flying everywhere. The Robins were trying to protect their patch and the male Whistlers seem to be chasing each other. A few Brown Thornbills dropped into the mix as well to check out the fuss.

Eastern Yellow Robin, Moorooduc Quarry

Eastern Yellow Robin in a typical perched hunting pose…ready to pounce on its prey from above.

Eastern Yellow Robin, Moorooduc Quarry

Eastern Yellow Robin II

Eastern Yellow Robin completed Nest, Moorooduc Quarry

The completed nest of our Eastern Yellow Robin, made of paperbark strips and camouflaged with moss and lichen held in place by spider web netting – amazing engineering

Golden Whistler, Moorooduc Quarry

One of the bright male Golden Whistlers that moved through the Robin’s nest area…

Brown Thornbill, Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve

A curious Brown Thornbill, watching the action

A possum Drey, Moorooduc Quarry

A possum Drey, Moorooduc Quarry

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The Falcon’s Roost

Posted on September 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

Moorooduc Quarry is a very good site for woodlands birds and for the Peregrine Falcon. The quarry is cut out from a hillside in Mt Eliza and from the top has vast views of the surrounding countryside. With such great views and an abundance of potential prey it is no wonder that the Peregrines can be found here all year round. They also breed at the site each year.

On a recent visit I walked into the quarry and looked for the Peregrines amongst the tall dead trees that overhang at the top of the cliffs. Spotting a Peregrine on a  tall tree near one of the tracks that circle the lip of the quarry I thought I would try my luck and sneak up for a photo. I am pretty sure he watched me all the way, gave me a bit of chance for a photo through the fringing bushes and then took off and flew to the other side of the quarry. When the Peregrine took off he just leaned forward and dropped straight down to build up speed, glided for a while and then flew up to the other side.

Top of the Quarry, Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve

Near the top of the Quarry, Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve

Top of the Quarry, Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve

View into part of the lake at Moorooduc 

Peregrine Falcon, Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve

Peregrine Falcon – a regular at the site, watching me puff my way up the steep track.

Peregrine Falcon, Moorooduc Quarry Flora and Fauna Reserve

Dropping straight down the cliff edge to build up speed. 

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