Birding at Cooroora Creek Park at Pomona

Last weekend as I was making my way to the dam I could hear the ducks calling out using the warning call but they didn't seem to be trying to hide. This is usually how they sound when a goshawk is around but they were reacting very differently. As I got a little closer I could see a massive eagle hovering above the dam looking at the ducks. It was attempting to get them but they were much too quick for this juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle. It wasn't approachable at all. When I got about 80metres from it, it flew off and landed in a tree. I managed to get a few quick pics before it flew off again. As it flew off another White-bellied Sea-Eagle flew from out of a dead tree in the paddock and they flew off together.





Juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle

On Saturday I met a friend at the park at Pomona. I was hoping to see the Eastern Shrike-tit that she spotted here during the week. I knew that even if I didn't see it I would find many other birds as birds are always very active in here. I arrived at about 8 o'clock and it was a fresh morning but warming up nicely with not a cloud in the sky. As soon as we arrived we saw and heard Restless Flycatchers, Spectacled Monarchs, Noisy Friarbirds, Eastern Yellow Robins and several others. We made our way to a couple of baby Eastern Yellow Robins that my friend spotted earlier in the week. We managed to find them but were unable to get a photo due to them being in such dense foliage. It was nice to watch the parents feeding them nonetheless.

Noisy Friarbird

As usual the Brown Gerygones and Brown Thornbills were in large numbers. Unfortunately for me, the Brown Thornbills chased the Brown Gerygones away before we were able to get any decent shots of them.

Brown Thornbill

There were heaps of Golden Whistlers around the park too. A couple showed very well lower in the trees so we were able to obtain a few decent shots. These are one of my favourite birds due to their colour and their lovely song.

Golden Whistler

Another Golden Whistler

Golden Whistler taking off

The same Golden Whistler again

This Golden Whistler found a caterpillar for breakfast

Another species which is always in large numbers and easy to spot in the park are the White-browed Scrubwrens. This one was quite annoyed with me for some reason and landed very close to me, which allowed me to get a few great photos.

White-browed Scrubwren

This White-browed Scrubwren was making its alarm call

The White-browed Scrubwren after he settled down again

Other birds that were seen in large numbers were Laughing Kookaburras and Grey Fantails. Several Rufous Fantails were also spotted but I was running short on time so I had to leave before I was able to obtain a photo. I didn't get to see the Eastern Shrike-tit but I was happy with the quality of many of the shots that I obtained from today.

Early Sunday morning I did a very quick walk around the yard before I left to go out for the day and I was happy with the birds that I saw and heard within the 20 minutes in such a small area. Apart from the birds photographed I also spotted several Laughing Kookaburras, Magpie-larks, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes, Pied Currawongs, White-throated  Honeyeaters, Grey Fantails, Willie Wagtails, Brown Honeyeaters plus many others. I focussed on a couple of birds though to obtain photos of.

As always the flycatchers were as high as possible in the tallest trees around the yard. I could see them and hear them easily but was unable to get better photos than these due to their location.

Male Leaden Flycatcher

Female Leaden Flycatcher

Spectacled Monarch

Another one of my favourite birds that are always seen around my property are the Variegated Fairy-wrens. I never get tired of seeing and hearing them around the place.

Variegated Fairy-wrens

 

 

 

More updates and pics coming soon.

 

If you're interested in my blog check out my site below by clicking on the link.

Australian Birds Photography: KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY 

Birding Around my Coles Creek Property

After a month or two with little or no birding it was great to finally get out there again taking some photos. With work, the rainy weather and two floods going through the property in the last two months I have been unable to get many photos. This is a collection of the few shots I got over the last few months from around the property.

Each year the Varied Sittellas come to the property. This is usually just before the rain comes and they are only seen on the property for a few weeks and then they move on once again. This year was the largest flock that I have seen pass through since I have lived here. There was about 40 individuals in the group this year.

Varied Sittella

A Varied Sittella lifting bark looking for food

Another Varied Sittella

A Varied Sittella ready to take flight

Another bird that seems to come and go around the property is the Leaden Flycatcher. They can be seen and heard for most of the year except for Winter. This year they also seemed to be more common than usual. Unfortunately they always perch close to the top of the big gums though so obtaining a good photo is difficult.

Leaden Flycatcher in flight

Two male Leaden Flycatchers

Leaden Flycatcher cleaning itself

 

For the three years I have lived at the property I have heard a bird calling on a regular basis but usually in hard to access parts of the property. This bird can also be heard on moonlit nights where it can call for hours at a time. I often wondered what the bird was. Finally a few weeks ago several of them began calling out in the trees not far from the house. It took quite a while to even locate them in the tree tops and I was surprised to find that they were Brush Cuckoos. It is actually the first time I have seen them, even though I have been hearing them call regularly for years. While I watched them I noticed they are not a very social bird. If they weren't sitting very still they were attacking each other quite ruthlessly.

