Australian Pied Oystercatcher

The name Oystercatcher is something of misnomer for this species, because they seldom eat oysters which are found mainly on rocky coastlines.

The Pied Oystercatcher is black with a white breast and belly. All oystercatchers have a bright orange-red bill, eye-rings and legs, and a red eye. Young birds are similar in appearance to the adults, but lack the intense red-orange colours, and are brown rather then black.

The white breast and belly distinguish the Pied Oystercatcher from the closely related Sooty Oystercatcher, which has all black plumage.

The bird is found in coastal areas throughout Australian continent except for areas of unbroken sea cliffs such as the Great Australian Bight. Pied Oystercatchers have probably declined throughout much of their range and the current population may be as low as 10.000. Closely related forms are found in almost every continent in the world.

The Pied Oystercatcher prefers mudflats, sandbanks and sandy ocean beaches and is less common along rocky or shingle coastlines. Although rarely recorded far from the coast, the Pied Oystercatcher may occasionally be found in estuarines mudflats and short pasture.

The Pied Oystercatcher breeds in pairs. Abreeding teritory of some 200m is formed and is defended by both birds. Nesting takes place on sand, shell grit or shingle just above high water mark on beaches, sandbars, margins of estuaries and lagoons. The eggs are well-camouflaged, being pale brown with darker-brown and black blotches and streaks. Both sexes share parenting duties.

Photo- Jozef Skubin, 1,2,3,4, Walter point, Swan River. 29.06.2014

Text references.

Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.

The Shorebirds of Australia

Grey Fantail

It is very difficult to capture this bird, because is so fast and never more then one second seats on the branch without flying around . The Gray Fantail is most easily recognised by its constantly fanned tail and agile aerial twists and turns. It's a small bird around 15cm, both sexes are similar in appearance, grey above, with white eyebrow, throat and tail edges. This species is quite inquisitive and will closely approach to the observer.

Similar species to Gray Fantail are Willie Wagtail, also described in this blog, and Rufous Fantail. 

The Gray Fantail is found throughout Australia in most treed habitats and appears undergo a partial northern migration during winter. The birds occasionally visits densely planted urban gardens, particularly during the winter migration. Often makes use of eucalypt trees. Feeds on flying insects, which it catches by chasing them from the edge of foliage at all levels in the canopy.

Its nest is build in a thin tree-fork, unusually between 2 and 5 meters from the ground. It is made of fine grass bound together with large amounts of spider web. The bottom of the nest is drawn out into a long stem, resembling that of a wine-glass. Both parents share nest-building, incubation of the eggs and feeding of the young when they hatch.

Photo Jozef Skubin

1,2,3,4 Cannington river, Canning regional park W.A.

References

Field guide to Australian birds.

Field guide to birds of Australia, 6th Edition

The Robins and flycatchers of Australia

    

Nankeen night heron

Because it spends much of the day roosting hidden among dense foliage, only emerging in the twilight, the Nankeen night heron is generally under-reported. Nevertheless, they occur throughout eastern and northern Australia, as well as in the western half of Western Australia. The species breeds in colonies which often comprise hundreds of pairs, with the largest colonies supporting thousands. Most of this large colonies are in the Murray-Darling Basin, and their numbers may build up quickly during wet years, and disperse when conditions deteriorate.

The Nankeen Night Heron is a stocky heron with rich cinnamon upperparts, white-buff underparts, a black crown, and yellow legs and feet. The head is large, the neck short, and the legs relatively short. During breeding the beck of the head bears three nuptial plumes. The bill is dark olive-green, and the eyes are yellow. Young birds are heavily spotted and streaked white, brown and orange-brown. As they mature, the black cap of the adult develops first, with the body plumage remaining streaked for some time. The Nankeen Night Heron is also called the Rufous Night Heron.

The Nankeen Night Heron is found throughout Australia, wherever there is permanent water. It is uncomon in Tasmania, lives in frequents well-vegetated wetlands, and is found along shallow river margins, mangroves, floodplains, and swamps. 

It is feed at night in shallow water on a wide variety of insects, crustaceans, fish and amphibians. Breeds throughout the year, depending on food availability. Breeding takes place in colonies, often together with egrets and cormorants. The nest is a loose stick platform over water. Both sexes incubate the eggs.

Photos- Jozef Skubin 1,2,3,4, Herdsman Lake 15.06.2014

Text references- Birdlife Australia      

Silvereye

The Silvereye is a small bird with a conspicuous ring of white feathers around the eye, and belongs to a group of birds known as white-eyes. The Silvereye shows interesting plumage variations across its range. The gray back and olive-green head and wings are found in birds trough the east, while western birds have a uniformly olive-green back. Breeding birds of the east coast have yellow throats, pale buff flanks (side of the belly) and white on the under tail. To complicate this, the birds in the east have regular migrations within Australia and may replace each other in their different areas for parts of the year. Birds in Western Australia have yellowish olive, rather than gray backs.

There is only one similar species found in Australia. The Yellow White-eye, lives on north and north-west. It is more brightly coloured above, is lemon yellow below and has a smaller white eye-ring. The ranges of the two species do overlap slightly.

Silvereyes feed on insects prey and large amounts of fruit and nectar, making them occasional pests of commercial orchards. Birds are seen alone, in pairs or small flocks during the breeding season, but form large flocks in the winter months.

Silvereye pairs actively defend a small territory. The nest is a small, neatly woven cup of grasses, hair, and other fine vegetation, bound with spider web. It is placed in horizontal tree fork up to five meters above the ground. The nest is constructed by both sexes, who both also incubate the bluish-green eggs. If conditions are suitable two to three clutches will be raised in a season.

Photos

Jozef Skubin 1,2,3,4,5,6, Canning river, Cannington W.A. 10.06.2014

Text references

Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.

Reader s Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds

The Honeyeaters and their Allies of Australia 

New Holland Honeyeater

The New Holland Honeyeater is a honeyeater species found throughout Southern Australia, from about Brisbane, Queensland to just north of Perth in Western Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia 1781 and was initially named Certhia Novaehollandiae.

It is a very active bird, and rarely sits long enough to give an extended view. When danger approaches a group of Honeyeaters will form together and give a warning call.

The New Holland Honeyeater is common in heath, forests and woodlands, mainly where grevilleas and banksias are found. It's inquisitive and approaches humans. It also mixes with other honeyeaters as Red Wattlebird, Singing Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, all described in this blog.

The birds are also very active feeders, they mostly eat the nectar of flowers (Photo1) and busily dart from flower to flower in search of this high energy food. Other food items include fruit, insects and spiders. Birds may feed alone but normally gather in quite large groups. Most feeding take place in lower areas of bushes and thickets.
Its cup-shaped nest is made of bark and grasses, bound together with spider web. Its lined with soft material and is placed in the bush or tree, anywhere from ground level up to six meters. Both sexes feed the chiks. A pair of adults may raise two or three broods in a year.

Photos taken: 1,4 Swan River (Belmont)  2,3 Lightning Swamp bush land, 5 Bickley Brook

Ptič spada v vrsto medojedcev in ga je mogoče najti po vsej Južni Avstraliji od okoli Brisbana, Qwenslanda vse do severno od Pertha v Zahodni Avstraliji. Ta vrsta je bila ena med prvimi znanstveno opisanimi vrstami v Avstraliji leta 1781 in že od začetka poimenovana Certhia Novaehollandiae.
Je zelo aktiven ptič in redko sedi na veji toliko časa da bi ga lahko dalj časa opazovali. Ko se mu približa nevarnost se skupina teh ptičev združi in odda svarilni klic.
Ptiča najdemo v resju, gozdovih in grmovju, večinoma kjer rastejo grevileje in banksije. Je radoveden ptič in se zlahka približa človeku. Druži se tudi z drugimi ptiči iz vrste medojedcev kot so Red Wattlebird, Singing honeyeater in Brown honeyeater, vsi že opisani v tem blogu.
Ptič je tudi zelo aktiven jedec, večinoma se hrani z cvetnim nektarjem in neprestano leta od cveta do cveta v iskanju te visoko energetske hrane. Ostala hrana na jedilniku vključuje sadje, insekte in pajke. Ptič se lahko hrani sam normalno pa v družbi večje skupine. Večinoma najde hrano v nizkem grmičevju in goščavju.
Njegovo Čašasto oblikovano gnezdo je narejeno iz lubja in trave, povezano z pajčevino. Je obloženo z mehkim materijalom in zgrajeno v grmovju ali drevesih, do šest metrov od tal. Oba spola hranita mladiče. Par odraslih ptičev lahko vzgoji dve ali tri gnezda na leto.       

         

Laughing Kookaburra

Last updates:

02.07.2014. photo 4,5. 

The Laughing Kookaburra is well known both as a symbol of Australia's birdlife and as the inspirational from the children's songs and is the largest member of the Kingfisher family.

Its song really sounds like laughing and when I heard it the first time I asked my self "Since when a monkeys lives around Perth ?"

You can hear its voice on the bottom of post. 

The Laughing Kookaburra has dark brown wing plumage and a white head and underside. Dark brown aye stripes run across its face and its upper bill its black. Its reddish-colored tail is patterned with black bars.

Laughing Kookaburras are found throughout eastern Australia. They have been introduced to Tasmania, south-west of Western Australia and New Zeeland.

Its habitat are most areas where there are eucalyptus trees.

