January 2008 - Bird Story

Bird Story

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Bird Story - January 2008

Bird Songs From February

January 30th 2008 20:21

Over the past 3-4 days, there has been much more noise from the back yard than the usual pigeon coos and occasional starling squawk. For most of the time whilst I prepared dinner tonight, for example, there were several magpies warbling and calling from a nearby neighbor's tree. I quite enjoyed listening to the magpie calls whilst boiling the potatoes and stirring the bananas into the rice.

There was a baby myna bird chittering away merrily yesterday, for a second example. I had been reading a book at the time, so might not have noticed had I not suddenly looked up due to a pigeon landing on the windowsill. Suddenly, the myna bird let out a gurgle sound, and then it ceased for a moment. It was as if it had astounded itself by making an alternative sound. It appeared to be considering its new vocalization with surprise and delight. It tried it out a few more times before returning to an incessant chittering once again. (It reminded me of when my son's voice broke.)

At the current time, I can hear a pigeon cooing, a red wattlebird rattling and the magpies have only just flown over the yard with a farewell call. I wonder what I shall hear tomorrow!

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Birds on the Beach

January 28th 2008 19:15

I took a walk on the weekend, hoping to get a selection of photographs - including some shots of a Fairy-wren. Unfortunately, it having been Australia Day on the preceding day, there were few birds about. The late night revelry in the parks and beaches, firework display & general rowdiness must have made them all fly far, far away.

I started out by walking along to the beach. Not a single bird in site at the pond at the golf course. All I found on the beach itself were a flock of gulls. I did take a couple of shots of these, as two of them were of a different variety.

However, as you can see, my camera focus seems to be faulty. I think I shall need to invest in either a new digital camera or a new memory card. (I am uncertain whether it is the card or the camera is wearing out.) There were a dozen or so Silver gulls, along with a baby Silver gull & two other gulls/terns. They had darker wing coloration and what looked like black wigs on top their head.

I trekked further along the sands, took the steps near the lighthouse up to the pathway, then doubled back along the top of the beach - which is where one can often spot a Galah or Fairy-wren. As I walked, I did indeed spot a pair of Wrens, but only darting across the path in front of me in a swoosh. There was not a Galah in sight.

Turning the corner back to the golf course pond area, I spotted a pair of Red Wattlebirds, a Swallow, and something gray and brown that had a tail sticking out from a bush, but refused to turn to face me so that I could identify it. All these birds were mobile, and therefore it was not much point attempting a picture. As I walked back into town, I spotted a pelican flying across the sky above me. I did manage to get my camera on it, but it was too far away to be seen! Oh well, maybe when I hike over to Corrimal, which should happen in the next 2 weeks, I will insert the other memory card and try my luck again!

It was definitely not my day! I got home and found Smokey had come to spend the day with us - but unlike his usual self, he refused to fly up onto my wrist to eat his seed allowance from my hand. He just stared at me...

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Black eyes and baby birds.

January 25th 2008 19:08

I am hoping to manage to fit in a walk this coming weekend, and will be sure to charge my camera batteries ahead of time so as to be able to snap any feathered friends en route. I have hardly been anywhere this month so far, as I have been flat out trying to make a living from my writing & publishing and also set up as a childcare service - whilst life has decided to run at light speed all around me. I shall definitely hang out the park or beach, if not take a longer hike. I might try Corrimal again, hopefully I will then get some good shots of the Fairy-wrens and other coastal birds to share in my blog next week.

In the meantime, we now have a turtle dove with a black eye visiting our yard. The photos I took did not come out very clearly though, so I will spare you some out of focus blurs and have you take my word that on one side, the fellow has a black ring about his eye.

I have also been entertained by a baby Myna bird. It was chittering away from the top of the carport roof. It was not scared of me when I peeped through the curtains to look at it. Some of its antics included sticking its head right over the edge and peering downwards, trying to eat the edge of the roof, chewing on a rusty nail, and snapping at a feather that floated past.

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Pigeon affections

January 23rd 2008 21:51

Smokey continues to visit for the major part of a day. Whenever I leave my study to check the mailbox, do some laundry, cook dinner, etc, he is generally waiting for me on the windowsill. He has a habit of landing on the fly screen of the kitchen window and trying to cling on, if he observes me washing up at the sink. If he spots me enter my bedroom, he will fly onto the windowsill and run up and down or beak-tap to attract my attention. I managed to take a few photographs demonstrative of his devotions.

This is when he turned his head away, as if camera shy. Moments before the click, he was beak tapping the window in order to try to peck my nose

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Moments from the yard…

January 21st 2008 17:59

A few miscellaneous moments I have caught when peeping out of the window this past week:

* A turtle dove rests on the lawn. It sinks down amongst the grass and simply nods away contentedly, occasionally nibbling a grass seed but mostly resting

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Trashy behavior

January 19th 2008 04:32

Those pigeons get up to all sorts of things! I recently managed to capture two shots - not great photos, but amusing - of them sitting on the recycling bin. The first is of Bawwab, Baby1 & BabyNob. Bawwab was romancing, just about to have hubby jump on top, when a fellow lover intervened…

Husband and wife departed to romance elsewhere, leaving one lonely fellow behind

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Affectionate pigeon!

January 16th 2008 19:35

Last week, Smokey knew I was miserable so sat on my head… He is an extremely affectionate bird. This past week he knows I am very much stuck in the creative zone, spiritually led and absent minded, and it has made him quite besotted with me. In the mornings, he behaves, arriving early to join the others for a breakfast feed. During the day, if I go outside, he will follow me around and try to sit on my head. If I snip the edges on my path, he walks along the path to be close to me, or attempts to sit on my shoulder. If I do the laundry, he follows me into the dunny and watches down at me from a beam on the wall. If I sit outside to read, Smokey comes to sit on a foot, leg or head. In the afternoons he flies home to his wife, Spotty, but he generally returns at the close of the day. Missing evening seed-feed, I have to peel myself out of bed, where I generally am reading or studying, and grab a handful of seed. He will fly directly onto my wrist and eat them straight from my hand. After this performance, he will spend a little time running up and down my windowsill, frantically peering thru the curtains to spot me, tapping the glass, frantically trying to hold an inaudible conversation of love, and to find a way indoors to spend the night...

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Where it went

January 11th 2008 22:05

We do not only have pigeons and garden birds; we also have mice. One little fellow likes to nest in the ceiling of our entryway. This will be the second year I have been woken in the night by scraping, shuffling sounds above me - at least this year I know what it is! Last time, I really did not know, and was thinking we had cockroaches, rats, possums…

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Recent moments

January 4th 2008 22:27

There has been a lot of action in the backyard over the Christmas and New Year period. Several moments stand out in my memory as worth mentioning.

Bawwab has taken to standing on the kitchen windowsill, peeping in the window at me. She additionally enjoys perching upon the open back door top or the nearby lamp - especially if it is extremely hot or wet outside. I watched her on the door top yesterday. She was following the movements of a mosquito that had decided to fly about her

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