White-plumed honeyeater

White-plumed honeyeater, Maitland area, NSW 

I finally managed to catch a White-plumed honeyeater sitting out in the open for long enough to get a shot!  This fellow was being harrassed by a Willy-wagtail, and was distracted long enough for me to grab this image.  The simple sound of my camera's shutter was enough to make him depart immediately !

Osprey sighting - The Esplanade, Speers Point

Adult Osprey perched on a streetlight, The Esplanade, Speers Point 

It was a very unseasonably warm day, reaching 39 degrees in Maitland.  There was not a cloud in the sky, and it was intense.  I was driving home from work late this afternoon, mind wandering pleasantly, air-con at full-blast in the ute, heading south along the shores of beautiful Lake Macquarie.

With a start, my reverie was interrupted.  I jarred upright in the seat and rapidly pulled over, out of the angry home-bound traffic.  I had noticed one of our more interesting birds of prey - an Osprey - perched on a street lamp above The Esplanade, Speers Point, one of the busier areas of the Lake.  

The Osprey didn't care about the hundreds of cars roaring past only 20 metres below.  As happens so often with raptors, complete indifference changed into alert wariness as soon as I walked within 50 metres of the light pole.  The bird would have watched me with near total indifference if I'd been able to stay in the car, but there was no way I could pull over near the bird and reversing back to it was completely out of the question.   

Moments after the first image was taken, the bird took off, flying south east, hugging the water's edge around the next headland, disappearing towards Warners Bay.  I had hoped to walk past the osprey, and take a few images with the sun behind me.  But sometimes you just have to make do with what you can get.  This was one of those moments.  

     

Osprey heading towards Warners Bay, late in the afternoon 19/11/2015.  

Backyard Birds

Rainbow lorrikeet, Casa Da Ayre, Lake Macquarie, NSW.

One of the beautiful things about living in Lake Macquarie is the abundance of wildlife.  We regularly have 30 or more Rainbow lorrikeets & Scaley-breasted lorrikeets visit our gardens.  Both of these species are exceedingly common in peri-urban areas on the east coast.  I grabbed this shot yesterday afternoon while working in the backyard.  

Ever wonder how Spur-winged plovers got their name?

Spur-winged plover showing how they got their name

When Amanda & I visited Trial Bay Gaol in South West Rocks we were mobbed by a pair of Masked lapwings that were nesting within the grounds of the historic gaol.

When I was growing up they were always known as "Spur-winged plovers" which I think is a FAR more appropriate name.  It's like the way Superb blue wrens have had their "accepted common name" changed.  These days they are known as Superb blue fairy-wrens, which I think is ridiculous.

Normally, you can't see the spurs, but when you accidentally intrude on their breeding territory, they will quickly let you know, and the spurs come out.  There was a nest with four lovely speckled-brown eggs a few metres from where I took these quick snaps.  We very quickly left the vicinity ! 

Masked lapwing, Trial Bay Gaol, South West Rocks, NSW.  

Our Welcome swallows have advanced young - second breeding in Spring 2015

Welcome swallow on nest with food, 7th November 2015

I was on my way to do some shopping this morning and smiled as one of our Welcome swallows zipped off it's nest.  But I thought I saw movement on the edge of the nest a few moments after the adult bird left.  I stopped to watch for a few seconds.  A slight movement gave it away - there are now young in the nest again ! 

I quickly grabbed my camera and watched the nest for movement through the viewfinder.  Without warning, one of the adults zipped back to the nest, returning with food.  

Adult Welcome swallow feeding young, 7th November 2015 

 At least three bright yellow mouths appeared waving over the edge of the nest, and the adult promptly fed the closest mouth.  It paused for a few moments to look at me before zooming off again.  

This observation confirms second clutching in Welcome swallows nesting in Lake Macquarie, NSW in 2015.  It's nothing out of the ordinary or worth writing up; it's simply an interesting anecdote concerning this species.  They nested for the first time here last year.  They built their nest and successfully raised a single clutch of young.  The adults and (I suspect) the first years young, have roosted in the immediate vicinity most nights ever since.  They over-wintered here, using the nest as a refuge during the coldest nights of the year.  I am unable to identify the individual birds confidently.  However I could pick the original parents from the first year's offspring. 

The most interesting observation was the first year when the nest was built, they only had a single clutch of young.  By using the nest again, they have successfully raised one clutch and are well on the way to rearing a second clutch of young.  It will be interesting to see if they can successfully rear the second clutch, and maybe even start a third?  

This raises a few interesting points in my mind;

1.  Is the energy expended by building a nest equivalent to raising a clutch of young?

2.  How important is a nest to the long term survival of Welcome swallows in the Lake Macquarie area?  As mentioned above, we had Welcome swallows roost in the immediate vicinity of the nest most of the winter.  On the coldest nights they actually slept inside the "abandoned" nest.  Would they had fared less well over the winter if they didn't have a nest to retreat from the coldest nights?  Would they have survived the winter at all?  Would the metabolic energy saved by using the nest to keep warm on the coldest nights mean the difference between being able to raise a single clutch of young or multiple clutches in the coming breeding season?  Was the roosting behaviour merely territorial behaviour intended to ensure the adults would maintain their territory?     

