Bushfire

Yesterday's weather forecast promised northerly winds with a maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. I decided to go for an hour long walk early in the morning to avoid the worst of the heat.

As far as birds were concerned I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Numbers seemed to be down by about 50% but this only indicates that they were not calling as much. On my local walks more than half of my bird identifications are by call alone.

I did get a good photograph of two - presumably a pair - of galahs sitting high in the dead branches of a mallee tree near the road.

I was intrigued by the rising sun lighting up the ruins of an old farmhouse less than a kilometre from our front gate. I am very pleased with this shot because it also shows up the thick mallee scrub behind it. During summer months I rarely venture up in that area for walks or bird watching because the few tracks through the area are so overgrown with weeds and grasses one cannot have warning of snakes. Little did I know that a few hours later this area would become an inferno.

Mid afternoon a bushfire broke out just behind this old farmhouse. As the afternoon passed the fire grew worse and by four o'clock, with the temperature around 42 degrees, we and our neighbours decided to pack some essential items in our cars and have them ready for a retreat. If the forecast cool change came early or the wind suddenly changed direction, our house was in a direct line of the fire.

We watched anxiosly for the next eight hours as about thirty fire crews, many from distant towns, battled the blaze. A helicopter constantly dropped water and three fire fighting fixed wing planes dropped fire retardant on the blaze. At midnight another twelve relief fire crews and their trucks came to the scene; some had travelled from as far as Pinnaroo, nearly two hours travel away.

After a restless few hours sleep we were awoken at 4:30am by the smell of smoke; the wind had finally changed. By then there were only a few spot fires visible from our window. This morning the cool change has been welcome relief. Several fire crews are still watching the area. Wisps of smoke can still be seen from a few hot spots. Mallee stumps and roots can smoulder for weeks if left unattended.

The main threat is now over, but the forecast for more hot weather over the next two days will keep us on edge. This, however, has been our only fire threat in over twenty years of living in this house.

Galahs in the morning sun

On my morning walks through the mallee scrubland and the nearby farming land I often come across or hear the beautiful Australian parrot, the Galah. This species is very common throughout most of Australia. They can often be observed in pairs or small flocks and occasionally very large flocks numbering several hundred.

On recent morning walks I have seen about 4 to 8 Galahs sitting on top of several wattle bushes (Acacia spp) on the side of the road I walk along. They are usually busy eating the seeds. The rising sun catches the brilliant colours of the breast feathers, lighting up the dull green leaves of the bush. On too many occasions I have not had my camera with me.

Yesterday I tried to creep up to get a good photograph. This little flock was very wary and flew off to some nearby mallee trees. I was able to zoom in sufficiently to get a reasonable shot of one of them.



In the paddock opposite there a few more Galahs busily searching for seeds in the grasses in the field. This is a common sight in Australian paddocks. Sometimes the ground seems to turn pink as hundreds of Galahs swoop down to the ground looking for a meal.

Chuffing around

On my morning walks in the hills to the west of Murray Bridge in South Australia I often come across family groups of White Winged Choughs (pronounced "chuffs"). These amusing birds are reasonably common throughout the mallee districts of our state. Their white wings are quite conspicuous when they are in flight.

White Winged Choughs

White Winged Choughs are usually found in family groups of about four or five through to as many as fifteen and sometimes more. They are often seen foraging for food on the ground. We often watch them from our sun room or in our garden as they strut around with an important looking air. It amuses us that they seem to prefer walking to flying. When startled, they fly up to the nearest tree, their rasping alarm calls carrying far. At other times their calls can be mournful whistles.

White Winged Choughs make a large bowl shaped mud nest. Below is a photograph I took this morning in an area where I have often observed several groups of choughs. This particular nest did not seem to be in use at present. It looks quite new and was probably used in the spring time this year (Sept-Nov). Elsewhere I have observed the whole family group building the nest and later co-operatively feeding the young in the nest. Approximate size of the nest is 20-25cm high and 20-25cm wide.

Mud Nest of the White Winged Chough

Lorikeets, Parrots and Wattlebirds

This evening I was attracted by some birds calling outside. I went to investigate, thinking that they were probably Rainbow Lorikeets. I didn't take my camera with me.

