Crested Tern, Sturt Reserve

This Crested Tern was resting on a small jetty at Sturt Reserve on the River Murray in my home town of Murray Bridge in South Australia recently.

Crested Terns are common, sometimes in large numbers, in suitable habitat throughout Australia.

For more photos and information about Australian Birds, visit my other birding site, Trevor's Birding here.

Australian Pelican, Sturt Reserve

The Australian Pelican is only member of this family present in Australia. It is an elegantly beautiful bird, a favourite of many people and common throughout the country where there is suitable habitat.

These photos were taken earlier this year at Sturt Reserve in Murray Bridge, South Australia.

For more photos and information about Australian birds go to my other site Trevor's Birding here.

Silver Gulls at Sturt Reserve

The common gull here in Australia is the Silver Gull, shown in today's photos. These photos were taken at Sturt Reserve which is on the River Murray in my home town of Murray Bridge in South Australia.

When the birding is slow and there are a few Silver Gulls hanging around, I like to hone my photographic skills on them. They are such obliging subjects; besides, I like the look of them.

For more information about Australian birds go to my other site Trevor's Birding here. 

Darter at Sturt Reserve

I recently took a break from my writing and spent a little while at Sturt Reserve, a public picnic area next to the River Murray in my home town of Murray Bridge in South Australia.

While there were quite a few birds around, the one which caught my eye in particular was this Darter drying its wings on a log near the bank of the river. While this species is widespread in Australia, I have found it not to be common anywhere.

For more about Australian birds go to Trevor's Birding here.

White-bellied Sea-eagle, Taronga Zoo

White-bellied Sea-eagle, Taronga Zoo, Sydney

On many trips interstate over recent years we have visited our son and his family in Sydney where he works. On some of those occasions we have made a point of visiting the wonderful Taronga Zoo. It has to be one of my favourite zoos, and only a short drive from my son's home.

A feature of this zoo is the Bird Show, held twice daily and featuring some of Australia's wonderful birds. While this show is intended to be an educational event, it is also highly entertaining - and popular. (Hint: get to the amphitheatre at least 10-15 minutes before the scheduled starting time. After that it is standing room only.)

One of the birds featuring during one of our visits was the White-bellied Sea-eagle shown in today's photo. As you can see, it is an awe inspiring bird.

For more photos and information about Australian Birds, check out my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Chestnut Teal

Chestnut Teal

Of all the Australian ducks, the Chestnut Teal (above) is one of our more colourful members. The male is shown in the photo; the female is a duller brown colour.

Chestnut Teal can be found in suitable habitat throughout south eastern Australia. Although I have seen this species in many places, I have not recorded it in large numbers anywhere. That could just mean I'm not looking in the right places, or I'm not going birding enough.

For more about Australian Birds, check out Trevor's Birding.

Australian Wood Ducks

Australian Wood Ducks

Despite being a relatively dry continent throughout most of the country, we do have a good range of ducks and many wetlands where suitable habitat exists to maintain good numbers of waterbirds.

One of the more common species is the Australian Wood Duck shown in today's photo. Don't confuse this with the Wood Duck of North America; quite a different species.

Australian Wood Ducks are found along waterways, lakes, rivers, swamps and also in parks, gardens, ovals and any grassy areas where they can graze on the grass. They are often found in close association with people and are a common sight in picnic grounds.

For more information about Australian Birds, check out my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Duck

The Pacific Black Duck is one of the most common ducks in Australia. They are widespread throughout the country in suitable habitat. They can be seen small numbers - from one or two to about a dozen or so - through to loose flocks of many hundreds in one place. They are highly mobile and respond quickly to ideal conditions after heavy rain or flooding in different parts of the country.

For more reading about Australian Birds, check out my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Coot

Australia may be a very dry continent but we do have many wetlands, especially in the wetter parts of the country such as the tropical north, the eastern and southern coast and most of Tasmania. Wherever you get wetlands - creeks, rivers, swamps, lagoons, lakes and estuaries - you will find waterbirds.

One of the most common water birds in Australia is the Eurasian Coot, common in many other parts of the world as well. They can occur where there is suitable habitat: sometimes just a few individuals through to many thousands congregated loosely on a single body of water. They also frequent the shorelines, especially in grassy areas like that shown in the photo above.

For more about Australian Birds, go to my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Long-billed Corellas in the Adelaide Hills

Long-billed Corellas in the Mt Lofty Ranges

One of my favourite places to go birding is at the Laratinga Wetlands on the eastern edge of the town of Mt Barker here in South Australia. These artificial wetlands were constructed over a decade ago to deal with the town's waste water. Many plantings around the wetlands assure birders of a good range of bush birds in addition to the many water birds which have moved in.

