Tag Archives: Australia

Flying visit along the coast

Posted on October 10, 2017 | 2 comments

Over spring I have been working on a garden down the Mornington Peninsula, trying to rediscover and restore the original veggie and garden beds. On the way home I popped into a few new spots along the way – Highfield in the National Park and the McClelland Sculpture Park in Langwarrin. The Superb Fairy-wren was displaying its near eclipse plumage (last of its breeding/summer plumage). As I parked my car at the Sculpture Garden, I heard a weird bird call that I did not recognise (of course I assumed I had discovered a new species or at least a lifer) and it turned out to be a begging young Butcherbird. I watched as a parent returned a few times with little morsels for the hungry beggar. Notice the deadly little bill hook that the Butcherbird will use as part of its bird hunting weaponry.

Superb Fairy-wren, Green's Bush (southern), Vict

Superb Fairy-wren, Mornington Peninsula National Park: Highfield, Vic

Juvenile Grey Butcherbird, McClelland Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Vic

2 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Eclipse Plumage, grey butcherbird, Langwarrin, McClelland Sculpture Park, Mornington Peninsula, Nature Photography, Photography, Superb Fairy Wren, Victoria

The Cuckoos are arriving

Posted on October 9, 2017 | 5 comments

I have been hearing quite a few Cuckoos now that the smaller birds are nest building and laying eggs. I found the ones below in the southern part of the Green’s Bush via their calling. They have arrived from the northern warmer climates and are now ready to breed and lay eggs. The fan-tailed cuckoo will lay a single egg in the smaller bush bird’s nests after removing a host’s egg. It targets Thornbills, Scrubwrens and Fairy-wrens. The Shining Bronze-cuckoo also lays its eggs in the domed nests of Thornbills as well as the open nests of honeyeaters and robins

Fan-tail Cuckoo, Green's Bush (southern), Vict

Fan-tail Cuckoo, Green’s Bush (southern section), Vict

Shining Bronze-cuckoo

Shining Bronze-cuckoo – named well

III

5 Comments

Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Fan Tailed Cuckoo, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Nature Photography, Photography, Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Victoria

What ya doing Dad?

Posted on October 6, 2017 | 3 comments

With the weather turning milder this week I thought a walk at the local Fitzroy Gardens might make a nice change to lurking in the Chinatown laneways looking for new street art. I did not expect much other than a nice walk and a short bird list. I did find the usual urban park birds and a few surprises, a kookaburra being an unexpected highlight and a pair of Pied Currawongs – adult and juvenile. Being around lunch time the adult Currawong was cleaning and preening itself along the small rainforest creek that runs down the centre of the park. I spent some time filming the Currawongs with my iPhone. The Currawong was using chunks of dirt and getting deep into its feathers for a good clean. It then would hop over to the creek and have a deep vigorous wash. After a drying preen on a nearby branch it would start again on a different area of its feathers. Meanwhile the young Currawong was making small calls and watching intensely trying to figure it all out. When the adult flew off it stayed and had a go at picking in the dirt but it seemed to think it was looking for food rather than good chunks to use for cleaning. I have seen birds washing, preening, sand bathing before but never selecting chunk of dirt to use as a scrub in those hard to reach places….

click image to watch video clip

3 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Bird Video, Fitzroy Gardens, Juvenile Currawong, Nature Photography, Pied Currawong, Urban Photography, Victoria

A not so bashful Bassian Thrush

Posted on October 2, 2017 | 4 comments

Over the winter and into spring I have been exploring new sites down the Mornington Peninsula, particularly around the National Park. I found an entrance to a Bushland Reserve not far from where I stay and it turned out to be the Southern section of Green’s Bush – a brand new part that I had never been to before. I spent a few hours walking a new circuit and found plenty of new views, tracks, trees and signs of more mammals than the northern section. I had planned just a quick 1 hour walk but it became 3 when I missed a turn off and ended up much further south than intended and had to backtrack. I will definitely being going back to explore further and see what the changing seasons will bring to this part of the park. I have also started to review more detailed maps of area to see what else is hidden. The Bassian Thrush below was quite curious when I flushed it off the path. Usually they fly off low and quickly into the bush, but I think this one was young and had not learnt to be afraid yet.