Sure enough, I had some good views of two Rainbow Lorikeets in the tree next to our driveway. The seeting sun was lighting up the brilliant colours of one of them. I needed my camera. It was still inside.

I casually walked inside trying not to scare the birds away by sudden movements. On emerging with the camera the lorikeets had disappeared - of course! Instead, I was content to get some very good shots of a Red Wattlebird in the setting sun in the same tree. It almost seemed like he was posing for me.

Red Wattlebird

Perhaps the lorikeets had persuaded him to pose for them, because as I walked inside, they emerged from a nearby tree and flew a sortie overhead, screeching their taunts at me. One day, one day I'll get a good shot of them.

Rainbow Lorikeets are quite common throughout the urban areas of Murray Bridge but we only occasionally see them on our home block on the outskirts of the city. In recent weeks they have been daily visitors. This indicates that there has to be enough plants flowering around here to attract these beautiful, but noisy, birds.

On this morning's walk a had good views of two Elegant Parrots. This beautiful species is widespread in this area but they are not common anywhere. I also saw a single Adelaide Rosella. These are common in the Adelaide region and this is the eastern extent of their range and are uncommon in Murray Bridge. If I'd had my camera with me I would have been able to get an excellent photograph of a Rainbow Bee-eater sitting on a gate in the early morning sun.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow - I'll take my camera on my walk.

Lapwings Living Dangerously

On my way to a friend's place this afternoon my car was "attacked" by an angry Masked Lapwing. I slowed right down to make sure I didn't drive over it.

A few metres from the edge of the road was the reason for all the aggro. A tiny golf ball sized bit of fluff on legs was trying to cross the road. It made it successfully to the other side before another car came along. It too, was attacked by the very defensive parent.

This incident reminds me of a similar sighting over ten years ago. It was at possibly the busiest intersection in Adelaide. For those of you who know Adelaide it was the North Terrace, West Terrace, Port Road intersection. The very brave Masked Lapwing parents were trying desperately to keep their two little ones on the triangular grass medium strip. Trying to cross six or eight lanes of busy Saturday afternoon traffic would not have been a good career move. Of course, I was not able to witness what happened. I had to go with the flow of traffice and not sit there bird watching.

Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia

This morning we travelled down river through Tailem Bend to the small town of Wellington, South Australia. This town is near the end of the River Murray where it flows into Lake Alexandrina. From this lake it flows into the Coorong and out to the Southern Ocean.



Just east of the river at Wellington is the Pangarinda Arboretum. This consists of a plantation of Australian native plants established over a decade ago by local members of the Australian Plant Society (APS). The plantation has been planted in sections to represent different plant regimes from different parts of Australia.



Today's gathering of members of APS was for a special Christmas lunch for members of the three local branches of APS. Members came from the Murray Bridge, Parrakie and Karoonda groups. Also present were members of the family of Ross Foreman who celebrates his 80th birthday tomorrow. Ross and his late wife Pat have been long time members of APS and they have freely given hundreds of volunteer hours of work to the arboretum. After cutting the birthday cake we all moved to another section of the plantation for Ross to open the Foreman Gazebo. This looks over the arboretum to the east and the river to the west.

After the ceremony we all wandered around the plantings looking at the many flowering plants. Some had finished their spring flowering but others, like the banksias, were resplendant in a variety of shapes and colours.



The bird watching was quite good too, with 22 species recorded, despite all the people wandering around. I managed to get some very good flower shots and one good photograph of a thornbill. The following is a list of the birds seen:

White Faced Heron
Pacific Black Duck
Nankeen Kestral
Swamp Harrier
Black Kite
White Ibis
Rock Dove
Peaceful Dove
Crested Pigeon
Galah
Elegant Parrot
Singing Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
Magie Lark
Australian Magpie
Yellow Rumped Thornbill
Common Starling
House Sparrow
Common Blackbird
European Goldfinch
Willie Wagtail

Welcome Swallow

Yellow Rumped Thornbill

One of the members who regularly does volunteer work there reported to me that Zebra Finches had been breeding in the plantation recently.

Morning Walk

I went for an hour long walk early this morning. I hadn't intended making a list of birds I saw and heard but the birding was so good this morning that I recorded a list of all the species seen and heard.

For my regular walks I have five different routes. Two of the walks have been added only in the last eighteen months. Three of the routes I have used regularly for many years. I have bird lists for some of these walks over the last 17 years and this information is entered on a birding database.

The highlight of the walk this morning was to see four Varied Sittellas. This species is widespread in this area but they are not common anywhere. I have recorded them on only a few occasions. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me so I cannot show a picture of one. They behave a little like treecreepers, clinging to the tree branches in all kinds of positions. More experienced ornithologists than me have been quite perplexed as to how these delightful little birds seem to be able to hop underneath a branch - and not fall off. They seem to defy gravity!

Another highlight this morning was to hear several Peaceful Doves. Their soft coo-cooing has an almost ventriloquial quality; it can seem to be coming from a hundred metres away but the bird is actually sitting in the tree above you! I did get a photograph of a Peaceful dove several days ago but it was in too much shadow to see it clearly.

Both of these species are occasional visitors to our garden. It is always a delight to hear and see them so close to our home.

A Happy Birthday

It was my birthday last week. I had a really great day. The weather was perfect at about 25 degrees, a bright cloudless sky and a gentle cooling breeze.

My wife suggested that we go out for lunch. We tried a recently opened restaurant called Pomberuk here in Murray Bridge. It is a part of the Aboriginal Cultural Centre. Downstairs there is a museum telling the story of the local Aboriginal people. There are also many paintings featuring local Aboriginal artists. On one side of the gallery and museum there is a viewing window where you can see chocolates being made in The Cottage Box factory.

Upstairs there is a gift shop and the restaurant. You may choose to eat indoors in the main restaurant or out on the balcony. The restaurant overlooks the River Murray, less than 40 metres away. The birdwatching is great from this vantage point, although some birds may be frightened away a little by the noise coming from both bridges.

The restaurant is situated between two of the the three bridges here in Murray Bridge. Near the CBD there is a road bridge and a separate rail bridge. Several kilometres downstream is the newer Swanport Bridge which serves the road bypass on the Adelaide to Melbourne highway. I was quite surprised how little noise coming from the bridges actually reaches one as you sit on the balcony of the restaurant. The food was delicious. And reasonably priced too.

This photograph show two of the three bridges at Murray Bridge.
The road bridge is in the foreground with the rail bridge is in the background.
Pomberuk is on the right in between these two bridges.

After lunch we drove a little distance downstream and found a shady tree to park under. we sat there for nearly half an hour watching the river flow past. Very relaxing.

Eurasian Coot are a common bird on the Murray River at Murray Bridge.

Here is a list of the birds I saw during that time:

Rock Dove
House Sparrow
Common Starling
Eurasian Coot
Welcome Swallow
Clamorous Reedwarbler
Black Winged Stilt
Black Tailed Native Hen
Silver Gull
Pacific Black Duck
White Plumed Honeyeater
Noisy Miner
Red Wattlebird
Willie Wagtail
Little Raven
Galah
Crested Pigeon
Rainbow Lorikeet
Blackbird
Australian Magpie
Magpie Lark

Noisy Miners belong to the honeyeater family of birds, but this one has taken a liking to some bread left by someone having a picnic.

Galahs on Guard

This morning while out in the garden I saw about eight Galahs fly in quietly and settle on the tall mallee tree near the house. I observed them watching me carefully as I tried not to look too conspicuous as I casually went inside to fetch the camera. they were still there when I came out but were very cautious.

I mananged to get a few shots of them before they flew off squawking in their usual manner. Perhaps they didn't like me pointing something up at them. Maybe they were heading off to join the flock I heard calling in the distance. The flock seemed to be quite large; sometimes they can reach into the hundreds.

The shots I managed are not very good photographs. The sky was overcast and the light conditions very poor. Somewhere in my collection of slides I have a magnificent photograph of a pair of Galahs sitting on the remnant of a tree sticking out of the water in one of the lakes at Hattah-Kulkyne National Park in Victoria. The photo was taken with the last rays of sunlight lighting up the rose coloured feathers. I must find that slide, scan it and post it here.