On a visit some time ago I saw a small flock of Long-billed Corellas in one of the larger trees near the wetlands. This is an unusual sighting because the Little Corella is far more abundant in the Mt Lofty Ranges when compared with the Long-billed. That makes this photo even more interesting.

You can read more about Australian birds on Trevor's Birding.

A mean looking cockatoo

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo from Australia

A few months ago I was driving through the streets of Adelaide when I saw a small flock of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos low down in a street tree. I stopped and whipped out the camera. The birds obligingly posed for me while I took a few photos. This one was very curious about what I was doing with my camera. With a beak like that I'm sure he was wanting to take a chuck out of my finger.

Or perhaps he was just curious and meant me no harm.

Read more about Australian birds on my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo of Australia

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo of Australia

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo of Australia is a beautiful bird and much loved as a pet. It is quite an accomplished mimic and some have mastered an interesting and varied vocabulary.

In the natural environment they are locally very common, gathering in large raucous flocks. Wild birds can be very destructive, chewing the woodwork around houses and other buildings.

The two shown in today's photo were investigating a tree hollow in Burnside, a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia.

For more photos of Australian Birds, check out my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo of Australia

Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo of Australia

The Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo of Australia is a truly spectacular bird. I've seen this species in flocks of many hundreds and it is quite an unforgettable experience. This is one of the larger species of Australian parrot and is locally common in some areas but threatened in other parts of its range.

The photograph above is of a trained bird which is a part of the Bird Show at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

For more information and photos of Australian Birds, go to my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Spectacular Red-tailed Black-cockatoo of Australia

Red-tailed Black-cockatoo of Australia

The Red-tailed Black-cockatoo of Australia is a truly spectacular bird. Not only is it large and noisy, its colours are also amazing.

I've only seen this species in the natural environment on a handful of occasions. This photograph was taken during the Bird Show at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney a few years ago.

To read more about Australian birds, go to my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Golden-headed Cisticola

Golden-headed Cisticola

Golden-headed Citicolas are sometimes not easy to see, and challenging to photograph. Their preferred habitat in Australia is in long grass, reeds and tussocks in swampy areas near water. From time to time they will fly high up into the air and then glide down to the safety of cover again.

With the bird shown in the photograph above, I was lucky that it posed out in the open in full sunlight for long enough for me to zoom in and shoot it.

For more reading about Australian Birds, go to my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Grey Butcherbirds of Australia

Grey Butcherbird

One of the birds we often have in our garden here in South Australia is the Grey Butcherbird. Many of the smaller birds, like the honeyeaters and thornbills, set up quite a racket when the butcherbird flies in. Although they eat plenty of insects and small reptiles, Butcherbirds are also quite happy to take the young of many species of birds.

I like having them around because of their beautiful, far-reaching call which is strong and melodious.

You can learn more about Australian birds on my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Australian Brolga

The Brolga is a large long-legged bird found across northern and eastern Australia. It is a member of the crane family of birds. It stands up to 140cm tall.

The bird in the photo above was a part of the Bird Show at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

For more about Australian birds go to my other site, Trevor's Birding.

White-browed Babblers

White-browed Babbler

I am always amused with the antics of the Australian bird species, the White-browed Babbler. These comical birds hop around in our garden, mewing like cats and scattering leaf litter in all directions as they search for something delicious to eat.

Instead of flying from one spot in the garden to another, they often prefer to hop. They can hop really fast too, covering ten metres in a few seconds. They chase each other around bushes and call to each other constantly.

To read more about Australian birds go to my other site, Trevor's Birding.

Australian Pelican

Australian Pelican

In Australia we only have one species of pelican, as shown in the photo above. It is the Australian Pelican and it is a widespread bird species throughout the country, wherever suitable habitat occurs - such as rivers, swamps, lagoons, lakes, estuaries and sometimes the open sea near to shore.

Although they can sometimes seen on small groups or even just one or two, they can also be found in loose flocks of many dozens, especially if the fishing is good.

Read more about Australian birds here.

New Holland Honeyeaters

New Holland Honeyeaters are very common in our garden. They outnumber most of the other bird species, with the possible exception of House Sparrows. They love coming to our bird baths for a drink - or a splash in the water. They also enjoy the many native Australian bushes and trees in our garden. In the spring and summer they nest in various places around the garden.

For more articles about Australian birds, go to my other site Trevor's Birding.