Eynesbury – Page 2 – Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER

A Day at Eynesbury

April 24, 2016April 24, 2016Posted in Brown Treecreeper, Crested Shrike-tit, Diamond Firetail, Eynesbury, Grey Box Forest, Jacky WinterTagged Brown Treecreepers, Crested Shrike-tit, Eynesbury, Jacky Winter, Red-rujmped Parrot, Varied Sittella2 Comments

My mate Chris L, he of Mt Rothwell, and formerly Western Treatment Plant, fame has established a monthly bird walk around the Eynesbury Grey Box Forest.
It is a pretty informal arrangement, no signing of paper and turning up is about the only requirement.

“Are you interested in coming on Sunday?”, he said. Hmm. Didn’t really have to consult the diary. “Be there at 10 of the clock,” says he.
And so EE and I hit the road to Eynesbury in some brilliant sunshine. When Chris organises a day, well, he organises the weather too.

By start time, about half a dozen locals, and Geraldine from Werribee Wagtails – Now BirdLife Werribee, turned up. Chris really wants to make it an opportunity for the local residents to enjoy the forest around their village.

Eynesbury is built around a golf course (well not really, but on the other hand, really). Another golfing friend, took a trip out there one day, saw the greens, and the area, and was back the following day to sign up for a villa. Nothing like a game of golf that starts from your front step.

Surrounding the man-made, is the indomitable Grey Box. This is one of the largest stand of Grey Box left in Victoria. Something the locals are particularly proud of, and with every right.

We set off along the track that leads around the ornamental lake. Lake being a somewhat strange term at the moment as the dry weather has reduced it to a series of water holes. And a home now for a number of Black-fronted Dotterels, among the usual ducks and other waders. The cormorant families have had to move on.

A trip around the lake led us off into the wilds of suburbia as we walked along a track between the forest and the residences. Many little bush birds, particularly Superb Fairy-wrens along here. It seemed that there was about one Fairy-wren clan to every front yard.

Across a dry creek and into the forest proper and the call of Brown Treecreepers announced our presence. Then a Jacky Winter couple, and the familiar call of Diamond Firetails, but search as we might we didn’t spot them today.

A bit of ramble through the thickets between the Grey Box and we were nearing the end of our morning. When a call of an Crested Shrike-tit echoed across the open area. After quite a bit of searching, I’d concluded we’d missed it, and a cuppa beckoned.
Not so Christo. With stoic patience he continued, and a “Here it is!” was really a grand statement of his birding skills. The group hurried to see. And not only one, but two and working very close to the track and unperturbed by our presence.
The photographers were in for a treat and we were shown the skills needed to both track down and extract grubs from the most unlikely places among the bark.

And all too soon we were back in the carpark, and farewelling the lovely area.

Thanks Chris, we enjoyed the day.

Our first Jacky Winter for the day. It gave the photographers a chance for a close approach

Eastern Shrike-tit on a twisted piece of bark. A great find for our Guide. — Crested Shrike-tit on a twisted piece of bark. A great find for our Guide.

When I was a little bloke, these were called "Grass Parrots". Not so here. — When I was a little bloke, these were called “Grass Parrots”. Not so here.

A Day in Grey

December 16, 2015December 16, 2015Posted in Brown Treecreeper, Diamond Firetail, Eynesbury, Jacky Winter, Uncategorized, White-browed WoodswallowTagged Brown Treecreepers, Diamond Firetail, Eynesbury, Jacky Winter, White-browed WoodswallowLeave a comment

Astute reader that you are, you’ll have recalled that the last posting here was a trip to Eynesbury for a visit to some Woodswallows at Nursery.

Decided on a whim today, to take another trip to the same spot not that we expected to find the Woodswallows still on nest, but y’know, perhaps we might be lucky.

Well time, tide and Woodswallow fledglings wait for no photographer, and they had indeed taken to wing. Now of course it was a new challenge.

But there is something relaxing indeed about a pot of tea, (Earl Grey- see the connection?) in a Grey Box forest. So we sat. And slowly the forest began to reveal those hidden secrets.

Over there, Tree Martins, still feeding young. On the other side a pair of Rufous Whistlers who entertained with their calls. More Brown Treecreepers than you can count, and most of them either at nest, or ferrying food for demanding young.

And my favourite find. Jacky Winter. The pair near out sit spot had two young and were keeping them up in the tops of the trees, but we still had enjoyable encounters.

Off to look for Matilda the Pacific-black Duck who has taken over a hollow, and to my surprise, she was still domicile, but only her carefully crafted wing tip feathers were showing her presence. Must be close for her now. I’ve no idea where she is going to lead them to water, but the nearest must be about 2km away through the scrub.

In the same area, lo and behold a second pair of Jacky Winter, with two well advanced young. I’d be betting these were the same birds we photographed in the area last year. One of the adults adjusted to my presence in a few minutes and continued to feed and preen quite closely. Then it (she?) sat down on the ground a few metres away and “sun-hazed” and quite went into a trance. Satisfied I was no danger, it allowed some fine portraits to be made.

And the I heard the wheezy call of a Diamond Firetail watching the portrait session.

As we started for home we came across the White-browed Woodswallows feeding some young, and then a family of Brown Treecreepers looking after their growing juveniles.