It is a magnificent sight to see a flock of two to three hundred Galahs all gliding and wheeling through the air in unison, the setting sun lighting up their breast feathers like so many rose coloured beacons flaming against the deep blue Australian sky.

Less attractive are the sneaky groups of half a dozen or so that slip under our radar in the early morning light and proceed to demolish the crop on our almond trees weeks before they are ready to pick. Or the brazen individuals that sit atop the pear trees, nibbling around the stem of each piece of fruit, again, only weeks before they are ripe.

Gluepot Bird Sanctuary - more photographs

I've just been editing some of the photographs I took on my recent visit to Gluepot Bird Sanctuary near Waikerie in South Australia.

On several walks I took and during a long drive through the park on the last day of my visit, I observed that many of the mallee trees were in flower. These flowers act like magnets to the many honeyeater species common in the Australian mallee environment. The most common species attracted by the flowers was the Yellow Plumed Honeyeater.

Yellow Plumed Honeyeater

Yellow Plumed Honeyeaters seemed to be almost everywhere, and very common wherever the mallee was in flower.

Towards the end of my drive through the reserve I stopped to identify two birds feeding on the ground near the roadside. I was delighted to observe a male and female Chestnut Quail-Thrush calmly walking along searching for food in the leaf litter. I managed to photograph both of them but the best shot was of the male.

Chestnut Quail-Thrush

The striking plumage makes for excellent camouflage, but this individual was quite obvious on the bare earth.

In the small hours

I couldn't get to sleep last night. I don't want to go into details. At 2am I decided to get out of bed, check my email (eek, eek, I becoming a geek!), did a little web surfing and then proceeded to do some writing.

At about 3am I heard the unmistakeable call of an Australian Owlet-Nightjar, a small nocturnal owl-like bird common in this area. I have heard this species calling many times here and in other places, especially when out camping. When a neighbour (also a birder) called to me one afternoon several years ago I was able to actually see one for the first time. It was in a tree near their back fence. They are amazingly dainty and much smaller than I had anticipated.

We also have some other nocturnal birds that visit our garden. The most common is the Tawny Frogmouth. we love hearing its call near the house and usually grab a torch to search it out.

From time to time we have also had Barn Owls visit and many years ago a Boobook Owl was heard calling nearby.

Bath time

While we were enjoying our lunch today two Australian Ringneck parrots came to our bird bath. They proceeded to have a very thorough soaking, as the photograph shows.

I guess that they were feeling rather hot. Today is the hottest day we have had since last summer. Spring here in Murray Bridge, South Australia, has been very mild, sometimes even cool with plenty of lovely rain.

Going Botanical

Yesterday my wife and I visited the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens. These gardens in the Mt Lofty Ranges are part of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and are about 15-20 minutes drive from the CBD.

It was a glorious day and just right for a walk through this delightful spot in South Australia. It was about 25 degrees Celcius, clear azure blue sky with a gentle cooling breeze just right for the exertion of walking uphill. These gardens are a feature of the eastern slopes of Mt Lofty, the highest point dominating the Adelaide skyline.

The section we walked through is dominated by extensive planting of Rhondodendrons. These magnificent plants were mostly out in flower and made a dazzling display in the Australian bushland surrounding them.

The forest we walked through was dominated by an introduced bird unfortunately. I love the call of the Common Blackbird, but when it drowns out the calls of our lovely native species it is disappointing. I must have seen and heard over 50 of this species in the hour and a half walk.

Other species included a small flock of Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoos, several Grey Fantails, a single Eastern Spinebill and many Crimson Rosella parrots. In the upper section of the park the only bird I managed to photograph was a Grey Currawong, too busy searching for his afternoon snack under the bark of the nearby trees to worry about my camera clicking away.

After our walk we drove down to the lower section to have afternoon tea in the lakeside picnic grounds. Here I was able to get many good shots of a Black Swan, a single Magpie Lark, several Eurasian Coot, Pacific Black Duck and many Wood Ducks. The Hoary Headed Grebes out in the middle of the lake were too far away to get good photos.

