Monthly Archives: March 2018
Call of the whipbird
The birds in Australia make strange noises, and the call of the Eastern Whipbird is one of the strangest.
A sound bite:
Common name: Eastern Whipbird
Scientific name: Psophodes olivaceus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 10 March 2018 (Early autumn)
Location: Manly Dam National Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’36.5″S 151°15’16.0″E
Ringtail possum in nest
When walking through the Australian bush near Sydney, you see many nests in the trees overhead. They’re not all made by birds. Ringtail possums build and live in nests too. A possum nest is called a drey.
Today I spotted this rather untidy-looking nest in a tree above a path:
When I got closer and zoomed in with my camera, I saw this cute character peering out of the nest:
I continued on my walk. About half an hour later, on my way back, I noticed that the possum was still peering out of the nest but had changed to a more comfortable position:
Possums are sociable creatures, often sharing their nests with other members of the family. If you zoom in on the above picture (open it in a different tab of your browser then zoom in) I think you can see the curled up back of another possum inside the nest.
Here’s another view of the nest, with the possum sticking out of the top left of the nest:
What a cute face!
Australian Miner auditions for The Birds and Psycho
This little Australian Miner landed on a branch near me and started that incessant eep-eep noise that they’re renowned for. It’s as if the bird is auditioning to do the soundtracks for two Hitchcock movies at once: The Birds and Psycho.
Well? Do I get the job?
How about if I spin my head around. You know, like in The Exorcist?
No? OK then, on to the next audition…
Common name: Noisy Miner, also called Australian Miner
Scientific name: Manorina melanocephala
Approximate length: 26 cm
Date spotted: 3 March 2018 (Summer)
Approximate location: Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia: 33°46’23.3″S 151°15’43.1″E
Call of the Glossy Black-Cockatoo
Today I spotted a group of Glossy Black-Cockatoos, and I recorded a video so you can hear them chatting to each other. For two consecutive weeks I’ve seen a group of these birds at Manly Dam Reserve. I guess they’re the same birds each time, though on opposite sides of the dam. According to my bird book, this bird is reasonably uncommon, perhaps declining in number.
It’s a short video. As I was recording it, a bush ranger drove up and startled the birds. They flew off and came towards me, which gives you a good view of the orange-red flashes in their tails.
Last week’s post has still pictures of a Glossy Black-Cockatoo, probably from the same group.
Common name: Glossy Black-Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus lathami
Approximate length: 50cm
Date spotted: 3 March 2018 (Summer)
Location: Manly Dam National Reserve, near Sydney: 33°46’49.2″S 151°15’04.1″E
Sydney Birder 