Visitors to My Garden

Over the years we have so may birds in the garden.  Right from the oft seen Common Myna to once in a while seen herons.

Kookaburra

My all-time favourite kookaburra on my washing line. Normally seen to the electric poles and wires. Largest group was of about 11 which I think was a lot of young birds as I believe they were nesting in one of the large trees.

 

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos

These roam in gangs and decimate trees in their path, screech and make a racket. The crest fan out when they are angry and in warrior mode.

Common Myna

These as the name suggests are aplenty. In one of the house’s I lived they had a permanent next in the partly broken guttering of the roof next door. Every year they had a couple of chicks and the racket started when they want to be fed. Woe betide if any ‘stranger’ came even in my garden. They would dive bomb it. That’s how I found my resident blue tongued lizard that I have got in the alter pictures.

Australian Myna / Noisy Miner

These were the fledglings of the noisy miner pair living in one of the near by trees. The chirping of these chicks is incessant and that’s is what drew my attention to them. Took me a while to find them among the leaves. From the hatching to the flying away took 3 weeks. They moved slowly around the couple of trees to test out their wings…. And last see on the wires before they left.

Rainbow Lorikeets

These are by far my most favourite bird. The colours and the sounds are just joyful I find. These were in the second house that I lived. The one after that had a lot of spider flowers and also bottle-brush trees which meant there was loads of honey and flowers for them to eat (. If the doors were open it felt that the birds were inside the house. It took me a while to stop going around the house to check if there were any lorikeets inside the house.

Blue-tongued Lizard

The first time I saw this creature it was in Melbourne. I was surprised to see such a large lizard and its blue tongue but before I could get a camera out it was off under the house. I never managed to catch it on the camera. But the second house here I was alerted to the sunning lizard just on the side of the house in the grass, by the screaming common myna pair from next door. They were trying to peck the poor lizard. I shooed them away and stood guard to let the lizard warm up. The second picture is of another blue tongue that lived in under the garage of the next house. Sadly, I do not seem to have one in this house… though I have seen one come from next door so maybe it lives there.

Wood Duck

No idea what it was doing here…. Am not that close to a water body. The river and duck pond closest is at Parramatta Park.

Ibis

This is seen everywhere here – parks, roads, city centres, gardens and called dumpster turkey as they are known to dumpster dive. In the first house I never saw any. But in the second one there used to be an occasional one. The next house there was a couple walking down the road. This house I have a large back garden and often they come and aerate my lawn by poking holes for worms. The best was a family of 5. The 2 large ones were of course the parents and the other 3 were smaller in size. Of course when I want to put up the picture those 5 can I find it?

Crested Pigeon

These are cute as they teeter about with that crest bobbing about. This one is well fed but usually they are not very big. They are also always found in pairs from what I have noted. The best memory I have of a pair was a courtship dance on the road. Right in the middle of the road the female was walking in front and the male kept coming and touching her. She shrugged him off and went forward. This went on for a minute of two. Her rebuffs were getting stronger and then she just turned and chased him, pecking at him down the road. I just wished I had been able to get that on camera. It was a funny site. I saw that courtship once again next year.

Heron

Now this is a stranger in the local area. Again, I got alerted when the noisy miners went berserk outside. This made me get up and walk around to all the windows to see if I could find the reasons for all this racket and of course I find the heron wandering about the garden next door. The second time it came over to my garden too.

Lastly, I point you to the last blog which had the rarest bird in the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo.

Birds in My Garden

There are a lot of new insects, reptiles and birds that I have come across around my house here. It is always a nice surprise to see the different creatures. Australia is pretty well known for the many dangerous animals it has and I remember a few friends warning me about them before I came here.

First, we lived in Melbourne suburb and it was a very quiet neighbourhood with a lot of greenery, trees and grass around. There were so many birds calls which were unusual to our ears which are now pretty familiar. One day we were walking to the bus stop along a small path that took us to the main road and the bus stop. Around that time, I was still not stable in health and so had to walk slowly and hence had the time to look around as I walked. Looking at the amazing variety of different flowers and beautiful gardens. We used to walk that road often to get to bus stop as any outing whether just for buying groceries or to just an outing on the bus to see places, bus was the only way to go.

