Grey - Brown Robin .. Jacky Winter

Out Of The Fog

Kilmore has had several days of 'misty moisty weather.' That's how Doctor Foster from Gloucester might describe it. On Tuesday the fog did not lift at all, the moisture dripped out of the air all day. It was a real old fashioned Kilmore winter day.

Old Man Kookaburra

Yesterday was just a little better. I moved down the hill to the arboretum at Kilmore East. The arboretum which has, over the last few years, been planted out with a large number of locally sourced trees and shrubs, also contains a few old pine trees, many black and silver wattles, and a variety of eucalyptus trees. There is also much chinese scrub, Cassinia arcuata, growing amongst the trees and on the open ground.

 There was some movement amongst trees, little birds flittered about on the grass and up and down tree trunks. These small birds are so hard to catch on camera. They move far  too  quickly. 

 one bird sat and posed for me.This poor old kookaburra looks a little weather-worn, but he likes sitting on this post. No matter what time of day or night I go past, he is there. He sits and watches all the goings on of Kilmore East. The people of this small community are lucky to have such a beautiful bird watching over them.

I watched this bird for quite a while. It was up and down the tree branches and on the ground collecting grubs.

At first I was a little unsure of just who he or she is.
Perhaps she is a hooded robin. The colour seems to be right and my very old Gould League book number 7, describes the robins as liking  'wattle savannah' country. That also seems to be right. The male is much more black and white than the female's grey and white.

Grey-Brown Fly-Catcher

Is she, or he a Brown Fly-catcher?  My books say she, or he, should have a white eyebrow. I can't see it. And this bird does seem very grey for a brown flycatcher. However the Strath Creek Landcare Group have published a fine little booklet Birds of the Lower King Parrot Creek and it describes the Grey-Brown Flycatcher, Jacky Winter. That seems more like this little bird. The publication says, 'It often hovers and takes insects in flight before returning to a low perch, twitching its white-edged tail from side to side.


I think that is who he or she is, Jacky Winter, a Grey-Brown Robin.

Grey Kangaroos

Kangaroos

About a dozen or so years ago, we had some visitors from Sussex in England to visit. Like most tourists to Australia, they wanted to see some kangaroos in the wild. "We could organize that! Easy."

We set off about 5.30 in the afternoon towards Tooborac and just after Pyalong turned into Paddy's Dam Road. We drove for about fifteen minutes until we came to some open paddocks, bordering on the Pukapunyal army land and waited. No kangaroos that night. When it became too dark to see, we came home.

Our visitors were very disappointed. So at about 6.00 in the morning we set off to Paddy's Dam Road once again. This time we were successful. Across a bit of a gully, about one hundred and fifty yards away we could see a few grey lumps against the sparse green grass. They did move, a little; but they really were kangaroos. Our visitors were happy.

Oh how things have changed. A few weeks ago, I had a friend from Namibia out to visit. Eino is a tall, dark member of the Oshiwambo community. He was in Melbourne completing his Masters degree in Education. As well as being a wonderful leader in the Namibian education system, Eino is also a farmer. He and his family farm long horned African cattle in the desert country along the Angolan border. In this country there are giraffes, lions, zebras, wildebeests, rhinoceros, and all the other large African animals we hear about. The farmers in this area complain of broken fences, dead livestock, trampled crops and dangerous meetings on bush tracks. Look up Etosha on Google and you will see the Oshiwambo country.


Well, despite all those wondrous animals in his own country, all Eino wanted was to see kangaroos. "We could organize that! Easy. There are plenty in the Monument Hill area"


Our home is adjacent to the golf course. It is  suburban Kilmore, close to the Monument Hill Reserve. We sat down to a bit of lunch before our walk to look for these famous kangaroos. As we ate, Eino was looking  out of a window. He jumped excitedly and said "Look!Look!Look". Sitting on our lawn were half a dozen young grey kangaroos, looking at us through he window as they grazed.

We did go for a walk later. Kangaroos, kangaroos, they are everywhere. Our Monument Hill is full of them. They are in the town, on the main road  and along the creek. One morning I had to chase a kangaroo out of a school yard so the children could go out to play. They are becoming a real problem for some people; for walkers, for dog owners, horse riders and to cars. I  heard  story the other day of a cyclist being knocked off his bike by a kangaroo.

But at the same time we must remember how lucky to have so much of our wildlife around us. Many people in other countries, only get to see their native animals in zoos. We do live in beautiful land. Let's do all we can to keep it that way

.

Grey Butcher Bird

Grey Butcher Bird (Cracticus torquatus)

  

I watched this Grey Butcher Bird sitting atop a dead tree this morning. I often hear them calling but seldom can find them. Their call carries over such a large distance by the time I get anywhere near, the singers have gone.

You can hear them sing at this Youtube site.

It was a surprise to see this one sitting so still for so long.  What drew my attention wasn't the butcher bird but the single currawong watching from a nearby tree. It seemed to be watching the butcher bird carefully. The butcher bird flew off to another tree about fifty metres away. The currawong watched and then followed, once again to settle with his eyes on the butcher bird.

