Blog Archives
Rainbow Lorikeets and a flowering grass tree
A grass tree (Xanthorrhoea) perches precariously on the edge of a cliff in our garden. Every couple of years, the grass tree throws up a flower spike—much to the delight of the Rainbow Lorikeets in the area. Here’s a closeup of a couple of the birds on the flower spike:
Here’s the grass tree on the cliff, with the flower spike shooting up. The grass tree is the one with long, thin, spiky leaves at the base of the flowering spike, not the fleshy big-leafed succulents that surround it:
You can only fit so many lorikeets on a flower spike at once. So, the trick is to line up on the nearest power line and take turns. This video shows the interaction between the birds as they wait in line:
Evidently the nectar from the flowers on the spike is deliciously sweet. Australian Aboriginal people use it to make a sweet drink. Europeans used to burn it as incense in churches. The birds feel it’s worth waiting in line:
It turns out you can fit quite a few lorikeets on a flower spike:
Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 7 July 2017 (Winter)
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Australian Wood Duck
Australian Wood Ducks are a fairly common sight. They stand out, with their neat round head and short beaks. Up close, I noticed the soft frilly feathers on the sides of this bird’s body under the wings. This one is a male, as its head is dark brown and lacks the females’ white markings around the eyes.
Common name: Australian Wood Duck
Scientific name: Chenonetta jubata
Approximate length: 60cm
Date spotted: 3 June 2017 (Winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’58.1″S 151°15’14.7″E
Eastern Spinebill preening
This 7-second video shows an Eastern Spinebill tidying its feathers. Eastern Spinebills are small, fast-moving birds that whiz through the midlevel vegetation. They’re part of the honeyeater family. It’s often hard to identify these spinebills, as they don’t stay in one spot for very long. This one gave me an excellent view of its long, curved beak.
Common name: Eastern Spinebill
Scientific name: Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
Approximate length: 16cm
Date spotted: 3 June 2017 (Winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’49.6″S 151°14’51.3″E
A coot and a metaphor
At first there’s nothing but the universe. The water and the sky. Then suddenly, there you are, in the middle of it all.
Common name: Eurasian Coot
Scientific name: Fulica atra
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 23 April 2017 (Autumn)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’27.7″S 151°15’05.9″E
White-bellied Sea-Eagle at Manly Dam near Sydney
Yesterday I spotted a White-bellied Sea-Eagle flying along the shore of Manly Dam. It flew up and down the shore a few times, and across the water, then landed at the edge of the water in a baylet, with its legs in the water.
I was on the opposite side of the dam, so I couldn’t get a close look at the bird. I did take some photos and videos, but they’re fuzzy and unsatisfactory, although they’re good enough to satisfy me about the identification of the bird. So I decided to record the sighting here, and hope I get to see this beautiful bird again soon.
Common name: White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Scientific name: Haliaeetus leucogaster
Approximate length: 85 cm. Wing span: 2.2 m
Date spotted: 22 April 2017 (Autumn)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’35.2″S 151°15’08.0″E
Square-tailed Kite at Manly Dam near Sydney
This magnificent bird was sitting quietly in a tree, occasionally squinting down at the path, when I passed by. It’s a Square-tailed Kite – a large bird, at approximately 55 centimetres from head to tail (half a metre) with a wing span of 1.4 metres.
Square-tailed Kites are classified as rare in my bird book. Also, they’re not often seen around Sydney. I identified this one by the white markings around the face, and the characteristically long wing tips. When folded, they’re significantly longer than the tail, as you can see in the photo below:
This video shows the bird having a good grooming session, feathers flying:
In the next video, the bird moves its head back and forward in a slightly eery way, perhaps scanning for prey:
Common name: Square-Tailed Kite
Scientific name: Lophoictinia isura
Approximate length: 55 cm. Wing span: 1.4 m
Date spotted: 15 April 2017 (Autumn)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’35.3″S 151°15’13.3″E
Musk Lorikeets feeding and chatting
A tree outside our house is in flower, and attracting many avian visitors. This is the first time I’ve seen a Musk Lorikeet. They’re pretty little birds, very fast moving and well camouflaged amongst the green leaves. They chatter to each other constantly, often making a pleasant trilling sound. For some reason, that sound makes me of a phone ringing in a sunlit roof-top apartment.
You can also hear water running down the hill, as it’s been raining a lot recently.
Common name: Musk Lorikeet
Scientific name: Glossopsitta concinna
Approximate length: 23 cm
Date spotted: 27-28 February 2017 (Summer)
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
In this second video, an Australian Miner joins the lorikeet in the floral feast. The miners and lorikeets usually have a bit of a squawking match over feeding territory, but they managed to co-exist on the same branch for a short period.
The loud chirping you can hear is a Rainbow Lorikeet flying by. (There’s a picture of one further down in this post.)
Musk Lorikeets are mainly green, with a red mask around the eyes, a blue cap, and a yellow stripe along the wing:
They never seem to stop moving! This one stood still for a short time, but you can see it’s thinking of launching itself into the air any time:
Other visitors to the tree include Rainbow Lorikeets like this one:
They’re much more common around here than the Musk Lorikeets. Also Currawongs:
Blue puffballs: Male Variegated Fairy-wren and partner
Two Variegated Fairy-wrens dropped in for a flying visit. The most visible one, with electric blue feathers, is male. The female has softer colouring, with blue tail feathers. Their excited chirping drew me to the window in time to make a quick video.
Common name: Variegated Fairy-wren
Scientific name: Malurus lamberti
Approximate length: 13 cm
Date spotted: 13 February 2017 (Summer)
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Crimson Rosella feeding on bottlebrush seeds
Usually when you spot a Crimson Rosella, there’s another one close by. This time, though, I could only see one. It was contentedly nibbling at the seeds on a bush – a bottlebrush, I think. [Update on 24 April: It’s not a bottlebrush, but Scrub She-oak, Allocasuarina distyla. Thanks to Carol Probets for the comment!]
The male and female Crimson Rosella look very similar, with the male being larger. I don’t know whether this one was male or female.
These birds are so pretty, even though this one was moulting, so a little shabby in places.
From the rear, the feathers are quite intricate in pattern:
Common name: Crimson Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus elegans elegans
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 12 February 2017 (Summer)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’58.4″S 151°15’11.8″E
Darter drying wings then taking off
At first sight I thought this bird was a cormorant, but it’s actually a darter, also known as a snake bird because of its long, snake-like neck. Darters are related to cormorants, and also to boobies and gannets. They swim fast under water, hunting and impaling fish with their formidable long, thin beak.
Like cormorants, they sit on shore with their wings spread to dry. After I’d been watching this one for a few minutes, it decided to take off and fly over the water. It’s interesting to see how low it flies, with the wing tips actually tapping the water as it goes.
This pose reminded me of the ballet, the Dying Swan:
Here you can see the characteristic chestnut colouring at the base of the darter’s neck:
Common name: Darter
Scientific name: Anhinga melanogaster
Approximate length: 90 cm; wing span: 1.2 m
Date spotted: 12 February 2017 (Summer)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’49.6″S 151°15’05.7″E
Sydney Birder 