Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Backyard Birding

Most of the time I revel in nice warm weather but when 'warm' becomes 'hot' I am not so enthusiastic. We have had more than a week of this extreme heat but yesterday it broke in typically spectacular fashion. This was the view out the front of my house as the thunderheads built up.

I know there was hail in the storms because the temperature rapidly became quite cool and pleasant. We were only on the edges of the storms this time and we only got light rain. I wish you could have heard and seen the birds as the light rain came through. I have some big trees in my backyard and flocks of birds danced in them, turned somersaults and flung themselves into the air again, and fights broke out for the most desirable roosts - all the time screaming at the top of their 'birdy' voices. Meanwhile the passing storm clouds created beautiful backdrops for their activities.

The only birds I have photographed are ones in my backyard - and most of them in the early morning before it got too hot.
These kookaburras were out before it was even light and announcing their presence with a group laugh. They are sitting on the neighbor's TV aerial.

These Welcome Swallows are usually seen swooping high in the air as they chase bugs in the early morning or late afternoon.

"Cockies" (Sulphur Crested Cockatoos) fly over every morning and night but this one came down into a palm tree and added to the patterns of light and shade in the early morning light.

There is quite a large group of sparrows (an introduced species in this country) that have taken up semi-permanent residence in the trees in the backyard. However, I already have a group of Brown Honeyeaters  that consider that their own place. It does not seem to me that they are happy with each other because they have frequently been sitting in branches close together and  giving loud cries of annoyance! It will be interesting to see if they learn to co-exist or if one lot chases they others out.
Brown Honeyeater

and House Sparrow

For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday

and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday



23 comments:

  1. awesome photos Mick! I find clouds so fascinating, the shapes and formations they make are so cool!

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  2. all your birds are beauties. loved the thought of them dancing in the rain and break from the excessive heat!

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  3. It is a joy to see birds from the other side of the world as they seem so exotic to me.

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  4. They are beautiful indeed and I totally agree with Tex -- love the idea of them dancing in the rain!! Fun, wonderful post for the day, Mick, as always!! Thanks for sharing! Have a great week!

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  5. Lovely captures of the sky! And the birds are all wonderful. It must have been a treat to hear and watch them dancing in the rain! Great shots! Have a happy week!

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  6. Beautiful images Mick, I can just imagine the birds delight with the change of weather.

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  7. It's amazing what we can see from our Australian back-yards Mick ..... and those kookaburras are a real delight perched on high thinking of some-thing funny to laugh about.

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  8. Wonderful blue skies and beautiful birds and great photography!

    Happy Week to you,
    artmusedog and carol

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  9. Hope the weather cools off soon. Wonderful cloud shots.

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  10. Great to see some of the varied bird life visiting your garden.

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  11. Hi Mick, a great collection of the birds. Love how the kookaburras hang around with their taunting laughter!! Funny guys :D)
    Oh, those thunderheads... great photos, but headache-makers in my book!
    Love those Brown Honeyeaters. It's fun to watch when a group take over a tree, or the whole yard!! Lots of action.
    Great post, cheers now :D)

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  12. Wonderful selection of birds visiting your garden. Great images of these beautiful birds.

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  13. you have all of them in your backyard :) How nice. Glad the heat is over for now.

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  14. Wonderful birds! I'd love to have them in my backyard. :-)

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  15. These are pretty much the birds that visit around here too. What a great collection of visitors and I am glad you got some relief from the hot weather.

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  16. Really wonderful Australian birds! And I love the beautiful skies!

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  17. The rainbow lorikeets go bonkers during/after the rain too. A walk along the foreshore path after rain, or during a light shower, is amazingly noisy. Yesterday, in one of the big trees down near the RSL (Tin Can Bay) there were almost more lorikeets than leaves.....

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  18. wish I had a few Honeyeaters...to chase away at least half of the 30 sparrows who ravage the feeder each day..... they are so greedy! Just 6 or so would be nice.... okay, I guess that is a lot less than half isn't it? ..hahahhah...... maybe I need the hawk to make another appearance ....

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  19. Great photos Mick. Setting your Swallows make me wish for spring when ours will arrive back from Africa.

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  20. Oh, and on Oyster Parade, opposite the Marina, there is a pair of Rainbow Bee-eaters........ they spend a lot of time in a vacant block there.

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  21. Beautiful scenery and those are some AMAZING backyard birds. Wow.

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  22. You have some lovely visitors to your backyard.

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  23. see I live going to our surf beach after a good storm, there's so much to see that's been washed up. great photos!

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