Eastern Yellow Robins

EASTERN YELLOW ROBIN Eopsaltria australis

Out along the train line at Kilmore East today there were plenty of Yellow Robins amongst the low scrub. they seem to spend a lot of time on the dead black wattle trees, picking away the bark and feeding on the insects beneath.

They were quite tame today. They knew I was there watching but they kept on with their foraging unconcerned.

Buff-rumped Thornbill

BUFF-RUMPED THORNBILL Acanthiza reguloides

These tiny birds move so quickly, it is very hard to get a good look at them.











I know they are around, groups of eight,ten or twelve individuals, by their constant twittering calls from amongst the dense cassinia scrub.  Often they are in the shadows of the leaves and branches, or they on the far side of a bush, just to far away to see clearly. If I try to move around to catch a better glimpse, they will fly off, en-masse to another clump of shrub.








I often hear them in my garden, but once again they tend to remain hidden in the dense foliage of the trees, always reluctant to show themselves.









Sometimes however, they will show themselves as they hunt for food on the ground. They seem much more at ease in the open,as they scrabble, in the sun,  around amongst the leaf litter. They will even stop for a moment and pose on a stick.

 

Black-Shouldered Kite

BLACK SHOULDERED KITE Elanus axillaris

  I could see this kite sitting high in a dead tree looking over the paddocks. It was a long way off, really too far for a photograph, but I fired off a few frames anyway.

I tried to approach a little closer and the bird flew off in a leisurely circle away from me.

When I got home I loaded up the pictures along with the others I taken that day.

Of the ten or so shots of the kite, only two were even close to being focused. Looking closely at those, I could see what looks to be an arrow protruding from the bird's neck. I could only see the front view so I am still not totally sure

Could it be a stick that the bird has run into while chasing prey on the ground? I don't think so. This stick looks too much like a manufactured piece of equipment.

I remember seeing a White-faced crane not too long ago with what I then thought was an arrow hanging from its thigh. One sighting might be a mistake, two sightings within the are look a lot more suspicious.

Poor birds!

Gang Gang Cockatoo

GANG GANG COCKATOO Callocephalon fimbriatum

 In a cotoneaster shrub at the edge of the Kilmore to Lancefield Road this afternoon, a dull, overcast afternoon, there were flashes of red as I drove past in the car. I thought they were galahs resting. I turned around and pulled up to find three or four shrubs, full of Gang Gang Cockatoos, feeding on the bright red fruit.

 Above the sound of the cars going past, I could hear the birds crunching on the large bunches of ripe fruit. The cockatoos were very settled and undisturbed by the cars passing by just metres away, and me standing with my camera within a few just a few metres.











 Most of the group of twenty or so birds seemed to be young males, with the red feathers on the head, just beginning to emerge. The adult males stood out with their much more brilliant red faces and crests.

Golden Whistler

GOLDEN WHISTLER Pachycephala pectoralis

 

Golden Whistler Female and Juvenile

 We have had very heavy rain and strong winds over the last few days. This has been the first of our autumn falls this year. We have waited many weeks for the coming of the rain this year.










I went out for a look around after the rain. It was still very cold with a strong wind blowing but the sun was bright between the clouds.









I was watching these 'little brown birds'  behind the Kilmore Cricket ground. There were a number of them hunting for insects amongst the leaf litter, catching up after the wild weather. They seemed quite comfortable with me being nearby.

I picked them out to be Jacky Winters, reasonably common in this area.

Golden Whistler Male

A few moments later and a flash of yellow landed on a low branch beside me. He too was busy turning over leaves  and bark in his search for insects. he was easy to identify, a Golden Whistler.

I know they are about this area, but I cannot remember seeing one for a long time.






And of course the 'little brown birds' are not JackyWinters, but female or young Golden Whistlers.

Golden Headed Cisticola

CISTICOLA, GOLDEN-HEADED Cisticola exilis

 


I have not seen, perhaps not noticed, these little birds in the area before. I have seen them at the Western Treatment Plant at Point Wilson, and I am pretty sure they are the same bird, golden-headed cisticola.






I found these between the hills at the end of Moores  Road, few kilometres to the west of the Kilmore township. Between these hills is Linton's Creek which eventually joins to the Deep Creek around Bulla and theTullamarine Airport, before joining the Maribyrnong River and entering into Port Phillip Bay.




 Called 'golden-headed', my books show the female and the non-breeding males have black streaking through the crown of the head. In males,  the crown turns to gold during breeding times, hence golden-headed. They have a little crest to add a bit of character to their otherwise small faces.






I saw a small flock today perching on the stems of some rushes, picking at the seed heads. They are tiny birds and their weight was supported well by the narrow spines of the rush plants.







 


This final picture is one taken at the Western Treatment Plant at Point Wilson, in May 2017. The colouring is very similar.

Down On The Farm

IBIS AND COCKATOOS

The birds have been very quiet around Kilmore in the last weeks.

Now half way into autumn, there is a little more activity.

Driving about the district yesterday, I found quite a party going on around the yards on one of our farms.




The sulphur-crested cockatoos were busy going through the remains from the hay that fed out that morning.





This flame robin was very interested on what was going on around the yards but kept his distance, happy just to watch.

The flamboyant brightness of the male flame robin's chest, stand out from a great distance. A little more orange in colouring  than the flame robin, he is easy to spot on a cloudy day.
























The Australian Ibis are always on the lookout for an easy meal. This group spent a little while watching from a safe place before coming down to feed amongst the grain and stalks left lying on the ground.

 

Three Birds In A Tree

IBIS, SPOONBILL & CORMORANT

Little Corellas Cacatua sanguinea

It was a morning for sun-baking. A very still and warm morning.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita

The corellas and cockatoos were making a terrific noise as they flew in and out amongst the trees.

Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo

These three were oblivious to all the fuss as they soaked up the morning sun. They sat for half an hour before, one after the other, as if by agreement, flying off to whatever business they had to do for the day.

Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca

Yellow-billed Spoonbill Platalea flavipes

  

Gang Gang Cockatoo

GANG GANG COCKATOO Callocephalon fimbriatum

 




We often hear Gang Gang Cockatoos flying over the bush and the golf curse in Kilmore. They do not often stop long so it difficult to catch a good glimpse of them.

This morning, it was very windy. This small group were sitting in trees adjacent to the cricket ground before flapping off to the bushy area around the Monument Hill.

 
When my children were young they called these cockatoos 'the rusty gate cockies' Their call is just that, the screech of rusty farm gates.








 Most of this group seem to be young male birds, their heads have not yet developed the deep red colour of the adult males and they have a noticeable red tinge to their grey chest feathers.

Surprises

WHEN ONE SITS STILL....

Young Black Wallaby

I heard a  very talented bird watcher and photographer say that the best thing about slow days in the bush is having to sit in an appropriate spot and then just wait for the birds to come to him.

Very sound advice. 

It was a very windy day today and it was a little cool when the sun moved behind the clouds.

With the wind blowing it was difficult to hear the birds as they called to each other,  and difficult to see them moving, against the waving of leaves and twigs.

Grey Fantail

 

So I just sat for a while.

Red-bellied Black Snake

A number of small honeyeaters arrived, some busy grey-fantails and two other visitors I have not  this summer, a mother and baby black wallaby and a sleepy red-bellied black snake.

The black snake was a little slow, the cooler weather today making him sluggish.

Yellow-Faced Honeyeater

 

I must make an effort to do a lot more sitting and watching..