Category Archives: Birds
Neat Spotted Pardalote
Spotted Pardalotes are tiny little birds with neat patterns and colours on their heads and bodies. They flit around high in the trees or deep in the undergrowth, so it’s a treat when one stays still long enough to get a good look at you.
Pardalotes are native to Australia. There are four species in the Pardalote family, of which we have just one in our area near Sydney.
An unusual characteristic is that, although they spend much of their time high in the treetops, they build their nests in tunnels in the ground. Take a look at my other posts to see videos of these birds entering into and emerging from their tunnels.
Common name: Spotted Pardalote or Diamondbird
Scientific name: Pardalotus punctatus
Approximate length: 10 cm
Date spotted: 19 June 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam, NSW, Australia: 33°46’38.6″S 151°14’55.8″E
My first White-headed Pigeons, near Taree NSW
I was in Moto, near Taree, a few days ago, soon after the floods that have devastated much of the area. Driving along a country road next to a creek, I spotted a flock of about 7 large white-bodied, dark-winged pigeons on the side of the road. They flew up into the trees and onto the fences as I passed, but I managed to snap a shot of two of them with my phone:
They’re White-headed Pigeons, my first sighting of these birds. The one on the left is a male. The one on the right is an immature male or female.
They’re larger than most pigeons, and exude an atmosphere of calm — until they fly away! My bird book lists them as scarce, and common in NE NSW. It comments that they’re “one of the shyest and wariest of pigeons”, so I count myself lucky to have seen them. eBird lists them as “Least Concern”.
Common name: White-headed Pigeon
Scientific name: Columba leucomela
Length: 38-40 cm
Date spotted: 4 June 2025 (winter)
Location: Moto, NSW, Australia: 31°51’16.8″S 152°35’00.9″E
Red-whiskered Bulbul at Bombo Headland
A few days ago, I visited Bombo Headland Geological Site on the east coast of Australia, south of Sydney. There were several Red-whiskered Bulbuls flitting around the bushes. This one was perched on a messy clump of Lantana, with the impressive cliffs of the headland in the background.
Red-whiskered Bulbuls are pretty little birds, with striking black, red, and white markings. They’re native to southern Asia (India, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia), and were introduced into Sydney in the late 1800s.
Common name: Red-whiskered Bulbul
Scientific name: Pycnonotus jocosus
Approximate length: 20 cm
Date spotted: 31 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Bombo Headland Geological Site, NSW, Australia: 34°39’03.6″S 150°51’42.3″E
Bombo Headland is worth a visit, with its impressive rock formations and churning sea currents:
Would you like to know more about this amazing, slightly eery location? My bookmark, the Travelling Worm, has published a post about our visit to Bombo Headland Geological Site.
My second White-throated Treecreeper
These little birds move fast and tend to pick dim lighting for their appearances. My photo is a bit blurry, but you get the idea:
The bird sped up a tree trunk, dashing from side to side of the tree. Its white throat flashed in the dim light. The rest of the bird is mottled grey and brown, merging well with its surrounds.
This is only the second time that I’ve managed to identify a White-throated Treecreeper. The other time was at Capertee in 2023, when I managed to make a short video of a female bird. I think today’s bird is male: there’s no red spot at the top edge of the white throat.
Common name: White-throated Treecreeper
Scientific name: Cormobates leucophaeus
Approximate length: 13-15 cm
Date spotted: 18 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Golden Gully near Hill End, New South Wales, Australia: 33°00’45.4″S 149°25’05.0″E
My first White-plumed Honeyeater
White-plumed Honeyeaters are common and wide-spread, according to my bird book, but this is the first one I’ve identified. I spotted it at Mary Flynn Campground on the Turon River in New South Wales. It’s an unassuming little bird, with plumage of soft greys and yellows, and quite large eyes relatively speaking.
In the photo, below the yellow face, you can just make out the white stripe that gives the bird the name “white-plumed”. Personally, I’d expected a grander plume to match the name, but there you go.
Common name: White-plumed Honeyeater
Scientific name: Lichenostomus penicillatus
Approximate length: 15-17 cm
Date spotted: 17 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Mary Flynn Campground on the Turon River, NSW, Australia: 33°04’46.6″S 149°23’55.6″E
Crimson Rosella looking gorgeous
This stunning Crimson Rosella was browsing on the seeds of a gum tree late one afternoon. We were at the Macquarie Woods Forestry Reserve Campground, to the west of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. These parrots are quite common in eastern Australia. Even so, their beauty is always amazing.