Of course no trip to Eynesbury would be complete without a sighting of the elusive Speckled Warbler, and to both our delights one flew by as we walked back to the car, and then began to feed on the small slope nearby. No close approaches with this bird, so my score of great photos of this little dude is still intact. Zero.

Enjoy

_DWJ5252 — White-browed Woodswallow, fledgling

Flame Robin, male. Wintering over at Eynesbury

April 23, 2015April 23, 2015Posted in Eynesbury, Flame RobinTagged Eynesbury, Flame Robin2 Comments

A really hard working family

December 29, 2014December 29, 2014Posted in Eynesbury, Speckled WarblerTagged Eynesbury, Jacky Winter4 Comments

We shared the first meeting with a Jacky Winter and her nest and two lovely nestlings.

As we are about to be away for a couple of weeks it seemed that now was the only time we’d have the chance to see how the Jackys were getting on.
The weather man was a bit ambiguous and we took a very early morning trip out hoping to get a little good weather, and that’s what we got a little.

We soon located the Jacky nest and her two precious little ones and they had grown considerably.

She was elegant enough to let us spend a few minutes with them and feed them as we stood by. The little ones are quite well developed and would move about the ‘nest’ doing wing stretches and preening.

One the way back I heard a Speckled Warbler, and sad to say , hearing is one thing seeing another, but getting a good photo, something else again.

Enjoy.

Mum had plenty of food for the little ones

RIght, who ordered the big grasshopper? Me, me.

Those little wings that will work so hard for a life time are just beginning to develop.

Rules of the nest. If your are going to do a wing practice flight, don't whack your brother in the face. — Rules of the nest. If your are going to do a wing practice flight, don’t whack your brother in the face.

Well able to move about they show how small the nest really is.

The amazing ways of the bird world

December 24, 2014December 24, 2014Posted in Eynesbury, Jacky Winter, Little Eagle, Superb Fairy WrenTagged Eynesbury, Jacky Winter, Speckled WarblerLeave a comment

We’ve had a whole range of really average weather of late, and both EE and I were getting a bit tired of being unable to get out for a really good look about. Much changes in a fortnight.

We decided on an early trip to Eynesbury, mainly because of Speckled Warbler. These tiny little songsters are proving to be incredibly illusive for us. We’ve heard them in several places, but have little to show other than a glimpse of a bird flying off into the distance.
Weatherzone showed some pretty nice icons indicating its should be clear from sunup till at least midday, so setting the alarm clock, we were ready for an early start. As we drove up toward Eynesbury, it was obvious the weather was not going to match the icons and it was very overcast. And with no wind, it was pretty much going to stay that way. Still we crossed the road entered the forest and began our search. And within about 10mins had heard the cheery cry of the Warbler, but so far away and no pictures.
The other bird of interest is the Diamond Firetail, and while we got some good views no really great photos.

By late morning the sun had poked through, the Little Eagles were playing the strengthening breezes and a pair of Brown Falcons were playing chase across the treetops.

We took a walk up past the old shearing shed area and then down the track toward the golf course dam.

“There is always a pair of Jacky Winter on this corner, ” I assured EE, but she responded “I would have thought the name ‘Winter’ might have been a clue.”

And then to both our collective surprises a Jacky flew down grabbed a bug and sat in a tree with its usual tail wag.
The Jacky winter is a fine mixture of part Robin, part Flycatcher (they used to be called the Lesser Fascinating Flycatcher), part Fantail, and a touch of Woodswallow. Well it seems like that to me.

They are also among my favourite birds. Their simple colours make a great photo harmony, their clear sounding calls are a delight and they can be very easy to work with, almost completely ignoring the inquisitive human being. On average. I’ve also met a few that are extraordinarily skittish, and I’ve never had much success.
This corner pair fall somewhere in between. We’ve had some lovely interaction and complete disdain on other occasions.

I followed this one across the roadway, and propped against a tree, hoping, she/he? they are impossible to tell apart, would come on back and at least hunt in the area. It immediately headed back across the road, into a tree, and I caught a glimpse of it on a limb with a lot of wing fluttering. Perhaps its going to be fed, thought I, so I wandered slowly in that direction, but by then the bird had moved on. However there was a bump in the branch, and at first I thought it might have been the other of the pair.
Then it dawned on me. “It’s a young one that is waiting to be fed”. But…

When I put the glass on it, what I discovered was a Jacky Winter nest. Now, I’ve seen some pretty tiny Red-capped Robin nests and the nest of a Grey Fantail, but this was even tinier, and not at all well built. The two young were already overcrowding the nest. And the one thing they seemed to be able to do was to crouch down, and hang on. So at a quick glance it didn’t look like either a nest nor any young birds. Very clever.

But it is tiny.

After a few minutes the first of the adults and then the other came in and poked food into the open mouths, and there was no sound from the young and apart from putting their head up, no real movement either. Very clever.

I concluded from the size that they were about a week from fledging, so perhaps another trip will be needed to see the young birds in action.

Only spent enough time to get a few shots, like to leave them to themselves unless I’m invited to stay, and there wasn’t time for introductions.

On the way back to where we’d left our gear, I heard the Warbler and managed a few shots of it. One of them in the clear. What I didn’t expect was to be harassed by 3 or 4 very agitated Superb Fairy Wren males and several females. The males getting up very close indeed to try and attract my attention and then I noticed why. They had recently fledged 3 or 4 young birds and were trying to protect them. I managed a couple of quick shots of the young with their very short tails.

Enjoy