Blog Archives
Rainbow Lorikeets courting
These two Rainbow Lorikeets looked pretty interested in each other. They started with grooming and crooning, then they did a bit of a courtship dance. But it didn’t seem very serious, and they seemed to part as just good friends.
Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 19 October 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’51.2″S 151°15’00.4″E
Juvenile Powerful Owl with two adults
Today I went back to a spot in the bush where I’ve seen a Powerful Owl a few times. This time, there were three owls, one of them a juvenile: white and fluffy, with dark patches around its eyes. It heard me, and checked me out:
It’s hard to get a good day’s sleep when you’re an owl. Listen to all the noise they have to put up with from the other birds:
Here’s a still photo of the three owls:
And here’s a rear view of the juvenile:
Common name: Powerful Owl
Scientific name: Ninox strenua
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 6 October 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’51.0″S 151°14’52.1″E
Black Cockatoos social grooming
A flight of Black Cockatoos swooped in over my head and landed in a big old gum tree, screeching their wild call. Two of them immediately started a careful and fond session of mutual grooming. As far as I can tell, both birds are female as they both have pale bills and grey (not red) rings around their eyes. You can hear their soft squawks as well as their characteristic wild shrieks on the video.
Here’s a still photo of the two social groomers:
This is one of the other birds in the group:
Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 6 October 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’05.2″S 151°14’26.5″E
Red-browed Finch
This little finch is looking very spiffy. I guess he’s donned is brightest feathers for the spring socials.
Here’s a still shot, grabbed from the video:
Common name: Red-browed Finch
Scientific name: Neochmia temporalis
Approximate length: 12 cm
Date spotted: 27 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’35.4″S 151°15’13.0″E
Tawny Frogmouth nesting
Strolling along a path in the bush today, I spotted a strange-looking lump high in a tree. I got out my trusty Canon with its high-powered zoom and snapped a few shots. When I got home, I loaded the photos onto my PC to have a look. Lo and behold, it’s a Tawny Frogmouth on a nest.
This pic zooms in closer, from a slightly different angle. A branch obscures part of the bird’s face, and you can see its short, mouth-like beak on one side of the branch:
Common name: Tawny Frogmouth
Scientific name: Podargus strigoides
Approximate length: 34-52 cm
Date spotted: 21 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°46’58.4″S 151°15’07.2″E
For more shots of these intriguing birds, check out the Frogmouth category of this blog.
Powerful Owl and its dinner
A few weeks ago I spotted a Powerful Owl roosting high on a branch in Manly Dam Reserve. (Blogged.) I’ve seen the bird in exactly the same spot a couple of times since then.
The owl was there again today, so I snapped a few shots. Only when I looked at the photos on my computer did I spot the poor little possum (already demised) that is grasped in the owl’s claws.
Common name: Powerful Owl
Scientific name: Ninox strenua
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 14 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°46’50.2″S 151°14’54.5″E
King Parrot in spring splendour
This splendid King Parrot is perched high in a tree. Only the power of my Canon zoom brought it into clear sight.
Another shot, after the bird moved to shadier spot:
Common name: Australian King Parrot
Scientific name: Alisterus scapularis
Approximate length: 44 cm
Date spotted: 14 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°46’50.2″S, 151°14’54.5″E
Kookaburra bookends
This pretty pair of kookaburras perched outside my window yesterday morning.
Common name: Laughing Kookaburra
Scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae
Approximate length: 47 cm
Date spotted: 13 September 2014
Season: Spring
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°46’07.9″S, 151°15’27.5″E
A King Parrot comes to call
This Australian King Parrot dropped in for a visit this afternoon. He hung around for a while, exploring the trees around our house and making his piercing whistle, “Eeeeeep”. King Parrots are fairly large birds, bigger and more dramatic in appearance than the Rainbow Lorikeets we see more often.
This was my first view of the bird, before I zoomed in with the camera:
He moved to another tree:
Where I got a shot of his back too:
Common name: Australian King Parrot
Scientific name: Alisterus scapularis
Approximate length: 44 cm
Date spotted: 30 April 2014
Season: Autumn
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°44’15.2″S, 151°18’44.1″E
Pelicans at Long Reef Headland, NSW
Pelicans are huge birds who look wise in a goofy way. A number of them hang out at Long Reef Headland, NSW, Australia.
Posing in front of a breaking wave:
It’s odd to see such huge birds perched on lamp posts. I wonder if the engineers who designed the lamp posts catered for such a weight?
How many pelicans can you fit on a lamp post?
Zooming in:
Common name: Australian Pelican
Scientific name: Pelecanus conspicillatus
Approximate length: 170 cm
Approximate wingspan: 2.5m
Date spotted: 23 March 2014
Season: Late Summer
Location: Long Reef Headland, New South Wales, Australia
Latitude/longitude: 33°44’15.2″S, 151°18’44.1″E
Finishing up with an atmospheric shot of Long Reef, showing a fisherman, a ship, and some birds:
Sydney Birder 