The weather man kept me out of the bush this morning, predictions of rain, and overcast don’t exactly excite me to take expensive photo equipment to the bush. But as the morning progressed into increasing sunshine, my decision was beginning to look like a bit hasty to say the least.
Still I had the rounds of shopping to do, and if I worked on a scheme, I could get the shopping done, have a coffee, and still make it Woodlands in the afternoon sunshine. Say no more grab the shopping list, and load a camera and head on out.
As it turns out the forest was a little quiet, and after a fruitless search I was on the way back to the car, when I spotted some movement among the trees. The early morning mist/rain, had left a small pool of water which was just the ticket for the small birds and about 10 assorted robins, and some wagtails, a bunch of very aggressive Grey Fantails, were taking it in turn to give the feathers a bit of a going over.
One that stood out was a Scarlet Robin female. It is the first really good sighting I’ve had so far.
So maybe the weather man did me a favour after all.
One of three female Scarlet Robins that are in the park area at the moment. Not sure yet of attachments to males, but each female seems pretty independent.
Over the past few days I have been out and about on other things than birds at Woodlands. Including a day up at Murrindindi with the Midweek Bird group. It is the first time I have been there since the horrific fires, and I was a bit hesitant about going. Tragedy is not something I am readily drawn to. It is as they say nice to see the amount of regrowth, and in some cases along the river the understory has taken on jungle proportions. Which made it hard to find birds, but none the less we managed between us about 40 species. Highlight of the day were some Scarlet Robins in the carparking areas. I think they appreciated the open area for their wait and pounce hunting. One seemed quite unconcerned and approached quite easily to with 4-5 metres. So some good shots were acquired.
This morning the sun was up bright and clear and I went for a look at Woodlands. Down at an area rapidly getting the name “Three Ways”. It is where tracks T junction. After some time waiting, eventually a number of Flame Robins appeared. There are two males and females, and a few immatures. They worked over the area for about an hour, which was a good way I reckon to spend my time. Then like always, a turn of the wing, and they were gone. Not to be seen again.
Feeding very close to my camera position.RIght at the end of my focus on the camera, I had to pull back a bit to get focus.
The Green Walks in the Parks group had a day at Point Cook Costal Park.
As soon as we arrived Dorothy spotted a Flame Robin male on the fence behind us in the carpark. And I hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet!
The robin was easy to work with, and I managed a few shots of him on the fence line. Then we moved toward the homestead and there were at least two more pairs working the paddock by the trackside. They made a great sight in the early morning sun, and I probably would have stayed there all day, but we did the walk with the group instead. Good thing as we crossed two Brown Falcons, three Black-shouldered Kite, and at least one, possibly a pair of Kestrels. (its that who saw what, when thing of spotting in a group). The Kestrel male moved over head with his lovely chireep chireep hunting call.
To add to the day, a Whistling Kite lazed its way along the on shore breeze, looking for prey.
With all that activity, we just have to find time to go down there again.
Male Flame Robin. Hunting from the fence line at the Point Cook Costal Park
There is a banding program with the Black Swans run by www.myswan.org.au and today we had the chance to get up close and personal to J19. Now this is not going to be a tirade on the fors and againsts of banding, but they are doing some interesting work in collecting data about the swan’s movements and mating and breeding.
So we decided to adopt J19. Turns out it is a female, about 4 years old, or at least if I figure out the numbers that is when she was banded. She was banded at Albert Park Lake and has been there for about three years. She seems to have first been sighted at WTP in January 2012. At the moment, because of the huge population of juvenile birds, there is much pairing going on I suspect.
She is up in 145A Lagoon Area at WTP, and we will keep a check on her movements if at all possible. I will open up a blog page just to keep updates. See blog Here J19 info
Here she is.
J19 in her best dressed banded number
Also found a co-operative Brown Falcon. It stayed on the post as I inched the car closer and closer. Just managed to slip away a split second before I could get back on the camera. Love the backwards glance.
Brown Falcon
Just as we were leaving with the sun setting as I was closing the exit gate on Paradise Road, Dorothy spotted a Buff Banded Rail hunting in the mud-flats. Dieter who was with us thought it was quick enough to be a road-runner.
The sun was well set by the time we were on the road home, but the Rail did provide a few minutes entertainment.
Buff-banded Rail. The blue spots are reflections of the overhead blue sky. We have a photoshop trick to fix that.
After a week of fairly average weather, it was nice to see the sun beaming through this morning. That was enough to put all other jobs on hold, load the car and head for Woodlands.
The forest had a lovely smell after the rain, and it was looking quite crisp.
