Red Wattlebird

I snapped this Red Wattle bird from the footpath underneath the tree before it flew off.  I was so pleased to get clearly the yellow belly patch.

Red Wattle Bird, Adelaide 

©Christine Linton

Australian Grebe

They don't stay still for long, keep diving just as you bring the binoculars up - Australian Grebes live on the nearly wetland at Lochiel Park.

©Christine Linton, Australian Grebe

Last year I watched a pair displaying mirroring behaviour - fascinating as they seemed to know exactly what their partner was about to do.  This video is of Great Crested Grebes which is also lovely to watch.

Carolling

Usually I can't get close to a Magpie, but this one was sitting on someone's washing line carolling (singing) it's heart out, oblivious to me creeping closer behind a tree ...

©Christine LintonAustralian Magpie, carolling (singing)

Sunrise

Walking down to the river, I looked back along the street and saw this sunrise.

©Christine Linton

Magpie in imagination

This is actually an ant nest I noticed in a pine chips border by the road - I can see a magpie head in it, can you?

©Christine Linton

Ibis - having fun

Around here, we have lots of ibis; in fact they can become a problem, simply because so many of them gather in small areas and end up fouling the water and smelling.  Personally I find their dignified walk attractive, with their sudden thrusting of the long curved beak into the riverbed or grass for a tasty morsel.  Yesterday I was able to take some photos of a group of about 15 or so, which had congregated on the nearby reserve by the clubhouse.  The wheelie (rubbish) bins had been left with their lids open, and the ibis had taken advantage of this, being natural scavengers like many birds.  The one on the far left has his head right in the bin.  One near the centre is coming in to land.  There were lots of others making their way over to the bins; an unleashed dog scattered them all once and I had to wait until they reassembled - that didn't take long!

©Christine Linton

Still loving birds

I have come back to this blog after a long gap, because I often want to share my bird sightings from my walks.  I've changed the template and will make other changes no doubt - I'm a more experienced blogger nowadays.  My other blog is at http://craftconversations.blogspot.com/  where you can find my experimental art and craft.

One of the places I love best to walk along is by the Torrens River.  Margins, edges of habitat - here, edge of suburbia next to a river - hold lots of wildlife.  Today a solitary female Australian Magpie was not bothered by a gang of Noisy Miners who kept crowding her, following her stately walk in their excitable manner.  They are both native Aussies, but we have lots of introduced species; the plain old pigeon, known here as Feral Pigeon, has beautiful iridescent neck feathers as gorgeous as any bird.

©Christine Linton