Monday 24 September 2018

Outside my window

Working on my computer this morning when I looked up to see a pair of Pardalotes just outside the window perched on the stem of the bamboo palm. They were quite happy to stay for some photos although through the window with not ideal light meant lots of focus and movement problems but a few shots were OK.


Pardalotes are flower peckers and spend most of the time in the tree tops but it is breeding time and they build their nests in tunnels in earth banks, tree hollows and even hanging flower baskets. There are a number of species in Australia but the two that I have seen here are the Spotted Pardalote or this one the Striated Pardalote this form being Pardalotus ornatus also called the Eastern Striated Pardalote ranging down the coastal forests from mid Queensland, NSW and Victoria. They are quite tiny birds and very attractive and I always look forward to this time of year when they are visiting. When they are in the trees one of the give aways to their presence is the pecking as they attack scale and lerp insects on the leaves of eucalyptus.
They spent some time during the day back and forth to the palm and at time some activity took place, stretching wings and fluttering which I expect was mating display.

 

Sunday 23 September 2018

Photo shy

Managed to get a photo today of a bird that we see quite often I have found very difficult to get close enough for a photo although I have posted a couple of photos of young birds that are not as shy.


This is the male Satin Bower-Bird Ptilinorhynchus violaceus and this was the only photo I could get as he moved around from tree to tree and generally keeping within the foliage.The males develop their full satin plumage after about 7 years and the iridescent blackish blue colouring gives the bird its common name where as the female has brown and green plumage as do the juvenile birds.
The Satin Bower-Bird male along with a number of others in the bower bird family builds a bower to impress the female, his consists of walls of sticks and grasses curving over an avenue which he decorates with berries, flowers and found objects. The Satin Bower Bird is partial to blue so blue clothes pegs, pen covers, bottle tops etc are often found in the bower.




Nesting is not in the bower but a cup shaped nest in the branches of a tree which the female tends. Where I have had difficulty getting close a number of our neighbours who feed birds have no trouble as the birds will come to the feeding tray for the fruit that is placed out for them. They are notorious for stripping the fruit trees and at present they are busy in our orchard picking strawberry guavas and cumquats, but we have plenty to share.


(on a recent trip to the Northern Territory I took photos of the Great Bower-Bird that favours white ornaments to decorate its large bower)



Monday 10 September 2018

All the colours

My ears picked up a bird call that was not usual at our location so I grabbed the camera and went to see if I could locate the caller. My luck was in, as it did not take any time to find my photo subject. On our powerline a Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus was perched ready to swoop on any insects flying by.


The tail streamer is an immediate indicator to it being a male and then I noticed the female a bit further away on a eucalyptus branch.


I have seen Rainbow Bee-eaters in our area occasionally but this pair was the first I have seen on our property.
Of the 24 species of Bee-eaters in the Merops Genus found worldwide, the Rainbow Bee-eater is the only one found in Australia. Found in all states other than Tasmania, they are migratory spending the winter months in the north and into New Guinea, Indonesia and as far as the Solomon Islands. 

As the name suggests they do have bees as a favourite food source but also wasps and other insects are taken on the wing.