Blog Archives
Female Superb Lyrebird at Katoomba
She was hanging out in a secluded glen at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains yesterday, when I happened by with my camera. She is a Superb Lyrebird, scratching through the undergrowth for food. She doesn’t have the fanned lyre tail of an adult male, and alas, she’s not making any interesting noises. Instead, she’s catching a quick snack with a couple of wrens in tow.
We arrived in Katoomba at around 9am, and took the Scenic Railway down into the valley. We were strolling along the wooden walkways when the Lyrebird came into view. They’re usually very shy and keep to the shadows, so it was a treat to see this one reasonably well.
Lyrebirds are amazing mimics. Check out a video about the sounds Lyrebirds make, by David Attenborough.
Common name: Superb Lyrebird
Scientific name: Menura novaehollandiae
Approximate length: 85 cm
Date spotted: 13 June 2015
Season: Winter
Location: Katoomba (down in the valley), New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°43’56.1″S 150°18’14.1″E
Galahs galore
I’ve posted a few pictures of galahs on this blog. They’re gorgeous birds, a type of parrot with a distinctive call and an endearing habit of walking around on the ground in large groups, bobbing their white-capped heads at each other. If you do something silly, an Australian might fondly say, “You silly galah” – an affectionate nod to the slightly bumbling behaviour of the birds.
Yesterday I came across a group of them, all agog because a tree was dropping its seed balls. This bird peeks down at me while holding a seed ball in its beak:
In this video, you can hear the galahs chatting noisily to each other. Towards the end, something startles them and they take off, flying towards the camera with seed balls in their beaks:
Common name: Galah
Scientific name: Cacatua roseicapilla
Approximate length: 38 cm
Date spotted: 23 May 2015
Season: Winter
Location: Manly Vale, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’48.6″S 151°15’52.2″E
To find more about these pretty birds, see the galah category in this blog.
Song of the Currawong
Currawongs gather in a tree during a rain shower at dusk, chatting to each other. Their calls vary from bell-like chimes to whistles and peeps. For most of this video, the birds are just silhouettes flitting from branch to branch. I zoomed in on one bird at around the two-minute mark, and you can see it uttering its calls.
Here’s a still image of one of the Currawongs:
Common name: Pied Currawong
Scientific name: Strepera graculina
Approximate length: 45 cm
Date spotted: 10 January 2015
Season: Summer
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°46’19.2″S 151°15’25.2″E
Pelican at Long Reef Headland, New South Wales
The closer you get to a pelican, the more beautiful it is. Those eyes are so huge and seem so wise. Then there’s that appealing fuzz of fine feathers on the back of the head and down the neck.
For more about these pelicans, see my post from March this year.
Common name: Australian Pelican
Scientific name: Pelecanus conspicillatus
Approximate length: 170 cm
Approximate wingspan: 2.5m
Date spotted: 1 January 2015
Season: Summer
Location: Long Reef Headland, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°44’15.2″S, 151°18’44.1″E
Black Swans calling
Black swans are native to New South Wales, Australia. This morning I saw four of them swimming amongst the other water birds.
Two of them were calling to each other and raising their necks up and down in a stately dance. They make a slightly funny, bugling call, a bit like a child’s party tooter, as you can hear in this video:
Common name: Black Swan
Scientific name: Cygnus atratus
Approximate length: 120 cm
Date spotted: 27 December 2014
Season: Summer
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’58.4″S 151°15’18.6″E
Tawny Frogmouth eyeing me carefully
Tawny Frogmouths are irresistibly picturesque. They’re nocturnal birds, members of the nightjar family, so they’re a bit dozy by day. This one was very aware of me as I moved quietly around below it.
Click the image to open in a new tab, and zoom in to take look at its plumage. The bird’s eye is almost entirely closed in this image.
Here’s a close up view of the bird’s head. It’s eye is now half open, keep a watch on me:
There’s not much happening in the videos, but you can see the careful, slow movements that the bird makes, trying to preserve its disguise as a dry branch:
There’s even less happening in the next video, but it gives a nice view of the bird itself. The harsh chirring noise is the cicadas, which dominate the bush at this time of year.
Common name: Tawny Frogmouth
Scientific name: Podargus strigoides
Approximate length: 40 cm
Date spotted: 26 December 2014
Season: Summer
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’26.7″S 151°15’08.7″E
Dollarbird in Sydney
Update on 25 December 2014: It’s a Dollarbird, also called a Broad-billed Roller. Thanks to Hamish Robertson for identifying this bird! They’re migratory, arriving in Australia in September/October every year and leaving again in March. They spend the winter in New Guinea and other northern islands.
Does anyone know what bird this is? I heard it making an insistent chattering noise the other day. It was high up on an electric cable, so I couldn’t see it very well. It’s dark in colour, with a red beak. I’d guess its size to be roughly that of a magpie. Here’s the best shot I got of it:
Here’s a video, useful mainly for the sound. I had the camera on high zoom without a tripod, so it’s quite shaky, but you can hear the sound very well.
Common name: Dollarbird (Thanks to Hamish Robertson for identifying this bird!)
Scientific name: Eurystomus orientalis
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 21 December 2014
Season: Summer
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’36.4″S 151°15’16.1″E
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are sociable creatures, often travelling in large groups. This one was with four others, but sat apart looking a bit grumpy.
It can be difficult to get a good photo of a cockatoo, because they’re so white that the sun gleams off them and the resulting glare removes all detail. So I was pretty please with these shots. Here’s a rear view:
Common name: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Scientific name: Cacatua galerita
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 20 December 2014
Season: Summer
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’45.6″S 151°14’59.2″E
Jaded Kookaburra
I spent a fair bit of time today watching this kookaburra, hoping it would burst out laughing. (It’s my dream to video one of them laughing.) Instead, she just watched me back. I think this bird is a female, because she has only a small amount of blue marking on her wings, and none on her tail.
Her rear view makes me giggle, with that top knot of feathers:
And the other profile:
I think she’s wishing I’d fade into the sunset:
Common name: Laughing Kookaburra
Scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae
Approximate length: 47 cm
Date spotted: 14 December 2014
Season: Summer
Location: Manly Dam National Park, Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’37.4″S 151°14’50.1″E
Ibis raiding the trash
Australian White Ibises are a common sight in the city, raiding the trash or swooping between the buildings. Their natural habitat is near water, nesting in colonies on trees and bushes on the water’s edge.
This video shows an ibis in Pyrmont, Sydney, guarding its booty from other raiders: screaming, strutting Silver Gulls and a curious but cautious Common Myna.
Here’s a close-up of the ibis.
Common name: Australian White Ibis
Scientific name: Threskiornis molucca
Approximate length: 70 cm
Date spotted: 4 December 2014
Season: Summer
Location: Pyrmont, in Sydney, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°51’56.4″S 151°11’46.6″E
Sydney Birder 