Bassian Thrush, Green’s Bush (south section), Mornington Peninsula Nat Park, Vic

Bassian Thrush II

4 Comments

Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bassian Thrush, Bird Photography, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Nature Photography, Photography, Victoria

Every nook and cranny

Posted on October 1, 2017 | Leave a comment

While walking around my usual Green’s Bush circuit I noticed many Crimson Rosellas exploring every tree hollow on the older growth Eucalypts. A few went right inside the various cavities after a cursory glance, and several flew off quickly when an occupant was discovered (most likely a brush tailed possum or sugar glider). I found a pair really giving this hollow a thorough inspection. One did all the inspecting while the other stood guard on a nearby branch – he spent the time watching me on the trail and shaking his tail feathers now and again and quietly squawking. I assumed the other took this as a signal to be alert but not alarmed.

Crimson Rosella guarding his mate while she explored a potential nest hollow, Green’s Bush, Vict

Crimson Rosella inspecting the hollow

Potential nest hole – looking well used but too small for a possum.

I found another Crimson Rosella looking for something in a dead tree. it was very focused and just ignored me as I walked under it. , Green’s Bush, Vict

A Crowded Corner of Greens’ Bush

Posted on September 30, 2017 | 7 comments

After a few weeks away from Green’s Bush I went back to see how the site of the 3 nests was going. The Golden Whistler nest had not developed but the Pardalote burrow was still fresh and active while the Striated Thornbill nest was being maintained and looked in good shape. I stood and watched the Pardalotes coming and going and noticed that there were two Eastern Yellow Robins hunting in the same area. I saw a Robin fly to a nearby branch and pick up an insect from its mate, wolf it down and then fly into a small Pittosporum bush nearby. The binocs showed the adult sitting in a fresh nest beautifully camouflaged with living lichen. When the sitter flew off for another feed, I snuck through some tall bracken and found a clear angle to get a few shots.

Eastern Yellow Robin nest, Green’s Bush, Victoria

Eastern Yellow Robin

Eastern Yellow Robin II

7 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Eastern Yellow Robin, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Nature Photography, Nest, Photography, Victoria

A wattlebird’s moveable feast…

Posted on September 12, 2017 | Leave a comment

Over the long winter I have been exploring new parts of the Mornington Peninsula National Park. On Saturday I stopped at a small picnic ground on the road between Flinders and Rosebud. I have driven past many times but never stopped. It sits alongside a small creek that runs down to Bushrangers Bay. There is a 650 meter loop walk on a well trimmed grass path. It is part of the green corridor that runs down the spine of the peninsula. There were not too many bird species about but I did find a few Little Wattlebirds amongst the flowering banksia trees. The one below spent some time and effort working the angles of the Banksia flower in the wind and collecting a nice feed of nectar.

Little Wattlebird, Main Creek Picnic Ground, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Spring at Greens’ Bush

Posted on September 11, 2017 | 6 comments

For various reasons I have not taken many/any photos on recent visits to Greens Bush. The weather has been cold and wet, it has been quite dark in the forest and most importantly not many birds have sat still long enough to take a decent image. I no longer blast away at any bird and hope that there is a shot in there somewhere. The hours post processing are not worth the result. I try to take only a few shots and get the setup right while stalking the target. This often results in failures and no shots but does save time at the computer. On Saturday I was determined to shoot something rather than just carry the heavy gear around. While the birdlife was abundant and the forest was quite noisy there were not many birds near enough to shoot. What I did find was three different species’ nests all within a few meters of where I had stopped for a breather. For nearly 30 mins I watched as a Golden Whistler returned to a particular bush with more nesting material. The female seemed to be doing all the collecting and building with the colourful male inspecting now and again and standing guard in the next tree. While just standing there I saw a pair of Spotted Pardalotes on a branch just above my head. It took a few moments to realise that they were not being friendly but getting a bit stressed because I was standing next to their burrow. I moved away and straight away they flew down and into the burrow. Turning around at a new bird call I saw a pair of Striated Thornbills flying into their nest, a tennis ball size clump of soft material and spider webs. Spring has started and nesting season is in full swing. I will re-visit in the coming weeks and hopefully see more progress and take a few pics.

