Malleefowl - whoa?!

Malleefowl, Mallee

Goodness me! I saw 14 of these on Monday night after I got an email telling me that there had been sightings of 50+ Malleefowl feeding close to a road. This is very unusual. It was so bizarre seeing so many of an endangered species in such a small space and time.

I guess this is what they mean by locally common!

I was a bit early for them when I first drove to the spot and I started going a bit crazy - how far from the road are they? are all those Common Bronzewings actually mini Malleefowl? 

Wild Bird Wednesday

Little bird brain

White-faced Heron, Mildura

I think the front profile of this heron's head is funny! 

The first photo shows the lovely red and green I get when I take photographs at the wetland at the moment. 

I like the front view of the feet too - although I think this is because the three toes remind me of oystercatcher prints on the beach...

Chittery Chat

Apostlebirds, Silver City Highway

Apostlebirds can be real bullies: when I lived at Scotia Sanctuary I once had them completely destroy the Willie Wagtail nest outside my little house. The poor little Willie Wagtail pair were completely out-numbered and dwarfed by the Apostlebirds but they kept trying to defend it, even when all that remained were a couple of twigs. It was horrible.

Yet, Apostlebirds can be very sweet and have some quite endearing qualities. They all chip in to look after the kid/s and they're always looking out for each other. My favourite thing is when they are having a spell in a shady tree and they just softly chitter away to each other. It often seems that they are checking that everyone is ok and reassuring each other. 

My wetland friends

Australian Spotted Crake, Mildura

I've loved watching the crakes! It seems they are least bothered by this when they are really intent on feeding. The one in this photo was about three metres away. 

I haven't been back to see them for about a week because it has been too hot but this weekend I will check on them and the dotterel chicks. No idea where they would move on to while most places are drying out. I'm always amazed by birds and how they find water!

Wild Bird Wednesday - thanks to Stewart for hosting!

Shady spot

Emu, near Broken Hill

We saw plenty of Emus driving around South-western New South Wales but this one had the best real estate!  

Even though there was no water in the creek it was lovely and shady under the big red gums. The river sand was gorgeous too. 

Wild Bird Wednesday

Fun in the sun

Little Black Cormorants, Menindee regulator

This is what I'll feel like doing over the next week or so! 

The forecast for Mildura:

40 degrees celsius = 104 fahrenheit

Occasional Visitor

Yellow-billed Spoonpiper oops bill, Walnut Ave, Mildura

I love watching spoonbills feed, sifting from side to side. Sunday night this bird was wary as it had just flown into a new spot and wouldn't feed, but it was more at home yesterday morning.

The black details on the face and plume are very fine. The silly thing was that I had been having trouble getting a good egret shot (see a couple of posts back), and when I then tried to get the spoonbill, the egret wouldn't get out of the frame!

Click on photo for bigger image...

Wild Bird Wednesday

More suburban goodness

Black-fronted Dotterel chick, Mildura

Had a great time on a morning walk this morning - all sorts of waterbirds; including the little fluff ball above - one of two.

...Yellow-billed Spoonbill feeding, and another glimpse of the Buff-banded Rail.

There also seems to be a continual stream of Dusky Moorhen babies. I'm wondering if there is something in the water…      maybe they just like big families.

Boxing Day beauty

Eastern Great Egret, Walnut Ave, Mildura

How to ID - link to another blogger's diagram of Eastern Great Egret. Must admit I struggle sometimes with Egrets.

Had a lovely walk around the wetland yesterday, all the birds came out - I'm growing particularly fond of the Spotted Crakes! The Egrets are quite wary and don't feed when I'm close enough to get a good photo.

So far so good - click on photos to enlarge

 

 

Australasian Grebe, Walnut Ave, Mildura

I love knowing nests have successfully hatched!

When we borrowed the club scope a couple of weeks ago we got a close up of one of the adults sitting on the nest, and this morning I saw a baby cruising around the wetland not far from the nest site.

In the first photo, the adult is diving down to get another fish. I love the cute little fluffy wings in the second photo.

Scariest bird ever

South Polar Skua, Casey Station
I'm way to busy with Xmas prep so I'm posting an old photo from my trip to Casey 2004-05.

This was one of the skuas that was nesting in the Adelie Penguin colony.

They are very scary, I was lined up by them several times whilst trying to survey the penguins. I often resorted to pulling my backpack over my head and assuming the foetal position!

