Elefromoz, her Big Year, Take 2

[elefromoz]

I have a favourite bench on the River near my home.

 

 

I often sit here and watch the daily comings and goings of our local Birds. The more I sit, the more familiar the Birds become, for example, in the middle of this photo are my 3 local Osprey perched and flying, I feel I know them very well. My January collection will be very "local", all Birds from the suburbs around me here in Perth. I'll start with more or less my "bench" Birds.

 

1.Striped Pardalote, in exactly the same hollow as last year.

 

2.White Ibis

 

3. Buff Banded Rail

 

4.Pacific Black Duck

 

5.Singing HoneyEater

 

6.Red Necked Avocets

 

7.Great Egret, common as, but, great to watch it stalking and bending its long neck

 

 

 

8.Little Egret, a bit further along the river

 

9.Spotted Dove

 

10. Weebill

 

11. Black Winged Stilts

 

12. Laughing Kookaburra, my book tells me these were released here from the Zoo (!) some 100yrs ago to deal with Snakes, instead they have turned into a bit of a pest by predating smaller birds. Nevertheless....

 

This one has evidence of his dirty deeds on his beak

 

13. Australian Hobby pair

 

and yesterday evening the two of them gave a blistering display of speed and agility, as I sat on my bench. For 10 minutes they circled around over the shallows and through the trees at light speed.

 

[elefromoz]

Further around the foreshore, there is a sandbar which is a few hundred metres long, that juts into the river, ending at a deep channel. The sandbar is a breeding Sanctuary for some summer visitors

 

14. Red Capped Plover. This first photo I took late December last year, luckily after a bit of poking it left this Bee well alone

 

By January this year, things were looking quite different

 

If you sit very quietly, before too long all these little heads pop up from the grass

 

and then they venture out into the open

 

 

15. Fairy Terns also nest here. These little Birds are in real strife, with most of our coastline being developed, everywhere is pretty accessible now to surfers, walkers, dogs, fishermen, 4 wheel drives, even race horses training on beaches. Not much hope for little Birds trying to nest on beaches. Anyway, again, last December I visited the Fairy Tern sanctuary which our Port Authority has created (pat on the back to them) and photographed this little one

 

Now, in January, on our Sandbar the Chicks are growing fast. Wont be long and they will be gone for another year

 

and very demanding

 

Chick and Adult

 

Adult

 

 

16. Red Necked Stint

 

 

17. Hooded Plover, a first for me, sadly another little Bird with exactly the same problems to deal with. Nevertheless I was very excited to see him, and nearly every day since. Just one.

 

and for size comparison

 

18. Pied Oystercatcher

[elefromoz]

A few more from January, Baigup Reserve, Maylands, these first two photos really don't do justice to these very pretty little Birds, but hopefully Ill get another opportunity another time

19. Variegated Fairy Wren

 

20. Mistleoebird

 

21.Yellow Billed Spoonbill

 

22. Pink Eared Duck

 

23. Nankeen Night Heron

[michael-ibk]

Very glad you are doing a second BY, @@elefromoz ! Beatiful photos. The White Ibis looks very much like a Sacred one.

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much @Elefremoz! Love your style!

[Geoff]

Excellent start. Great location where you live ~not only for humans. The bird in post #1 is a Striated Pardalote.

[elefromoz]

@@Peter Connan, thanks. @@michael-ibk, well spotted, a quick check reveals "Sacred", more appropriately refers to the African species. @@Geoff, oops, I must have started to type that but got side-tracked at "stri......",

[Geoff]

@@michael-ibk The same superspecies complex Michael. The Aust White ibis is also called Sacred ibis by a few (mainly long time) birders in Oz.

[elefromoz]

And the last few from January, this time from Woodman Point, a coastal/beach area on the city's southern end, with fringing bush.

 

24. Fan-tailed Cuckoo, hiding in the scrub (Im actually really enjoying these interesting Birds and their sneaky nest behaviour, its usually only humans who are so devious)

 

25. Caspian Tern

 

 

26. Crested Tern flying

 

27. Grey Plover

 

 

 

28. Ruddy Turnstone hanging with the Grey Plovers

 

29. Pied Cormorant

 

30. Little Pied Cormorant

[lmSA84]

@@elefromoz - great start. I love your photos and your style of writing. Most of these birds feel quite foreign to me which makes this all the more interesting.

[xelas]

@@elefromoz

 

I love your photos and your added comments! It will be a very educational Big Year.

[elefromoz]

@@xelas, thanks, oh I know, I do waffle on a bit. Every Bird tells a story....

[TonyQ]

@@elefromoz

A great start-and I loveto see your local birds! I am delighted you are taking part again.

[elefromoz]

31. My February collection, to start, a couple of hours south of Perth. We were driving a gravel road around the Estuary in Bunbury, when I just glimpsed this through the trees, screeched to a halt in a cloud of dust

Whistling Kite, 1/2/17

 

He was perched just 4 metres above the roadside, which saw me attempting "stealth" to get a shot. As it turned out, don't think he cared much anyway.

 

 

32. Little Black Cormorant (and friends)

 

2/2/17 Further south, Dunsborough area, 33. Brown Honeyeater

 

34.Silvereye

 

35. Eurasian Coot, and baby that only its mother could love

 

36. Crested Pigeon

 

37. Australian Ringneck

 

38. Splendid Fairy Wren, female, Dunsborough 4/2/17

 

 

and Male

 

"Yes I know Im Splendid"

 

A happy couple

 

39. Western Spinebill, Female. A real treat as these haven't visited the garden for a few years til now. No Male though.

 

 

 

40. Long Billed Black Cockatoo (Baudins), that long beak is used to hook the seed out of honkey-nuts (Marri), their favourite food. When the big flocks come through the suburbs, you can lay in bed in the morning, listening to the tin roof getting bombarded by the nuts in their hundreds, which are about the size of a golfball, luckily they don't weigh as much

[elefromoz]

A little further south of Dunsborough is Boranup Forrest

 

41. Grey Currawong 4/2/17

 

42. Grey Fantail

 

I am a Fantail because...

 

43. Red Winged Fairy Wren, male

 

 

and Female, looking much less bedraggled

 

 

 

Im doing much better with the Females than Males this month, 44. Rufous Whistler 6/2/17

 

thats it for the 'down south Birds" for now, unless you count this one, locally affectionately known as 'Chick on a Stick"

 

Being serious again, Alfred Cove foreshore, Perth 45. Australian Pelican, 13/2/17

 

46. Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike

 

47. Red Wattlebird

 

48. Greenshank

 

Last month I posted a photo of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo, which was barely identifiable, 19/2/17 Lake Gwelup, Perth

 

 

49. Purple Swamphen, not in the swamp, but up a tree

 

50. Tawny Frogmouth family Lake Gwelup 19/2/17

 

 

 

[Geoff]

@@elefromoz What is the species of grevillia in the spinebill images?

[michael-ibk]

The Splendid Fairy Wren is exceptionally cool.

[xelas]

Hahaha, Splendid Fairy Wren is truly a poser! And Tawny Frogmouth, they do have a laaaaaarge mouth .

[Caracal]

Really pleased I've just cottoned on to this thread @@elefromoz - enjoying your commentary along with your photos.

 

Love the photo of the grey fantail's fantail - year long residents in my garden with their beautiful nests like wineglasses without the base.

 

The splendid fairy wrens are also garden favourites here way over in the east and in September I love to hear the first downward trills of the fantailed cuckoos arriving and heralding Spring.

 

Looking forward to more.

[TonyQ]

@@elefromoz

Excellent additions. The Splendid Fairy Wren is .. well..splendid!

And the Tawny Frogmouth is wonderful.

[PeterHG]

Beautiful collection, @@elefromoz! As others have said, the Splendid Fairy Wren is something special!

[elefromoz]

Thanks all, and goodbye to Summer for another year and time to assemble the March Birds. @@Geoff, the Grevillea posted last month is called simply "Goldrush". In the past, the Spinebills have really enjoyed the Kangaroo Paws too, but not for a couple of years now. Id really like to find something that is particularly appealing to the Spinebills but less so to the New Hollands. Wishful thinking probably.

First off, those from close to home, a few February stragglers.

51. Rainbow Bee-eater 22nd Feb, Alfred Cove. Nearly time for them to migrate North

 

52. Willy Wagtail, Alfred Cove, 20th Feb

 

53. Australian Shelduck pair, Alfred Cove 22nd Feb

 

54. Eastern Osprey , bit of a mixed collection, Alfred Cove, 12 Feb, Alfred Cove

 

 

Rottnest Island 8th March

 

Teaching junior a hard life lesson, if you want one, go catch it yourself

 

 

 

 

This was the nest in November 2016...

 

The chick has grown quite a bit now in March 2017

[Geoff]

In the past, the Spinebills have really enjoyed the Kangaroo Paws too, but not for a couple of years now. Id really like to find something that is particularly appealing to the Spinebills but less so to the New Hollands. Wishful thinking probably.

 

@@elefromoz You could try any of the eremophila species that have the very long tubular flowers or correas. Whilst all honeyeaters are attracted to them it is the spinebills with their longer bills that can probe the deepest.

[elefromoz]

55. Sanderling (amongst the Red Necked Stints) 7th March Rottnest Island

 

56. Red Capped Robin, 9th March, Rottnest

 

 

and Female

 

57. Welcome Swallow, Rottnest, 9th March

 

58. Little Wattlebird, 17th March, Piney Lakes

 

and Dunsborough, 24th March

 

59. White Cheeked Honey-eater, Piney Lakes, 17th March

 

60. White Faced Heron, 19th March, Alfred Cove

 

and Juv, got really excited for a while thinking I had seen a "new" Heron, the white face develops later. Dunsborough

 

61. I did get really excited about this, a new bird in the garden, just had to wait til it lifted its head....

 

 

A White Robin, 24th March Dunsborough

 

62. White Browed Scrub Wren, 24th March Dunsborough

 

 

63. Western Golden Whistler, 24th March, Dunsborough

 

 

 

and Female, a much duller mate

 

but she found what she was looking for

 

64.Western Gerygone, 24th March, Dunsborough

 

65. Inland Thornbill, 24th March, Dunsborough

 

66. Common Bronzewing, 25th March, Dunsborough

[xelas]

Common?! Bronzewing?? Who gave this colourful bird the Common in its name???