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. 

Hi there honey - encounters with honeyeaters

We are not short of honeyeaters in Murray Bridge. They are common everywhere in this district and are probably the most common bird in most people's gardens. Other species may outnumber them along the river or in the farming areas. For example, Straw-Necked Ibis numbers along the dairying flats are very numerous. I have seen flocks of over 400 on many occasions. Flocks of Galahs of that size are also evident, especially where wheat is cultivated. Along the parks and trees lining the River Murray large flocks of Little Corella can also be seen on occasions.

White-plumed honeyeater

In the gardens, however, the honeyeater species tend to dominate. We do have some Noisy Miners in the area but they are not (yet) the dominant species they seem to be in other parts of Australia. In the Murray Bridge district New Holland Honeyeaters probably outnumber all other species of honeyeater. Red Wattlebirds are also very common as are White-plumed Honeyeaters.
Last Monday we went to visit my wife's mother. She lives in a retirement village, Murraylands. Part of the complex opposite her unit is a plantation of native Australian plants, established 20 years ago and maintained by the local members of the Australian Plant Society. The local group is in recess due to lack of members, Corinne (my wife) is the immediate past-president and I am also a past-president.

While Corinne was collecting cuttings for propagation I was taking photographs of various flowers for her. (I have included several photos at the end of this posting.) There were many birds in the locality, including a number of White-plumed Honeyeaters. Two of them came close to investigate what I was doing, so I took several photographs. I was basically shooting into the sun so the photos are not candidates for "Best of Show" in an exhibition. They turned out quite dark so I have enhanced them to show them here. I only include them here because of the unusual stance of the birds.

White-plumed honeyeater

The first photo (above) shows one bird looking straight down at me. The eyes are what caught my attention. It's a rather bizarre view of a bird. The second photo shows the other bird's response to the focussing beep on my camera. It obviously heard the soft beep as I focussed. Pity about the lack of colour.

The native plant garden at Murraylands Homes is about an acre in size. It includes a wide range of Australian plants, including eucalypts, wattles, grevilleas, correas, eremophilas, callistemons and many others. Below I have included a selection of the shots I took.

Correa reflexa "Sellick's Beach"

Grevillea "Winpara sunrise"

Alyogyne huegelli (Native hibiscus)

Raven about butterflies

Yesterday we sat outside in the beautiful spring sunshine to eat our lunch. The temperature hovered around a very pleasant 20C. The gentle breeze and the deep blue sky contrasted with the frenetic activity of birds all around. Our patch of earth may only measure two hectares, but we have 30 to 35 species of birds resident with another 70 or so occasional visiting species. The constant stream of species keeps us interested in the changing patterns of activity.

Breeding is in full swing, including Australian Magpie (white backed), New Holland Honeyeater, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Crested Pigeon, Red Wattlebird, Little Raven, House Sparrow and Common Starling. And that's only the species I am aware of; there are undoubtedly several others secretly nesting in some tree or bush somewhere.

Little Raven

As we ate I had the digital camera at the ready. I was not disappointed. Several Little Ravens came to visit the "lookout tree", a tall, old mallee tree near the house. This tree is probably the oldest on our property and could be over a century old. Several years ago several Galahs took a liking to a hollow branch. They ring-barked the trunk just below the hollow thus killing the upperhalf of the tree. It now serves as a "lookout" perch for a wide range of species, including the ravens.

As my wife and I finished our lunch my attention was attracted to a butterfly. This conveniently landed on a nearby flowering bush. It, too, stayed for lunch, giving me the opportunity to photograph this beautiful creature. Later in the evening I was able to research Australian butterflies on the internet. I discovered several wonderful web sites on Australian butterflies, including an excellent one specifically on South Australian species.

(check out http://users.chariot.net.au/~rgrund)

Australian Admiral butterfly

I think I've discovered a new love. The species in question is Vanessa itea or the Australian Admiral butterfly. I know this Blog is supposed to be about birds but I can't resist being diverted occasionally. It's my Blog and I'll include what I like. To this end I've included several photos of the butterfly.