To add to the enjoyment within about 5 minutes, we had our first Flame Robin Male, and followed it up very fast with another male, a female, and some juveniles. They didn’t seem in any particular hurry and cruised around an open area feeding as they went. Then the local Scarlet Robin popped by, and he is still with his red-capped escort, although she spent a lot of time preening while he flew about in ever broadening circles. Henny and Penny two redcaps in the area popped by for a visit, and Penny does look the part in her new winter dress and a distinct orange/red cap.
The pair from down near the three-way junction also put in an appearance, but a lot further away, too far to pursue. Time just seemed to stand still as the birds hunted and chased around the stump area we propped on. Then off course it was back to the real world, so we went by the powerline area near the dam and found another pair of co-operative Red-capped Robins. All in all over four hours had gone by, we had collected our share of vitamin D for the day, a nice collection of images and a collection of good spots to check in the future.
Flame Robin male. He has an interesting red feather just under his chin that breaks the sharp black line on his mask.
The local male. He was as busy and as vocal as usual. His consort spent most of the hour or so in a nearby tree tic'ing at him and ignoring his circle flights.A juvenile (perhaps). There are several similar birds already in the park.
This Grey Shrike-thrush came to find a space to pulverise its insect prey and to enjoy the meal.
After our profitable morning in the park on Friday, it was necessary of course to go back and see what was happening and to take out the real camera/lens.
Andrew was happy to come along and because of things Monday was the planned day. Start early was also the order of the day. The weatherman, kindly or unkindly warned us of rain, but hey, what would he know! By the time I peeked out the window in the early morning pre sunup, it was clear sky. Of course it would be.
So Andrew and I went on down the range and soon located a pair of Red-caps. That was predictable. A female Flame Robin, that was hoped for and expected, and a lone male Flame Robin, which was a delight and completely unexpected. So the day looked good. A highlight of the day was a young redcap that was feeding about 5 metres from where Andrew had the camera. It took off and headed straight for where he was standing and was obviously going to land on the small stick at his feet. At what must be the very last moment it dug in a wing and turned in the other direction. Landing about 5-6 metres from us. Had it continued on its path and landed on the stick, it would have been the closest I have been to the robins. Both Andrew and I were grinning and laughing at how close the encounter came.
We also found some Scarlet Robins and the family of Choughs. But then it started to rain. Did I mention rain. In the end, nothing for it but to slog out back to the cars. Still raining.
But we have at least one male Flame, two male Scarlets and a number of female Scarlets. There is also a number of juvenile Flame Robins and one very fine looking female. More will come of all this.
Flame Robin JuvenileFlame Robin Male. First occurrence for us in the park this season. Nice to have him back
Sonja was going up to check on a area for the Melbourne Birdlife Photogroup outing in May and offered for us to tag along. Two phone calls later to cancel important events and a quick scan through an empty diary soon lead to saying “Yes, Please”. So we went.
We picked up Damien in Heathcote and after a pleasant coffee at the Bakehouse we went to Costerfield and a small dam behind the main street hall. It was it must be said, pretty quiet, but among other things I heard a Scarlet Robin, so it was hopefully going to be a good day.
Several stops later on the way to Dargyle Picnic Ground and we had located a number of honeyeaters and several pairs of Scarlet Robins.
At Dargyle as we unloaded the car for lunch, Sonja located a pair of birds that we eventually named as Noisy Friar-birds. Bit to far away for a piccy, but nice to have seen. Several Brown Goshawks flew over, two of them in a bit of territorial/mating routine.
More Scarlet calls and lots and lots of Eastern Spinebills and about 4 juveniles so the list was growing.
We then drove to the Balieston Quarry area, this is a well dug over area with lots of low regrowth, and some very impressive Ironbarks, and the list began to grow even more, with 6 Yellow-tufted Honey-eaters providing most of the action.
A couple of stops around the back of the water courses near Nagambie, and then it was on the way home. What a nice way to spend a day.
Andrew and I had planned a morning out to scout about a bit. See Andrew’s Blog here.
The weather stayed kind, but for the first half hour or so, not a wingfeather was seen. We walked down along the ridge in the Backpaddock and again it was all very quiet, until we found a Red-capped Robin and then his lady, and probably a couple of juveniles. He has moulted out, and seemed quite pleased with himself and took the time to hum his little “deritt” song.
The girls had stopped down by the three road crossway, and were having their own great morning with a pair of redcaps, a Flame Robin female, and a couple of Flame Robin juveniles. Isn’t that always the way.