Feed mostly on insects, worms and crustaceans, although small snakes, mammals, frogs and birds may also be eaten. Prey is seized by pouncing from suitable perch. Small prey is eaten whole, but larger pray is killed by bashing it against the ground or tree branch.

Photo: Jozef Skubin. 1,2,3, Swan river, Belmont 24.06.2013. 4,5, Walter Point, Swan River 29.06.2014 

Smejoča se Kookaburra je večkrat uporabljena kot simol ptic v Avstraliji in v mnogih otroških pesmih. Spada v družino Kingfisherjev in je največja izmed njih.

Njeno oglašanje res zveni kot smeh in ko sem jo prvič slišal sem se najprej vprašal " Od kdaj pa živijo opice tu okrog Pertha?"

Njen zvok lahko slišite na koncu tega opisa.

Smejoča Kookaburra ima temno rjavo perje na perutih, glava in rebušna stran pa je bela. Preko oči do zaglavja ima temno rjavi liniji in črn zgornji del kljuna. Po rdečkasto obarvanem repu ima temne linije.

Smejočo Kookaburrro najdemo v celotni vzhodni Avstraliji, naseljena pa je bila v Tasmanijo, jugovzhod Zahodne Avstralije in v Novo Zelandijo.

Njen habitat je povsod kjer je mogoče najti evkaliptusovo drevje.

Večinoma se hrani z insekti in raki pa tudi z manjšimi kačami, sesalci (miši itd..), žabami, celo pticami.

Plen napade iz primernega mesta in manjše živali pogoltne kar cele, z večjimi pa udari ob tla ali drevesno vejo.

     

Australian Darter

The Darter is a large, slim water bird with a long snake-like neck, sharp pointed bill and and long rounded tail. Often seen swimming with only neck visible above the water, or drying its wings while perched on a tree or stump over water. While its gait its clumsy on land it can soar gracefully to great heights on thermals, gliding from updraft to updraft. It has a cross shaped silhouette when flying.

In Australia the darter is found from Adelaide, South Australia to Tennant Creek, Northern Territory and then to Broom, Western Australia. It is also fund in South Western Australia, from Perth to Esperance.

The Darter lives in wetlands and sheltered coastal waters, mainly in the tropics and subtropics. It prefers smooth, open waters, for feeding, with tree trunks, branches, stumps or posts fringing the water, for resting and drying its wings. Most often seen inland, around permanent and temporary water bodies at last half a metre deep, but may be seen in calm seas near shore, fishing.

The Darter catches fish with its sharp bill, partly open while diving in water deeper then 60cm. The fish is pierced from underneath, flicked onto the water's surface and then swallowed head first. Smaller items are eaten underwater and large items may be carried  to a convenient perch and then swallowed.

I saw the Darter the first week after my arrival to Australia, but at time I wasn't much interested for a birds. Later I was looking for it and finally I catch it with my camera, last week, drying its wings on the bank of the Swan River.

Photos taken 1,2,3,Swan River

Darter pomeni kačjevratnik, prav po tem je ptič namreč tudi znan. Gre za vitko do 90cm visoko vodno ptico z dolgim kači podobnim vratom, ostro koničastim kljunom in zaobljenim repom. Kadar plava je iz vode mogoče videti samo vrat, pogosto pa suši peruti na posušenih obrečnih vejah ali štorih ki štrlijo iz vode.

Medtem ko je na tleh njegov način hoje zelo štorast, je v zraku čudovit jadralec, ki se ob dobri termiki, z kroženjem povspne do zavidljivih višin.

V Avstraliji ga je mogoče najti od Adelaida v Južni Avstraliji do Tennant Creeka v Severnem Teritoriju nato do Brooma v Zahodni Avstraliji. Nahaja pa se tudi v Jugozahodni Avstraliji od Pertha do Esperanca na južni obali.

Darter živi na mokriščih in območjih rek, prav tako tudi na odprtih obalnih vodah v glavnem v tropskem in subtropskem pasu. Najraje ima mirne odprte vode iz katerih štrlijo vodni štori in suhe veje na obrežjih na katerih počiva in suši krila.

Ribe lovi tako da plava z delno odprtim ostrim kljunom do 60cm in več globoko pod vodo. Ribo prebode od spodaj navzgor in nato ji nad vodno gladino odgrizne najprej glavo. Manjše delce požre takoj, pod vodo      

večje pa odnese na primernejši prostor kjer jih požre kasneje.

To ptico sem videl na obrežju reke Swan prvi teden, ko sem prišel v Avstralijo, vendar sem takrat imel opravka z drugimi stvarmi kot pa z fotografiranjem ptic. Kasneje sem jo dolgo iskal in končno jo ujel z fotoaparatom prejšnji teden, kako po jutranjem lovu suši krila na obrežju reke nekaj kilometrov severno od Pertha.