A Tawny Frogmouth visitation

It’s 10.30 pm, and Sarah and I are about to head off to bed, when we hear a soft thump on the window pane.

From experience we know that a sound like this can only be made by either a large moth attracted by our house lights, or more excitingly, an owl hunting them. On past occasions we have found a Barn Owl outside picking off a Bogong Moth, and on another found a tiny Owlet Nightjar perched on the window ledge, peering in our bedroom window at us.

It is such a rare treat to see these nocturnal birds, so we are keen to see what may have made this noise.

Opening the door, we cautiously move outside, scanning the ground but see nothing nearby. We are about to head back inside when Sarah whispers; “Don’t move! …”

Perched atop the garden umbrella next to me is a Tawny Frogmouth, Podargus strigoides. If I reached out I could almost touch it. It sits alert and unfazed, its yellow eyes glowing in the gloom, as we back off to get torches and camera.

Another Grasshopper photo

I was thinking this critter, seen the other day on our block, was something evil and locust-like! It is a relief to know it is likely a Gum Leaf Grasshopper, which sounds more benign and meant to be here. Thanks Geoff!!

Identifying our local Cicadas

It is cicada season, and the sound of strident buzzing comes from bush and suburban street. But which species are we hearing in our local area?

After listening closely to their calls, tracking them with the camera (attempting to ‘add a face to the voice’), and close reading of Dr. Max Moulds’ excellent ‘Australian Cicadas’, my conclusion is… I’m not really sure.

But I’ll share what I’ve worked out so far, and maybe others more experienced than I can offer their knowledge!

In for a Dip!!

Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters Lichenostomus melanops are common on our bush block – so much so their territorial and mobbing behaviours have prompted us to call them the ‘bush mafia’.

But they are beautiful birds, and their flocking to a late afternoon wash at our birdbath is always fascinating to watch. Here are a few pics of the fun!

Sunday Birdwalk in the Rise & Shine

This morning I was invited to conduct a birdwalk out at the Rise & Shine Reserve with Newstead Landcare, and about 15 or so people turned up for a relaxing 2-hour stroll. Despite an overcast beginning to the day, by the time we set off the sun was breaking through every now and then, and bird activity was picking up. We ended up seeing (and hearing) a lot more than I was anticipating.

Here is a list of what I recall seeing (* including heard but not seen)

White-faced Heron Wedge-tailed Eagle Peregrine Falcon * (maybe???) Peaceful Dove * Galah Little Corella Musk Lorikeet Crimson Rosella Red-rumped Parrot Brown Treecreeper Superb Fairy-wren Spotted Pardalote Red Wattlebird Yellow-tufted Honeyeater Fuscous Honeyeater Black-chinned Honeyeater * Jacky Winter *

Hooded Robin (female) Scarlet Robin Eastern Yellow Robin White-browed Babbler Varied Sittella Golden Whistler (female) Grey Shrike-thrush Willie Wagtail Grey Fantail * Dusky Woodswallow Magpie Lark Magpie Australian Raven White-winged Chough (nest) Welcome Swallow

Listening for Rainbowbirds

I haven’t heard them yet, but I have my ears open for them. Because it is this time of year that we might hear them.

I’m talking about Rainbowbirds, or Rainbow Bee-eaters Merops ornatus. These beautiful birds are migratory, hanging out in the southern regions of Australia during summer and then heading north for warmer climes over winter. Sensible really.

They are not particularly common around Newstead, which makes coming across them a highlight. One thing we’ve noticed since living here, is that there seems to be a pattern to encountering them. They gather in loose flocks in autumn, hanging around for maybe a few weeks before vanishing.

During this time, often the first I notice of them is their call overhead. I think of it as a soft “tirrup… tirrup”, although Graham Pizzey in his field guide probably describes it better as a rolling “pirr… pirr” or sharp “pik!”. It is quite distinctive and one of my favourite birdcalls.

Birds call on the wing while hawking for insects. This is done by foraying out from an exposed perch, to which they often return, possibly with a snack to dismember.

So keep your ears trained over the coming weeks, you may just encounter a small group of these lovely birds getting ready to set off on their winter holidays.

Here is a sample of their call to listen out for. There are a few other birds calling in this sample, a Willie Wagtail, Grey Fantail and distant Grey Shrike-thrush among them, but you can pick out the distinctive Rainbowbird calls easily enough.

Heathwren’s Song

The Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Hylacola pyrrhopygia is a rare bird locally, indeed throughout its range in inland Victoria and NSW. So it is exciting to have them resident in the daphne heath around our home in Strangways.

A year or so ago, I hosted a Sunday afternoon Newstead walk on our property, and we all had the delight of first hearing a heathwren giving some very animated mimicry among its call, and then having a pair of them chase each other in circles close around us. It was indeed a WOW moment!

What has frustrated me ever since is trying to get a sound recording of this rare little bird. They only sing infrequently, seldom more than a few times a day, and for less than a minute each time. They seem to be seasonal too, not often being heard in the heat of summer. When they do call, it could be at any time during the day, and rarely during the dawn singing period.

So the only way to capture them has been to set up my recorder among the daphne heath, and set it running for hours at a time. The overcast weather seems a good time for them, and the air was still (for a change!).

Finally, after innumerable attempts, I got one this afternoon!

So here is the Chestnut-rumped Heathwren’s song. As you listen, see if it is at all familiar to you. If you recognise it, even subliminally, then maybe you have heathwrens in your neighbourhood too.

It would be interesting to know of other heathwren colonies in the area. Try memorising the call; its texture, melodies and character. The next time you’re out in the bush you may just hear one.

Magpies Serenading by Moonlight

With the lovely moonlit nights recently, we’ve been hearing Magpies, Gymnorhina tibicen, out our bedroom window, calling throughout the night. This is quite common on well-illuminated evenings. Not only Magpies, but other birds such as Willy Wagtails, are well-known for this behaviour. What is interesting with Mapgies is that they have quite a different call nocturnally than their usual diurnal calls.

To hear the difference, listen to this recording. This is actually the sample from an album we’ve released recently, entitled ‘A Madrigal of Magpies’ (isn’t it a lovely collective noun? – far preferable to the northern hemisphere’s ‘murder of magpies’!).

This audio sample features four recordings edited together. The first minute or so is from a morning in bushland, and you can hear the Magpies’ typical daytime call, including some nice warbling. The second is the nocturnal call (with some White-plumed Honeyeater dawn calls), and you can hear how lazy and relaxed it is compared to the diurnal ones. The last minute or so comes from Magpies recorded at Yarra Valley, and lastly locally near Baringup.

Painted Button Quails sighted again

Up until about 5 years ago, we would regularly see Painted Button Quail (Turnix varia) on our bush property at Strangways. One year, in the heat of summer, a pair took refuge on our back door step, hiding behind a pot plant. Since then I have only seen them once, a fleeting glimpse as one scuttled off among the poa grasses.

We were fearing that the prolonged dry seasons may have affected them badly, like our sadly neglected garden. It is now a mass of dried weeds and grasses, not much good for anything except… Painted Button Quail! Yes, they’re back, and enjoying our garden. We have seen them four times in the last fortnight, often in the early morning or evening, picking seeds off the dry grasses. Its reassuring to know they are more resilient than we were fearing.

A good way of locating Painted Button Quails is by their call; a soft, booming series of “oop, oop, oop…” given over maybe a minute or so. They sound very similar to Bronzewing Pigeons. It would be easy to confuse them, the difference being that whilst a Bronzewing’s call is slow and regular, the Quail’s call accelerates, gets louder and slowly rises in pitch. Click here to listen to a Quail’s call.