Tag Archives: Australian Birds

Lethal Weapons?

Posted on June 22, 2015 | Leave a comment

I noticed 5 Masked Lapwings along Elster Creek recently that seemed to be in a constant state of agitation with each other. Several would stood tall and thrust out the wing spurs when another pair flew over or around them. Spur-winged Plover is an alternate name for Masked Lapwings. I knew about the spurs but had not seem them closely until I had developed these shots. The male tends to have larger spurs.

Lapwings use these spurs against potential predators or anyone coming too close to nest sites and chicks. While the attacks can seem quite aggressive, the birds rarely strike their ‘victims’, preferring a close approach to scare them away. The species is fearless and I have seen them go after much bigger birds like Kites and Eagles.

The birds I saw below did not attack each other but did make quite a bit of noise and displayed much posturing.

Masked Lapwing (aka Spur Winged Plover)

Masked Lapwing strutting his stuff

Spurs on display

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Elster Creek, Masked Lapwing, Nature Photography, Photography, Victoria

A warm Winter’s Day and a Lifer

Posted on June 14, 2015 | Leave a comment

The Pink Robin has eluded me for several years – it even turned up in my neighbourhood last year and no matter how many times I took off to find it I kept missing out. Recent reports put one at a Melbourne Water Wetlands on Huntingdale Rd in Oakleigh East. So today I followed the bird report’s details to the backyard fences along the creek feeding into the wetlands where it had been seen and waited quietly to see if I could be lucky this time. I was visited by a Grey Fantail and while taking a few photos of it to test the conditions I saw a little flutter of wings on the fence beside me. I finally had my Pink Robin ( a female). My 31oth Victorian Lifer.

I followed her around for an hour trying to get better shots as she moved into low scrub with a small feeding flock of Brown Thornbills, White-Browed Scrubwrens and the Grey Fantail.

Grey Fantail

Female Pink Robin

Many of the shots were like this one.

Getting closer

Pink Robin – my 310th Victorian Lifer.

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Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Grey Fantail, Huntingdale Wetlands, Nature Photography, Photography, Pink Robin, Victoria

Swift, Muskie and Scaly

Posted on June 13, 2015 | Leave a comment

Reports have been coming in of a good sized flock of rare Swift Parrots roosting and feeding in a park between the Macleod shops and Railway Station. I had run into David E at St Kilda pier last weekend and thought we might head over to Macleod and try our luck.

On arriving at the Train Station carpark we were hit by a cacophony of bird noise – miners, ravens, magpies and many parrots and lorikeets. We immediately found Rainbow and Musk Lorikeets, and soon found a flock of 20 Swift Parrots in one of the large flowering gums. It took a while but we got a few average pics of the Swift Parrots. All the parrots and lorikeets were a bit unsettled and we saw why pretty soon – a circling Collared Sparrowhawk.

The Swift Parrot is rare and endangered. It breeds in Tasmania and then makes a crossing of Bass Straight to winter in Central and Southern Victoria.

We also found a pair of Scaly Breasted Lorikeets – a lifer for me and number 313 on my bird life list (309 for my Vic List). I was pretty happy and a bit too slow in getting a clear photo – I do have a beautifully clear shot of the tree trunk and branch that the Scaly is standing on. Maybe next time.

Swift Parrots

Bickering Swift Parrots

Swift Parrot – feeding on Lerp

Musk Lorikeet feeding on Flowering Gum nectar

Musk Lorikeet

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Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, endangered, Macleod, Musk Lorikeet, Nature Photography, Photography, Swift Parrot, Victoria

Freckled and Endangered…

Posted on June 12, 2015 | 2 comments

The Freckled Duck is Australia’s rarest Waterfowl and is endangered in the state of Victoria. They are not usually found in large numbers and prefer permanent fresh water wetlands further inland. But when their preferred sites dry out they move towards the SE Australian Coast looking for other favourable wetlands. They stick close to wooded areas and scrub that leans into the water. Their freckling gives them great camouflage. I have a few places that I can generally find them around my usual haunts. I found this one at Eynesbury last weekend. There were 5 in a loose flock at the Golf-course lake and wetland.

