Tag Archives: Greens Bush

Bright bird, hidden home.

Posted on January 29, 2020 | 2 comments

While I was standing still and studying the Superb fairy-wrens for the ebird study, I noticed a Yellow Robin flying into a nearby prickly current-bush. I soon found its late season (or second) nest and watched as the Robin made several trips bringing back spider-web and soft materials for the interior of the nest. It would squeeze itself down and shape the bowl.

Later I found another Robin nest carefully placed in the broken fork of a small tree down in a rainforest gully. Unless you stopped and looked at the fork you would never have noticed the nest – it was so well camouflaged with moss and lichen. I must have walked past this nest dozens of times and never saw it or its occupants while it was active.

Eastern Yellow Robin nest, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

Eastern Yellow Robin nest, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

Eastern Yellow Robin, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Eastern Yellow Robin building and moulding its nest

Eastern Yellow Robin, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Off for more material

Eastern Yellow Robin, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Back to continue shaping

Eastern Yellow Robin nest 2 Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

Well hidden Eastern Yellow Robin nest 

Eastern Yellow Robin nest 2 Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

Invisible to the casual eye, even though chest high and on the trail. 

2 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Front View, Rear View

Posted on January 21, 2020 | 2 comments

For a small bird that is brightly coloured during breeding season, the male Superb fairy-wren is a noisy bird that likes to alert everything nearby that a stranger has come close or into its territory. It is a curious bird that will pop up onto a branch, have a look at the potential danger and then disappear quickly back into low foliage. Over winter, spring and early summer, I have been paying extra attention to these little birds, participating in the study to gauge the male’s transition to full breeding plumage each year. We are supposed to track what plumage stage each bird is in that we find as we walk our favourite areas. The species has a defined territory making the little tribe (2 to 6 birds) easier to find each time. The study has made it more interesting finding this quite common bird. Usually I just record it as a day or site tick on my list and then ignore it. Having to study the individual family groups for a 15-20 minutes session, identifying the sexes, plumage phase types, general activity and any interaction between groups makes it much more interesting. A by-product of this stationary watch means I see others birds as they fly by or pop out of the nearby scrub.

Superb Fairy-wren, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Superb Fairy-wren, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Superb Fairy-wren II, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

II

 

2 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

A yellow-tailed Vandal

Posted on January 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

As I sorted out my camera gear out for my weekly walk around Green’s Bush I heard a crunching in the trees above my car. Several Yellow-tailed black cockatoos were tearing into the branches of a Blackwood tree. Cockatoos will often attack tree branches (and houses) to keep their every growing bills trim and to find insect larvae boring into the wood.

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Male YTBC with pink eye ring

Leave a comment

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Posted on January 16, 2020 | 9 comments

One of my favourite birds is the Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, a colourful, gregarious bird with a very distinctive call.  It has a confiding nature and the juveniles can be quite curious. When I made a phishing noise the young one photographed below came in closer for a look at me and then started to call. The Birdlife Australia site describes the call as jerky, musical “liquid and guttural gurgling jumble”. Looking at the bristles below the ear I noticed that there are a few yellow ones – the sign of a young bird. Now that I am often carrying recording gear. I hope to record the species quite soon. I have found an area of the southern section of  Green’s Bush where I occasionally hear  the species.

Juvenile Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

Young Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

II

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

III

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

IV

9 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Using the Bassian Thrush flush zone

Posted on December 22, 2019 | 3 comments

While an early start at Green’s Bush means a good chance of finding Bassian Thrush it also means a lot less light available for the photo. The long lens needs a good amount of light for a nice clear photo.  While taking the series of the thrush collecting nesting material I crouched as low as possible to the ground and slowly pushed the bassian using its own flush distance zone to move it into better light. This is the distance that it will allow me to approach (about 5-7 metres) without flying off or moving up the path. If the Bassian does not feel threatened it will just walk up the path away from me and continue to feed to collect material. I move a few metres forward and it moves forward. Crouching down I found I could get inside the usual zone but it was hard on the knees.

Bassian Thrush, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Bassian Thrush, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Bassian Thrush, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

II

Bassian Thrush, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Bassian Thrush collecting nesting material

Bassian Thrush, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

II

Bassian Thrush, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

III

3 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Stranger Danger

Posted on October 21, 2019 | Leave a comment

 

The tracks around Green’s Bush are full of nests, juveniles and adults frantically feeding their nestlings. The Eastern Yellow Robins are all along the circuit walk hunting within their territories and alerting their mates when an intruder walks along. The Robin has a number of alert calls and this one was making a piping call and keeping an eye on me as I walked underneath. I must have been near the nest as it did not fly to a lookout a bit further away as they usually would when I try to photograph them.

Eastern Yellow Robin, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park

ii

Leave a comment

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Varied Sittella

Posted on June 6, 2019 | 1 comment

Over the last two years I have seen an increase in the numbers of Varied Sittellas moving in small family flocks. They may have been around much longer but they travel and feed fairly high in the tree canopy and sound very much like Striated Thornbills. It wasn’t until I stood still long enough to watch a mixed feeding flock that I discovered them. Now I see them quite often in a number of spots around the Greens Bush circuit. I read up about them recently and learned that they are quite vocal in their feeding groups (and do sound different to Striated and Red-browed Finches, all of which are high pitched chirps) and that people often mistake them for treecreepers due to their feeding habit. I watch them working the trees with treecreepers and can see that they are a fair bit smaller, more stubby. What I have not noticed is that they spiral down branches and trunks while the treecreepers spiral upwards. I can’t believe I never noticed it and it probably means I am spending too much time ticking off birds for listings rather than observing. I also read that the males have longer bills and tend to feed lower in the trees while females stay higher. Time to get more observant.

