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A few birds from my recent trip to Cairns
This post rounds off my series of bird photos from a recent trip to Far North Queensland. The birds in this post were in Cairns, a lovely city on the east coast of Australia near the Great Barrier Reef.
A Great Egret stalked the mudflats of the bay. At low tide, this area is a vast muddy plain. The tide was in when I took this photo:
In this close up, the egret is looking rather alarmed. I think I just caught it at an inopportune moment. Perhaps a yawn, or a fish that went down the wrong way:
The next picture shows the bay when the tide is out. In the distance is a Black-necked Stork a first sighting for me:
Here’s a close-up of the same Black-necked Stork. These are large birds, at 1.5 metres tall with a wingspan of over 2 metres. They’re the only species of stork found in Australia:
Figbirds called from the trees lining the Cairns promenade. The males in this area have a bright yellow front, which is different from the more subdued colouring of the figbirds down near Sydney. Here’s a male Figbird:
Here’s a female Figbird, with her gentle olive-brown colouring and streaked front:
There were large numbers of Metallic Starlings, congregating in trees and shimmering in the sun. This is another first sighting for me! Unlike the Common Starling, which was introduced to Australia, these Metallic Starlings are indigenous to North East Queensland:
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief glimpse into the birds of Far North Queensland. I hope to travel up there again sometime soon. It’s a unique area of the world.
Song of Figbirds and a scary story
In a previous post I showed pictures of some Figbirds that have recently taken up residence in a patch of trees on my route to work. The birds make a lovely variety of noises, so I took my camera in again to make some videos with sound.
Here’s the scary bit of the tale. There I was, head in the clouds, filming the birds, when a man suddenly started shouting and swearing at me. He ran across the park towards me and stopped right in my face, uttering all sorts of expletives. “What the f*** are you doing? Get the f*** out of here!” and so on.
I was totally amazed and rather scared. He started making chopping motions with his hand, saying repeatedly that he was going to smack me, and then that he’d smack the camera out of my hand. At first I thought he might be concerned I’d been photographing him, though that’d be odd since I was quite clearly aiming very high in the trees.
Next he started pointing wildly at the camera. “What’s that? That’s not a camera. That’s a zapper. You’re harming the birds. I see you. You’re hurting the birds.” And so on. So, some sort of mental illness, I guessed.
I was scared that if I turned around, he’d hit me on the head. I said calmly that it was just a camera, not a zapper, but that I was going anyway. He continued windmilling his arms, and I still didn’t feel safe to turn my back to him. I said again that I was going. He was still being very aggressive. So I said, “I’m going to go now. Not because I’m doing anything wrong, but because you’re a horrible man.”
Well, that may not have been the wisest thing to say, but it did bring him up short long enough for me to turn and walk away fast. Then he became totally apoplectic, jumping up and down and shouting with fury. But I was safely away, though I do confess I kept turning around and checking he didn’t follow me for quite a while.
Anyway, here are the videos. In the first one, you’ll see a couple of female birds and hear the other birds all round them:
The second video shows a male Figbird making a slightly different call:
The third video shows a few birds in the rain. This is when the man ran across the park and threatened me (though there’s none of that in the video):
Common name: Figbird
Scientific name:Â Sphecotheres viridis
Approximate length: 28 cm
Date spotted: 31 August 2017 (Early spring)
Location: Pyrmont, Sydney: 33°52’06.5″S 151°11’52.2″E
Figbirds in Pyrmont, Sydney
A group of birds has caught my attention on my way to work this past week. They collect in some trees in Pyrmont near the Sydney Maritime Museum, uttering soft “chweeeep” calls to each other. I took some photos and looked them up in my bird book. It turns out they’re Figbirds, which I’ve never seen before.
Here’s a female Figbird showing off its streaked underbelly:
This one is also a female, with a pretty brown head:
Looking down at me with curiosity:
Ready to fly away:
This is a male Figbird, with the distinctive red patch of skin around the eye:
And a shot of the male’s olive-coloured front:
Common name: Figbird
Scientific name:Â Sphecotheres viridis
Approximate length: 28 cm
Date spotted: 22-23 August 2017 (Early spring)
Location: Pyrmont, Sydney: 33°52’06.5″S 151°11’52.2″E
Sydney Birder 