For a couple of weeks, we had the pleasure of hosting a nest of Noisy Miners in our garden. The adults built the nest in a tree fern, right in the hollow where the new fern leaves sprout. This picture shows the tree fern, with the nest and one of the adult birds in attendance:

It’s a good thing that little Noisy Miners grow so fast. A few years ago, some Red Wattle Birds attempted the same thing, and were forced to abandon the nest when the fern leaves pushed it out of place!

This video shows an adult bird feeding the babies:

With Noisy Miners, feeding the little ones is a communal responsibility. You can’t tell which are the parents. We sometimes saw three birds waiting in line with a goody for the growing babies.

In the above video, the adult is regurgitating nectar or other food. Its long, thin tongue flicks out occasionally. In the next video, a bird brings a large green bug and passes it to the babies. I’m not sure if the bug is a mantid or something else. It’s too early in the season for cicadas:

Here’s a still picture of the little ones begging for food:

After a couple of weeks of feeding and fast growing babies, the nest became pretty full. Then one day, the little ones left the nest. I wasn’t there to see this exciting event, alas. I took this video the day before the nest was suddenly empty:

The little ones are now all round the garden, peeping constantly to get the adults’ attention. For the most part, they’re tucked away safely in the foliage, hard to find from my vantage point on the ground. This picture is of one of the little ones, a few days after leaving the nest:

Here’s the empty nest, with a clothes peg for scale:

Common name: Noisy Miner, also called Australian Miner
Scientific name: Manorina melanocephala
Approximate length of adult bird: 26 cm
Date spotted: September 2021 (spring)
Location: Near Sydney, NSW, Australia