Hello...from SE burbs of Melbourne

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lgh68
lgh68's picture
Hello...from SE burbs of Melbourne

Hi there,  I am new to BIBYs, though I have used this site to ID various birds that frequent our local wetlands (AKA glorified stormwater drainage system) for a few years now.

My husband and I have both enjoyed spotting new birds while out bike riding with our 3 daughters (10,12 & 13) and photographing them is something we also aspire to. We have seen about 85 different birds (not counting sparrows, starlings or indian mynas) just in our local area...not bad considering its really very suburban. I never would have guessed that number before we actually started paying attention.

Due to illness (cancer for me) we have not done much in the past 12 months, but I'm slowly feeling better and I was inspired to join up today because we have a pair of spotted pardalotes paying us daily visits at the moment.

Once my hubby was very excited as right in our backyard there was a whited faced heron...I was LESS excited because it was eating our pond fish!

The most interesting bird we've spotted IN our actual backyard was probably a New Holland Honey Eater...and the Spotted Pardalotes. So very pretty.

My husbands favorite bird is the Superb Fairy Wren,  and we love seeing the birds in flight at Healesville Sanctuary...always a test of your camera skills.

Whenever we go anywhere on holidays (not often enough!) we enjoy seeing the local birds and taking their mug-shots too.

So, hello to everyone!

Lisa

kathiemt
kathiemt's picture

Hi Lisa, and welcome. What part of the SE burbs are you in? I'm in Selby and full well understand your excitement about the birds. I was using this site for ID'ing birds long before I joined the forum too.  I also have experienced similar to you about a pond - I had that happen in Cheltenham and I was not impressed!  We shifted to the Hills area 3 years ago and love it here.

Look forward to seeing some of your shots. So glad you have bird spotting and photography to help you during your recovery time. There is something very therapeutic about bird photography. I lead a very busy hectic life and going out birding is my time out. So is processing the photos afterwards - my reward at the end of a long busy day. laugh

Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
 

sue818
sue818's picture

Hi Lisa,welcome. I also am new to the site and live on the lower north shore of Sydney. You are very lucky to have a pair of pardalotes coming to visit as they are such a beautiful bird. Good luck with the recovery and spend more time at Healesville... seems a good name and the birds are wonderful. Sue

lgh68
lgh68's picture

Thank you...I am in Hampton Park. 

A recent visit to the Australian Garden at Cranbourne, 10 kms away, rewarded us with several sightings of New Holland Honey eaters.

Mostly we spot birds in our local wetlands.

Bird list so far... (numbers are my camera refs)

CHESTNUT TEAL (DUCK) dsc03804 dsc04998 dsc08226

PACIFIC BLACK DUCK  dsc03854 dsc06007

MALLARD X PACIFIC BLACK DUCK (GREEN BILL, RED FEET) ?

AUSTRALIAN WOOD (MANED) DUCK dsc03850 dsc08278

HARDHEAD (DUCK)  dsc05002 dsc07709

WHITE FACED HERON dsc03883 dsc08472 dsc04468

LITTLE EGRET dsc07179 dsc07557

GREAT EGRET  dsc05297 dsc4470

WHITE (SACRED) IBIS dsc06437

STRAW NECKED IBIS  dsc03943 dsc03572

LITTLE PIED CORMORANT dsc06370

PIED CORMORANT dsc08197

LITTLE BLACK CORMORANT dsc09414

BLACK SWAN dsc04966 dsc07504 dsc08238

PELICAN (AUSTRALIAN) dsc09407

SILVER GULL dsc08370

PURPLE SWAMP HEN dsc03892

DUSKY MOOR HEN dsc05882 dsc07717 dsc05276

EURASIAN COOT dsc05703

MASKED LAPWING dsc03874

AUSTRALASIAN GREBE  dsc05015 dsc05833

BLACK WINGED STILT dsc05603

RED KNEED DOTTEREL dsc05535

BLACK FRONTED DOTTEREL dsc08224

SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER dsc05732 dsc05892

NOISY MINER

BLACKBIRD

COMMON (INDIAN) MYNA

HOUSE SPARROW img0234

RED WATTLEBIRD dsc04941

EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH dsc04933

WHITE PLUMED HONEYEATER

NEW HOLLAND HONEYEATER dsc07591

WILLIE WAGTAIL dsc03886

AUSTRALIAN MAGPIE dsc09167

MAGPIE-LARK

WELCOME SWALLOW dsc05580

SPOTTED TURTLE DOVE dsc04196

ROCK DOVE (FERAL PIGEON)

