At present Yellow Gums are still flowering quite well, especially where veteran trees are concerned. This is a providing a vital source of nectar over winter for our local honeyeaters. These White-naped Honeyeaters had just descended to a strategically placed bird bath to drink in between bouts of sipping nectar from the foliage up above.
White-naped Honeyeater, Green Gully, 19th July 2018
II
III
Last year a pair of Australian Ravens nested in a large Red Ironbark in our front yard. They are back again this year and have become quite territorial over recent weeks. The bird pictured below was photographed moments after ejecting a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo from the bird bath!
While often dismissed as simply a ‘large black bird’ these images highlight the complexity of their colouration when seen up close. The plumage is an interplay of black, blue and green sheens and the iris features a wonderful powder blue ring. I’ve found this species and also the Little Raven to be very difficult to photograph – they are extremely wary in most situations.
Australian Raven, Wyndham Street Newstead, 18th July 2018
II
III
As an aside, the most popular post on Natural Newstead over the years is “Sorry, but we don’t have crows around here”, written on July 7th 2013. It was my response to the oft heard claim about observing a crow, when in fact locally, all of these ‘large black birds’ are most certainly either Little Ravens or Australian Ravens.
Posted in Bird breeding, Bird observations, The Home Garden
What a wild day yesterday … the rain was coming horizontal out of the west at one stage.
Then the wind dropped for an hour late afternoon, allowing a quick jaunt along Cemetery Road.
Grey Fantail, Cemetery Road Newstead, 17th July 2018
II
III
Eastern Grey Kangaroos
These images were made last week in a nice patch of bush that I haven’t visited before, an area of public land just to the east of Green Gully. Birds were scarce – Scarlet Robins and Varied Sittellas were the highlight but I suspect there is more to be discovered.
Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Green Gully, 12th July 2018
II
Nature’s handiwork
Varied Sittella
If there is one bird that epitomises our garden it’s the New Holland Honeyeater.
This noisy, bold and aggressive honeyeater can be found year-round dominating the foliage in search of insects and nectar. I’ve even see it attempt to chase off Red Wattlebirds – no mean feat.
Typical views of this bird will be familiar to readers of the blog … this set of images capture some different perspectives.
New Holland Honeyeater, Newstead, 12th July 2018
II
III
IV
Posted in Bird observations, Honeyeaters, The Home Garden
While female and immature Flame Robins are not nearly as striking as the male, they are gorgeous birds nonetheless. This series of portraits were gathered late this afternoon near the Newstead Cemetery.
Female (or possibly an immature) Flame Robin, Newstead Cemetery, 12th July 2018
II
III
Adult male Flame Robin
I was fascinated by the behaviour of these Red-rumped Parrots last week at Cairn Curran.
These images include two separate flocks that I observed whirling in seemingly haphazard circuits, followed by brief ‘touchdowns’, and then another burst of erratic flight.
Then a White-bellied Sea-eagle appeared from behind the River Red-gums along the high water mark. Puzzle solved!
Red-rumped Parrots, Cairn Curran, 3rd July 2018
II
III
White-bellied Sea-eagle
Posted in Bird observations, Cairn Curran, Raptors
Next workshops - Spring 2018 ... Click the Painted Snipe for details!
Natural Newstead acknowledges the Dja Dja Wurrung as Traditional Owners of this Country
Delias aganippe
