Just across the road from my front window, a family of Australian Miners is nesting. They certainly are noisy, living up to their alternative name of Noisy Miners. I was surprised to see the birds nesting at this time of year. It’s late summer, coming up to autumn in this part of the world.

This short video shows a parent feeding the chicks. You can make out the orange beaks of the little ones, particularly when the parent flies away.

Here’s a still picture of the nest. You can see the parent bird, and the underside of a chick’s beak just to the left of the parent, between the parent’s chest and the branch:

It’s busy work, looking after a new family. Both parents are very attentive. Here’s one of them gathering nectar from a Banksia bush in our garden:

Common name: Noisy Miner, also called Australian Miner

Scientific name: Manorina melanocephala

Approximate length: 26 cm

Date spotted: 25 March 2020 (late summer)

Location: Near Sydney, NSW, Australia