The weather has not been conducive to keeping tabs on the local Hobby Nursery. We have also the challenge of the location, as its quite a busy carpark, and Security offers its own challenges. Carparks are not public spaces. The second challege to in-flight photography is the trees are all very well established Sugar Gums, with a few Umbrella Pine, and all quite tall, and of course close together. So its hard to get an open shot of in-flight activity.
But persist we shall.
Early mornings seem to be the best. Quiet carpark, security having breakfast and the like. And if the light is right then its a bonus.
Here is a few from a couple of feeding cycles the other day.
Dad arrives with a breakfast offering. Unlike Black-shouldered Kites, he doesn’t seem to have the ability to hover. Rather he pulls up in a climb and then for a few seconds holds station before beginning to drop. Hold on. I’m comin’Me tooHard to see in these shots, but one of them is quite a bit larger than the other. So I’m tipping it’s a male and a female.I’m also sure everybody knows who’s turn it is for the food. I don’t think its a case of first in.I think this might be my Nat Geo Shot. Dropping away, Needing to find a suitable perch to hold the prey while it eats. That might work. Which leaves the other one to hone up its flying skills. They have already learned to take dragonflies in the air. A great look at the outstretch as it takes offGraining speed and heightDad arrives with a new meal. This time he takes the safe approach and delivers onto a branchAll secure and away
That’s it for the year.
Enjoy your festive season and may 2023 bring some fantastic picture opportunities to your lens.
The weather here was not kind to the first clutches of Willie Wagtails. Those birds that started early ran into extreme conditions and as the nest is mostly spider-web and at best minimally attached to the branch, rain and high wind inevitabley took their toll. Some Willies brave it and have nests on open branches, while others adopt a more sheltered approach. Some will work on just a branch, while others go to the extreme of working on a branch junction and get the support of several branches, and even a vertical one which does give them extra support as it seems easier to bind the spiderweb tightly.
But little Wagtails grow fast, (about 14 days from hatching to fledging) and they soon overwhelm the tiny nest.
One pair we’ve been monitoring of late, has built their nest under the branches of a old, small, Peppercorn Tree. However it is right alongside a very busy walking track, and a few steps from a picnic/rest/viewing area. Wasn’t hard to find them. And they seemed unconcerned about the human presence. We try not to get too close or get in the way, and they just go on with the important job of first sitting, and then feeding.
I do get complaints from time to time that we are obtrusive and break the ‘rules’ of not photographing nests and it only encourages others. So, just to set the record. No photo is worth stressing a bird.
If we aren’t invited to be there. We don’t. Willies pretty quickly establish the boundary rules.
This pair, had chosen both the place and the time rather cleverly. She had nested through the last of the storms and the three young hatched just as the weather picked up, so they have had about two weeks of no rain and winds. Interestingly, on the day that these young flew, the weather turned nasty again. But they should survive in the thicker pines nearby.
Let’s see how they progressed.
We found this pair well inside a small old Peppercorn tree. Took a while to work out as one flys in, the other flys out and it would fool many a casual observer.Little tiny mouths to feed. Not much more than 3 days old they have very long necks to get the best food. The Peppercorn fronds kept a safe fine veil over themJust a few days old, but already the nest space is at a premium. Everyone just sits very stillFive days later and they are well on the way to filling the nest.Tiny wings needs stretching and its means that your siblings have to put up with your need for space. The tiny wings are still in the sheaths as they begin to unfoldOne of the most amusing things is the tiny tail. While they quickly learn the Wagtail ‘wag’, the little feathers seem a bit inadequate for the job. Flight Day. When we passed by in the morning they were still huddling together, but the adults were much more conspicious and noisy than usual. The adults sat on branches outside the bush and offered encouraging wingflap signs to the young.
When all were out they escorted them, to safety, into some thick pine trees down the river bank. One out and two to go. The first flights were to a branch at the far side of the tree.This one needed a bit of encouragement before it too stepped up and was gone.A perfect landing for a first attemptSomething special about a little Wagtail that is out of the nest and has all the world before it.
Due to an odd arrangement of circumstances, that would take several blog pages to cover and even more to wend the pieces together, we had decided on a trip to the Western Treatment Plant. (WTP) What, of couse, was not in the “How to do it” manual was control of the weather.
Grandson “+D4” was staying over and t’was the only day avaible. For those interested “+D4” comes as an ‘Addition’ to the “3D’s” fabled for their “Dawdling” while on car-convoy on such trips to the WTP.
We picked up the usual Coffee-to-Go from our local and hit the highway. (Mr An Onymous, has a theory that in future times, sociologists and archeologists will conclude that ‘hit the road’ had some quasi-spiritualistic meaning and that the poor deluded ancients would go out and hit the road with their hand expecting some mystical experience—but— I digress)
The overcast, rain and high winds did not digress. Nor did they ease off. I may have mentioned before, that I can deal with the poor light and the rain at the WTP, but not the wind. It just makes getting out of IamGrey and standing in the open a truly harrowing experience and one that even the best of birds seems avoid at all costs. For those that might venture there, the track in the “Special Section” that was out along the beach area and barely passable with 2WD is now eroded to the point of being 4WD only.
So we had a fairly quiet trip about the plant. Good news is the roads are in very good condition and the closure has allowed several areas to be graded and topped and the drive experience improved no end.
We had hoped that White-winged Black Terns might have returned by now, but if so we didn’t get a sighting. The weather changes seem to have altered the plans of many returning migrants so far this season.
So as the blog is more now about the photos of the day, and less about the babble, here tis. Enjoy
This is part of the coastal road at the Plant. Normally it is accessible by 2WD, but now 4WD and low tide are the recommendation.
