We decided to have a quiet weekend this weekend so I took the opportunity to go for a walk around Red Hill Nature Reserve. The weather was against me again as it was a very cloudy start to the day with the sky mainly filled with ominous, dark grey clouds that seemed to mean business but were too high to really be serious about raining. While they did not open-up when I was out they kept the sun hidden away reducing the ambient light. Despite the lack of good lighting I still had an enjoyable walk. I saw some sights I had no hope of catching with my camera because of the light condition but it was a lovely start to the day. As always on Red Hill there were kangaroos, cockatoos, rosellas, wood ducks, magpies, etc. The hill is getting ready for spring with all the birds seeming to know the seasons will change soon. I have noted some locations of nesting magpies so hopefully I can return shortly to photograph the feeding of young ones. I hope you enjoy these photographs.
I could hear a number of Satin Bowerbirds and I saw some but they were moving too quickly to photograph. Today the birds tended to be in the canopy of the trees whereas normally I see them on the ground. Finally I had a female that perched in a dead tree for an extended period. She seemed to be observing the area. She was occasionally concerned when other birds flew by as there were currawongs and magpies about. I was hoping to catch her take-off, which I did, but the result was not what I hoped for. I have included it below but with the light, the distance and I suspect my camera settings, I did not get the best shot. Still, it was lovely to see the bird.
Not surprisingly the bowerbird was moved on by a group of Pied Currawongs. This species of bird is very active across the neighbourhood at present. They move in a group, often swooping other birds. They are very vocal with a variety of calls. They can be ungainly in trees as they chase each other through the branches. Chances are, when I hear the noise of crashing through leaves, it will be a currawong often being chased by another one. I enjoy photographing them as their yellow eye against their black plumage gives them a unique look. I was able to get a couple in flight but again the distance made it hard to get a really good shot.
A group of three Sulphur-crested Cockatoos caught my eye as I was descending the hill. They were in a tall eucalyptus tree, very much focussed on a hollow in the trunk. I could not make out what they were doing but it did appear they were using their beaks to dig into the wood. The three of them cycled through the hollow, although at times it looked like one was being chased away. I know it is wrong to anthropomorphise animals but these birds do seem to have such wonder characters. You feel they look at you as humans look at other humans, they show an interest in what we are doing. I am developing a real soft spot for them.
Walking back past the houses I noticed a single female Australian King-Parrot. Females are distinguished from males because they have green heads while males have red heads. The name is not meant as a way to denote these as some form of royalty among Australia's parrots. They were originally called King's Parrots after the third Governor of New South Wales, Philip King. The apostrophe and 's' were dropped very soon after they were named. A hyphen was added for no apparent reason, may be to emphasise they were not being granted monarch status. Regardless, they are a lovely looking bird with this one enjoying her breakfast while I was photographing her.
