Another brief birding outing, this time on the way to work I stopped off at Galgabba Point, Swansea to see if there were any Scarlet Honeyeaters lower down in the trees than I’d been able to see them so far this autumn. I came across a group of around twenty males and females hawking for insects at eye level, within minutes and metres of parking the car.
We had the first sunny day in a while so I left work early with the thought of stopping off at Blackbutt Reserve, which I temptingly pass on the commute. But of course by the time I got to Blackbutt the clouds had rolled in and the wind had picked up.
They are in the process of rebuilding the cages destroyed in the Pasha Bulker storm, and they have some new captive bird species, however I was interested in the Emerald Dove that had been spotted hanging around the cage holding its captive cousins. It was there, but I first saw it from the walkway above, foraging on the ground, and by the time I got down to ground level I couldn’t find it again. A number of twitchers reported it over the next few days, with various explanations for its presence in downtown Newcastle.
Google Australia is celebrating John James Audubon's birthday today with this wonderfully birdy logo.
Glossy Black Cockatoo
I’d been wanted to visit Lake Burrendong State Park since the flood waters raised the dam level from 1% to 87%, so the week before Easter Maureen and I packed the dogs into the car along with our camping gear and headed west.
Apart from the water, and the walks through some incredible scenery, a big attraction was the Burrendong Botanic Garden and Arboretum at the entrance to the State Park. Established in 1964 the gardens cover approximately 167 ha. Dedicated to the preservation and conservation of Australia's unique and incredibly diverse flora, it is arranged in thematic areas that facilitate both driving tours and walks. Like many amazing conservation projects the gardens were established primarily through the efforts of one man, George Althofer. George was a big fan of one of my favourite plants, the mint bush, and wrote a book on the species. His brother Peter designed and supervised the building of the spectacular Fern Gully at the arboretum.
Fantastic place. We plan a return visit.
Bird list:
I’m not big on feeding birds artificially, and have planted lots of flowering trees and shrubs to give them natural food sources, but when picking up dog food I noticed some Wild Lorikeet nectar mix and bought a bag. I put a small amount out yesterday and the resident noisy miners were rather appreciative, and were joined by half a dozen rainbow lorikeets. I took the empty dish away after an hour.
This morning I put some nectar out at around 6:30 am, and came back to get some over-ripe banana and a handful of grapes. By the time I got back to the garden there would have been a hundred lorikeets in the trees, lined up on the fence and taking their turn at the feeders.
The food was all gone within the hour. So I’ve removed and cleaned the dishes. While diseases can be carried by shared feeding dishes, and food can ferment and affect the birds, there seem to be no ill effects from a well managed feeding program.
Bell Miner takes a drink
Young Lewin’s Honeyeater
Grey Fantail
Characteristically shy Whipbird
Silvereyes
Golden Whistler
Brown Thornbill
A late afternoon walk beside the Tuggerah sewerage ponds had the sun in the wrong position for photographs of Swamp Hens, Pacific Black Ducks, Chestnut Teal, Australasian Grebe, Hoary Headed Grebe, Black Swans and Welcome Swallows on the water, but the fringing bush held a good number of birds.
