Blog Archives
Coot cuddles
Coots always look so calm and cute. Here are two of them having a Coot cuddle.
And a Coot conversation:
Common name: Eurasian Coot
Scientific name: Fulica atra
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 7 November 2024 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’35.4″S 151°14’49.5″E
Powerful Owl dozing in the treetops
It’s a while since I’ve spotted a Powerful Owl. A few days ago, I saw the tell tale dark blob high in the branches of the forest. Using my camera’s zoom, I could identify the bird. The only view I had is from behind, with the bird’s head turned slightly towards me and one eye partly open:
It’s always a privilege to see these impressive birds. Powerful Owls can weigh well over 2 kilograms, and reach up to 65 centimetres in height. They hunt at night and roost quietly during the day. Their prey consists of small creatures such as possums.
Common name: Powerful Owl
Scientific name: Ninox strenua
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 7 November 2024 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia. Approximate map reference: 33°46’55.8″S 151°15’12.1″E
White-winged Choughs dust-bathing and feeding youngsters
A few days ago, I spent some time at Coolendel Campground in New South Wales. A group of White-winged Choughs strutted around the area, picking up grubs, taking dust baths, and chattering from the trees.
In this video, the adults are feeding grubs to two noisy youngsters.
White-winged Choughs look quite similar to currawongs and crows, but they belong to a different family. Along with Apostlebirds, they’re the only members of the Corcoracidae family. And like Apostlebirds, White-winged Choughs build nests by forming a bowl out of mud.
At first sight, these birds seem entirely black, but when they open their wings you notice the white wing flares. Adults have striking red eyes.
Here, two of them take a dust bath. It’s interesting to see that they pick up beakfuls of dust and dump it on their feathers, rather than lying in the dust:
Common name: White-winged Chough
Scientific name: Corcorax melanorhamphos
Length: 43-47 cm
Date spotted: 1 November 2024 (spring)
Location: Coolendel Campground, Buangla, New South Wales, Australia: 34°50’39.3″S 150°25’18.5″E
Bird on a wire – Eastern Rosella
Eastern Rosellas are medium-sized parrots, found on the east coast of Australia. We’re lucky enough to be visited regularly by a pair of them. I don’t know if it’s the same two birds each time, or if our phone line is somehow part of the flight lines for a family of birds.
In this video, the male Eastern Rosella struts along a phone line, spiffy in his breeding colours. Alas, the background sound is noisy, but you can just hear the bird chirping as he does his little hello dance:
The next picture is somewhat whimsical. It’s what my camera made up when the bird flew off. I love the colours and motion in this picture, even if the bird’s head is off camera:
The female glowed in the sunlight:
The male’s colours are brighter, with the divisions between the coloured sections more clearly defined. Deep blue and black scallops outline the wings, while the rest of the bird is yellow and black, and red and white:
He knows he’s gorgeous!
Common name: Eastern Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus eximius
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 28 October 2024 (spring)
Location: Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia
My first Buff-banded Rail
This bird is very very shy. I’ve seen it twice, and this is the best photo I have. It’s my first sighting of a Buff-banded Rail, or any kind of rail.
The bird has a distinctive wide white eyebrow, with a chestnut stripe through the eye. The top of the head is a darker brown, and the beak is orange and quite long. (At first I thought the bird was some sort of quail, but I couldn’t find any quails with orange beaks.) The body has black and white barring on the sides, whereas the plumage on the back is mottled brown and cream.
The bird hides in the low growth at the edge of Manly Dam, on Sydney’s northern beaches. I’ll keep a look out, to try and get a better photo.
Common name: Buff-banded Rail
Scientific name: Gallirallus philippensis
Length: 28-32 cm
Date spotted: 26 October 2024 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’40.0″S 151°14’50.2″E
Glossy Black-Cockatoo
Five Glossy-Black Cockatoos are frequent visitors to the Casuarina trees on the edge of Manly dam at the moment. Here’s one of the birds:
Common name: Glossy Black-Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus lathami
Approximate length: 50cm
Date spotted: 27 October 2024 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Park, near Sydney: 33°46’16.4″S 151°14’30.9″E
Mmm, Mountain Devil flowers make a nice change from those tough Banksia pods!
A Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo contemplates life while demolishing the flower of a Mountain Devil bush.
Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus or Zanda funereus
Length: 58-65 cm
Date spotted: 26 October 2024 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’40.0″S 151°14’50.2″E
Whistling Kite at Myall Lakes
This weekend I took a walk from Mungo Brush Campground to the Tamboi picnic area at Myall Lakes. A bird of prey was calling and swooping far away on the opposite side of the wide, serene Myall River. After a bit of research, considering the appearance of the bird and the sound of its call, my conclusion is that it’s a Whistling Kite.
The pictures aren’t great, because the bird was far away. This one shows its head and body:
The next picture gives a better idea of its tail:
I did take some shots of the bird in flight, but they’re too fuzzy to be of much use. Still, you can see them on my Reddit post if you’re interested.
Whistling Kites are large birds of prey, found throughout most of Australia. They’re also called whistling eagles or whistling hawks. I’ve seen one before, on the Bogan River in western New South Wales, and another on Magnetic Island in Queensland.
Common name: Whistling Kite
Scientific name: Haliastur sphenurus
Approximate length: 50-60 cm; wing span 1.2-1.5 m
Date spotted: 20 October 2024 (spring)
Location: Myall Lakes National Park, New South Wales, Australia: 32°33’03.8″S 152°17’10.5″E
Rainbow Bee-eaters at Mungo Brush
I’ve just spent the weekend camping at Mungo Brush on the NSW east coast. Mungo Brush is a wilderness area about two hours’ drive north of Newcastle and about three hours from Sydney. The distance is enough to make for a different set of birds to look at. While strolling along a path towards the beach, I saw four Rainbow Bee-eaters. Here are two of them:
It looks like one of the birds is offering the other a snack, which might of course be a bee!
At first, I thought these birds were a colourful type of kingfisher. Then I zoomed in on the photograph and saw the long appendages on their tails. It’s interesting that my bird book names kingfishers as birds that are similar to bee-eaters.
Common name: Rainbow Bee-eater
Scientific name: Merops ornatus
Approximate length: 23-27 cm
Date spotted: 19 October 2024 (spring)
Location: Mungo Brush, NSW, Australia: 32°30’31.1″S 152°21’41.3″E
Fairy-wren an early Christmas decoration
A Variegated Fairy-wren paused for a second on a tree draped with lichen. It brought to mind a Christmas scene, with the bird a bauble that adds its bright colours to the grey of the tree and the rather surreal green tinsel formed by the lichen.
Common name: Variegated Fairy-wren
Scientific name: Malurus lamberti
Approximate length: 13 cm
Date spotted: 17 October 2024 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam park, near Sydney: 33°46’23.1″S 151°14’35.9″E
Sydney Birder 