Getting a bit cocky

I had a great delight yesterday morning as I put out our bin for our weekly collection of rubbish. No - putting out the bin is NOT the highlight of my week. It is a neccessary activity once a week before midday every Tuesday.

As I was returning along our driveway I heard the unmistakeable call of a cockatoo. Two in fact. High in the sky to the west of our five acre (2 hectare) block on the outskirts of Murray Bridge I saw two Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoos (YTBC). This was a new species to add to our home list.

YTBCs are widespread across much of South-Eastern Australia. I have seen small flocks of them some 60km to the west in the Mt. Lofty Ranges. I have also recorded a few at Meningie some 80km south of here. I have also seen large flocks of over 100 at Coonalpyn about 90km South-East of here and even larger flocks in the South-East of South Australia. This is my first record of this species in or near Murray Bridge. The habitat is generally not suitable for them. The native pines east of the River Murray may sustain a small population for a limited time but there would be few large nesting hollows present to attract them to breed in this area.

It was a delightful start to the day. Unfortunately they flew over too quickly to get out the camera. To see a photograph and a drawing of this species click here.

Gluepot Bird Sanctuary

It has been quite a while since my last entry. I've been busy and quite often distracted by other things in my life.

A few weeks ago I had my first visit to Gluepot Bird Reserve. This is about 64km north of Waikerie in South Australia. This large tract of mallee bushland used to be a working sheep station. In 1997 the members of Birds Australia purchased the land and have set it aside as a bird reserve. This area has a high concentration of threatened species present and so it has become a very valuable part of Australia's reserves. I was one of the many members who donated funds for its purchase.

The main reason for visiting on this occasion was to attend the very first course held at the reserve. It was a Nature Photography course and was very beneficial. It forced me to become more familiar with my Canon Powershot S2 IS digital camera.

This Grey Butcherbird visited my campsite.

Pity it looked away just as I took the photo!

Gluepot Reserve is a wonderful birding destination. The new Visitor Centre is not only packed with information, it is also a beautiful building. The course I attended was held next door in the shearing shed which had been converted into a lecture hall. The final touches were being made as we arrived for the first session on the Saturday morning.

Gluepot Reserve has many roads which enable the visitor to experience the different environments within the reserve. After rain these roads can become like a "gluepot" hence the name of the station. Bird hides have been placed in strategic places to observe the birds up close.

I only had time to access several of the more than a dozen walking tracks. These tracks take the keen birders deep into the mallee and spinifex country where the birds abound. Several camping grounds enable one to camp right where the birds are common. The camp sites are all set in beautiful scrubland.

My camping spot at Gluepot Reserve.

I was able to add a new species to my Life List; the Black-Eared Miner. This species of honeyeater is nationally threatened but relatively easy to find in parts of Gluepot. Although I missed out on many other species I would like to have seen, such as the Scarlet Chested Parrot, I am determined to return frequently in the future.

On one of my drives on the Monday I was able to get some good photographs of several Bearded Dragons.A Bearded Dragon lizard on the road side at Gluepot.

Australian Ringneck

Working in the garden this afternoon I needed to stop what I was doing to take some photographs of a local species of parrot, the Australian Ringneck (also called Mallee Ringneck). I did not have to go looking for the bird in question. It was almost like it came looking for me! It flew right up to me in our plant nursery and sat on a nearby branch, not more than 3 metres away.

Of course, the camera was in the house, so I tried to casually walk into the house hoping that the ringneck would stay there. It didn't but flew to a tree some 50 metres away. I continued working, all the time watching for the bird to return. I didn't have to wait long. It settled in a tree near the house. I quietly went inside with the camera, planning to use our sun-room as a hide. We have three bird baths about six metres from a large picture window. We have had hundreds of very enjoyable meals watching the parade of birds coming to drink or bathe. Again, a very "good" waste of time, being very relaxing and enjoyable.

Today's visitor was taking quite a deal of interest in the water. After taking some good photos through the window I decided to go outside and see how close I could get to the ringneck. I was able to get to about 3 metres away while the bird came down to the bird-bath and proceed to have a very thorough bath. I managed to get several more excellent photos. I then pressed the video button on the camera and filmed the bird washing and preening for about two minutes. I haven't yet worked out whether I can make this video available on this blog.

