This little ‘lagoon’ of abandoned roadway is a great spot for walking the dogs, out of the mud that is most of the parks and reserves around here at the moment, with dense bush on both sides, and a swim in the surf at the turnaround point.
With the rain, the move and the end of semester marking and admin, there has not been a lot of time for bird photography, but the rain had been replaced by high cloud, so I took the camera out with us this afternoon.
The mistletoe was in bloom, attracting newholland honeyeaters, and the brown thornbills were in every bush. Whipbirds called from deep in the undergrowth and red-whiskered bulbuls were feeding on the lantana. Variegated fairywren females flew in to investigate my phishing, but the brightly coloured males kept their distance.
Courtship routine of the Red-backed Fairywren, in the twiggy shrubs across from the Roebuck Roadhouse. They were constantly on the move, and quite distant, but it was great to see how the male fluffed up his head feathers and displayed the wonderful red feathers in a birdy cape.
Male – in breeding plumage
Female
Male – eclipse plumage
The Superb Fairywrens are active after the weeks of rain – noisily chirping from every vantage point.
The narrow stream is hot water from the powerhouse and where it meets the lake must be teeming with fish as there are always hordes of pelican, terns, gulls, and sea-eagles lining up for dinner. I saw a tern with a long length of rope twisted around its leg and back; I reported it to wildlife rescue and they were going to try to catch it.
White-bellied Sea Eagle - juvenile
Superb Fairywren
Myuna Bay is a pleasant spot for a walk with a loop path that goes down by the lake and comes back through the bush. It was rather slow for bush birds today other than Eastern Yellow Robins, Fairywrens and Scrubwrens, but it can be a good spot for Dollarbirds, Cuckoos, and honeyeaters.
Superb Fairywren Malurus cyaneus
Many of the birds in the Hunter Region are in moult at the moment. It is great to watch the visiting waders adopt their breeding plumage before heading back to Siberia – always hoping that one in full colour will pose for a photograph before heading off.
And the local birds are moulting into their basic (or eclipse) plumage at the end of their breeding season. Females, immatures, and non-breeding male Superb Fairywrens are a plain fawn colour with a lighter underbelly. Females and immatures have a fawn tail, while males have a dull greyish blue tail. The bill is brown in females and juveniles and black in males after their first winter. The male in breeding plumage has a striking bright blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle, and tail, with a black mask and black or dark blue throat.
Bird list:
