December 2023 – Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST

Along the Track: Territory Management Raptor Style

December 18, 2023December 18, 2023Posted in Brown Falcon, Collared SparrowhawkTagged Brown Falcon, Collared Sparrowhawk6 Comments

The trees and gardens around the nearby beach park date to the time of the first settlers in the area. They had obtained rights to farm huge areas of the Port Philip Bay area and began to build a life-style to rival their English heritage.

Part of that incluced the planting of a range of pine trees, some must be over 100 years or more. The close spacing of the pines as wind-breaks has resulted in some fine nesting locations for a range of raptors.
Over the years we’ve had: Black-shouldered, Whistling and Black Kites in the area. For several seasons a pair of Spotted Harrier were in residence and they used the surrounding open paddocks that are covered in thick bracken as resting spots out of sight of the world.
Australian Hobbys have also chosen a few spots. And at present a pair of Collared Sparrowhawk have recently completed their clutch.

The Queen of the Area is a Brown Falcon, Cassia of Cinnamon, and her handsome light morph beau, Alistair.

But all this brings heavy pressure on the birds as each wants the best opportunities for their young to be fed. So it’s not unusual to see swooping, name calling and direct attacks occuring from time to time. And its not all one-sided. Depending on the development of each clutch depends on who is the aggressor.

However the other day an added complexity to the mix. The Sparrowhawks have successfully fledged two young birds. They are a month or more ahead of the Falcons, and so have reign of the treeline at present. And being young birds with highly developed flying skills and a little bit of juvenile team work, they decided that the lone perched Cassia, of Cinnamon would be a bit of a game.

She has claimed the tallest of the Umbrella Pines as her lookout, over the paddocks for food, out further for the returning Alistair and a direct line of site to the precious nest location.

The two young Sparrowhawks took umbrage she should be in their area and settled into a name of game calling out in the open, from a nearby old tree. Then in a series of planned attacks they launched at her. Nothing she couldn’t handle, but the action did get pretty hot.

Enjoy

Cassia, of Cinnamon readies for a close pass

Very Little Visit: Still Raining Rails

December 13, 2023Posted in Buff-banded RailTagged Buff-banded Rail11 Comments

Well if nothing else, the ground is getting a fair old drenching. Keeping your Downwardly Mobile scribe inside too.

But the wet weather has certainly played its magic across the Crake and Rail communities.

We have been over the past few weeks monitoring a pair of Willie Wagtails that have set up a nest in a tree in the foyer area of a local Uni gym.

Sunday morning on the way home, we picked up a sandwich and some coffee and headed for said gym carpark. The weather was overcast, but not threatening, so we were going to use one of the picnic tables on the gym lawn for lunch.

Normally, I’d stop, EE would walk across the lawn and I’d park IamGrey and head back. But the lawn was little minature lakes, so it seemed best to stop at the ‘drier’ carpark.

Oh, she said, look a Coot has it two little young ones out in the grass. And sure enough, and who dear reader would argue with that observation. Click, click, click from that side of the vehicle.

I looked out and saw, just in front of the bonnet, another Coot, and thought, Oh, its a bit seperate from the family, until it cocked its head, and lo, it was a Buff-banded Rail.

Now its nigh on impossible to get a photographer to change from photographing one subject to taking interest in something more interesting. And with fear that I’d frighten the Rail, I backed the car ever slowly about 10m. Then, of course EE spied it and the door of the IamGrey slowly began to open. My camera was securely in the back, so I slipped along the edge to retrieve it, knowing full well that the bird will have taken the hint and fled.
But this one was a calm as they come. Sunday morning at the gym, no other people around, it felt pretty comfortable.

It foraged quite near us, then scampered back into the reeds, to emege again down near the table where we’d adjourned to have lunch and contemplate our fortunate state at seeing it so well.

It strolled about the path, then into the grass and about 10 minutes later slipped away, to come out again and let us ‘creep’ quietly up on it. Cool as.

In the end, time ran out, but the Rail was still going.

Was hoping to post these on Flickr, but for some reason, my Flickr account has been hijacked to another user id. So all I get to see is their pictures and contacts. So until I feel comfortable with Flickr again, most of the next couple of weeks shall be here on the blog. Hopefully won’t bore you with too many stories and same pics. Couple of interesting developments in the field at present.

I’ve had several email me and say that the Flickr photos are getting up, but I can’t see or comment on any at all. They tell me my Flickr Stream needs a complete rebuild and may take “Some hours depending on the size of the photos, and links.” I’ll get over it. 🙂

Little Visits: Around the Pond

December 11, 2023Posted in "Western Treatment Plant", Australian Reed Warbler, Black Kite, Black-tailed Native-hen, Great Egret, Little Grassbird, Little Visits, Western Treatment PlantTagged Australian Reed Warbler, Dusky Moorhen, Great Egret, Little Grassbird, Rufous Whistler, Western Treatment Plant, Whiskered Tern5 Comments

In my new Downwardly Mobile role, we stayed around the Crake Pond area at WTP for the rest of the morning.
Not only were the Crakes out and about but also quite a number of other usual suspects.

Highlight was some Black-tailed Native-hens. Another bird that I rarely see and the first time ever a this location.

I also spent some time with several large flocks of Whiskered Terns, hoping, perhaps a bit too much that there might be some White-winged Blacks among them. But not this day. Means another trip should be on the cards.

Here is a few of the morning’s finds.

Enjoy

Little Visits: It’s Rained Crakes

December 7, 2023December 7, 2023Posted in "Western Treatment Plant", Australian Spotted Crake, Baillon's Crake, Little Visits, Spotless Crake, Western Treatment Plant, WTPTagged Australian Spotted Crake, Baillon's Crake, Spotless Crake6 Comments

I was writing to Mr An Onymous t’other day about the weather, or lack of it in fine proportions, and lamenting being unable to get out in the wind and the rain.

I mentioned that I’d concluded that I’m no longer a member of the Upwardly Mobile and was rapidly sliding into the Downwardly Mobile. Just seems too hard to get out and about regularly.

Still, there is a lot to be said for quietly sitting. EE has made a science of it and half her magic comes from such experiences, I percieve.

So I thought I must take advantage of such a change in direction and rejig the blog at least one more time. Rather than look for the ‘big’ stories of bird-world/land I might just cover a few pics from one connected set of birds.
Which if I recall correctly, (and that you might want to check against para 2 above), was roughly what my journalism instructor(ess) had to say. Write the little stories with insight. The big stories can wait. (In my case they still are!) Well I might have missed her quote a bit, but the intent was the same.

After a week or more of rain, we took an opportunity between all the unimportant life missions we are on, to leave home early and head to just one location. The T-Section at the Western Treatment Plant. And to spend the morning at the “Crake Pool/Pond” For the initiated, it’s easy to find. For those who’ve never been there, its not a pool or a pond, its part of a reed bed that is on the edge of a typical, large, former waste-treatment pond.
Yet for some reason, water density, coverage, food, shelter and a host of Crakie sort of things the Baillon’s, Spotted and Spotless seem to favour. Most times they skulk (love that word) about in between the reeds and are hardly seen. At present, all bets are off and they are mostly feeding in the open.

Birders and Photographers have devised some pretty sneaky plans of their own to be able to see the birds without scaring them off.
But.
In the interests of brevity I’m going to ignore all that at this time.

We parked the car at a junction, walked the 150m or so down to the pool, and there they were. Happy in their litte Crake world and the only thing that seemed to scare them back into the reeds were a few aggressive Australasian Swamphens that kept maurauding across the open areas in pursuit of one another. They’d scare me too.

So here here we are. It’s Rained Crakes.

As it Happened: The Family that bathes together…

December 3, 2023December 3, 2023Posted in Australian MagpieTagged Australian Magpie10 Comments

So many cliches that could be used as a title for this little series.

We’ve had well over a week of soaking rain. Fortunately not driving heavy rain so many of the nesting birds have been able to deal with it. But, of course some in early stages of hatching with downless young have succumbed.

After a week of sitting in wet trees, eating of the wet ground and flying through the downpours, you’d think your average magpie would be sick of water. But. No!

We ventured out to monitor a few of the nests locally, and managed a bit of a break in the weather with a spot of sunshine coming through. We found this small Magpie family making the most of the bathing facitilies offered in the puddles along the tracks.

Their young one didn’t seem all that keen, but Mum and Dad got right into the business and soaked it all up. I wonder if they were using the gravel to help clean out the underfeathers. They certainly stepped out of the puddle soaking wet. Both made several excursions into the water and then flew to a nearby tree for the shaking out and preening.

Junior had overcome its fears by then and stepped in to the water as well.

And it just goes to show the folk with birdbaths at home, that you should keep them clean no telling what might turn up if there is any muck in the water.

Enjoy.