AUSTRALIAN RAVEN dsc04170

CRESTED PIGEON dsc03616

SPOTTED PARDALOTE

BLACK SHOULDERED KITE dsc03840 dsc03880

GALAH dsc03618

CORELLA dsc04113

SULPHUR CRESTED COCKATOO dsc00889

RED RUMPED PARROT dsc04192

Looking at this list,  I think there are a few AWOL..must find some time to review.

kathiemt
kathiemt's picture

wow, what a list and how organised you are!  I hadn't thought to do that. Think I might wink

Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
 

darinnightowl
darinnightowl's picture

Hi Lisa 
Hope you stick around to tell us more about the birds you see. As you have found out there are a few feathers that can be ruffled, and they will carry on like a magpie, because you have wandered into their territory .
 I am new myself and most of the flock is gregarious   So enjoy!
One more thing ,I missed the pic's 

See it!  Hear it!

Mid-North Coast NSW

lgh68
lgh68's picture

Thanks Darinnightowl.  Is there some kind of gallery of pictures here somwhere...I see the threads of "Best Pictures" but its not the easiest to navigate. Obviously I don't understand forum etiquette so I am a bit reticent about posting and getting it all wrong (again).  

My picture was a Spotted Pardalote...I'll add it here..hope that is OK.

PS: Am I supposed to put a copyright tag on my pictures?

darinnightowl
darinnightowl's picture

Lisa 
Pacman is your man  ( Peter ) for step by step on how to post photos as he has help me and others. Anyway  Nice photo of spotted Pardalote  or  you can post it on my post about flowerpecker     Pardalote  just so other Birdo can see different between two.

See it!  Hear it!

Mid-North Coast NSW

kathiemt
kathiemt's picture

Gorgeous shot Lisa. Some of us do have watermarks on our images - not too in your face, and others don't. It's up to you.

Re uploading, you seem to have got it worked out. I have all my images loaded at flickr.com and just enter the URL of each individual image for uploading.  Some use other image galleries like photobucket, etc.

Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
 

cathshane

Hi Lisa, looking forward to some of your photos. Cranbourne gardens is a great place we go there quite a bit. We are actually neighbours so to speak. We are in the same suburb. Glad to hear your feeling better. I dont think i would be too happy about a heron in my backyard either as we have a pond as well lol.

sue818
sue818's picture

What a beautiful shot. Well done. They are such lovely birds but most of my attempts seem to catch them from below or behind! I look forward to seeing more from you. Sue

kiger
kiger's picture

Hi there SE Melburnian..

 I live on the Mornington Peninsula (way down..!) 

Was nice to read of you familys' experience & the awareness you are fostering with your children for native birdlife.

My father & uncle also fostered this interest in myself at a young age & I am amazed by what I see in both urban & park areas when I really "look!".

I originally come from central-western NSW a lovely place called COWRA (can look up there community on here..)-there i knew all the different species of birds, mainly due to my parents & family regularly going off the beaten track on bushwalks. Of course these occasions would be regularly interrupted by stops to observe different birds & identify plants native to the area.

 This area is a new challenge as there are a lot of bird species unfamiliar to myself!..

 I am currently trying to stop a large, vacant block behind my unit from being completely cleared to make way for 9 new units/dwellings'. Due to the incredible amount of plants & trees there attracting vast native bird varieties-along with all the usual offenders;sparrows, noisy minor' etc.

Currently i am trying to track down a local listing of the birds closer to my area (rosebud west) in an attempt to show the local council just what will be lost, sigh.....!!!  (putting up a few token trees after the project will hardly balance the situation out, in my humble opinion.) There is also rare local skink lizards which reside in there which will also be lost. The developers/constituents claim that an independent aborists' report consider all the trees old & in bad condition. I honestly, do not share that view-they look fine to me. The birds seem to think so, also.

Sorry to hear about your health problems. Take it easy & look after yourself! And keep enjoying those precious outings with your children/family.

Kylie.

kathiemt
kathiemt's picture

Would be interesting to know who the arborists are or if they're actually just arborists connected to the developer and not really independent?  I run the Secretariat for the Victorian Tree Industry Organisation Kylie and I'm sure there will be members down in your direction if you're looking for someone who is truly independent in that regard.

Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
 

kiger
kiger's picture

Thank you for your suggestion, that thought has crossed my mind! I have 6 neighbouring properties joining my effort. we are in this for the long-haul. Won't be going to mediation with the developer as statistically that is usually settled in favour of the devloper. so, off to court it may be, & an independent arborists report(another one..) is something I am pushing the local council for. If need may be we will fund this amongst ourselves.

 I am not against development-but this is an overdevelopment of the site & a very large chunk or corridor of birdlife & wildlife that will disappear...

 The ridiculous thing is here on the Peninsula you cannot cut a "tea tree" down & they are everywhere...yet in this case there able to clear 34 trees??? Interesting, huh?!...

soakes
soakes's picture

Good on you kiger,

There have been 3 new developments out the back of my place and in each case they just razed the trees to the ground.  This included a few large bottle-brushes which of course were the playgound of many native birds.

Not far away there is another so-called development where big gum trees were removed, but the developer apparently ran out of money so there are now 3 very large skeletons sitting on the block.  They will have to be removed before any further building can go on because they are internal frames that have been exposed to the weather for several years now.

...and our planet is degraded just a little more every day...

- soakes

soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia

kathiemt
kathiemt's picture

Soakes, we lived near a place like that in Cheltenham. Reckon the building hadn't been touched in several years and the framework was badly discoloured.  Such a shame, they should have left the vegetation there. It was near the trainline down the end of the street we lived in.

Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
 

Woko
Woko's picture

Go kiger! If those trees declared to be "in bad condition" are part of a natural ecological community  it's quite nonsensical to declare them as such. Old native trees are in excellent condition for nesting hollows, bark, flowers, leaves etc. - in fact, the full complement of natural resources that provide homes & materials for all sorts of native creatures. The alleged arborist who reportedly wrote the report clearly has a lot of learning to do &, frankly & allegedly, should damned well know better! Don't get me started!! (I think I must be in one of my moods).

kathiemt
kathiemt's picture

I have to agree Woko. I run the Secretariat for the Victorian Tree Industry Organisation. Just 2 weeks ago we ran a Tree Defect Workshop which was totally booked out and we have a further 40+ people on a waiting list to attend another. We also ran a Tree Habitat Workshop 2 months before that. Arborists (and especially those working in councils as well) are learning what can be recovered, repaired, and put to use as habitats for wildlife and birdlife. I am quite excited to see all that they do and are learning and have had one of their committee out here to our property to inspect trees.  From what I can see Arborists are more about the health and welfare of trees and not pulling them down willy nilly.

Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
 

kiger
kiger's picture

hi all...thank you for your comments, thoughts & suggestions!  Am continuing on with my battle to save my backyard birds & trees.  Just playing the waiting game at the moment & resorting to every delay tactic I can use. Am sitting here in my home office listening to the most beautiful birdsong which makes it all worth it. :)

kylie

kathiemt
kathiemt's picture

Got my first shots of a spotted pardalote last week Lisa - not as good as yours but I was still happy with them.

Good on you Kylie for sticking to your guns. Today I saw a large bird fly towards our bird bath so went to a window where I knew I'd get a good view and stood and watched the Currawong enjoy the water. I never got to watch the birds like this in our old place. Definitely feel blessed to be where we are now.

Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
 

Woko
Woko's picture

I think I must have missed your comments about arborists, Kathie. That's most encouraging. I hope that this approach & different way of viewing trees spreads to SA.

kathiemt
kathiemt's picture

The arborist industry is nationwide and I think I saw recently that SA has renewed its enthusiasm locally for the industry. I know the Victorian group is very proactive. We have the Victorian Tree Climbing Championships coming up in November in Ballarat and I'm planning to go and watch and take photos of the event for the day.  The president is a woman and she apparently holds the world championship title and also the Asian-Pacific title for tree climbing. Amazing lady.  They're passionate about their industry and the need to be up close and personal with trees and they care about them a great deal. It's really refreshing to be working with a group like this.  Apparently they see all sorts of birdlife and animal life in the tree tops and take a lot of care when working on trees not to disturb, or to be able to suitably rehouse if a tree has to come down.

Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
 

Woko
Woko's picture

I believe there are whole ecologies in the canopies of trees, especially in rainforests, about which little is known. Arborists with their tree climbing skills could provide lots of knowledge.

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