Saturday morning was cold but another lovely day to go for a walk around Red Hill in Canberra. I really noticed the morning chorus of bird calls as I climbed the hill. With the sun rising earlier every day after the winter solstice the light was flooding over the terrain with its golden rays. The birds dominating the sounds of the hill at the moment are the Australian Wood Ducks. Winter is still here but I am being optimistic the Wood Ducks are starting to think about breeding, which, to me, means spring is on the way.
Walking on Red Hill I could hear the female Australian Wood Ducks making their calls. This was the second weekend I had heard and then seen this species of birds. May be I am wrong but this seems to be some recent behaviour, possibly as the birds are preparing for their breeding season of September to November. The female seems to make this call while moving her head in a vast half circle, starting on one side, pushing her neck out while transversing through a dip around to the opposite side. They then pause before calling again in the same manner. The males seemed to be silent. When they decided to change locations, first one bird, from my observations the male, then the other flew to a different tree to repeat the process. The birds were in pairs that seemed to be well spaced out across the hill. I also noticed one female fly to a tree hollow, which she put half her body into. I am unsure if she was examining it as a prospective nest or looking for food, not that I noticed her eating. She only flew to the hollow once before flying off. The male did not check out the hollow while I was looking. Below are pictures of the female calling.
Here is the female at the tree hollow
The female in flight
The male Australian Wood Duck
The male and female Australian Wood Duck
It would not be a walk on Red Hill without seeing a Noisy Miner. This particular one appeared to be doing its morning preening.
Heading down the hill there was a group of Pied Currawongs covering an open area. Not surprisingly there were Magpies and Noisy Miners present as well. The Currawongs are superb aerial acrobats, swooping, then changing direction or flying through the branches of a tree. There was much calling between this group as well as a snapping of beaks at one anther.
There are always Sulphur-crested Cockatoos around here.