Andrew and I got back to find all the activity happening right where we had turned off the track.
The female Flame Robin looked in great shape. Very plump and sleek. So she hadn’t travelled far to get there. No pictures as I was driving the binoculars at the time and the camera wasn’t in reach. Don’t you just get that.
We walked, quite pleased with our collective selves, to the dam, and on the way a familiar red flash dashed across the track. Scarlet Robin. But then another wing flash, and it was not the Scarlet Robin’s Red-capped consort, but a real live female Scarlet Robin. Then a second one. Most interesting and rewarding. All were quiet, as they usually are. So I am not sure if they are all new arrivals, or two females only. The male and one female played lots of high speed pursuits about the trees.
On to the dam and a number of Grey-shrike Thrushes were bathing and then they too joined in tree chase games. And to make a great morning even better, Dorothy spotted a yellow flash in the tree, all excited we were, but it wasn’t a Robin, but one of two Eastern Shrike-tits, doing what they do best; eating grubs.
While we were congratulating ourselves on our good fortune, Rodger, he of the red-spot camera site fame turned up, and added to our morning’s wander.
The next few days should prove to be very interesting.
We all got back to the car in time for lunch, so a good end to what started out quietly.
Female Scarlet Robin. The first female Scarlet I’ve clocked for 2012.Eastern Shrike-tit hard at work on a lovely lunch time snack.
Given the ongoing fine autumn weather and the oncoming long weekend which would be filled up with all sorts of other activities, Dorothy and I took the chance and went to the Treatment Plant for the afternoon. And the weather held.
We didn’t find the elusive Brolgas, but that only means trying harder next time, spotted a good sized flock of Red-necked Stints, some with a nice on colouring of red, and also near Kirks Point located some Magpie-geese.
A little further on a Welcome Swallow sat motionless on the fence wire as the car approached and as I literally inched forward, it stood its ground until it was filling the frame in the 300mm lens. At about 2.8 metres. Then it preened and pretended that we weren’t there, but we had such a great view of the light of the dark coloured feathers as they flashed blue in the sunshine.
Welcome Swallow
A little later on as the sun was drifting toward the horizon and thoughts of dinner and going home were upon us, a Whistling Kite made a pass over some trees and then landed just out of sight. By the time we had turned the corner, it has decapitated its prey and was struggling to get into the air. Without any breeze to give it extra lift it was all hard work and it made a pass across our viewpoint as it tried to get above the tree line. Guesses at to what it had taken abound. The long wings of the bird made it difficult for the kite to use its tail as the wings kept getting in the way. No doubt it retired satisfied with its day’s work.
In the late evening light this Whistling Kite was trying to find a place to set down wiht its uncooperative prey. The wings of the unfortunate bird kept getting in the way of the kites tail feather adjustments
Cape Barren Geese are funny creatures. We came across this pair in some sort of dance display. It is time we purchased a movie camera.
Decided to add some images from the birdsbydavid flickr account. One of the reasons I started WordPress blog was to get away from Flickr. Hmm, have to see how it goes.
So many places to go, so much to do, so little time.
When I first started looking at birds at Woodlands, I ran into a birdo, Ray, who shared with me a lot of his knowledge of the area. One bird he pointed out was the White-throated Treecreeper and its distinctive call. It is alway such a pleasure to hear them, and find them among the trees. The one Ray and I would find was a female, and for several seasons she didn’t seem to have a mate, then last season she turned up with a mate and eventually produced two young. But since then I have only be only to find the female.
I heard her calling in the long creekline off Gellibrand Hill, and after a few minutes was able to find her hard at work. After following her about for about 15 minutes, I didn’t find any mate or young, so she might be back on her own. But nice to see her again.
Also ran into a family of White-winged Choughs. Or more accurately they found me and sped off with great alarm calls. But then they settled down to feed and I was able to get within lens distance. Lighting wasn’t so good, and I was hoping to get some pics of them with the lovely wings spread out. But no such luck. They are such a a dumpy looking bird, yet they seem to glide about as if on gossamer. They have an elegance about the way they touch down for landing.
First day of April and the weather just keeps getting better. Dorothy and I had taken the morning to visit Westgate Park, right near the huge bridge over the Yarra. It used to be a city dump, and has been reclaimed, and with lots of volunteer work it is being turned into a little wilderness Oasis just a short trip from the CBD. More power to those who thought it a good idea and all those who worked to bring it back to such great shape.
