Birding Central Australia #65 - Splendid Fairy-wren

Splendid Fairy-wren Malurus splendens

During the extreme heat of the week just gone, the office bird bath has been getting plenty of action. I was lucky enough to catch this Splendid Fairy-wren admiring his own reflection, and who could blame him!? This is the male bird in breeding plumage looking... splendid.

You might get a few of these tiny birds in your yard if you have some good thick shrubs. They like the very dense scrub for nesting and shelter. Of course, it will also help if you have a cat-free yard.

Other interesting garden visitors at the moment are the Pheasant Coucals that continue to be reported in a few spots around Eastside and Braitling. These birds are a bit vagrant this year and would normally only be found well north of Tennant Creek.

Another interesting northern vagrant of late has been a White-bellied Sea-eagle that was reported by Richard Waring at Newcastle Waters. While this species is known to venture inland along river systems, Newcastle Waters is a long way inland for what is primarily a coastal bird.

Jesse Carpenter reports that a small population of Rainbow Lorikeets persists in Larapinta and they are still regularly reported in the gums on the old Melanka site. Long-billed Corellas, remnants of an escaped aviary population are still being seen among Little Corellas, usually around Ross Highway, the Sewage Ponds, and Lasseter’s Casino grounds.  The population of Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos in Ilparpa Valley seems to be doing very well with flocks of up to 15 birds reported feasting on the paddy melons that are common through that part of town.

Thanks for all the reports and the many great photos that I’ve received this week. With a sprinkle of rain and some cooler temperatures we might see a bit more bird activity in coming weeks.

Happy birding!

Birding Central Australia #64 - Spotted Nightjar

Immature Spotted Nightjar Eurostopodus argus

The intriguing bird this week, might easily have been mistaken for a discarded moccasin. On closer inspection, some readers might recognise it as a young Spotted Nightjar. This is a species which is part of a large order of birds containing some of the most fascinating creatures of the night; frogmouths, owlet-nightjars, potoos, and the Oilbird. There are three nightjars native to Australia but the Spotted Nightjar is the most widespread, and the only species we see here in Central Australia.

The name “nightjar” was given to the bird by early settlers who marked the jarring effect the bird’s curiously beautiful call has on a still night in the scrub. During the day it roosts on the ground where the intricate patterns of the plumage make it almost invisible. The picture shows a young bird with a distinctly pink tint to the feathers.

This little bloke was discovered by local ecologist Holger Woyt, roosting in quite an exposed position; the gravel in the middle of his yard! Nightjars are most active just after dark and just before dawn when you might see them hawking for insects with a characteristic bat-like flapping flight. Unfortunately they are also a very common roadkill as they have a habit of sitting on the road at night and flying up into the headlights of passing traffic. If you’re out spotlighting or driving you might be able to pick out a nightjar, before it gets squished, by its strong, cherry-red, eyeshine.

Other birds causing a stir this week have been the budgies. There have been some very large flocks reported in recent months in SA and western Queensland, but flocks of up to a few hundred birds are beginning to be reported across the south of the NT.

Happy birding!

Birding Central Australia #63 - Major Mitchell's Cockatoo

Major Mitchell's Cockatoo Lophocroa leadbeateri

Major Sir Thomas Mitchell, an explorer of the 1830s and 1840s, once wrote of the cockatoos that are named for him; “few birds more enliven the monotonous hues of the Australian forest than this beautiful species whose pink-coloured wings and flowing crest might have embellished the air of a more voluptuous region”.  While I might disagree with his aspersions of “monotonous hues” in the Australian bush, and have no idea what a “more voluptuous region” might mean, I otherwise agree with his sentiments. The Pink Cockatoo is certainly one of the more exciting and eye-catching birds that we’re lucky enough to find locally.

There has been a small breeding population of this species in the area around Honeymoon Gap and Roe Creek for many years and they can still often be found on an afternoon drive down Bullen Road. You might also find them near Red Gum lined river beds where they tend to nest, and anywhere there might be Callitris pines or Desert Oaks for them to feed off. The pair in the picture this week, were spotted tending a nest hollow in the Hugh River.

This week an Australian Pratincole was sighted out at AZRI. This is not a particularly uncommon species but we haven’t seen many this year, so perhaps there are more on the way. Land for Wildlife uber bird-spotter Uwe Path, is hosting a covey of Brown Quail in his yard after his herculean assault on the buffel grass infestation on his property.

It’s almost time to start farewelling migrant birds which will be heading back north of the equator in March/April. Keep your eyes peeled for these species as they depart from down south and pass through our neck of the woods on their way home.

Happy Birding!

Birding Central Australia #62 - Australasian Darter

Australasian Darter Anhinga novaehollandiae

Drying its feathers by the water’s edge the Australasian Darter can cut a decidedly prehistoric figure. With its large webbed feet and dagger-like bill, the darter is an accomplished diver and spearfisher. After their diving sessions they can often be found like this, perched near the water drying its wings. This has led to some misunderstandings over the years.

When I was younger I was often told that darters, and the related diving birds the cormorants, lacked oil in their feathers that give the famed resistance to water of other waterfowl like ducks. More recently, we have come to understand that this is untrue. The darters and cormorants still preen their feathers with oil from the uropygial gland on their back, just above the tail. This oil preserves the feathers’ insulating properties and maintains their condition for flying. The reduced buoyancy in these diving birds is actually a result of the physical structure of the outer feathers. They are subtly different, at a microscopic scale, to the feathers on a duck.

The duck is completely enveloped in an impervious cocoon of feathers, allowing water to literally roll off its back. The darter’s feathers let a bit of water penetrate just below the surface to reduce its buoyancy and allow it to dive with less effort. When we see the darter drying its feathers it is really just letting that water drain from the outer layer to get it back to a more manageable flight weight – the skin beneath its feathers will still be bone dry.

The Field Nats had their quarterly wader count on Sunday and picked up a huge variety of water birds at the sewage ponds including a single Black-tailed Godwit. Later in the week, a single pelican flew in for a brief stay at the ponds.

Happy birding!