Freckled Duck at Eynesbury

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Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australian Birds, Bird Photography, endangered, Eynesbury, Freckled Duck, Nature Photography, Photography, Victoria

A Western Gerygone: far from home

Posted on June 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

My local birder network sent through a message that said a rare bird had popped up in our neighbourhood – a Western Gerygone. It had been sighted down Elster Creek near the mouth. So after leaving work earlier than usual on Friday and having a few extra hours of light I headed down the creek to look for the little bird. It is usually found north the Great Dividing Range so we are not too sure why it has ended up along the Southern coast.

Along the way I found a Great Egret grooming between snacks.

Great Egret

Eventually I found the Gerygone where it had been reported, flying over the creek from side to side with two little Brown Thornbills.

Western Gerygone

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Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Elster Creek, Great Egret, Nature Photography, Photography, Victoria, Western Gerygone

The little show-off…

Posted on May 29, 2015 | 1 comment

It was the screeching that attracted me over to the tree near Elster Creek a few weeks ago. I found a lone Little Corella, on a branch in a gum tree. I moved in closer trying not to spook it and starting taking pictures. It screeched when I took a few rapid shots – it could hear the camera shutter sound. I watched it and it watched me. After just moving around the branch a bit it fell backward and just hung by its feet and looked at me again…I kept shooting as it started to play with branches and bark. Cockatoos are long lived birds and this must mean a certain amount of intelligence has developed and with it a sense of humour. This bird was playing and seemingly including me in its antics.

Little Corella, Elster Creek

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the Corella started to swing under the branch

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Hanging by a leg, and watching me

the moment before the end of the show

The next thing it did was let go the branch and try to grab the bark with both feet but it was far too heavy and it dropped from the tree. Luckily it had enough height to right itself and fly back up to a branch on the next tree. The show was over.

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Elster Creek, Little Corella, Nature Photography, Photography, Victoria

The Intense gaze…

Posted on May 28, 2015 | Leave a comment

On a recent walk across to the lakes in my area I took several photos of the usual birds in the late afternoon light. On processing I noticed that a few seemed to have an intense gaze.

The Willie Wagtail had just finished a dip into the water and grooming and after this shot took off to catch insects above the lake’s surface.

Willie Wagtail, Elsternwick Park

The Noisy Miner had just gate crashed into a large group of Swallows grooming on the dead tree at the lake. He was staring intensely at a swallow that seemed to be ignoring him.

Noisy Miner, Elsternwick Park

The Swallows soon came back to the tree and continued their grooming with one keeping a keen lookout and watching the miner which had flown to another nearby tree.

Welcome Swallows, Elsternwick Park

Welcome Swallow, Elsternwick Park, Victoria, 3 May 2015

Welcome Swallow landing back onto the tree branch after being chased off by the Noisy Miner.

White Plumed Honeyeaters, Elsternwick Park, Victoria, 3 May 2015

A pair of White Plumed Honeyeaters grooming after a dip in the lake.

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Nature Photography, Noisy Miner, Photography, Victoria, Welcome Swallow, White Plumed Honeyeater, Willie Wagtail

An unexpected bonus, a Bassian Thrush…

Posted on May 24, 2015 | Leave a comment

After spending a part of yesterday at the farm working the patch for Fanior and Henry, I stopped in at Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve for a walk in the mid afternoon sunlight. It was cool, calm and very quiet, not many species of birds around expect for quite a few White-Eared and New Holland Honeyeaters. Walking along the Emu Wren Track I noticed a bird on an overhanging branch. I was quite surprised and delighted to find it was a Bassian Thrush. I have only seen a few of this species over the last few years and this was my first time photographing one. I suspect it was a juvenile by the way it seemed to be crouched and begging a bit. I did not see any adults but they are much more secretive and generally harder to see and find.

