Betrisher
Well-known member
- Jun 3, 2013
- 4,253
- 177
- Parrots
- Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
We had a very pleasant family picnic yesterday at a local bushland reserve called Blue Gum Hills park. It's a great place to sit and watch birds, as the owners are very jealously preserving the natural environment. There are no rubbish bins, for example, as you are expected to take out whatever you take into the park and leave no evidence of yourself behind.
So, I was sittin' happily munchin' on a doughnut and gazin' into the treetops when I saw an unmistakable flash of red. It was a flock of Crimson Rosellas filtering down through a huge gum tree in order to get to the pond for a drink. Now, Crimson Rosellas aren't all that uncommon, but they live in the more closed areas of forest, where people seldom go. It was a real treat to see twenty or more of them at close quarters. Do a google image search to see how ravishingly lovely they are. They make a lovely sound, sort of like a high trill played on a clarinet. You can hear it for miles and it always makes me smile to think one of these gorgeous birds is in the vicinity.
Well, not long afterward, there was another pleasant surpise as the more often-seen Eastern Rosellas came to drink too. They're a chatty bunch and make a commotion as everyone jockeys for a spot at the water's edge. I noticed quite a few greenish juveniles in the crew, so the local flocks must be breeding away happily at Blue Gum Hills.
It was only then I noticed a brown-painted nest box high in a Spotted Gum. When I looked more closely, there were brown nest boxes everywhere and in different sizes. They even have them for possums to use! I'm so happy about this! See, most Australian forested areas near cities and towns are pretty much despoiled. They've been logged out or cleared away at some stage of their existence and so old-growth trees with decent nest-holes are usually few and far between. This is certainly the case at Blue Gum Hills, where the vast majority of trees would only be less than a hundred years old. Hence, the nest-boxes. Hooray!
The crowning glory of the day was when my son nudged me and said 'Mum! Look up!' An Australian Little Eagle was wheeling away overhead in the clear blue sky as if he hadn't a care in the world. He swooped low and then rose again on thermals, eventually sailing out of sight to the west. Ah...! I *love* raptors!
Of which there were plenty in the form of scavenging Kookaburras! There must have been thirty or so, all waiting patiently (and some, not so patiently) in trees around the solar-powered barbecues. As soon as ever anyone tossed a bit of meat or sausage, a Kookaburra would be upon it, seize it and retire back to his perch to 'kill it to death' as they do. Kookaburras usually kill - or tenderise - their food by bashing it heartily on a stout limb or rock before eating it. That's probably to avoid bites from poisonous snakes, which they like to eat. A bit of overkill for a hunk of sausage, though... As we were packing up our picnic at the end of the day, we were treated to a glorious chorus of all those voices laughing merrily at our departure. Sweet! Well... deafening, but sweet!
So, I was sittin' happily munchin' on a doughnut and gazin' into the treetops when I saw an unmistakable flash of red. It was a flock of Crimson Rosellas filtering down through a huge gum tree in order to get to the pond for a drink. Now, Crimson Rosellas aren't all that uncommon, but they live in the more closed areas of forest, where people seldom go. It was a real treat to see twenty or more of them at close quarters. Do a google image search to see how ravishingly lovely they are. They make a lovely sound, sort of like a high trill played on a clarinet. You can hear it for miles and it always makes me smile to think one of these gorgeous birds is in the vicinity.
Well, not long afterward, there was another pleasant surpise as the more often-seen Eastern Rosellas came to drink too. They're a chatty bunch and make a commotion as everyone jockeys for a spot at the water's edge. I noticed quite a few greenish juveniles in the crew, so the local flocks must be breeding away happily at Blue Gum Hills.
It was only then I noticed a brown-painted nest box high in a Spotted Gum. When I looked more closely, there were brown nest boxes everywhere and in different sizes. They even have them for possums to use! I'm so happy about this! See, most Australian forested areas near cities and towns are pretty much despoiled. They've been logged out or cleared away at some stage of their existence and so old-growth trees with decent nest-holes are usually few and far between. This is certainly the case at Blue Gum Hills, where the vast majority of trees would only be less than a hundred years old. Hence, the nest-boxes. Hooray!
The crowning glory of the day was when my son nudged me and said 'Mum! Look up!' An Australian Little Eagle was wheeling away overhead in the clear blue sky as if he hadn't a care in the world. He swooped low and then rose again on thermals, eventually sailing out of sight to the west. Ah...! I *love* raptors!
Of which there were plenty in the form of scavenging Kookaburras! There must have been thirty or so, all waiting patiently (and some, not so patiently) in trees around the solar-powered barbecues. As soon as ever anyone tossed a bit of meat or sausage, a Kookaburra would be upon it, seize it and retire back to his perch to 'kill it to death' as they do. Kookaburras usually kill - or tenderise - their food by bashing it heartily on a stout limb or rock before eating it. That's probably to avoid bites from poisonous snakes, which they like to eat. A bit of overkill for a hunk of sausage, though... As we were packing up our picnic at the end of the day, we were treated to a glorious chorus of all those voices laughing merrily at our departure. Sweet! Well... deafening, but sweet!
