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.