Juvenile Bassian Thrush

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In the late afternoon light I found some large banksias that had a few Little Wattlebirds feeding on the flowers.

Little Wattlebird

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Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bassian Thrush, Bird Photography, Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve, Little Wattlebird, Nature Photography, Photography, Victoria

A Hunter’s Gaze

Posted on May 19, 2015 | 3 comments

While looking for Tawny Frogmouths at Braeside Park recently, I spotted a Black Shouldered Kite at the top of a dead tree in one of the dried out lagoons. The Kite of course saw me immediately moving from the scrub out into the waist high grass and thistles towards the tree. I did not make eye contact as I moved slowly and just stopped a few times to take a few photos. In the end I was quite surprised at how close close I managed to get. I had to back up a bit so I could use my 400mm Lens. Every now and again he would look at me and then go back to gazing down, around and up. He never did spook and after I took my shots I turned around and went back through the thorns and thistles to the lakeside path. The Kite is a stunning bird and a very successful hunter of mice and other smaller birds and animals. Another of my top 10 birds.

Black Shouldered Kite keeping an eye on me

One of the smaller Raptors in Australia. It still has the large talons, sharp eyes and the hooked beak

Black Shouldered Kite – his glance up told me that something was flying above me…

When I turned around and looked up I saw a half dozen large Australian Pelicans flying in a wingtip formation.

Australian Pelicans

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Australian Pelican, Bird Photography, Black Shouldered Kite, Braeside Park, Nature Photography, Photography, Victoria

The Wise old Bird of Braeside

Posted on May 17, 2015 | Leave a comment

On a recent visit to Braeside Park, I looked out for the resident Tawny Frogmouths. There are many Frogmouths in the park but they are well camouflaged and while they do stick to their territories they move to different trees and roosts every few days. I found 5 on this particular day. (My best day was 14 Frogmouths). To find them you need to look for a suitable area and then look for the right sort of tree, height, and position. Once you find a suitable area you need to look for something that does not quite fit in, a colour variation or round lump that does not quite belong.

The Frogmouth is in my top 10 favourites due to its calm nature, its camouflage skills and the serene look it gives you when it acknowledges your presence. When agitated, some will pretend to be a branch stump while others will ignore you with just a yellow eye watching you now and again.

A large Tawny Frogmouth, Braeside Park in May

Tawny Frogmouth, with mate tucked down behind – he was a little nervous as I made my way around the tree for a clearer shot

A pair of Tawny Frogmouths, keeping an eye on me, much more relaxed

This pair were quite wary of me even though they are quite high in the tree. They relaxed from their camouflage pose after a few minutes…

When you spend some time looking for Frogmouths your eyes start tune into objects that seem to stand out from the norm. I could not quite figure out what this furry lump was from a distance but when I got closer it turned out to be a Brush Tailed Possum with its bum hanging out of its daytime hollow getting a bit sun while it still slept.

Brush Tailed Possum, soaking up some warmth

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Braeside Park, Brush tailed Possum, Nature Photography, Photography, Tawny Frogmouth, Victoria

The Braeside Vandals

Posted on May 14, 2015 | 4 comments

A few weeks ago when we finally had a warm sunny day (and we have not seen much since), I dropped in at Braeside Park to get some exercise and see what birds were around. It was the quietest I had ever seen it and the driest. The remaining lagoon has dropped considerably and except for the specialist mud feeders the rest seem to have moved on to deeper waters at other sites. I did get a nice series of shots of a few local birds that are generally resident all year round.

The first in the series was a pair of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. I only saw these two from a distance due to their very white feathers. You would usually hear cockatoos from quite a way off – one of their defence mechanisms is a very loud 100db+ screech. (I have walked underneath a pair of nesting cockatoos and the noise was deafening. ). These two were very quiet, on low branches and quite unafraid of me as I walked up slowly and carefully to see what they were up to. Even when higher in the trees wild cockatoos are quite wary of people and usually fly off. I took a few shots and watched for a while.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Stripping and chewing on the sap covered bark of a Wattle Tree

Ripping the bark off the wattle

going deep into the wood of the branch

coming away with sappy chunks

chewing and just casually keeping an eye on me…

I have seen cockatoos and other similar species chew on dead branches (and peoples houses and wooden verandahs) to keep their beaks trimmed and from growing too big, and I have seen a few dead wattle trees around the park with the bark peeled right down – I had thought that the cockatoos had striped the bark after the tree was dead to do some beak maintenance but maybe they are the ones that are killing the tree with a bit of ring barking while getting high on the sap and wood pulp…

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Braeside Park, Nature Photography, Photography, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Victoria

An eclectic mix for a wet St Kilda Sunday…

Posted on May 7, 2015 | Leave a comment

On a recent Sunday morning, my breakfast buddy and I, tried a new Cafe in the heart of St Kilda. It was a cool, wet and moody morning and after a bit of food and a coffee I wandered out of the cafe and down the street to have a look at the lovely old buildings. Many are fast disappearing under an onslaught of high rise and expensive housing and developments. The old bones of a seaside city are being replaced by modern and square-box architecture.

Bike Shop, St Kilda, Victoria

St Kilda building, St Kilda, Victoria 26 April, 2015

St Kilda Art, St Kilda, Victoria 26 April, 2015

St Kilda Art – graffiti probably should be in colour…

On the way home we dropped by the beach to watch the weather come across the bay and look for ships through the mist and rain.

St Kilda beach Silver Gull BW, St Kilda, Victoria 26 April, 2015

and I still like birds

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Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australia, Australian Birds, Bird Photography, classic architecture, graffiti, Nature Photography, Photography, St Kilda, Urban Photography

An autumn evening along the Rosebud Foreshore

Posted on May 5, 2015 | 2 comments

As the final site of a weekend of birding down the coast a few weeks ago, I walked along the Rosebud foreshore beach just enjoying the company of friends and a nice Autumn evening. I took the camera along just in case something interesting was discovered. I practiced shooting on several birds and tried to sneak up on a few others ( a bit tricky with friends, kids and dogs everywhere)

Rosebud Foreshore, Victoria 12 April 2015

Rosebud Pier, Victoria

Silver Gulls, Rosebud Foreshore

A White Faced Heron was hunting in the water with a technique that I had seen Silver gulls use in a similar way – it would lift its leg out of the water, slowly move it forward and down and then wiggle it agitating the sand. It would then pounce on anything that moved.

White Faced Heron

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White Faced Heron IV, Rosebud Foreshore, Victoria 12 April 2015

I noticed a Black Shouldered Kite patrolling the beach and the nearby scrub looking for mice. A large Silver Gull took a dislike to the Kite and tried to chase it off. The Gull is a master of flying in all conditions and I expected it to move the Kite away from the area but the Kite just kept turning at the last second and the gull would over-shoot. The Silver Gull did not give up easily and it was beautiful to watch the unconcerned Kite twist and turn away from the chasing Gull. It made the larger Gull look clumsy.

Gull and Black Shouldered Kite, Rosebud Foreshore, Victoria 12 April 2015

Silver Gull and Black Shouldered Kite, Rosebud Foreshore

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Little Wattlebird, Rosebud Foreshore, Victoria 12 April 2015

Little Wattlebird feeding on the nectar of a Banskia flower.

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Little Wattlebird, Nature Photography, Photography, Rosebud, Silver Gull, Victoria, White Faced Heron, White Shouldered Kite

“Birds are the magicians of the nature! They are here, they are there and they are everywhere!”

