A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

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tarkineus
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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

What a coincidence - I logged in to post a Musk Lorikeet only to find that "lefti" had beaten me to the draw!
With a clear blue sky this morning after weeks of greyness I headed for the scrub once more, to sight and capture my very first Musk Lorikeet that I had never seen before.

DenisWilson
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Great shots, Tark
Denis

lefti
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And I'm from Tassie as well!!

tarkineus
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Thanks Dennis. And what was so interesting about this bird is that it must have been poaching on the Rosellas' patch because a flock of them attacked until it finally flew away. Did you ever read The Territorial Imperative?

Regards, "Tark" - Olympus 4/3rds colour

Tassie

Nice shots, thanks for sharing.

GeorgeP
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Nice shots, tark. I've never been able to get as close to this species, even though they are quite common here. Must be a young(ish) bird because it lacks the blue crown.

Cheers,

George
Melbourne, VIC

tarkineus
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Tassie, thanks mate.
.
Thanks George, I wasn't all that close either, about 20m I guess. I noticed the missing blue crown when I looked it up in the book. Hope I get to see a more of them. The Eastern Rosellas are in plague proportions here in Hobart.

Regards, "Tark" - Olympus 4/3rds colour

smeedingo2
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HI Tark
I hear them and the little lorikeet in the tops of the trees but can't get a photo. TOP SHOTS.

Birdgirl2009
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Great shots. We have had them here a few times in the gum trees and when the bottlebrushes are flowering

tarkineus
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dingo and Birdgirl, thanks again for looking. Yes, can get frustrating when you can hear but not see them ... sometimes I wonder if they play hide and seek with us. And sis, I think they are migratory birds that visit Tassie seasonally, yet I don't understand why they do so, perhaps you can tell me?

Regards, "Tark" - Olympus 4/3rds colour

Birdgirl2009
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Hi Tark
My Reader's Digest complete book of Australian birds says that they are nomadic. It also says they are primarily nectar- and pollen-feeders, so I guess they follow the flowering trees. Their normal distribution is south-eastern Aust., incl. Tas

tarkineus
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Thanks sis, maybe they just like a change of scenery, yet that must bring them into confrontation with many other species like the Rosellas that I saw attacking my bird. I guess that flowering trees would bloom much around the same time in the southern states, slightly later in Tassie perhaps.

Regards, "Tark" - Olympus 4/3rds colour

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