Blog Archives
Black cockatoo eating banksia seedpod
Out for an early morning walk the other day, I suddenly found myself amongst a group of black cockatoos snacking on seedpods and chatting. These birds are large and wild, and fairly rare, so it’s a real treat when you bump into them.
The cockatoos were in a cluster of banksia trees. In the video, you’ll hear the black cockatoo’s weird squealing call just once, as well as the more raucous squawk of some sulphur-crested cockatoos (not visible in the video) and other bird calls.
Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 1 August 2016
Season: Winter
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’46.4″S 151°15’22.3″E
Funny-faced kookaburra
Kookaburras are gorgeous, but sometimes they can look a little goofy.
Here’s the whole bird:
Common name: Laughing Kookaburra
Scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae
Approximate length: 47 cm
Date spotted: 6 August 2016
Season: Winter
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’55.4″S 151°15’10.3″E
Wood duck quacking high in a gum tree
For some reason I’ve never expected to see a duck high up a gum tree. I know they fly, but somehow I think of them as spending their lives on the ground or on the water. Walking through the bush, I’ve occasionally heard a muttering, rolling sound coming from the tree tops. Imagine my surprise when I tracked it down to this Australian Wood Duck.
Here’s a still photo of the duck:
And in profile:
Common name: Australian Wood Duck
Scientific name: Chenonetta jubata
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 31 July 2016
Season: Winter
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’41.1″S 151°14’54.9″E
Fairy-wren at last
I’ve been trying for ages to get a photo of a Fairy-wren. They’re tiny little puffballs of energy, never in one place long enough to focus the camera. I’ve managed plenty of blurs and smudges. Now at last here’s a recognisable picture.
Common name: Variegated Fairy-wren
Scientific name: Malurus lamberti
Approximate length: 13 cm
Date spotted: 31 July 2016
Season: Winter
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’55.7″S 151°15’26.9″E
Silvereyes at a mossy puddle
This photograph is more of a study in colour than a picture of a bird. I’d forgotten that I’d played with my camera settings on my previous outing. The result is rather Constable-esque.
Two tiny little Silvereyes at a mossy puddle:
A zoomed-in view, to make it easier to spot the birds:
Common name: Silvereye
Scientific name: Zosterops lateralis
Approximate length: 11 cm
Date spotted: 30 July 2016
Season: Winter
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°47’02.0″S 151°15’18.5″E
Psyduck in Sydney
This blog is usually about birds in the real world, but I couldn’t resist posting this encounter with Psyduck from Pokémon Go. The game is a cute demonstration of irtual reality and the real world merging in augmented reality.
According to the description in Pokémon Go, Psyduck has a mysterious power to generate brain waves that only sleeping creatures should be able to emit. Useful, I guess?
Common name: Psyduck
Scientific name: Duck Pokémon
Height: 80 cm
Date spotted: 23 July 2016
Season: Winter
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’37.2″S 151°14’49.3″E
Kookaburra enjoying the winter sunshine
It’s been very very wet and very very cold in Sydney over the last few weeks. This morning the mists cleared, the rain stopped, and Sydney-siders ventured out to enjoy the sunshine. This kookaburra grabbed a spot in the sun on a moss-covered electricity pole.
Common name: Laughing Kookaburra
Scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae
Approximate length: 47 cm
Date spotted: 10 July 2016
Season: Winter
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’35.7″S 151°15’25.6″E
Eastern Yellow Robin
Usually the little birds (robins, wrens, finches) flit fast through the bush, coming to rest for only a few seconds before moving on. That makes photography challenging. This morning, a little Eastern Yellow Robin stayed in one spot long enough for me to take a few photos.
On the point of flight:
Common name: Eastern Yellow Robin
Scientific name: Eopsaltria australis
Approximate length: 15 cm
Date spotted: 13 March 2016
Season: Late summer
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’10.7″S 151°14’28.0″E
Purple Swamphens playing coy
The first sight of the Purple Swamphens in this video is their unique tracks in the sand. Then we hear a peeping and a squawking and a bit of a kerfuffle behind the reeds. A bird emerges for a quick appearance, before going back to the more interesting companionship of its fellows. A few minutes later, I came across another pair of birds out in the open, and filmed them too. Notice their big feet as they walk across the lily pads.
Common name: Purple Swamphen
Scientific name: Porphyrio porphyrio
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 6 March 2016
Season: Late summer
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’26.6″S 151°14’44.3″E
Eastern Spinebill near Sydney, Australia
This pretty little bird is fast-moving and hard to photograph. The trickling noise in the background is the waterfall at Manly Dam Reserve. Towards the end of the clip, you’ll hear first a Whipbird and then some tweeting that may be the Spinebill itself.
Here it is, an Eastern Spinebill dancing around as it catches insects. At least, I think that’s what it’s doing.
Common name: Eastern Spinebill
Scientific name: Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
Approximate length: 15 cm
Date spotted: 6 March 2016
Season: Late summer
Location: Waterfall at Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’08.5″S 151°14’29.1″E
Sydney Birder 