This bird is a male, with his purple and crimson colouring. The females have more green on their bodies and wings, like the one I saw a few months ago in Whitfield, Victoria.
Common name: Crimson Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus elegans elegans
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 16 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Macquarie Woods Forestry Reserve Campground, Vittoria, NSW, Australia: 33°24’29.0″S 149°18’41.8″E
Two songs of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo
I’ve heard Fan-tailed Cuckoos several times over the years, making their pretty downward trilling call. A few days ago, I heard a different call: a haunting, mournful whistle sighing in the mist.
In this 14-second video, the bird whistles five times:
At first I didn’t know what type of bird was calling. Then I saw a Fan-tailed Cuckoo fly onto a nearby branch:
They’re rather pretty birds, with a russet chest and belly, and a startling orange mouth. On this occasion, I could see only the back of the bird. Here’s a picture of another Fan-tailed Cuckoo, which I saw in June 2020:
Shortly after I heard the whistles, the same bird or another started making the typical trilling call that I’ve heard more often. In this 17-second video, the bird calls four times:
Common name: Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Scientific name: Cacomantis flabelliformis
Approximate length: 26 cm
Date spotted: 11 May 2025 (autumn)
Location: Manly Creek, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’21.3″S 151°14’34.8″E
Muscovy ducks meet a Brush-turkey
Two Muscovy ducks hiss and wag their tails to warn off an Australian Brush-turkey. The Brush-turkey had been investigating my shoes, then it decided to see what the two interesting ducks were up to. The encounter ends peacefully. No feathers flying this time!
Muscovy ducks come from the Americas, and are actually more like a cross between a goose and a duck than just a duck. They hiss like geese, although it’s a very quiet hiss. Their faces and heads look like geese, but their body shape is more like a duck’s.
I’ve seen this pair of Muscovies at Manly Dam often — they’ve made this area their home.
Common name: Australian Brush-turkey and Muscovy duck
Scientific name: Alectura lathami (Brush-turkey) and Cairina moschata (Muscovy)
Approximate length: 60-70 cm (Brush-turkey) and 76–84 cm (Muscovy)
Date spotted: 29 April 2025 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’44.9″S 151°14’58.4″E
Little Corella enjoying a snack
This Little Corella was one of a group enjoying a tasty snack (fruit from a nearby fir tree of some kind):
People have a love-hate with these birds. On the one hand, corellas are cute, pretty, and smart. On the other hand, they’re noisy and fiendishly good at destroying property!
Common name: Little Corella
Scientific name: Cacatua sanguinea
Approximate length: 36-39 cm
Date spotted: 22 April 2025 (autumn)
Location: Balgowlah, New South Wales, Australia: 33°47’57.2″S 151°15’50.9″E
Osprey nests at Rat Park
For a couple of years, I’ve been reading about the Ospreys that nest high on the lights at Rat Park in Warriewood, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. The birds have earned their fame by returning year after year to the same spot. They build their nests and raise their young in what seems an unlikely and uncomfortable perch, twenty metres above the playing fields. So I went to take a look at them.
Ospreys are magnificent birds, with their large size and impressive fishing skills. They’re listed as vulnerable in NSW. Their numbers were in decline until the 1970s, but the great news is that they’re on the rise now.
Here’s a close-up of the same Osprey on the lamp post:
This photo shows the same nest from the other side:
Zooming out to show the playing field and the 20-metre lamp post with the nest on top:
There were nests on top of a couple of the other lamp posts too, but no Ospreys tending them while I was there.
Here’s a front view of the Osprey with the sun behind it:
I’ve been lucky enough to see Ospreys a few times, most often at the Long Reef Aquatic Reserve in Collaroy. The Manly Observer has reported on the Ospreys of Rat Park, and they’ve featured on several other sites including Facebook.
Common name: Eastern Osprey
Scientific name: Pandion cristatus
Approximate length: 57 cm
Date spotted: 4 April 2025 (autumn)
Location: Rat Park, Warriewood, New South Wales, Australia: 33°41’50.6″S 151°18’21.8″E
Sydney Birder 