Spotted Pardalote near nest entrance

Spotted Pardalote nest entrance, Greens Bush, Vic

Spotted Pardalote nest entrance – a burrow

Striated Thornbill nest, Greens Bush, Vic

Striated Thornbill nest camouflaged inside an over-hanging Eucalyptus branch

Golden Whistler nest (just starting), Greens Bush, Vic

Golden Whistler nest (just starting) – will be more of a traditional cup type nest.

6 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Golden Whistler, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Nature Photography, Photography, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Thornbill, Victoria

Return to Stockyard Point

Posted on August 24, 2017 | 4 comments

When I got home from the last twitch at Stockyard Point near Jam Jerrup, I saw a report for another rare vagrant to Victoria – the Little Stint. It was seen in the flock we had just left. Due to its brown/orange breeding plumage it stood out from the 100s of the plain grey over-wintering Red-necked Stints. Without the colour plumage it would have been identical to the others and no-one would have noticed it. We waited two weeks for another suitable weekend where the tide was high at a reasonable time. The weather, if possible, was even colder but at least newly purchased thermals helped keep me warm. It took a while to spot the little wader but an eagle-eyed and patient birder (Emma) finally found it – Lifer 347. We spent the next four hours watching it move from the sand spit to a small sand bank out of the strong cold wind. Much of the time its head was tucked in as it napped at high tide. When it looked up a dozen cameras would snap away. Several times it flushed and we thought we had lost it but it always seemed to come back to the same sand divot.

Little Stint Twitch, Stockyard Point, Jam Jerrup, Vic

Mixed wader flock, Stockyard Point, Jam Jerrup, Vic

Mixed wader flock

Little Stint and waders, Stockyard Point, Jam Jerrup, Vic

Little Stint and waders II

Little Stint III

Red Knot and waders, Stockyard Point, Jam Jerrup, Vic

Red Knot in bright breeding plumage and mixed waders

4 Comments

Posted in Birds, Victoria, White Browed Babbler

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Curlew Sandpiper, Double Banded Plover, Little Stint, Nature Photography, Photography, Red Knot, Red Necked Stint, Red-capped Plover, Stockyard Point, Victoria

Melbourne Street Art – Best of May 2017.

Posted on August 7, 2017 | 2 comments

The selection below was some of the best street art I found in May 2017 . A mixture of spray painting, pasteups and stencils. Most were gone (over-sprayed) in the following days. The photos were mostly taken in Hosier & Rutledge Lanes and several other laneways (including a railway bridge underpass) around Melbourne CBD – all images taken with an iPhone 6S.

Melbourne Street Art – May 2017

2 Comments

Posted in Street Art, Victoria

Tagged ACDC Lane, Australia, Hosier Lane, Melbourne CBD, Melbourne Laneways, paste-ups, Photography, Presgrave Place, Railway underpass, Rutledge Lane, Stencil Art, Strachan Lane, Street Art, Street Photography, Urban Photography, Victoria

Melbourne Street Art – Best of April 2017.

Posted on August 5, 2017 | 4 comments

The selection below was some of the best street art I found in April 2017 . A mixture of spray painting, pasteups and stencils. Most were gone (over-sprayed) in the following days. The photos were mostly taken in Hosier & Rutledge Lanes and a few other laneways around Melbourne CBD – all images taken with an iPhone 6S.

Melbourne Street Art – April 2017

4 Comments

Posted in Street Art, Victoria

Tagged Australia, graffiti, Hosier Lane, Melbourne CBD, Melbourne Laneways, Photography, Street Art, Street Photography, Urban Photography, Victoria

Black Olives for Crimson Rosellas

Posted on July 31, 2017 | 5 comments

Once I harvested as many olives as I could process from our little front yard Olive Grove in Rosebud I left the rest for the birds. Previously I had not noticed many birds feeding on the olives. This year a number of species have enjoyed the late season fruit. I have seen Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Little Corellas, Silvereyes and now a pair of Crimson Rosellas. I was packing the back of my car only a few feet away and these guys just ignored me. The fruit is very ripe and starting to shrivel so must be quite edible even with their raw bitter flavour.