Perhaps they were visiting! My books tell me the butcher birds, the currawongs and the magpies are cousins, all members of the Artamidae family. Did you know that currawongs are also called bell-magpies? They all three, do have similar voices, strong and rich. Sometimes it takes me a moment to tell whether it is a butcher bird or a magpie calling from the top of tree across the golf course.  All three are also aggressive in the defense of their territories. Family traits seem to be strong in this family.

The butcher bird is named because of its habit of wedging prey in tree forks or impaling it on sharp twigs. Because they cannot hold things in their feet, they us these wedges and spikes to help to dismember their food. They may also store excess food in this way.

I can just make out the hook on the bird's beak in the top picture. It is a real butcher's hook.


Reference: 
A Field Guide To Australian Birds
Volume 2 Passerines        
Peter Slater  1974
Pub. Rigby

Orange Winged Sitella

The smaller the bird, the quicker they move!

 

 A little peek of sunshine through the grey skies and the birds begin to move. And the little ones move so quickly.

I am amazed at the photographs some people get of these little animals. It is hard to even catch a glimpse of them, let alone have time to track them in the viewfinder, focus and press the shutter button before they are gone. I have so many out of focus, pictures of empty branches, twigs, leaves and rear tail feathers cluttering up my folders. I really must try harder to clear all the duds as I go.

 Orange-Winged-Sittella   Neositta chrysoptera

I was pleased to catch this little sittella a few week ago, working his way down a dead sapling. He would alight on a branch and move down as he picked at the loose bark, looking for insects.  I think this is a male, my books tell me that the female has a darker throat.  He had lots of mates in the surrounding bushes and trees and they were twittering to each other as they moved from tree to tree. It is hard to tell what they talk about.  Are they are boasting about what they have caught? Are they telling their mates to 'keep away from my tree"? Perhaps they are just happy.

This one I assume is an orange winged sittella, they are the ones we normally see in this part of Victoria. I could not see any 'orange window' on the wing, it was way to fast for me.

Mid-June 

White-winged Choughs

 Corcorax melanorhamphos  Corcoracidae

After a few wet weeks, the bush is looking alive once again. Walking on the northern edges of the Hill today, I  watched the choughs turning over the leaf mulch and digging in the soft earth.

I love the way these birds forage together, talking and warbling one to the next, as they go. I know that Apostle Birds (Struthidea cinerea), are often called 'Happy Families', but I think that the title should go to these happy, noisy birds.

It is easy to get close to them; they are always so busy and preoccupied, doing what they do. A quiet approach with some trees between oneself and the group, allows an intimate view of them as they work. When surprised they simply fly off onto a nearby, cuddling together on low hanging branch. At other  times they simply move a few metres on, and continue their feeding.

I was reminded yesterday, of a story from the early days of Australia. It was said that parents were always very wary of their children when these Happy Family groups (probably Apostle birds but it could also be these choughs) were about. Young children would take delight in following the flocks, trying to catch them. The birds would fly a short distance and stop. The children would follow. The birds would move on a little further and the children would follow. The birds always remained, as they still do, tantalizingly close to their followers. The pursuit would continue with the children following. Even now it is easy to understand that parents back then, were afraid that their young children might follow the birds until they became lost, never to be found again.

Hmm! When they look at me, head on with those red, red eyes, they do look a little evil.

Monument Hill, Kilmore, Victoria, AUSTRALIA

View From Monument Hill

Kilmore is a rural town about 50 kilometres from Melbourne. It prides itself on being the first inland town in Victoria. As proud as Kilmore is of this title, there are a number of other towns who also make this claim. It doesn't really matter, Kilmore is pretty old in Australian terms. We do know that its Post Office, opened in 1843, was one of the first in the Port Phillip District, outside Melbourne.

Kilmore was a stopping place on the road  to the Bendigo gold diggings, just over the brow of the Pretty Sally Hill. 

Well the early settlers of Kilmore were very wise. As the town developed they put aside the hill behind the town as a reserve. Just below this hill is the old town reservoir. Not only was it the town's water supply, it was also the swimming pole and picnic area. The present people of Kilmore are very lucky to still have this area as a reserve. Within its boundaries are the golf course, the cricket ground and adjacent, the Kilmore Race Track.

  

Monument in The Early Days

There remains 76 hectares of bush, Crown Land administered by the Mitchell Shire. Perched on the top of the hill is a blue stone monument. This was erected in 1924 by the Kilmore community, to mark the centenary of the 1824 expedition by Hamilton Hume and William Hovell, as they sought an overland route from Sydney to Port Phillip. Communities all along the route were asked, to build a cairn of some sort to mark the event. The people of Kilmore, not to be outdone by others, took the blue stones from the Kilmore gaol, carted them up to the top of the hill and built the monument. Hence the name used today, Monument Hill.   

In More Recent Times

Some people believe that Hume and Hovell climbed Monument Hill in the hope of being able to see the water of Port Phillip. There are no details in the diaries of Hamilton Hume to show this is so and many have deduced from the diaries, that they actually passed further to the east, perhaps through the Mount Disappointment area. The name, Mount Disappointment coming from the let down the explorers felt when unable to see their destination. "Are we there yet?"