Wild Bird Wednesday

The nursery

Willie Wagtail, Mildura
This little guy has been learning the ways of life from Mum and Dad in the backyard. Has consumed much of our attention when we are sitting outside! Very cute.

Wild Bird Wednesday

What are you looking at

Great Cormorant & Little Black Cormorants, Walnut Ave, Mildura

This is a funny shot showing the avian ability to turn their head 360 degrees! It's also good seeing the species next to each other - they seem to have the same size feet...

Suburbia

Buff-banded Rail, Walnut Ave, Mildura
This is the first time I've seen this species, it was skulking along at the wetland. The most obvious features to distinguish it quickly from the hens and crakes were the shape and strip across the head.

I'm loving finding new species in suburbia. Yay for artificial wetlands!

In the same area early on Sunday morning all the Black-fronted Dotterels at the wetland were wandering around on the road. I've never seen them do that before, there was one doing it by itself on the west wetland and two on a different road on the east side.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Salt

Silver Gull, Blackmans Bay Beach, Tasmania
I think I like taking photos with water as much as trying to get a nice photo of a bird!
Most of my last trip to Tassie was spent being a bridesmaid (lots of fun) but I did get a chance to wander Blackmans Bay and get a dose of sea air and sand.

I will eat my hat

Laughing Kookaburra, Loch Island, Mildura

If you ever go to Loch Island and fail to see a Kookaburra, I swear I will eat my hat. They are always there. This one gave me a suspicious sideways glance before swooping down for a skink or bug. 

In true kingfisher style, I once saw a Kookaburra at Loch Island catch a fish! 

They are also lovely when they are in groups and fly around calling.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Not the Ground Parrot

Beautiful Firetail, Melaleuca

Freddo frog for anyone that can find the Ground Parrot! No, I won't post the photo of the Ground Parrot - it just looks like buttongrass. I swear when I took the photo it was there…

Can't complain though, seeing the Beautiful Firetails while they were at the feeding station at Melaleuca was great. And I did actually see the Ground Parrot, I just can't prove it. 

Would highly recommend Par Avion and Inala Bruny Island by the way. Had fantastic flights and day at Melaleuca. 

Spots and Stripes

Australian Spotted Crake, Walnut Ave, Mildura

This is the best shot I could get last night of the Spotted Crake - not great but the reflections were really interesting! I wonder how long they will stay, they have been there for at least a week now.  They look tiny when next to a Dusky Moorhen or Purple Swamp-hen. 

I'm reading The Big Year at the moment; I've been telling myself, "I'm not one of those twitchers that flys somewhere just to see a bird", until I was reminded that I flew to Melaleuca last month to see the Orange-bellied Parrot…      (not bragging or anything). 

There was also a personal connection with Melaleuca - Deny King is a relative. I also saw a Ground Parrot - this was exciting, I nearly studied them back at uni for my Honours degree but became a plover lover and studied Hooded Plovers instead. The project based on the buttongrass species turned out to be someone else's Masters project and I never would have had the bird call ID skills required!

Wild Bird Wednesday

Urban Wetlands

Black-fronted Dotterel, Walnut Ave

Most of my bird-watching is in urban areas, I just don't get time to get out and about to National Parks and the like. One of the greatest things about bird-watching though is that it is so accessible, birds can be so adaptable and dynamic that some of them can make the most of urban areas even when they are highly modified. 

The wetland at Walnut Ave doesn't even have a name and I must admit I was really skeptical about artificial wetlands to start with, but I've seen so many birds at them I can't deny that they do function as an eco-system to some extent, on top of managing storm water.

In the last few weeks I've seen Spotted Crake, Dusky Moorhen (with chicks), Purple Swamphen, Black-tailed Native-hen, Great Egret, White-faced Heron, Masked Lapwing (with chicks), Little Pied Cormorant, Nankeen Kestrel amongst other species at this young wetland. 

Not on the list yet

Bush Stone-curlew, Adelaide Zoo

Unlike the species in the last post, I have never really seen one of these in the wild. I saw the Red-browed Finch when on a getaway at a cottage in Echuca, but the only wild sighting of the Bush Stone-curlew I have is when I worked on Kangaroo Island and a colleague found a dead one on the road. 

You can get very close up to these guys in the Adelaide Zoo, along with a friendly Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo, in the walk-through bird enclosure.