In the afternoon I needed some retail therapy and on the way back stopped at the Providence Road carpark and met Peter Tompson who is a great contributor to the Victoria Birdline. We have a good chat about the Black Falcons at WTP, and another birdo friend, Richard turned up, and even more discussion ensued. Richard has a very extensive and annotated bird list going back about 20 years for the area, it even includes sightings from one of the park rangers at the time.
We walked down to the Backpaddock, and found our taxes had been at work, and the old gate had been repaired and now actually closes. Good work team.
Richard went off further down the range, and I did a quick scout about and found a pair of Red-capped Robins in the sunshine. This pair are starting to reclaim their territory. At the moment I haven’t been able to find most of the other pairs. Hopefully they are still about, just hiding. No sign of Flame Robins yet, but with the amount of food available everywhere, perhaps they will only pass through this year.
Red-capped Robin Male in his new winter attire. Pretty much full moulted and beginning to become vocal again.
This little male has just about completed the moult. He is showing the last of the white-sheathed new feathers. He keeps hiding in bushes and behind branches. It seems like he doesn’t want to display until the moult is over. This male’s lady has already taken on her winter outfit, and he is just starting to ‘tic tic’ at her. But there are no territorial shows now.
Red-capped Male, showing moulting in of new red cap.
It comes as no surprise that Birdos go out for various reasons. For some it might be to see a new area and see what birds are about, for others a trip to a location to add one more bird to the great bird list. Others enjoy the chance to see birds in their habitat doing bird things. For others it might just be the keeping track of the birds and any environmental changes. Others go because the birds are there. Some even go to take cameras and record something of what they have seen.
For others, like us, it is even more intangible. We just love to see them, to watch their antics and to enjoy a day out in the wide open spaces. “A bad day in the bush is better than a good day in the office” or so the bumper sticker goes.
Which leads us to driving down the Beach Road to the Werribee Treatment Plant.
There have been plenty of reports of Black Falcons in the area, but in-spite of trying hard, we hadn’t had any success, and figured while it would be nice, probably not this season.
Till we got to the Beach Road/29 Mile Road junction on Monday, and in the trees in front of us there were two black shapes. Probably didn’t get the car parked right, and we ended up a bit too far away, and I didn’t want to tramp down the road and send them into the air, but I needn’t have worried. They spent about 10 minutes or so in personal grooming, and then both took to the air, to work their way up and around in an air current off the road. Then they spent about 5 minutes overhead and around us, playing in the breeze. With a bit of exercise behind them, they both pursued every Raven, Magpie, Pigeon, and any other birds flying by. The intention didn’t seem to be direct attack, but rather close passes just because they could.
Tiring of this game they hunted on down the tree line becoming the usual black blobs in the distance, then both turned and gained height before plunging down the roadway and racing past at incredible speeds, just where we were standing.
The speed was phenomenal. It would make a Peregrine look up and take notice, and then with a dash of wing tip, they would turn on nothing and repeat the performance up the road again. This is our first encounter with these birds, and it goes with out saying, we were simply awestruck at the speed and agility. Satisfied with themselves, they proceeded down the 29 Mile Road and we lost sight of them.
Black Falcon in the early evening breeze. It is gaining height for a sweep down the roadway.
Our next encounter in the evening light was a Black-shouldered Kite that had just taken a mouse. Again I missed with parking the car, and ended up about 10 metres too far back. So the shot is a bit from the back of the bird. But it polished off the mouse in record time and went to look for another.
Black-Shouldered Kite and fresh mouse take-away. Just a snack before sunset.
Our next major find was to engross us both for the best part of half an hour. We had just turned off the main track past the Little River Ford, when we noticed two Brown Falcons about 60 metres further down on the roadway. What ensued next was worthy of David Attenborough.
They began to play chasing games, which led to aerial dogfights and then a game of hide-and-seek among the shrubs and bushes, one would disappear and the other would trundle (how else do you describe the way they walk about) along until both would leap into the air in mock attack. This lead to another game which has to be called “king of the castle’. One took up a position on a high clump of weeds, and then the other would move around trying to gain attack advantage. When it was in position it would crouch down in the same was as a cat or dog might and then leap up and onto the stack, hoping to push the other one off.
It became clear to us that the ‘king’ had the advantage and didn’t get dethroned. So after about 10 minutes, the attacker trundled down the road to its own grass heap, and the other bird came down to attack. It then turned into a game of sneak aerial attack, as it swooped over the head of the ‘king’ causing it to duck and weave.
When we next looked at the time, over 3o minutes had gone by and the light was rapidly fading. Both seemed to have tired of the games and went to hunt.
I will put up a number of images from the sequence on another page in the next day or so. Such an interesting pair.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST 