Another visitor to sip nectar

Watching the birds feeding on the mistletoe while we were having our morning coffee when I noticed an infrequent arrival to partake in the nectar feast.

A Red Wattlebird anthochaera carunculata which was our most common honeyeater visitor to our Sydney garden, but only occasionally visiting here where the Little Wattlebird is our largest resident honeyeater.

the Red Wattlebird is around the same size as the Noisy Friarbird and it showed as much aggression to chase them off when they tried to encroach on its patch of mistletoe.

They range from southern Queensland through to southern Western Australia but not Tasmania where the large Yellow Wattlebird is endemic.

Mistletoe attraction

The spotted gum Eucalyptus maculata that is just across the driveway from our deck is quite loaded with mistletoe Dendrophthoe vitellina in full flower and as I posted previously the lorikeets have been flocking to feed on the flowers. The Scaly Breasted are still arriving everyday but now Noisy Friarbirds Philemon corniculatus have also discovered the abundant nectar supply.

True to their name they arrive and setup a cacophony of calling as they squabble over the perceived best bunch of flowers although the next bunch looks exactly the same. Being so raucous and rather large honeyeaters they do tend to dominate, with the other birds getting in when there is a vacant space.

  

 

Sad ending

A loud bang awoke us this morning and on investigation found a Wompoo Fruit Dove dead on our deck, as a result of flying into a window. Doves being large birds with slender necks seem to be common casualties of window crashes, where as many smaller birds get dazed and after a short while fly off. The Wompoo Fruit Dove Ptilinopus magnificus is a species of the rainforest and their margins and this was the first that I have seen on our property, a great disapointment that I was not photographing a live bird. They are absolutly beautiful even out shining many parrots.

 

Tree snake branching out

For the past few days we have had a tree snake spending time on the branches of an acacia that is under our deck. It moves out into the sun in the morning and as the temperature goes up  retreats back into the cooler area in the shadow of the deck.

It is that time of year snakes are on the move and this week we have seen a red-belly black snake, a very young diamond python and yellow-faced whip snakes in addition to this tree snake.

The colouring in the Common Tree Snake Dendrelaphis punctulatis is very variable from the olive colouring on the back as this one shows to a bright green with bright blue spots but most have the bright yellow belly colouring. Being non poisonous they are a harmless snake and a real treasure for us to have as a garden visitor.