Category Archives: Birds
Juvenile Powerful Owl with two adults
Today I went back to a spot in the bush where I’ve seen a Powerful Owl a few times. This time, there were three owls, one of them a juvenile: white and fluffy, with dark patches around its eyes. It heard me, and checked me out:
It’s hard to get a good day’s sleep when you’re an owl. Listen to all the noise they have to put up with from the other birds:
Here’s a still photo of the three owls:
And here’s a rear view of the juvenile:
Common name: Powerful Owl
Scientific name: Ninox strenua
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 6 October 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’51.0″S 151°14’52.1″E
Black Cockatoos social grooming
A flight of Black Cockatoos swooped in over my head and landed in a big old gum tree, screeching their wild call. Two of them immediately started a careful and fond session of mutual grooming. As far as I can tell, both birds are female as they both have pale bills and grey (not red) rings around their eyes. You can hear their soft squawks as well as their characteristic wild shrieks on the video.
Here’s a still photo of the two social groomers:
This is one of the other birds in the group:
Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 6 October 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’05.2″S 151°14’26.5″E
A pair of Crimson Rosellas
Parrots galore! Two weeks ago I encountered a King Parrot on my walk in the bush. This week it’s a couple of Crimson Rosellas. They’re slightly smaller than a King Parrot, with different colouring.
Common name: Crimson Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus elegans elegans
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 27 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’36.6″S 151°15’16.2″E
Here’s a still shot of one of the birds, high up in a tree:
And another, snapped in a pool of sunlight:
Red-browed Finch
This little finch is looking very spiffy. I guess he’s donned is brightest feathers for the spring socials.
Here’s a still shot, grabbed from the video:
Common name: Red-browed Finch
Scientific name: Neochmia temporalis
Approximate length: 12 cm
Date spotted: 27 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’35.4″S 151°15’13.0″E
Rainbow Lorikeets decorating a dead tree
These eight Rainbow Lorikeets arranged themselves on the bare branches of a dead tree, a perfect place for a chat.
Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 25 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: -33.772218,151.26089
Tawny Frogmouth nesting
Strolling along a path in the bush today, I spotted a strange-looking lump high in a tree. I got out my trusty Canon with its high-powered zoom and snapped a few shots. When I got home, I loaded the photos onto my PC to have a look. Lo and behold, it’s a Tawny Frogmouth on a nest.
This pic zooms in closer, from a slightly different angle. A branch obscures part of the bird’s face, and you can see its short, mouth-like beak on one side of the branch:
Common name: Tawny Frogmouth
Scientific name: Podargus strigoides
Approximate length: 34-52 cm
Date spotted: 21 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’58.4″S 151°15’07.2″E
For more shots of these intriguing birds, check out the Frogmouth category of this blog.
King Parrot in spring splendour
This splendid King Parrot is perched high in a tree. Only the power of my Canon zoom brought it into clear sight.
Another shot, after the bird moved to shadier spot:
Common name: Australian King Parrot
Scientific name: Alisterus scapularis
Approximate length: 44 cm
Date spotted: 14 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°46’50.2″S, 151°14’54.5″E
Kookaburra bookends
This pretty pair of kookaburras perched outside my window yesterday morning.
Common name: Laughing Kookaburra
Scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae
Approximate length: 47 cm
Date spotted: 13 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°46’07.9″S, 151°15’27.5″E
Powerful Owl roosting
While walking through the bush this morning, I spotted some tell-tale white splatters on the ferns lining the path. I looked up into the trees, and sure enough there was a Powerful Owl high above my head.
The zoom in this short video shows how high up the owl was. You’ll also hear the kookaburras laughing and a couple of cockatoos scolding. The owl doesn’t do much except swivel its head.
Here’s a still shot of the owl gazing into the distance:
Spotted!
Still watching…
Dozing:
A view from the front:
And the view of the owl without my camera’s super zoom:
Common name: Powerful Owl
Scientific name: Ninox strenua
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 27 July 2014
Season: Winter
Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°46’50.2″S 151°14’54.5″E
A King Parrot comes to call
This Australian King Parrot dropped in for a visit this afternoon. He hung around for a while, exploring the trees around our house and making his piercing whistle, “Eeeeeep”. King Parrots are fairly large birds, bigger and more dramatic in appearance than the Rainbow Lorikeets we see more often.
This was my first view of the bird, before I zoomed in with the camera:
He moved to another tree:
Where I got a shot of his back too:
Common name: Australian King Parrot
Scientific name: Alisterus scapularis
Approximate length: 44 cm
Date spotted: 30 April 2014
Season: Autumn
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°44’15.2″S, 151°18’44.1″E
Sydney Birder 