Brush Cuckoo



Another one of the Brush Cuckoos

All three of the birds in the next two photos are regularly seen on the property, especially during the wet season. One solitary White-necked Heron is only ever seen at a time. The Pacific Black Ducks are very common and can be seen any day. They range from groups of 4 or so up to 40 or more.

White-necked Heron and a Pacific Black Duck

White-faced Heron

The Scaly-breasted Lorikeets are also very common on the property. I'm pleased that they are much more common than the Rainbow Lorikeets here. As the numbers of Rainbow Lorikeets increase in an area, sadly the number of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets decline as they are smaller and not as aggressive as the Rainbow Lorikeets.

 Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

The same Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Around all the dams and creeks the Purple Swamphens can be regularly seen or heard. They are very numerous around the property all year round.

Purple Swamphen

Another common resident here are the Fairy-wrens. Since the floods there are definitely less around. I'm not sure if this is a direct effect of the flood or if possibly the Sparrowhawk that has moved in since the floods has been catching them in large numbers. They can still be heard any given day but there numbers have deteriorated. Hopefully over the coming months their numbers increase once again.

Juvenile Male Variegated Fairy-wren 

This Sparrowhawk moved onto the property after the floods. We have regularly seen the Grey and Brown Goshawks on the property which cause a lot of problems with the free range poultry, but they only seem to catch the poultry when they have chicks. After the chicks fledge, which they did nearly two months ago they seem to leave the animals alone. This Collared Sparrowhawk on the other hand has been harassing all the birds in the aviaries and all the poultry that are in pens. As soon as it spots me it flies off and lands in the trees in the distance. Hopefully he leaves them alone soon.

Collared Sparrowhawk

The Varied Trillers were first sighted about 6 months ago and have now taken up residence in one corner of the property. There numbers have nearly doubles since I started observing them. They can be seen regularly in this part of the property.



Female Varied Triller


More updates and pics regularly.

If you're interested in my blog check out my site below by clicking on the link.

Australian Birds KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY


Birds of Coles Creek and Cooroy

This week I went on a few birdwatching trips. One was late Sunday afternoon after the rain on my property and the other was to the Cooroy Waste Water Treatment Plant. I had never considered going there but after seeing the post by Greg Roberts last week I couldn't resist going to have a look for myself, as I have been after photos of a few of those birds for a long time.

The first photos are from my property at Coles Creek. There were all the usual birds, probably about 60+ species. I got a few photos of some of the different species from the property that I didn't include in my last post. All of these birds were in high numbers on this outing.

Lewin's Honeyeater

Brown Cuckoo-Dove

There were about 40 Brown Cuckoo-Doves out which is more than usual and the majority of them were eating the berries off the wild tobacco plants. I deliberately left all these plants on the property as it provides food for these birds and many other during the year especially the Channel-billed Cuckoos.

Male Restless Flycatcher

As usual these birds are nearly always at the highest point in a tree. Easy to spot and hear but much harder to photograph easily.

Male Red-backed Fairy-wren

Male Mistletoebird

Male Mistletoebird attaching droppings to a branch

I knew that Mistletoebirds attach their droppings to a branch so the mistletoe can spread, but I have never witnessed this until this outing.

Laughing Kookaburra

All the following photos were taken at the Cooroy Waste Water Treatment Plant. A word of warning though. Before you enter ensure that you ring Unity Water to notify them that you are coming. Before you enter for the first time you have to do a brief induction for safety and ensure that you sign the register upon entering and leaving the facility. I was unaware of all of this and just as I was leaving I had a Unity Water employee screaming down in his ute to give me a bit of an earful. My fault I suppose but ensure that you follow protocol to ensure you don't get in trouble or even fined.

The water birds here are very numerous. The most common species that were sighted included Buff-banded Rails, Purple Swamphens, Dusky Moorhens, Latham's Snipes, Pacific Black Ducks, White-faced Herons, Intermediate Egrets, Australian Wood Ducks, Hardheads and Grey Teals. All of these were in large numbers on the day I went from my observations. Many other species were also seen. In the bushland that surrounds the ponds a large number of species can also be seen. There would have been over 70 species that I observed or heard calling. The one I was most surprised about was hearing multiple Green Catbirds calling out down near the creek.

The water birds here are not very cooperative to photograph because as soon as you approach, they hide in the reeds or take flight, especially the Latham's Snipes!

Pacific Black Ducks

Buff-banded Rail

Latham's Snipe

Australian Grebe

Chestnut-breasted Mannikins

Male Variegated Fairy-wren

White-faced Heron

Tawny Grassbird

Female Australasian Figbird

Pacific Black Duck ducklings escaping the big bad photographer

Spangled Drongo

Pair of Wandering Whistling-Ducks

Willie Wagtail

Intermediate Egret

Purple Swamphen

Grey Teals
 

More updates and pics each week.

If you're interested in my blog check out my site below by clicking on the link.

Australian Birds KEUNEA PHOTOGRAPHY