I really wanted to return to Mount Mugga Mugga Nature Reserve as I felt I had not really seen the reserve. It is impossible to really understand what a location can offer as far as birdlife from a single visit. I had also had contact during the week with Mike who really knows the area and corrected me on some things. He also pointed out the disused quarry will be filled in over the next 20 to 30 years, which will be interesting to see how nature regenerates around the area. I am so glad I did go back Mount Mugga Mugga as I saw so many more birds this time. I had a wonderful time watching a group of small birds go about their life on the slopes. I was particularly happy to get some pictures of a beautiful Scarlet Robin. My already fantastic morning was made even better when I came across some Gang-gang Cockatoos in a tree that were in a great position for photographing. It was a great start to a Sunday and I wished I could have stayed longer. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
Looking to the south-west over the disused quarry at Mount Mugga Mugga
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 18mm, f/16 and 1/13 SEC] with a CPL)
Very early in my walk I saw this juvenile Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen) with a mottled grey back, which I thought was a good example of this plumage. Unfortunately the light was not good due to the overcast conditions and this being the side of the hill in shadow. The juvenile did not like the attention, actively avoiding me before flying off.
An immature Australian Magpie showing its mottled grey back
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 142mm, f/5.0 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
These two Eastern Rosellas (Platycercus eximius) were doing their morning preening.
Two Eastern Rosellas preening themselves
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/640 SEC])
Near the top of Mount Mugga Mugga I could hear the call of a black Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae), which I was eventually able to see. The bird found a grub from somewhere, although it did not eat it immediately. It seemed to drag it across the bark on the branches a couple of times. After a little while it flew off, apparently still with the bug in its bill. It seems too late in the breeding season for the bird to be feeding nestlings at present.
A Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike with a meal
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
Descending Mount Mugga Mugga I first saw a couple of Grey Fantails then a number of small birds all moving in a group. There was one bird that was taking longer on trees, a male White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea). There was another (blurry) shot that showed the orange mark on the cheek which indicates a male. This treecreeper did not just go up trunks but also spiralled along a branch.
A male White-throated Treecreeper looking for food
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
This is a picture of one of the two Grey Fantails (Rhipidura albiscapa) that I first saw. They were doing their usual, circular, erratic flying. Moving between trees, shrubs and logs.
One of the two Grey Fantails
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/250 SEC] with flash)
I first saw the back of the Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang), with a white ‘v’, obvious on the black wings, meeting near the base of the tail. The bird was perched on a dried branch sprouting from a log. I was able to work my way around as it flew slightly to the west. It was not flying to the upper branches but staying close to the ground, occasionally landing on the ground. There may have been some juveniles as two birds appeared to have a lighter coloured plumage on their back and a duller red on the front but I could not get a photo of them. The male was calling regularly while I was watching him.
A male Scarlet Robin
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
The final species in this group I was able to identify were a number of Striated Thornbills (Acanthiza lineata). There may have been up to six. This one landed on the ground, not far from where I was, searching the leaf litter for food. It was successful, as it found a grasshopper that was bigger than its bill, but the grasshopper was eaten quickly.
A Striated Thornbill foraging in the leaf litter for food
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
Walking down the trail I heard the call of a Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum) then I heard a noise like wood being struck once. I quickly found the tree where a female Gang-gang was chewing bark outside a hollow. When the female investigated the hollow she did not go all the way into the hollow, only up to her wings. It looked like she was obstructed from going any further in. She then took off, straight in my direction, dropping in altitude like she was swooping me, although she clearly was not targeting me as she arced upwards to land in a eucalyptus sapling. I still heard a Gang-gang in the first tree, and sure enough, a male landed at the hollow and also began chewing at the wood around the hollow. He did not pick at the wood for long, instead he climbed up to the top of the rump of the branch, where he called a few times. He also appeared to look at my directly. I left him while he was still calling in the tree.
The female Gang-gang Cockatoo chewing wood at a shallow hollow
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])
The male Gang-gang Cockatoo
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/5.6 and 1/500 SEC])