Australian Admiral butterfly

New Holland Honeyeaters

New Holland Honeyeaters are a common Australian bird, especially in parks and gardens. Good views of them can be easily had as they flit to and fro from bush to bush. Sometimes they even sit still enough for good views of their beautiful markings. On rare occasions they even sit long enough to capture a photograph!

This stunning photograph was taken a few days ago while looking over our neighbour's fence. The bird posed long enough for me to take several shots. The green object it is perched on is the handle of a small hand operated plough. Our neighbour has several old farm implements in his front garden.

New Holland Honeyeater

Over the years I have been interested in the occurrence of New Holland Honeyeaters in our garden. They are probably the most numerous and widespread species of honeyeater in the Murray Bridge region. In the first 15 years of us living here they were only occasional visitors to our garden and patch of mallee scrub. I have kept monthly records of all birds seen on our property since January 1985. My database of bird observations (BirdInfo) shows a sudden increase of observations in late 1998. From that time to the present New Holland Honeyeaters have been the predominant honeyeater species here.

Other species of honeyeaters recorded here include:

New Holland Honeyeater

Red Wattlebird: resident, breeding species.
White-plumed Honeyeater (resident, breeding)
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (resident, breeding)
Striped Honeyeater (occasional visitor, one breeding record)
White-eared Honeyeater (occasional visitor)
Yellow-plumed Honeyeater (occasional visitor)
Singing Honeyeater (resident, breeding)
Brown-Headed Honeyeater (resident, breeding).

One possible explanation of this change is the maturing of many of the native Australian plants we have planted over the years. Our property is now far more bird welcoming than, say 15 years ago.

Everything is quite ducky

As I awoke this morning I was aware of quacking noises outside.

Now, although we live in Murray Bridge which is situated on the Murray River, Australia's longest river, our property is a good five kilometres from the river.

The quacking persisted. Those ducks are here again, I thought. Pacific Black Ducks are common in this area and are not restricted to just the river itself. It is not usual to find them in parks and gardens. Two, sometimes three, are regular visitors to our own garden.

Pacific Black Duck

"Our" ducks have taken a liking to our in-ground swimming pool (affectionately known as "the swamp" - look at the photos and you will know why). Almost daily they visit for a swim or just to laze by the poolside. They don't seem to mind how frosty it gets here in winter, poolside is the place to be.


Last year they slipped a surprise under our radar. Before we knew it, we were the adopted "grandparents" of six ducklings. Sadly, their parents abandoned them. We quickly discovered that raising little ducklings is not a skill one acquires overnight. They were far too weak, cold, wet and hungry when we took over as substitute parents.

My first Blog entry

I am a first time Blogger. This is my very first entry having successfully stepped through the setup process.

I am reasonably familiar with the world of blogging because I regularly read the blogs of my daughter Rose in England and son Simon in Sydney (when he's home), mainly to keep up with what they are doing and where in the world they are!

I plan to include recent interesting sighting of birds in and around our garden and property on the fringe of the rural city of Murray Bridge in South Australia. Our home is situated on 5 acres (2 hectares) of land. We have about two acres of mallee scrub and have planted several thousand trees and small plants on the rest.

I will also include reports on any trips I take here in South Australia and in other parts of Australia - and overseas when that happens. I also hope to include photos of birds (and other interesting things) taken with my new digital camera, a Canon Powershot S2 IS. The 12x zoom facility is great for birds shots.

Crested Pigeon in our garden

It has been raining steadily here all morning so we are confined to the indoors. The bird life has been very quiet during the rain, but when I went to check the rain gauge a few minutes ago I observed five rather wet Crested Pigeons on a nearby power line. Sometimes I have observed up to 30 or 40 of these beautiful birds all perched on the power-lines that run along the side of our property. Here is a photo of a Crested Pigeon taken yesterday. It was quietly sunning itself near the house. I was able to sneak up to within about 4 metres from it.

Mistletoebird in our garden

Yesterday I also managed to get a good shot of a male Mistletoe Bird. These delightful little birds are quite common around here and are frequent visitors to our garden. About 15 years ago this was the first species I recorded nesting in a plant we had planted on this property.