Tag Archives: white browed scrubwren

Checking out the competition

Green’s Bush is exploding with activity at the moment with spring well under way and the weather finally warming up. A walk into the southern section and I found the little boss below tsking and telling me to move along. I had actually stopped to photograph some bracken in nice light when he popped into the scene and tried to pick a fight.

White-browed Scrubwren, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

White-browed Scrubwren, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Bracken, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Bracken, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Vic

Scrubbers along the track

One of the regular birds I see along the tracks of Greens Bush is the White-browed Scrubwren. I see them often but dont often photograph them due to their constant movement and the shady and dark areas they lurk. When I find them I try to phish and psst to attract their attention. The one below was with a bunch of juveniles that were hunting in the mottled shadows and I managed to actually get a clear shot. I liked its intensity as it grabbed a spec of food and gave it to one of the juveniles.

White-browed Scrubwren, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National park, Vic,

White-browed Scrubwren, Greens Bush, Mornington Peninsula National park, Vic,

Point Ormond Coastal Reserve

The bush reserve below the Navigation Point at the beach along Elwood foreshore is full of small birds hunting the prolific insects currently available. The insect numbers have exploded due to the wet weather and perfect insect conditions. The local birds and a few migrating through are enjoying the bounty and are well under way with their breeding season. Both the species below seem to have an angry, annoyed expression when they look at you…

Grey Fantail, Point Ormond Coastal Reserve, Elwood, Victoria, 21 Aug 2016

Grey Fantail, Point Ormond Coastal Reserve, Elwood

Grey Fantail, Point Ormond Coastal Reserve, Elwood, Victoria, 21 Aug 2016

II

Grey Fantail, Point Ormond Coastal Reserve, Elwood, Victoria, 21 Aug 2016

III

White-browed Scrubwren, Point Ormond Coastal Reserve, Elwood, Victoria, 21 Aug 2016

White-browed Scrubwren, Point Ormond Coastal Reserve, Elwood

White-browed Scrubwren, Point Ormond Coastal Reserve, Elwood, Victoria, 21 Aug 2016

Taking a mouthful of insects back to the nest…

White-browed Scrubwren, Point Ormond Coastal Reserve, Elwood, Victoria, 21 Aug 2016

III

Point Addis Scrubwren

While photographing the Rufous Bristlebird at Point Addis recently, a White Browed Scrubwren decided it was safe enough to feed alongside the Bristlebird. It foraged amongst the leaf litter hunting for small invertebrates. These small birds usually are very timid and are more often heard scolding trespassers than actually being seen. The adult birds have very distinctive brows that always seem to make them look angry…

White browed Scrubwren, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria,

White browed Scrubwren, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road.

White browed Scrubwren, Point Addis, Great Ocean Road, Anglesea, Victoria,

Turning over leaf litter and small pieces of bark to find invertebrates…

The White-browed Scrubwrens of Point Ormond

At Elwood’s Point Ormond is a section of old seaside vegetation. Much of the area has been cleared with just a few scraps of native vegetation left. In this small pocket beneath the Point and its navigation tower, live a few species of birds – Superb Fairy-wrens, Brown Thornbills and White-browed Scrubwrens, with many other species stopping by for a feed and rest while migrating elsewhere – Rainbow Lorikeets, Black Faced Cuckoo-shrikes, Pink Robins, Grey Fantails, Singing Honeyeaters and Silvereyes to name a few. On the last few visits we have been watching a nest of Scrubwrens and the busy parents feeding their chicks. A visit on the weekend seemed to indicate that the chicks had fledged and had moved from the nest but were still being fed by the parents.

White-browed Scrubwren, Point Ormond scrub, Elwood, Victoria

White-browed Scrubwren – looking for juicy morsels for the chicks

White-browed Scrubwren, Point Ormond scrub, Elwood, Victoria

The Scrubwren returning a grub to its chicks..