Erosion is quite evident. We retreated.
A small selection of Pied Oystercatchers hunkering down on a sandspit out of the wind.This beautiful Goose has been on its own for at least 12 months, but has remained faithful to the area.
I’m sure it doesn’t recognise me, but each time we go past its territory, I stop and we exchange a few head-bobs and it goes back to feeding.I’m pretty certain it has lost its mate, the pair used to be quite the regulars in the area and nested over several seasons.
For its own reasons it hasn’t ventured away to find a new mate. Female White-fronted Chat. They seem to take extraordinary care about returning to the nest with food, and will spend many minutes checking everything out before deposting the food. One of a pair of Brolga that were working in the T-SectionHe is returning to see how things are going with his nesting mate. I’m sure that is a Swan smileI saw the nest from the other side of the pond and we drove round for a clearer view.
This clever lass was taking no chances and had built her nest in the very middle of quite a deep pond and it seems to have paid off with a lovely set of matching cygnets.By early afternoon, the wind, the cold and the rain has gotten the best of the best of us, and we made one forlorn loop around the Western Lagoon area.
Surprisingly we spotted a pair of Brolga with two quite large well developed juveniles in tow.
Well worth the extra few minutes and the tired and exhausted among us were quick to respond to the opportunity. The birds seemed quite relaxed and in no hurry to go anywhere, but big long legs quickly carried them across the ponds. Quite well developed. I’m not sure if they are fledged, but that normally takes around 3-4 months. Which just shows how silly Uncle Google can be, as I’ve seen figures of 2-3 weeks, which are impossible. They stay with the parents for nearly 12 months until the next breeding cycle. Here is an intersting factsheet on Brolga on Farms.For bonus points we called in to see the Hobbys on the way home. This one is now just about a ‘brancher’ and no doubt days from flight. The nest is festooned in discared down. All tucked up secure. Three little Wagtails about a week old.
Tis a well known fact that mostly I am allergic to photographing birds as part of a long walking exercise programme. To me, its two distinct activities and the thought of knocking up 15 kms and seeing the occassional bird, way, way over there, is enough to make me stay at home.
Tis also a well known fact, and long term readers will be well aware that an area in the Werribee River Park just a few minutes drive from home has been called, “The Office”, as in “just another day at”. Over the past 10 years we’ve spent countless hours in the area and tis fair to say that at one stage we probably had a close relationship with the majority of the birds in the area.
But, and there in is the rub. But. Recent rains have made things much more complex for us. The Werribee River ran to flood level and huge volumes of water rushed down the narrow channel, and of course gained speed and force as they went. So much so that a footbridge over the river has suffered ‘irreparable damage’. So Parks Vic, to protect the unsuspecting public, and those that would ignore signs suggesting it was unsafe, have now for everyone’s safety closed the area “Until Further Notice”. One of the pylons holding the bridge has been eroded and needs a complete replacement. Sadly there is no budget money for that in the ‘foreseeable future’, so the area will be out of bounds for your average Sacred Kingfisher aficionado. (You can guess EE’s disappointment.)
Couple that with the need to install on the far side of the river a new pipeline to feed the Werribee Open Range Zoo, and that access road is also now heavily chain-wired, with a similar sign that says, in its meaning, No Access to Kingfishers Here! I just hope the birds can’t read.
With two of our preferred birding spots now off limits, we are in the market, so to speak, for a new location. So a couple of days ago we took a walk along part of the track running alongside the Werribee River as it cuts through suburbia. Well actually the River has always been there and Suburbia has encrouched up to the edges of the river.
So we didn’t expect any exotic or unusual birds, but thought the walk would give us the option of exploring some locations that might prove worthwhile. And as Ashley over on “Aussiebirder” points out Forest Therapy is about taking the time to appreciate the simple, and common around us.
What surprised us was the height that the water had come up to in the recent floods. Trees festooned with plastic bags and other disposable disposed rubbish certainly drew a line. Including a rather large log that was jammed 5-6 metres above water level.
We did find the usual suspects and a few extras which did make the day worthwhile. And we have a couple of places that might yield us some good opportunities in the future. Sore of feet and a little exhausted, we headed for home and lunch.
Now how did you get up there!
A large log shows how high the water was when it was running at full depth. Red Wattlebird. One of a number still feeding noisy youngCan’t seem to go anywhere without a clan of Rainbow Lorikeets turning up to put on a show.This White-faced Heron was looking surprisingly hunched up.There was much discussion between the pair of Red-rumps. But as she wasn’t interested in moving away from the nest hole, I guessed there were young inside.EE’s Spot of the Day. “Way down there on the Tree” Helpful when we are in a forest of trees that goes a long way way down there. Figured out eventually from a pair of helpful Willie Wagtails that were waiting for the Collared Sparrowhawk to move on. It did, and in a few minutes flew past taking someone home for dinner How strong are those pincers? The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo just sliced the tough seeds apart like scones. Want to see a Cockatoo rearranging the windowboxes on flats in the Melbourne CBD? See this ABC Article.We spotted this young Grey Shrike-thrush begging for food in someone’s garden. Had to shoot through the railing because of space limitations.Mum arrived with a big fat worm, but was immediately harassed by a squadron of White-plumed Honeyeaters, so… It flew to another branch and enjoyed the meal itself.Another great find. A Wagtail family. These young are a week or more out of the nest. The harassed parents are looking after four young from the clutch, so Wagtailville is very busy and noisy.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER - --doesn't mean I'm LOST 