5 Minute Birdwatch

This post is for World Bird Wednesday.

The weather has not been good for photographing birds over the last few days - high winds and heavy showers with only brief breaks of sunshine. I could hear birds in the grevillea tree in my backyard so went out with the camera to see what I could get between rain showers. The result - 4 different species in just 5 minutes.
Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)
Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus)
Little Friarbird (Philemon citreogularis)
Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus)

Noisy Friarbirds

I really enjoy seeing Rainbow Lorikeets around my yard. However, a number of my blogging colleagues have said that Lorikeets are very aggressive birds. Over the last month or so there have been fewer and fewer Lorikeets in my Grevillea tree. They have been driven off by extremely aggressive Noisy Friarbirds! The Friarbirds sit on the top branches and seem to warn any other birds that the tree is theirs!
I don't know if this is a normal "pecking order". Yesterday I found part of the reason! I heard small bird noises down in that area of the garden and when I looked I found this nest. I first discovered it because of the piece of paperbark that was not properly fitted around the nest and hangs down below it. When I went closer to look a Noisy Friarbird flew off. I can't see into the nest as it has been carefully constructed so that it is behind some leaves. I climbed up on a step ladder - far enough away that I would not be too much of a disturbance - and I can see baby beaks waving around just above the rim of the nest. To see more I will have to wait until the young birds get big enough to move out of the nest.

Another Common Bird

This bird - the Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus) - is also very common in my yard and on my grevillea bushes. However, unlike the Rainbow Lorikeet, it is not so photogenic nor does it enjoy having me take its photo. It used to be called the 'Leatherhead' because its head is covered with black skin instead of feathers. Adding to its unusual appearance is an upright knob on its beak.
For more bird photos visit the bird photography weekly.

Juvenile Noisy Friarbirds

A couple of days ago I heard some new bird calls in my grevillea bushes. The calls were continuous and I rather suspected juvenile birds of some kind. When I went down with the camera I found two juvenile Noisy Friarbirds. I had to chuckle at the fluff on the heads which looked rather like strange hair cuts. Unlike the adults these two were not showing the prominent nob on their beaks.
One juvenile was getting on with the job of living and searching the flowers for food. The other juvenile sat high on a branch and called continuously for parental attention - and got it too while I was watching!
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly site.

Fire and Flowers

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of fires burning around us. This is part of the normal burning off at this time of the year. There are very large pine plantations to the west and National Park to the east and south. The bay (Great Sandy Strait) stretches off to the north. Without a 4 wheel drive vehicle I am not able to explore far inside the park but the areas I can see close to the road regenerate within a couple of years. The houses on the opposite side of the street where I live back directly onto National Park land so it is reassuring to know that not too much undergrowth is allowed to accumulate. This plume of smoke from one of the fires looked quite spectacular from out at Inksip Point the other afternoon.
When I came home the smoke was to the west of me and the sunset was red and smokey.
Yesterday while walking along the side of the bay this gum tree was in blossom. I have not noticed others with this pink and white color - usually just white. There were a number of different birds on the flowers but the only one to stay for a photo was this Noisy Friarbird.

Noisy Friarbird

These birds are very common around my yard and since they are also very noisy they really can't be ignored. With their bare black head and strange knob on the bill they really can't be confused with any other bird. The feathers under the chin are rather beautiful when they put back their head and start their very noisy call.Thanks Larry for finding a good recording of the bird's call HERE.

For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.

The Sounds of Summer

Pictures can evoke powerful memories for many people. For me it is sounds that remind me of the most vivid memories.

When we were children, year-end holidays were always spent camping in a tent at the beach as far away from 'civilization' as we could get. My father always found a spot tucked just behind the sand dunes and in among the casuarinas and banksias. The beach, of course, was filled with the sound of the sea and the cries of gulls. But the tent itself always seemed to be surrounded by the sounds of Leatherheads – Noisy Friarbirds as I now call them.

We would wake to their chatter in the early morning and run down to the surf for a swim before breakfast. In the evening as we sat around the campfire we listened to them in the trees as they settled down for the night. In between were long lovely days of sun, sand, and sea – and nothing and no-one in sight except ourselves.

I have planted grevillias in my garden and the Noisy Friarbirds are frequent visitors. They still sound like summer to me and I know I can still find the ocean waiting for me when I get in the kayak and get out there.