Usually we have only two Australian Ringnecks around in the garden. In recent months there have been four, two of them juveniles. They aren't in our garden constantly but rather roam over a wide range of the local environment. We usually love seeing them near to the house like today. When they decide to raid the orchard and nip the buds off the pear and apple trees we get just a tad annoyed - no - angry. We also get no fruit! Today I observed only one bird; I wonder if the other is nesting somewhere?

Little Brown Birds

I have started photographing birds in the wrong way. I have taken on those LBBs (Little Brown Birds) which cause so much angst amongst birders. Some of them are annoyingly difficult to identify, even when conditions seem good.

They are sometimes hard to get good views of even when they sit still. Some of them never seem to sit still for even a second. Then they are too far away to be certain about the ID or they are partly obscured by foliage, twigs or branches. The opposite is sometimes a problem; too close to focus one's binoculars yet too far away for the naked eye!

Our little patch of mallee scrub has an interesting set of LBBs on tap just waiting to annoy me and to engage me in an identification detective trail through several field guides. One species is simple; the Yellow-Rumped Thornbill has a very bright yellow rump displayed prominently as they fly off. The Yellow Thornbill is easily confused with it if the shadows are playing tricks with your eyes; fortunately this species is not resident on our property. It is an occasional visitor.

The Chestnut-Rumped Thornbill, another occasional visitor, should be easy to identify, but this species is easily confused with the Inland Thornbill. Fortunately I've only recorded this latter species on one occasion on our property. Still, it shows that one has to be ever vigilant and not assume anything.

Throw into this mess the smallest LBB of all, the Weebill. It is also Australia's smallest bird. Sometimes the trees around us just burst into song from these delightful little birds. It can seem the the trees themselves are singing. Combine that with the peacefulness of our scrub, the bright sunshine and soft breeze, having to get on with tasks becomes a real challenge in discipline. Much easier to sit back and enjoy the day. Mind you, we sometimes do just that, cuppa in hand. It is a "good" waste of time, our equivalent of taking time to "smell the roses."

Having said all of that I feel reasonably confident that the three photos in today's blog are in fact Weebills. Well, I'm not too sure of the last photo; the bill seems too pointed.

Going cuckoo

I haven't added an entry for several days. I had a busy weekend and the only free time was taken up watching the amazing battle between Australia and England in the Fifth and deciding Ashes Cricket Test. Watching cricket is another of my passions. I often accompany my daughter Rose to the test cricket at the world's most beautiful cricket ground, the Adelaide Oval.

My only observation of note today was hearing a Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo near the house. Try as I might I couldn't even get a glimpse of said cuckoo, never mind attempting to get a photograph. The first cuckoo of the spring I heard about two weeks ago and then only for a few seconds. Today's individual hung around for about an hour.


Spring is well and truly under way here in Murray Bridge. Many birds are busy breeding, native plants are flowering and exotics like roses are sprouting new leaves in profusion. We have a few vines are they are also showing their first leaves. In our small orchard the fruit trees are either in blossom and have buds about to burst. The above photo shows a beautiful Nectarine blossom. The second photograph shows the magnificent bloom of the Grevillea "Winpara Gem", a popular Australian plant.



I have noticed that the Crested Pigeons are not very conspicuous at present. I wonder if they are nesting somewhere? I must have a good snoop around tomorrow. Meanwhile, here is another beautiful photograph of one of the local Crested Pigeons sun-bathing near the house last week.

How sweet it is

I have been trying for several days to capture a New Holland Honeyeater doing their usual gymnastic tricks while feeding. Just before lunch today I managed to get one upside down feeding from a flower in an Eremophila youngii. Eremophilas are commonly called Emu Bushes.