I have read that most parrots/cockatoos are left handed. The fellow below was right handed, grabbing and eating the olives using his right foot. It was windy at times and he did very well to hang on and feed at the same time.

Crimson Rosella, Rosebud, Victoria, 30 July 2017

5 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Behaviour, Bird Photography, birds eating olives, Crimson Rosella, Nature Photography, Olives, Photography, Rosebud, Victoria

Winter is moving on…

Posted on July 30, 2017 | 2 comments

With a month still to go of winter, I am already seeing signs of the coming spring and breeding season at Green’s Bush on the Mornington Peninsula. Each time I stay down the coast I visit one of my favourite spots and see what has changed or who is stopping by. This morning I saw good signs of an early spring – Australian Wood ducks flying around inside the forest with several landing on branches and looking into tree hollows for suitable nest-sites. These strange ducks nest in hollows in trees near water very early in the breeding season. I also found a Fan-tailed cuckoo exploring for potential nesting targets along a ridge line above a rainforest creek. It seemed to be following a mixed feeding flock of thornbills and fantails. I usually find the Fan-tailed cuckoo buy its very distinctive call but this one was very quiet and stayed above the foraging thornbills. I saw it several times as I moved along the trail. (another thought is that it is last season’s chick and it is still following its adopted parents hoping for a free feed – I will have to do some research).

Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

III

2 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Fan Tailed Cuckoo, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Nature Photography, Photography, Spring, Winter

Blue-billed, Pink-eared, Black-fronted, Wet-birder

Posted on July 27, 2017 | 4 comments

I have made a few return trips to the Jawbone reserve lately. While quite exposed to the cold south-westerly winter weather, it is a place that allows fairly easy access to many birds. Typically I can find up to 50 species. A long but easy walk along the lagoons and scrub land, and the lagoons are narrow so at times a photographer can sneak up quite close. The secret is to not make eye contact and look like you are doing something else – they always seem to know when you are trying to get close and focus on them. The birds here are used to people running, walking and biking along the paths and edges of the lagoons even closer than we were and they were totally ignored…

Pink-eared Ducks, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Pink-eared Duck amongst Grey Teals

Pink-eared Ducks spooked by a White-bellied Sea-Eagle drifting along the coast

Male Blue-billed Duck, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Birder in the mud, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Birder in the mud – sometimes you have to get cold, wet and muddy for the shot

Black-fronted Dotterel, Jawbone flora and fauna reserve, WIlliamstown, Vic

Black-fronted Dotterel watching birders lying in the mud.

4 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Bird Photography, Black Fronted Dotterel, Blue Billed Duck, Grey Teal, Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve, Nature Photography, Photography, Pink Eared Duck

Green’s Bush winter walk

Posted on July 25, 2017 | Leave a comment

This winter I have been spending quite a few weekends staying down the Mornington Peninsula helping to rebuild a large and overgrown back garden. Each morning I go for an early walk to Greens Bush and see what is around. It is a large beautiful reserve with a few different loop walks. On this particular morning I did not find too many birds but focussed on a few other points of interest.

Grey Kangaroo, Green’s Bush, Mornington Peninsula, Vic

Grass Tree, Green's Bush, Mornington Peninsula, Vic

Grass Trees, Green’s Bush

Green’s Bush track

Green’s Bush

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Tag Archives: Australia

Flying visit along the coast

The Cuckoos are arriving

What ya doing Dad?

A not so bashful Bassian Thrush

Every nook and cranny

A Crowded Corner of Greens’ Bush

A wattlebird’s moveable feast…

Spring at Greens’ Bush

Return to Stockyard Point

Melbourne Street Art – Best of May 2017.

Melbourne Street Art – Best of April 2017.

Black Olives for Crimson Rosellas

Winter is moving on…

Blue-billed, Pink-eared, Black-fronted, Wet-birder

Green’s Bush winter walk

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