Ibises

The sacred ibis isn't so sacred in Brisbane. They have adapted well to urban life here and hang out anywhere there might be a free meal such as park barbeques and bins. That long bill is perfect for dipping in and pulling out tasty discarded morsels.

Owl in shining armour

This plastic owl is supposed to keep the rest of the birds - especially kookaburras - from swooping on to the balcony at work and stealing the lunch from our forks (it has happened!). Mostly it seems to be working but there are a few magpies who have cottoned on and are happy to peck at the crumbs.

I need to gar-gull.

I got a shock when I first came to Australia. The seagulls all sounded like they had a cold. Unfortunately my Field Guide to Australian Birds by Pizzey and Knight doesn't describe the call of the gull I was used to hearing in England so you'll have to make do with my attempt to put it into words: it is a high pitched "co-loy co-loy co-loy co-loy!". The book does have a fair bit about the Silver Gull which is what I reckon this photo is of.

   "Voice: "short, harsh, gutteral 'korr' or 'keow'; longer, harsh descending 'karrr-karrr-karrr'."  

 ....in other words like they have something stuck in their throats. Anyway, reading into it a bit, I see that there are several different types of gull in Australia with different voice descriptions. At the risk of going into it far too much:

Pacific Gull: shouted 'ow! ow!; muffled 'auk, auk' gruff chuckles; whining stutters
Kelp Gull: yelping or laughing 'yo-yo-yo-yo' (I think that might be the one I know from England)
Black Headed Gull : high-pitched harsh screams in quick succession: 'kreeooo' or 'kraaahr'
Black Tailed Gull: plaintive mewing
Franklin's Gull: shrill 'kuk-kuk-kuk'; also nasal 'kear, kear'
Laughing Gull: strident laugh or variety of low chuckles
Sabine's Gull: harsh grating and tern-like 'k-year'
Lesser Black-Backed Gull: similar to Kelp Gull.

There now. More than you will ever need to know about the various calls of Australian Gulls.

You're Welcome!

I think this might be a Welcome Swallow. Allow me to consult my bird book (it was a Christmas present)

...yes 15 cm, tail deeply forked, upperparts glossy blue-black...

"Courting males descend on stiffly downheld, quivering wings... Voice: single 'chep' usually in flight; spirited twittering song; rising 'seep,seep,seep'; in alarm, high pitched puny 'seeet'."  

My favourite thing about my bird book is the was it tries to convey the voice of the bird in human terms. To be found in most places in Australia with the exception of deserts and the Kimberley Region. This one was flying around the river in St. Lucia and sat still on the front of the CityCat while I raced to attach my zoom lens. 

It doesn't say in my book how it got it's name.

Eye on the prize, boys.

 

The sacred ibis bird is not considered very sacred in central Brisbane. Their long skinny bills, originally designed to root around in the mud for seafood, are perfectly adapted to Brisbane city life. You often pass them rooting around in old food wrappers and bins or hanging around picnic areas, waiting for people to finish up so that they can get stuck into the leftovers.

Feeding the ducks at UQ

Watch the birdie!

My extensive research (5 mins on Google) tells me that this is a Pale Headed Rosella. Please let me know if I am wrong! 

This one was spotted scoffing flowers in Grange in the northern suburbs a couple of weeks ago. 

Hanging for a bite to eat

This is a Rainbow Lorikeet, a chatty colourful bird found all over Brisbane. Coming from England where it seems like 95% of the birds are some shade of brown, the novelty of these birds just won't wear off. The colours are bright and strong like a kid's drawing.... and the flowers that attract them are equally flashy. This one's called a Grevillea.

Thanks to my friend Sandra for this photo which was taken recently in her garden in Grange.

Putting a cat amongst the pigeons

Ibis birds with their guard down at the City Botanical Gardens.

Thirsty Work

XXXX Brewery, Milton

Talking Turkey

I have to admit this shot is a bit of a cop-out on my part. Brush (or Scrub) Turkeys roam the streets and gardens on Brisbane. They are wild creatures and are usually found scavenging for food in people's gardens. When I first moved here I couldn't believe these big birds were just wandering around the suburban streets. Last year I got the idea for a photo of one crossing the road which is a fairly common occurence ... and the title of the blog post being "why did the brush turkey cross the road?" with the answer being something like..."because there were some gardens on the other side that it hadn't ruined yet". I have been stalking these scrawny things with my camera for the best part of a year but they sense you near them and they just run around all over the place, often into the middle of the road. Sometimes they can't make up their mind what they're doing and go side to side trying desperately to get out of your way. I promise you I haven't gone out to traumatise them - they're just not very bright. Anyway, the numerous resulting photos are pretty bad. Nothing is in focus because I've been doing it in low(ish) light in the mornings and of course because I've got an erratically moving target. On the weekend, I was sitting in my back garden when one hopped on the fence. It sat eyeing me warily and kept a mindful distance until the neighbour's kids came out to play on the other side. You could see the indecision and panic rising. It got up and started pacing a up and down the length of the fence. getting dangerously close to me... which is when I snapped it. Sorry, no suburban street context. No crossing-the-road gag. This is about as good as it gets for me. I'm copping out.

When it could take no more, mustering up some primal urge, it flapped its ragged wings furiously and threw itself into the lowest bough of a nearby tree.

If you like turkeys, read a turkey poem by Benjamin Zephaniah here.

Oh and by the way.... Happy Australia Day!

Male King Parrot

I've been birdwatching in my friends' house in Mount Nebo, a mountain community just to the north-west of Brisbane.
Believe it or not, Blogger has washed out the colour on this picture. The red and green in reality are so vivid and saturated, the detail of the feathers isn't nearly as apparent as it is here. These parrots are so tame they just hop down from the rainforest onto the deck and will eat out of your hand.

Mount Nebo Trees

The little town of Mount Nebo is just beyond Brisbane's north-west boundary. It's altitude is 550 metres so it's much cooler than in the city. The surrounding forest goes between eucalypt and rainforest and is home to cockatoos, kookaburras, rosellas, budgerigars, king parrots, whip birds, bellbirds and many others. The sound with all these birds calling, echoing through the forest, is fantastic.

What Are You Looking At?

Australian magpies bear no relation to the northern hemisphere ones except that they are black and white. They are much bigger and have a very distinctive warble. I like their no-nonsense walk and the way they swoop down and pick up little lizards and insects from the ground, often without stopping.

During the breeding season in winter and spring, magpies get very territorial... and if they don't like the look of you, they go for you, swooping at your head and trying to peck at your face. According to statistics, you are more likely to get attacked if you are male, between 10 and 30 and riding a bike. So watch out!

Read more here (includes picture of postman being swooped).

Birdies

Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

Sacred Ibis

Ibises can be found all over Brisbane. They are supposed to be waders but here in Brizzy you often see them poking around public bins and bits of rubbish where their long bill comes in very handy.

Miner (not Myna)

This native Australian honeyeater is the Noisy Miner bird and can be seen all over Brisbane. For a small bird it makes a big racket. It is often seen in groups bullying bigger birds like kookaburras and hawks, trying to steal their food or just generally annoying them. The noise in question is like a high pitched "PEE-PEE-PEE-PEE!"
The Noisy Miner is not to be confused with the introduced species, the Indian Myna bird, which is darker and a member of the starling family.

QUACK!

Mum, dad and the kids off out for the day.

Talking Parrot Fashion

There are several species of parrot that live in and around the Brisbane area. These beauties are Rainbow Lorikeets who were happily chatting away when I saw them, tucked into their gum tree peering out at the world.