Category: Rainbow Lorikeet

Over-Ambitious?

Posted in Rainbow Lorikeet, Werribee River ParkTagged , 6 Comments

We all love Rainbow Lorikeets. Big, Bold, Colourful. A circus in a small feathered package.
Except, when there is too, too many of them, and they become a pest.


We have a small area adjacent to a golf course and sandwiched between the course and the river. I suspect some of the undulating ground is from trailings dumped when they scraped the course. The river is not always contained in its banks, and in flood will fill up many of the lower laying areas of the forest.
There are quite a few resident River Red Gums, some many hundreds of years old, and a lot more younger trees that could have been planted after the golfcourse construction was complete. The younger trees have created quite a canopy as they reach to get their share of sunlight.

So there are quite a number of suitable nesting trees and the Rainbow Lorikeets have commandered the best and the second and third best sites.
Smaller parrots, the Purple-crowned and Red-rumps have had to find other nest opportunites. And also the visiting Sacred Kingfishers, but more of that on the next post.

EE and I were out looking, and listening for Sacred Kingfishers. It was getting late in the season, normally they would have a spot picked by late November and be nesting in early December. But time was running out as all the suitable holes and places where they could open up a new hole were taken.
Trying to find a nesting pair of Kingfishers in a dense forest is really the job for Sir Pecivale of grail fame, but then… we have EE.

We were passing by a hole that was used in a previous year by the Kingfishers and not surprisingly, a Rainbow head popped out.
I now, rarely bother to even aim the camera at them, so went on a few steps. And again it swung its head out, and pulled it back, and repeated the action. Given they are so cheeky, I didn’t take much more notice. Like voting, I don’t do it, because it only encourages them.
Two or three more steps, and the bird repeated the process again.
And I realised.

It was having difficulty getting out of the tiny hole. It could get its wings out, but not its tummy and feet, or its feet, but the wing width wouldn’t fit.

The Kingfishers tend to excavate a hole with a small entrance compartment, and then turn the hole, in this case, to the right. Then, I’m guessing, build the nesting chamber behind the little plug near the front. So to get in they must enter, and then turn sharp right. Easy if you are as small as a Kingfisher… not so easy if… you’re a big fat Lorikeet.

I’m not sure if this one was entirely stuck, or just couldn’t get a purchase with its beak to leverage the wider bits out of the tiny hole. So it stuck its head out, and as much of its body as possible, and swung about trying to get a beak grip.

After a couple of minutes, I do have to add, I said, “Well it’s your own silly fault” and decided to move on. Then with a big effort and some extra leverage it managed to slip out.
When I returned later past the tree the pair where inspecting another, larger, and hopefully more suitable accomadation.
Enjoy

Click on an image to got to larger size slideshow.

Saturday Evening Post #157 : Roll up, Roll up, the Circus is in Town

Posted in Rainbow Lorikeet, Saturday Evening Post, Wathaurong CountryTagged , , 5 Comments

We have finally been able to break out of our 5km border restrictions.
Not big mind you, we only needed about 7km to get to The Office.
Along the River Park walking track the bush is alive, as they say to the sounds of parrots, lorikeets and smaller bush birds, including Wagtails, all busy either defending a nesting location or challenging for better accommodation.

None, it seems, more so, than the large number of Rainbow Lorikeets that have descended on the park area.  Over the years their numbers have grown to what can only be plague proportions.  Each hollow in every tree seems to be a Rainbow chosen location, much of course to the chagrin and detriment of the smaller birds that simply can’t compete with the noisy, brash and boisterous Rainbows.

But they do have some advantages for the photographer, besides their brilliant colour scheme.

As EE commented as we walked down the track with the calls of the Rainbows ringing through the trees, “They are  bit like a single bird circus, each one has its own act.” Perhaps its partly bravado, partly the need to show-off to their peers and partly to intimidate other species.  But there is no doubt that a pair can provide hours of entertainment, as they talk, preen and dance together.

We were a bit late for the opening of this bird’s performance.
Two options I think:

It had been holding on to the bark on the branch and it had given way under the weight and it had desperately grasped the bark above with its beak,

or

It was using the bark and the balancing act to impress its mate.

Either way, as it waved the bark about with its foot, was it trying to gain balance or simply attention.

Easily able to support its weight by the beak, it didn’t seem to be in any hurry to recover and rolled around for quite a long time.  In the end, dropping the bark, it did a ‘chin up’ grasped the bark near its beak with first one, then both legs and swung up onto the branch.

Hard to say, but the crowd threw popcorn and cheered at the performance. 🙂

You can tell we’ve been locked up too long when such simple things form such great amusement.

Enjoy

 

 

 

 

 

 


Saturday Evening Post: #40 “I will sing, sing a new song”

Posted in Rainbow Lorikeet, Saturday Evening PostTagged , 6 Comments

Ha!  Just messing with your minds really.

As our younger girl grew up, the group U2 were a constant source of music enjoyment in the house.

And as I hit number 40 for the Saturday Evening Post, I thought I’d quote from one of U2’s music would be a bit special.

Lots of interesting anecdotes about the piece, but I’ve always liked Bono’s statement, “We wrote it in 10 minutes, played in in 10 minutes, recorded it in 10 minutes, mixed it in 10 minutes, but that has nothing do with with why its called 40. (How Long!)

Rainbow Lorikeets are among some of the brightest, and most active little clowns that frequent the trees where we live.  They can always be counted on to come up with a new wing flap, expression, act, or even song to entertain.

I have no idea what this one was upto, but its mate was on the branch next door, and for some reason, lots of big wing flaps were needed to emphasise the importance of some point of communication.  I managed to get it right on the end of the outward stroke.

“Many will See, Many will See and Hear” (40, How Long)

Enjoy