Blog Archives
Atmospheric pic of preening pelican in Cairns
I love the colours of this early-morning shot. The bird is an Australian Pelican, chilling out at the edge of the Coral Sea.
Common name: Australian Pelican
Scientific name: Pelecanus conspicillatus
Approximate length: 170 cm
Approximate wingspan: 2.5 m
Date spotted: 15 May 2022 (dry season)
Location: Cairns Esplanade, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°55’05.0″S 145°46’33.3″E
Pelicans at Cairns Esplanade
I’m in Cairns for a couple of days! Cairns is in Far North Queensland, about 2,000 kilometres from Sydney as the crow flies. Early this morning, before the tropical heat set in, I took a stroll along the Esplanade.
This lovely sculpture by Brian Robinson is called Citizens Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef:
I love the way the artwork frames the bay and the entrance to the Coral Sea.
A little further along the Esplanade, two Australian Pelicans were chilling out in the shelter of the boardwalk:
Common name: Australian Pelican
Scientific name: Pelecanus conspicillatus
Approximate length: 170 cm
Approximate wingspan: 2.5m
Date spotted: 14 May 2022 (autumn)
Location: Cairns Esplanade, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°55’05.0″S 145°46’33.3″E
Crested Tern taking a bath at Newcastle Ocean Baths
Yesterday I visited the city of Newcastle for the first time. This is Newcastle on the eastern coast of Australia, not the one in the UK. While strolling along the prom, approaching the Newcastle Ocean Baths, I saw a Crested Tern enjoying a bath in the rock pool that lies on one side of the baths:
Common name: Crested Tern
Scientific name: Sterna bergii
Approximate length: 45 cm
Date spotted: 11 March 2022 (late summer)
Location: Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia: -32.929794, 151.789490
Here’s a picture of the building that you glimpse at the end of the video — the Newcastle Ocean Baths:
Sea-Eagles at Manly Dam
For the second time ever, I spotted a White-bellied Sea-Eagle at Manly Dam, north of Sydney. This one was circling high in the sky:
Common name: White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Scientific name: Haliaeetus leucogaster
Approximate length: 85 cm. Wing span: 2.2 m
Date spotted: 3 July 2021 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’59.2″S 151°15’19.4″E
These eagles are large, imposing creatures. The last time I saw one at the dam was back in April 2017. I didn’t post any pictures then, but now I’ve gone back and rooted out a video of that bird. The eagle was very far away then too, and I had my camera on maximum zoom.
This video, from April 2017, shows the bird coming in to land at a small beach on the opposite side of the dam from where I was:
One day, with luck, I’ll see one of these eagles from closer by!
Eat your greens! Baby swans growing up
Early in October I spotted a family of swans at Manly Dam. These are Australian Black Swans. When I first saw them, there were five baby swans (cygnets), closely watched over by two adults. This was one of the little ones, just a few days old then, I think:
Since then, I’ve been watching the cygnets grow. Alas, two of them disappeared over the weeks. But there are still three of the cygnets, still with their parents in late December, and much bigger and stronger.
The video below shows a cygnet and a parent feeding on water weeds. This was towards the end of November, when the cygnets were around six weeks old. Near the beginning of the video, the adult swan grabs a clump of weed and dumps it near the baby.
Eat your greens!
Later the video zooms out to show the entire family of three babies and two adults:
Here’s one of the cygnets swimming with an adult, also at around six weeks old:
On 23 December, at ten to eleven weeks old, the cygnets are much bulkier and their faces look more swan-like:
Even at this age, their wings are still small and stumpy, nowhere near ready for flight:
Common name: Black Swan
Scientific name: Cygnus atratus
Approximate length of adult: 120 cm
Date spotted: 9 October 2020 (spring) through to 23 December 2020 (summer)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’58.5″S 151°15’18.6″E
Royal Spoonbill at Manly Beach
Today I saw a Royal Spoonbill for the first time. The bird was strutting along the bank of Manly Creek, right where the lagoon opens into the Queenscliff end of Manly Beach. The spoonbill was accompanied by a White-faced Heron.
A Royal Spoonbill is a large white bird with a black face, a spoon-shaped beak, and black legs. Spoonbills feed by dragging their beaks through the water. In the video below, the bird hops into the water and trawls for food. During mating season (which is now), Royal Spoonbills have an impressive crest of long white feathers on the back of their heads. Thanks to the wind today, you can see this bird’s fine crest blowing around its head.
Common name: Royal Spoonbill
Scientific name: Platalea regia
Approximate length: 75-80 cm
Date spotted: 25 October 2020 (spring)
Location: Manly Beach, New South Wales, Australia: 33°47’06.8″S 151°17’16.3″E
Baby black swans and ducklings
Baby swans are called cygnets. Pictures of cygnets from white swans are quite common, but what do baby black swans look like? Very similar to the white-swan babies, it turns out. They’re grey and fluffy, with black eyes, feet, and beak. I was delighted to spot a family of black swans while out walking a couple of days ago.
The parent swans were watchful, taking care to keep their little ones in a group. A male swan is called a cob, and a female is a pen. Five babies! That’s a lot of curiosity and cuteness to look after.
Did I say five babies? Yes. One of the cygnets was fossicking around in the undergrowth at the water’s edge. You can see the fifth little one in this video:
Common name: Black Swan
Scientific name: Cygnus atratus
Approximate length of adult: 120 cm
Date spotted: 9 October 2020 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’58.5″S 151°15’18.6″E
Nearby was a family of Australian Wood Ducks. The ducklings are almost as cute as the cygnets. But not quite!
Common name: Australian Wood Duck
Scientific name: Chenonetta jubata
Approximate length of adult: 50 cm
Date spotted: 9 October 2020 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’58.5″S 151°15’18.6″E
The sinuous neck of a Darter
Darters are sometimes called snakebirds, because of their long, sinuous necks. I came across this small darter sheltering on a branch close to the footpath at Manly Dam.
The bird didn’t seem to be worried by my presence. I stood and watched it for a while, enjoying the supply movements of its wings and neck:
At one stage a couple of ravens started cawing. The darter showed some concern, looking skywards to see if there was any threat:
Darters use that long neck to hunt underwater, straightening it suddenly to dash out and catch their prey.
Here’s a close-up shot of the bird’s head, neck, and shoulders, with the neck coiled up in the resting pose:
The bird’s feet are webbed, good for swimming and for clasping a branch:
Spreading its feathers prior to a stretch:
Like cormorants, darters need to hold out their wings to dry:
Common name: Darter
Scientific name: Anhinga melanogaster
Approximate length: 90 cm; wing span: 1.2 m
Date spotted: 30 June 2020 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’38.5″S 151°14’57.0″E
Fluffy Australasian Grebe, not a duckling
Update on 19 April: The bird is actually an Australasian Grebe, not a duckling as I originally thought. Thanks to Pamela and Carol for helping to identify the bird (see comments on this post).
This tiny ball of fluff was zooming around an inlet of Manly Dam. I thought it was a Mallard duckling, because it seemed to spend most time close to an adult Mallard. Despite its size, the little thing was independent of spirit and a fast paddler.
Common name: Australasian Grebe
Scientific name: Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
Approximate length: 23-25 cm
Date spotted: 6 April 2020 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam National Reserve, near Sydney: 33°46’34.8″S 151°14’49.6″E
This is the Mallard that the little one seemed to home in on:
Mallards are an introduced species in Australia. Their original home is the northern hemisphere, but they’re quite common in south eastern Australia now too.
Common name: Mallard
Scientific name: Anas Platyrhynchos
Approximate length: 50-70 cm
Date spotted: 6 April 2020 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam National Reserve, near Sydney: 33°46’34.8″S 151°14’49.6″E
Cormorant poses on Manly Oceanides statue
The Oceanides, or The Sea Nymphs, is a graceful sculpture on the edge of the sea pool at Cabbage Tree Bay in Manly. Today a Little Pied Cormorant added its grace to the work of art:
(Click on the picture to zoom in.)
Common name: Little Pied Cormorant
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Approximate length: 60 cm
Date spotted: 27 August 2019 (Late winter)
Location: Cabbage Tree Bay, Manly, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’02.5″S 151°17’40.0″E
Sydney Birder 