was so excited and spent the next hour chasing them round this staWell I can't say I have any startling results to show for it but I did have the best find for a long time today. I was following a river bend and thinking how all the birds I saw were black and white ( mudlarks, butcherbirds, magpies etc) and grumbling to myself when I saw and heard a few little brown birds .... too slow for them and it was getting pretty black overhead so I wandered on hopefully. I found a spangled drongo family and they were hanging out with some other birds that I didn't recognise so I went to investigate. It had me really confused to see a stout looking olive backed bird flying from tree to tree nearby and I just couldn't make out what it was. Next time I looked it seemed to have turned black...... and so it went on until I reached the tall trees where I heard the most extraordinary noises coming from the canopy and around. The sounds seemed to be coming from everywhere and the Drongos were adding to the confusion. It all became clear when I thought I saw a Catbird.... WRONG.... I had found my first ever family of Satin Bowerbirds!!! I nd of little trees in and out of the rain. They thought it was a great game and I was captivated by them . Could have stayed there all day waiting it out but hunger got the better of me. Anyway, these were the only results I could come up with but I had a great afternoon ...just me and the birds.
Juv Pied Butcherbird
Satin Bowerbird ( Young male I think)
Yellow throated Scrubwren ( enjoying a huge patch of Lantana :') )
Male Satin Bowerbird
Pacific Black on the weir
Can someone tell me if this is a Lewins or a yellow Spotted HE?
OMG..... cut and paste strikes again. Just put the first line somewhere in the middle and it will make sense #')
Sunshine Coast Queensland
ha ha I worked out where it went all by myself. What a great day out. There is always something that makes a trip out worthwhile isn't there? Even if it is just one little bird or a bird doing something you've never heard about (and I mean that in the nicest possible way)
I saw heaps of birds, and heard many more..... but they were beyond my abilities to capture today. So I shot waterfalls and fungi instead for a while !
Sunshine Coast Queensland
There must be plenty of each after all the rain
Hi birdie,about your Honeyeater, I have seen a few in my garden. I think, they have to be Lewin's, for the simple fact, the yellow-spotted HE shouldn't(?)be down here.Unless the S&D got it wrong?
M-L
Yes these were quite pretty.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Didn't hear a Lewin's call from it though
Sunshine Coast Queensland
LOL birdie, what did it sound like?......
M-L
I hate to tell ya it's a White-browed Scrubwren. :( Nice pics, I have a great spot in Wollemi NP near Sydney where the Satin Bowerbirds are relatively tame and are easy to photograph on clean perches with no cluttered backgrounds. All they need is some cut fruit to coax them onto the perches. :) Good shot of the Pied BB, try a vertical crop, it'll strengthen the image IMO. :)
Link to Yellow-throated Scrubwren images here:
http://www.birdphotos.com.au/Yellow%20throated%20Scrubwren/default.html
OK Akos....told you I had a lot to learn. LOL
And the HE?? I always get a bit confused with the cheek markings...it looked a bit different to the ones I usually see.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
First impression of the HE is Lewin's, Meliphaga lewini. Could also be a Speckled Warbler though now that I think of it.
.....LMAO.....
M-L
Great shots Birdie. Definately a Lewins Honeyeater 100%. Ray
Well done Ray, I said the same thing at 8:33 AM this morning. Thanks for confirming.:-)
M-L
Araminta ?????? are you clock watching now...you really need to do more with your time LOL. Ray..thanks and I often get confused as the markings seem more like the YS HE . In this case....just to put your mind at rest everyone, he didn't make a sound at all. that is why I thought it was strange.... they are normally very vocal if they are Lewin's. but I concede if that is the general opinion.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
OMG I just re-read the S & D....why didn't somebody remind me that the YSHE is only found in the tropical FNQ????
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Akos, this may be a bit small as it was done in a trial version of Arcsoft Photo studio Darkroom and it only allows a small sized res to be saved, but how is this?
Sunshine Coast Queensland
what a great find birdie. satin bowerbirds are wonderful creatures.
at our old place we used to get them drinking from the birdbath.
Cheers, Owen.
Yes Owen they were amazing.... I have never heard such a cacophony of weird sounds coming from a bunch of birds! When the Spangled Drongos joined in it really had me spinning out !!!!
That oldl place of yours sounds like a little piece of heaven , hope you can find some places to go down in Victoria like that :)
Sunshine Coast Queensland
LOL birdie, I did tell you, (when I was watching the clock at 8:33: -) ), that the YSHE is not found down here in Vic. where I live! I would have thought you would get the hint? As for my time, I'm open to any ideas, I get bored quickly,even doing more than one thing at the time.
M-L
But Araminta..... it is a damn long way from where you live to where I live!!!! So why would I find it relevant, if you see what I mean LOL
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Good variety Birdie love your Satin Bower birds.
Very nice set of shots there Birdie....well done.
the drongos would have been very noisy i imagine because when i saw one in brisbane it made extremely loud metallic ripping calls.
our old place was a total heaven for birds. lots of owls, raptors, small birds, bowerbirds, finches, woodswallows, wonga pigeons, whistlers, honeyeaters, parrots and a heap more.
i was quite young when we were living there so unfortunately i have no photos to show for this huge range.
Cheers, Owen.
Owen, I know you loved your old place, I do understand! But I think it is just a matter of giving Melbourne and the surroundings a chance. Last time, as I do every year, I counted 80 different bird species in my garden, didn't even go anywhere else.There are Owls, Whistlers,Parrots, Pardelotes, Honeyeaters, and, and, and...It's just, that it will take some time to find them all! (I have tried to send you an e-mail, so you could come up to the Bunyip State Park during the school holidays, if you want? But I had no luck, the mail kept bouncing back!) When I came to Australia 28 years ago, I didn't know any birds here,only Blackbirds and other Europran birds, I found it very hard to id any of them. But slowly I learned more and more about them. You just have to find them. Be patient with the birds, and nice to yourself!
M-L
yes melbourne does also have a good range of birds.
i have had some good finds here. i will get up to bunyip one day, i just don't know when.
sorry the email didn't work. i get that sometimes.
Cheers, Owen.