Australian Bird Life

Just discovered a new website Birdlife Australia, with an online magazine Australian Bird Life.  There are lots of interesting articles.

Photo Ark

Here are some beautiful photos.
http://photoark.com/galleries/

Chickens

This is my Papa Chooky, which I drew for a "Goldilocks" book (my own version, which always has Goldilocks clearing up her own mess).  I have always loved chickens.  What characters!  Domestic chickens come from Jungle Fowl - and I have just been reading about them here on the BBC Wildlife Blog.  You can see more of my Chookys on my other blog, Craft Conversations under the Chooky label.

Australian Grebe

Grebes are just coming into breeding season here in Adelaide, and they will develop a lovely chestnut stripe on their neck, and an oval yellow on the face.  The flank also becomes much richer in colour.  We have several living locally at Lochiel Park, (alongside the Torrens containing it's own small wetlands - it is an ecologically sustainable development) and last year I enjoyed watching the chicks - so cute!  Stripey!

Australian Grebe - breeding plumage 

©Christine Linton

Ravens nesting

It's still mid-winter in Adelaide but I have seen nesting behaviour - gathering sticks, courting displays and so on lately.  Yesterday on my walk home, I notice two Little Ravens on top of a Stobie (telephone) pole, one of them with a large multi-branched twig in it's beak.  They were being dive-bombed by a gang of Noisy Miners.  Noisy Miners do seem to pick on certain birds and gang up on them; they maybe have their reasons, but it's commonly seen around Adelaide.  Anyway, the Raven with the twig eventually flew away, and it's mate stayed to take the flak from the Miners.  There were about 6 or 8 of the Miners.  I've also watched them dive-bomb my cat as soon as it walked out the door into the garden, and often seen them pick on Australian Magpies and other birds - size is no object, a Raven for example is twice the Miner size.  They will also appear to deliberately annoy a single Magpie or pigeon, whether on their own or in a gang.  Entertaining for me but not for their victim, I'm sure.  Here is my sketch.  The Raven's body is a bit short, but you get the idea.

Little Raven being dive-bombed by a gang of Noisy Miners 

©Christine Linton

More and more birds ...

I have just been adding to the Birds of Linear Park page, and I'm up to 32 now.  One of the largest birds I see there is the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo.  This sketch I made for a quilt featuring this lovely bird, which I then appliqued on to the quilt.

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

©Christine Linton

New Page

I have just added a new page to the blog, after sitting down and listing all the birds I have seen at Linear Park, here in Adelaide.  I have so far only walked part of this park, which runs along the River Torrens on both sides, and is a rare example of how successful co-operation between several council areas can be.  I found 24 birds in my memory immediately, all seen often.