Tag Archives: Yellow Faced Honeyeater

Defending the Roost

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

Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve – a small bird haven

I explored a new bush park today, on the outskirts of Frankston, Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve. It is a good sized reserve with many well managed and signposted tracks and a wide fire break running down the centre of the park. I spent a few hours investigating several of the Northern  trails and found quite a number of smaller birds. The bush is very thick and dense with the only access via the trails – it is too thick to get into. It is a haven for the smaller birds while the larger birds stick to the taller gums. A few uncommon birds seen were Grey Currawongs, a Collared Sparrowhawk and 2 Wedge Tail Eagles circling very high. Many of the gum trees were flowering and there seemed to be a good supply of Lerp on the leaves as well. The birds were quite aggressive towards other species and each other – a sign of a supply of food worth defending.

Yellow Faced Honeyeater

Yellow Faced Honeyeater

New Holland Honeyeater,

New Holland Honeyeater,

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Little Wattlebird

Little Wattlebird

Grey Shrike Thrush

Grey Shrike Thrush

Collared Sparrowhawk

Collared Sparrowhawk

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And my usual forest companion:

Eastern Yellow Robin

Eastern Yellow Robin

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Central Victoria – Hepburn Springs

During my recent birding trip to Central Victoria, I  dropped off my house mate at the Hepburn Springs Spa so she could take the waters. I decided to stay in the area and explore. I followed the small creek that fed the Spa upstream for an hour or so and found a number of interesting birds. There were many juveniles about still being fed by their parents. The juveniles can be a bit easier to photograph as they have not learnt to fear everything yet. The parents were much shyer and when they noticed that I was taking an interest in their chicks moved the chicks to new locations.

Crimson Rosella

Crimson Rosella – feeding on seed pods while keeping an eye on its fledgeling which seemed quite curious about me.

 

Juvenile Crimson Rosella

Juvenile Crimson Rosella

Juvenile Sacred Kingfisher

Juvenile Sacred Kingfisher

Juvenile Yellow Faced Honeyeater

Juvenile Yellow Faced Honeyeater

And a regular and tough target

Superb Fairy Wren

Superb Fairy Wren