No - I haven't inserted the photograph upside down! It's the bird that is upside down. The curved beaks of the Ausralian honeyeaters are ideally suited to feeding from many of the Australian plants like the Eremophilas, Correas and Prostantheras with their tube shaped flowers.Of course the New Holland Honeyeaters don't have it all to themselves. The Red Wattlebirds also insist on their fair share of the spoils. The above photo shows a Red Wattlebird busy in another eremophila nearby. A few seconds after this photo was taken a New Holland Honeyeater tried to chase the wattlebird away, only to have the tables turned and become the one being chased.
Wattlebirds can be bossy creatures, especially if another bird tries to muscle in on their patch of food. The above photo shows a rare moment in the life of a Red Wattlebird - sitting peacefully on a branch of a Eucalyptus citriodora or Lemon Scented Gum. On closer inspection of the photo I just realised that this individual is keeping the above eremophila plant under surveillance.

My new interest in butterflies continues unabated. I didn't realise how many butterflies we have around our garden until I started quietly stalking them, camera poised. Today I managed several reasonable shots of the Vanessa kershawi or the Australian Painted Lady butterfly. We have at least two other species common in our garden, but I have yet to get a good shot of them. I know of at least two other species that have visited in the past but I haven't seen them for several years.

Here's another challenge I could set myself. Try to get some photos of the dragonflies we have around here! Then I could move on to other insects, such as ants and beetles. And what about caterpillars? Oh, and then we have quite a selection of reptiles, including Brown Snakes (which are very dangerous so I don't want to get too close; the zoom lens will help there).

As for lizards, they are on the move already. I have included a photo taken yesterday of a Stumpy-Tailed Lizard (also called a Shingleback). We have quite a few individuals on our little estate. I haven't seen any young Stumpy-Tails for a few months. We did see several in the autumn months. We enjoy seeing them come to one of the bird baths for a drink. The Aussie expression "flat out like a lizard drinking" is so apt. To illustrate how common this species is in the Murray Bridge area, our local poetry competition is called "The Stumpies". I'll try to get a link to details of this award.

We also have a range of geckoes and skinks on our land, all of them quite beautifully marked and would make wonderful photographs to include in this journal. Then we have the following mammals present (or occasional visitors): Western Grey Kangaroo, Common Brushtail Possum, Short-Beaked Echidna, Brown Hare*, European Rabbit*, House Mouse*, Black Rat*, Red Fox* and feral cat*(*introduced). I am sure we probably also have four or five species of bats but I've only indentified the Western Broad-Nosed Bat.

Mmmm... methinks I've opened a can of worms here!

Worms???
How photogenic are worms??

PS. I'm so pleased I do not have to buy film for this new camera.

Golden moments

Every now and then one has a Golden Moment in birdwatching. Several weeks ago I had the delight of close views of a male Golden Whistler. How the bright colours lit up the winter gloom. This particular bird has been an irregular visitor throughout the winter months. More recently I have seen the female several times.



In my excitement, however, I didn't take the time to focus the camera as sharply as I would like. Consequently, these shots are not of the quality I would like. The bird was moving around quite a bit too, and this only made the task even more difficult.



Despite these problems and difficulties, these photos do should how brilliantly the male Golden Whistler lights up the Australian bush. Add to this visual delight is the lovely rich call of all the whistler family. We also have occasional visits by Rufous Whistlers. Another great songbird is the Grey Shrike-Thrush. We are so grateful that we have a resident breeding pair near our home. In recent years they have nested inside an empty plastic plant pot in Corinne's plant nursery shed!

Magging with Magpies

Australian Magpie

Corinne and I were sitting outside enjoying the lovely spring weather while we ate our lunch. Bright cloudless sky, gentle breeze and about 20C. It doesn't get much better than this. Someone has to be out there watching our wonderful Australian birds.

Our local Australian Magpies are currently nesting. They refurbished the nest they used last year. In so many parts of Australia we would be cautious about going anywhere near an occupied nest for fear of being swooped. We are very pleased that "our" magpies have always been very friendly. In over 20 years of living here I've only ever been swooped once; that was my fault for attempting to imitate a magpie's call. (I must have used a swear word or some other indelicate phrase.)

Australian Magpie

Australian Magpie

I have been frustrated in recent weeks about not being able to get any really decent photos of the local magpies. They did not present any good opportunities for good shots - until lunch today. I included several of the shots taken today.

Read more about Australian Birds here.