Varied Sittella, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

1 Comment

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

And back to Winter at Greens Bush

Posted on June 5, 2019 | 2 comments

I recently clocked up 90 visits to one of my favourite sites to survey for birds and other native wildlife. I like to track the birds I find and record my sightings and locations on the ebird app, part of a worldwide database based at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the US.  Going over my sightings looking for more data on the Bassian Thrush, I found that I had clocked up 90 visits to the one site: Greens Bush in the Mornington Peninsula National Park.  On the last two visits I saw a total of 8 Bassians across several locations on the circuit , a good healthy and permanent population.

Bassian Thrush, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

2 Comments

Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Boobooks in the canopy

Posted on February 11, 2019 | 4 comments

Some friends who live on a lovely property that backs onto the National Park that I visit most weekends gave me a tip that there was a family of Boobook Owls roosting in a dense stand of Blackwoods near their property. I found the owls and spent some time trying to find an angle through the branches and up into the canopy. It was very tricky shooting with the high sun and bright sky. The juveniles were quite curious about my antics and watched me as a I watched them.

Southern Boobook, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Southern Boobook, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Southern Boobook, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

II

Southern Boobook, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

III

Southern Boobook family, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Southern Boobook family

Southern Boobook family, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

II

Southern Boobook family, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

III

4 Comments

Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

More hungry than timid

Posted on February 7, 2019 | 1 comment

On recent walks around Greens Bush I have noticed quite a few juveniles learning the ropes from their parents. I found several Crimson Rosellas feeding in this flowering bush. The parents flew off but two juveniles stayed and kept feeding not overly concerned by me at all. This species in the wild is usually quite timid. It is a good time of year for getting closer to the forest birds and taking photos.

Juvenile Crimson Rosella, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

Juvenile Crimson Rosella, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic,

1 Comment

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Tiny occupants

Posted on January 30, 2019 | 5 comments

While walking with a friend in Greens Bush recently I found two new Grey Fantail nests, the first empty but the second was occupied by two tiny Fantails. The small goblet shaped nest made of strips of bark, grass and spiderweb has an opening only 4cm wide and 3.5cm deep. (I measured an empty nest). While we watched the nest for a while one of the parents would come back every few minutes with a snack for one of the chicks.

I returned the following week hoping the light would be better but found an empty nest. Standing there looking for any signs I eventually found the chicks above me in the dense foliage. As a parent came near the pair would make high pitched begging chirps but would quickly go quiet when the parent left. It took a while to track the pair back to the chirps through the leaves and branches.

grey fantail chicks in nest, greens bush, mornington peninsula national park, vic

Grey fantail chicks in nest, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

grey fantail chicks in nest, greens bush, mornington peninsula national park, vic

II

grey fantail nest, greens bush, mornington peninsula national park, vic

Grey fantail nest.

5 Comments

Posted in Bird Behaviour, Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Acrobatic antics for a good feed

Posted on November 27, 2018 | 4 comments

During spring the understory throughout Greens Bush has been in full bloom. Amongst the many birds that I saw feeding on the flowers was this White-naped Honeyeater. I mostly see this species  higher in the canopy and more often hear them as they make their distinctive calls. I think it was a fairly young bird to allow me to get so close to watch it as it moved arobatically around several low bushes. It was a good opportunity to photograph this beautiful little bird with the lovely orange eye lid.

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

II

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

III

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

IV

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

V

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

VI

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

VII

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

VIII

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

IX

White naped honeyeater, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

X

4 Comments

Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Inspecting a hollow

Posted on November 19, 2018 | 6 comments

I am still finding birds at Greens Bush nesting, looking for suitable nest sites and feeding juveniles that have fledged and left the nest. I found this pair of Crimson Rosellas (below) inspecting a Eucalyptus hollow. One was hopping in and out of the small hollow while its mate stood watch nearby.

Crimson Rosella, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Crimson Rosella, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Crimson Rosella, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Crimson Rosella guarding the nest hole on a nearby branch

6 Comments

Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Safe and warm….

Posted on November 14, 2018 | 3 comments

I sometime run into locals while walking around my usual circuit at Green’s Bush and I can always learn from them about what is happening in the area. Earlier this year Virginia taught me about the local trees, which I am hopeless at identifying. I ran into her and her partner Mark again last weekend and caught up with the local happenings particular around finding owls. There are a few species at Greens: Powerful Owls, Owlet nightjars and Southern Boobooks. I have yet to find any but there seems to be quite a few around. I asked V about how her animal orphan caring was going and she reached down her shirt and pulled out this little Ring-tiled possum from a small pouch. The ring tail possum and its much bigger, meaner cousin the Brush-tail possum are a favourite food for the Powerful Owl. The possums are very common and the large powerful owls quite rare due to lack of old growth trees for breeding hollows. But I would not wish this little guy to become a snack for a big owl. So much effort and time goes into giving it a chance to grow up.

Ring-tailed Possum, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Ring-tailed Possum, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

3 Comments

Posted in Animal, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

The little hunter returns

Posted on November 13, 2018 | 3 comments

With the on-coming summer a few new migratory birds are heading to Greens Bush for the warmer seasons. I heard recently the distinctive sounds of 5 short barks of the Sacred Kingfisher: a tiny bird in bright blue, hunting amongst the trees. I only spotted the kingfisher after tracking its barks and seeing a flash of blue against dull brown tree bark. It seemed to be investigating all the nearby tree hollows and calling often.

Sacred Kingfisher, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Sacred Kingfisher, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Sacred Kingfisher, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

II

3 Comments

Posted in Birds, Victoria

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,