I took all these photos while visiting friends this morning. Their garden is quite different from mine as all the big old trees were retained when the house was built. There are a number of Scribbly Gums with interesting looking holes in the trunk which birds use for nesting. This hole was being investigated by first a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo and then a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. Unfortunately that was yesterday - when all the best stories happen! - so no photos.
Last year a pair of Pied Butcherbirds raised a couple of young ones and they are all still around the yard. The juveniles are now nearly one year old but their plumage is still very different from the the adults'. The adult is all black and white but the juvenile is a mixture of gray and brown with the white.
There were Kookaburras up in the trees but when I tried to get into a better position to photograph the blue specks down the back of the bird it kept moving around on the branch to keep facing me all the time.
Rainbow Lorikeets were in one of the flowering trees. Their green color was a good match for the leaves. Like many parrots they frequently rip up what they are eating.
Thanks Sarah and Graham for an enjoyable morning.For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography weekly.
Great series of birds. I just love the Lorikeets and the Kookaburra. The juvie Butcherbird is cute and the adult is pretty. Sounds like a great day for watching the birds in your friends yard.
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen - glad you liked them all. It was a lovely day - after several very gray and rainy ones so really enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThose butcherbirds look like they could do some serious damage with their hooked bills. Nice work Mick.
ReplyDeleteI must say Mick, you have captured photos of some beautiful birds with some very unique names!
ReplyDeleteHI Phil, Butcherbirds are the enemy of all smaller birds. One of my books claims that they are even more dangerous for the small birds than hawks.
ReplyDeleteHi BirdingMaine, early settlers out here named birds for what they observed about them and these birds hang up their prey and then eat it from that position.
You have such interesting birds in Australia! These guys are interesting, in a very macabre way.
ReplyDeletebirds never do as we want them to, do they? You have so many birds around, I envy you.
ReplyDeleteHi NatureFootstep - it keeps us interested when we can't predict what the birds will do!
ReplyDeleteHi Wren, your comment has just come down - I really don't know what has happened to blogger this week. Butcherbirds are interesting and they interact with humans around the yard - only their habits to small birds are not nice!
ReplyDeleteWow...those rainbow lorikeets are just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lana
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