Suddenly my husband said oh look there is something in the tress high up in front. Large black mass…. Could that be a monkey? He speculated. But surely there are no wild monkeys in the suburbs in this country? We walked towards the tree as it was right by the end of the lane where we turned out on to the road. The size of this creature seemed fairly big .. yes it was big enough to be a monkey. Was that its back we were seeing. But then we were almost up t the tree and this creature squawked. Oh gosh! This was a black cockatoo and it is enormous. Then as our eyes adjusted to the angle and the light, we saw there were 2 enormous Glossy Black Cockatoos sitting on the branch and making soft sounds.

We stood there on the road for a good 5 minutes watching the beautiful birds.

Once again, we had the pleasure of seeing these elusive and endangered birds when we were at Murramurang National Park. We were sitting in the resort and having a cuppa. Suddenly there was a commotion and rustling in the trees….. loud strange bird calls. Everyone got up to look up through the trees to see what bird it was… and out flew a flock of 4 large Glossy Black Cockatoos. Simply beautiful and made me smile happily for the rest of the evening.

More recently, I was walking in my house as per usual and heard some screeching from outside. I live on top of a hill almost at a corner and so when there are bird calls it hard to figure out the direction immediately. So I looked out the front, opened the front door and looked out on that side. After a few minutes I gave up and continued walked. This time the screeching was coming from the back garden. I stopped at the kitchen window to see if there was anything visible. Suddenly I noticed the bark of my large eucalyptus tree being stripped and dropped down on the grass. There was something dark in the tree, could just about see a black bit moving. I went out and stood under the tree, oh my it was a glossy black cockatoo all right.  Just as I stood watching thinking its too late to grab my camera it flew off… a beautiful large yellow tailed black cockatoo.

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.

Walk in the Parramatta Park with a Three-year Old

I go regularly to the park with my husband for a walk which is not only a bit of exercise but also very relaxing in the peace and sounds of birds. Though I did take a few weeks out during this winter, when it was cold and wet, or when I felt dizzy and in pain. But then living with chronic illness like UCTD, there is not guarantee of anything and plan even for the day sometimes needs to be abandoned. So the good days are precious and even more so when I walk around the park or go to the beach. A wander in nature and by the water are my favourite pass times and Parramatta Park serves on both counts as the river flows through the park.

Going to park with children is always a different experience, especially when they are just toddlers. The view, from three feet high, is entirely different and the curiosity of a three year old is very cheering as it makes you think and shows you a different perspective too. So even when it is something you do often, just add a child in the mix and it becomes an entirely new and invigorating experience. Last week, I persuaded my niece and her daughter to come to the park for a walk. I have been trying to get them to come for nearly 2 years! We do have to go in their car, for I do not have a child’s seat and so cannot take the little one by herself.

There was excitement getting into the car, and she had her little pink lunch box with, she said her biscuits for the park. However, while we all got settled and strapped in she had chomped through the last one. All the way to the park the conversation revolved around what she took in her lunch box that needed the use of a spoon, which was slotted into the lid of the box. From ‘I use it to have my lunch’, to ‘it’s for eating my lunch’, to exasperated ‘pasta’ was the answer finally elicited. Since it was a weekday, we had to park the car inside the park, under a tree. Hats were donned and water bottles picked up, push chair set up, in case the little one got tired and refused to walk. Of course she had seen the playground as we drove past. The swings and slides and see-saw all a big attraction! So we had a deal that we would do a walk around the park, see the birds, flowers, trees and then end at the playground. She was happy with that deal. 

Right next to the car there were parrots pecking away at the ground covered in grass. So right away the bird watching started. There were 2 kinds – the white parrot which has a bit of red on either side of the beak and a small red patch on the breast – long billed corella  and the other a white parrot with a yellow crest - sulphur crested cockatoo. They seem to form a large gang and fly about from tree to tree and swoop down on the grass and find the small insects come out to warm themselves in the winter sun.

