Noisy Miner

I am slow to learn the names of the birds that come to my garden. I have been calling the Common Myna, a Blackbird as it looks similar, is all I can say in my defence. The Magpie was kind of recognised though Australian Magpie is a lot larger bird than the ones I have seen in Europe. Also one must not confuse the Magpie from Magpie Lark which is also black and white - but more white than the Magpie I think.

Noisy Miner

 Australian Myna

 Australian Magpie

Magpie Lark

The large black birds I thought were Crows and it turns out they are Australian Ravens.  Well we have a pair of Myna birds nesting in the awning of the roof next door. Every year the pair has a couple of chicks but I see them only when they have fledged and come to drink water and odd food that I put out for the birds in the garden.

Australian Raven

The Noisy Miner is a bold, curious and as noisy a bird as its name suggests. It is identified by its mostly grey body and black crown and cheeks. The bill is yellow, as are the legs and the naked skin behind the eye. I have not yet fathomed the full range of its calls. This year for the first time I think there was a nest around my garden. I did not know about the nest till the chicks fledged.

One afternoon returning from the shops, just as I was taking things out of the boot there was this intense cheep cheep chirping and it was near. I had a good look around my front garden and found there was rustling of the leaves in the big bush in the front. On looking closely, there was a pair of chicks’ dark bodies and yellow beaks. I thought they were the Myna chicks and that this probably was their first outing. I kept an eye on them from inside the house. 

It is a wonder how they can keep up the non-stop chirping, did they even stop to breathe? I saw in the dusk light their parents coming in to feed them, but could not make out exactly if it was the Myna from next door or not. In the morning, I was waiting to wave my husband off to work and saw this gang of sulphur crested cockatoos trying to descend on the tree but were met with a noisy reception with the Noisy Miner birds attacking the cockatoos. That is something to watch as the cockatoos are much bigger and in my perception more aggressive of the two but they were driven away to wreak havoc on the banksia across the road. But here were not just the parents but other birds too trying to keep the chicks safe. Seems they have communal caring of the babies. 

Later, I could still hear this continuous chirping but it seemed the birds were not in the same bush. So where were they? I had to inspect all the bushes and trees trying to follow that chirping sound. Looking at every rustle and tremble of leaf and thinking it should be easy to spot the dark chicks among the green leaves. Not so at all! Aha there they were on a branch over the side fence. Still nonstop chirping! I guess it is their way of reminding the parents that they are waiting for food and of their current perch. I got them on the telephone cable and then realised there was a third chick which seems to be sitting separately on another branch. This lot moved around for about 10 days and grew to twice their size in this time. It was certainly a good nature’s show having Noisy Miner chicks fledging in you front garden.