Posted on April 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

“Birds are the magicians of the nature! They are here, they are there and they are everywhere!” – Mehmet Murat Ildan

An overcast and at times drizzly morning was my initial reward for an early start exploring a new site on the Mornington Peninsula. I was down the coast for the weekend and decided to have a look at a Flora and Fauna Reserve that I had always driven past to get to Green Bush but had never visited. Behind a two car carpark, an ordinary gate and piles of dumped rubbish was a pretty good native bushland reserve and a great display of small birds, along with the local regulars. I knew I was in for a treat by the shear number of birds especially the smaller ones that I could hear and eventually found as I walked around the reserve. They moved in early morning feeding flocks and were not too bothered by me, at times coming down quite close to check me out.

Golden Whistler, Peninsula Gardens, Rosebud South, Victoria 12 April, 2015

Golden Whistler, Peninsula Gardens, Rosebud South, Victoria, April, 2015

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Spotted Pardalote, Peninsula Gardens, Rosebud South, Victoria

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Spotted Pardalotes gathering nesting material even though it is very late in the season, Peninsula Gardens, Rosebud South, Victoria

Grey Shrike Thrush, Peninsula Gardens

The large number of birds was I think due to a lack of visitors and a good variety of low and mid canopy native vegetation, much of it flowering like the banksia below. There were many tall Grasstrees in the reserve and a number of these were flowering as well.

Banksia, Peninsula Gardens – many of the smaller honeyeaters were squabbling over these large nectar rich flowers

Grass Trees, Peninsula Gardens

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australian Birds, banksia, Bird Photography, Golden Whistler, Grass Trees, Grey Shrike Thrush, Nature Photography, Peninsula Gardens, Photography, Rosebud South, Spotted Pardalote, Victoria

Baby-sitting a Crested Shrike Tit

Posted on April 29, 2015 | 5 comments

A few weeks ago I spent the weekend down the coast and visited old haunts and a few new ones. I stopped by Greens Bush with not too much hope as it was overcast and quite dark in the forest. I heard some unusual calls and soon found a family of Crested Shrike Tits moving through the canopy along the creek. It was the first time I had seen this species at Greens Bush. They were at a decent height and moving around quickly. I decided to cheat and used my Bird App to play their calls to see what they would do. They come straight down from the canopy to look for the stranger. I set up my iPhone on a branch around head height and moved back to try and entice the birds into the area for a few shots.

Crested Shrike Tit, Greens Bush, Victoria

Crested Shrike Tit looking for the strange bird

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I noticed a strange thing – one of the young birds, which was closest to the iPhone, started making the sign for “please feed me, I am hungry, please feed me” . It crouched down and shuddered its wings. After a few minutes it flew next to the iPhone and just sat there while its parents moved off back into the canopy and further along the creek. The juvenile was just happy to stick around and listen to the playback calls. I was playing the Crested Shrike Tit group feeding call so it was quite comforting and non-threatening. (After watching and taking photos for a few minutes I retrieved the phone and let the Shrike Tit rejoin its family).

Juvenile Crested Shrike Tit, Greens Bush, Victoria

joining in the chorus of recorded Crested Shrike Tits feeding…

Grey Kangaroo, Greens Bush, Victoria 11 April 2015

Grey Kangaroo, Greens Bush, Victoria – I always see a Grey Roo at Greens Bush

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Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged Australian Birds, Bird Photography, Crested Shrike Tit, Greens Bush, Grey Kangaroo, Nature Photography, Photography, Victoria

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Tag Archives: Australian Birds

Lethal Weapons?

A warm Winter’s Day and a Lifer

Swift, Muskie and Scaly

Freckled and Endangered…

A Western Gerygone: far from home

The little show-off…

The Intense gaze…

An unexpected bonus, a Bassian Thrush…

A Hunter’s Gaze

The Wise old Bird of Braeside

The Braeside Vandals

An eclectic mix for a wet St Kilda Sunday…

An autumn evening along the Rosebud Foreshore

“Birds are the magicians of the nature! They are here, they are there and they are everywhere!”

Baby-sitting a Crested Shrike Tit

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