 Long billed Corella

 Suplhur Crested Cockatoo

Then we moved on to the path around the park. I showed her the small closed garden which is open for a couple of weeks in September when the wisteria and cherry trees are in full bloom along with other flowers. The trees with the big bats hanging in large numbers were now within sight. She was fascinated to see these ‘big birds’ hanging upside down and puzzled at the fact that these were not birds but animals (I think trying to explain the concept of mammals would not have gone down too well). The notice board said this is the biggest grey headed flying fox camp and a site for conservation. Something had disturbed them, we think, as they bats were making a lot of noise and flying about from tree to tree, where as they are usually pretty quiet in the daytime. We had gone there on the Sunday before and there was a booth with the conservationists to ‘meet a bat’. You could see the bat being held by the man and be educated about this wonderful and endangered mammal. That is when we realised that the furore in the bat camp was most likely a protest at one of them being held captive….. how very human!  

Grey Headed Flying Foxes

Across the river there usually is one tree with white ibis but today there were a couple and had a large congregation of these birds, presumably warming themselves in the winter sunshine. I have had one or two of these wandering in my garden sometimes. They are also found in large trees along the road or wandering about the large parks in the city. 

 

 Ibis in my front garden

After the excitement of bats we moved along the river back and started on the small flowers blooming in winter. The reeds, ‘grass in the water’ were dried out and required an explanation as to why we could not walk on that grass. There were rustling sounds of the lizards darting around. There were so many tiny blooms on trees and also on the small plants. The child had a fascinating time rushing from one to another. Looking at the colours – blue and yellows seemed predominant with a few odd red ones– as she said look at the sun flowers when she saw the bright yellows. Of course she enjoyed those as they were at her level and we stopped and admired each one and also dutifully photographed.

Then we reached the bench in the sunshine, right by the river bank, and it was time to stop and see the water birds – coots, moorhens, ducks and their ducklings, there were no cormorants today and neither the lone pelican ( a lost one I think, this far inland) we saw a couple of weeks back. After a few minutes rest we moved on. The next bit of walk is on the footpath as there is work being done on the other side of the road, to make a curved crescent shaped paved area, where usually concerts are held. So it was easier to sit the little one in her carriage! Once we got past this area she was out and running again. She soon learnt to walk in the lane meant for pedestrians and not stray into the bicycle lane. Her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, the hat abandoned for the hood of the jacket as it was pretty windy, and of course the non-stop chatter.

The remnants of the observatory were inspected and out of mouth of babes that’ these stones were in prison’, since a fence is built around them to stop vandalism and canvass on top, to protect them from the elements. The cannons on and by the war memorial were a hit as she wanted to sit on top of each one, plus an explanation of how the big gun worked. 

Then we proceeded to the lane that cuts across the park to lead us a little more directly towards the playground. The start of that is by the largest flat grassland in the park. This was the site of the first flight landing in Australia by Williams Hart, a dentist. It was on 18 November 1911 that Hart flew 47 miles from Penrith, via St Marys to Sydney, completing the first cross-country flight in New South Wales in 55 minutes; he was awarded a special plaque. Our little one pretended to read it as she repeated what I had just told her and then posed for a photo. 

The lane through the park has some lovely eucalyptus trees and a faint fragrance of its oils. There is a slightly sweet perfume of yellow mimosa like flowers of golden wattle, added to that. Then we passed a couple of pine trees and found a young pine cone that was still closed and oozing resin. Just holding it in the hand warmed it enough to get the resin softening and a wonderful perfume 

emanating. This one was taken home by the little one in the hope that it will make some nice perfume in the room. Next time, I collected a couple for my home. I hope to keep an eye out for the next round of pine cones and will try to fill my fireplace grate with them. They reminded me of the really large cones I found in Madeira all along the mountain walks. 

By now the young lady was tired out and sat in her push chair. Her mother was taking a unilateral decision to call it a day and go home. However, since I had promised the child a ride on the swings and slides, I asked her what she wanted to do. This is always wise if you wish to get the child to trust you and come along again to have some fun and run around in the park. Can you guess what she chose? Yes it was the playground. It was like she got second wind and had a good 20 minutes of going on every appliance there. And it was one happy but tired child who had to be persuaded to come away with a promise of another trip. The plans for the afternoon were made in the car, a jacket potato and baked beans for lunch and a nice long nap.