3.  There are many confounding factors; the most obvious one that I cannot uniquely identify each individual.  Their plumage is not uniquely marked between individuals and they are not leg-banded.  This means that nothing I note about them can be considered scientifically valid.  For example, I do not know if these are even the same birds that built the nest!  For all I know they could be another pair of adult birds, or even the young from last year.  

4.  I don't know how old the birds were that originally built the nest.  Were they young birds and this was their first attempt at nesting?  Were they older birds, that built their nest here because their last nest was destroyed elsewhere? 

5.  There are many other points to consider such as rainfall and insect abundance.

It's a fascinating thing to watch the seasons pass and the local wildlife as they share our homes and lives, so often unseen.        

        

White-headed pigeons at Teralba

On the way home from work yesterday, I observed a pair of White-headed pigeons, Columba leucomela foraging under a very large Camphor laurel tree.  The location was somewhat unexpected, being right on the edge of suburban Teralba, Lake Macquarie.  I grabbed my camera to record the moment, and was incredibly annoyed to realise that I'd left the CF card in the reader at home.  By the time I sourced another CF card from deep within the camera bag, they were gone.

I was ready today - the CF card was loaded and I had a full battery on the camera.  I was pleasantly surprised to see FOUR adult White-headed pigeons foraging under the Camphor laurel tree.  I grabbed a few dodgy photos to confirm the observation and left.  See the images below.  

Adult male (left) and adult female White-headed pigeons, foraging beneath
a very large Camphor laurel tree, Teralba, northern Lake Macquarie NSW. 

Two x adult male White-headed pigeons, Teralba, northern Lake Macquarie, NSW.   

The Australian bass are biting and we are NOT made of sugar.

My best mate and I had a trip to our favourite bass stream on Saturday 31st October 2015.

It was sprinkling rain the entire afternoon most of the evening, but as Bruce says, "We are not made of sugar!"  We ended up landing 16 fish between us, (I landed 6), and hooked probably twice that number.  All fish were carefully released to fight another day.  Our hooks are barbless, for easy release and to ensure minimal damage is inflicted on the fish.  You tend to lose a few that way, but it doesn't matter - we would never keep an Australian bass.  We were surprised and a bit sad to see two or three European carp cruising about.  They looked like massive bass at first sight.

Australian bass are FANTASTIC sport, and require structure and depth.  I have been chasing trout for so long that I was out of touch on where to cast at first, but it all came quickly back.  There is truly nothing like the sound of a strike of a surface lure at night.  You cast the lure out into the darkness, hopefully landing in the middle of the stream away from overhanging trees.  Let it sit there for twenty seconds or so; a stunned creature that has just accidentally ended up in the water.  Engage the bail arm and start the retrieve. Plip, plop, plip, plop, plip, plop S-M-A-S-H !

We were wading in the middle of the little stream, because the banks were private property and way too overgrown to walk.  It was surprisingly warm for the end of October and I was very comfortable in T-shirt and footy shorts.  I stepped on something in the late afternoon that wriggled like mad and then clawed at my bare legs.  I jumped a metre in the air at the time, as there should be NOTHING like that in our fresh water streams around Newcastle.  I'd just teased Bruce about Bull sharks in the long chest-deep sections we'd had to wade not long before.  There is no weir on this river and theoretically there was nothing to stop a Bull shark from swimming up this little tributary.  I'd guessed it was just karma and a very large long necked tortoise, and thought nothing more about it.

On the way back to the car, the likely culprit was revealed in my headtorch beam!  I was very surprised to almost step on a large adult Eastern water dragon sound asleep on the bottom in waist deep water.  I think that he got the bigger surprise when I leant down and grabbed him to show Bruce.  We had a good laugh and quickly returned him to the water.  What a story he'd have to tell his mates about the dark and storm night when the bright lights came !      

Storm fronts and bird sightings

Yesterday my wife emailed me a video clip of an intense rain shower falling in Belmont, complete with marble sized hail.  I have been driving a slightly different way home from work recently just to break up the monotony.  Yesterday noticed a couple of unusual birds, not long after the rain had passed.

The first sighting was at 18:12 when an Australian Brush-turkey, ran across the road in front of my car.  I was travelling on Rhonnda road Teralba, just east of the quarry at the time.  A few minutes later I observed a pair of White-headed pigeons feeding on a grassed area under a huge camphor laurel tree.  This was in the suburban area of Teralba, just east of the intersection between Rhonnda road and Railway street.  Of course, as soon as I stopped the birds took off, so I have no photographic evidence.

It's not unusual to see either of these species, just unexpected as I typically associate both species with wet sclerophyll or littoral rainforest, neither of which I have seen in this area.  It would be worth going for a walk through the bushland around Teralba soon.  Never know what might turn up !

I entered both sightings into the Atlas of Living Australia.  

Welcome swallows are nesting again

I found a discarded egg shell directly under the Welcome swallows nest on Sunday morning.  There is an adult sitting constantly on the nest once again.  It looks like "our" Welcome swallows have young again !  

South West Rocks and General wildlife musings

We returned from an extended trip overseas two weeks ago. I spent the first week at home catching up on jobs around the house and returning my body clock to normality.  I didn't really suffer from jetlag, but I did find myself exhausted by 8 pm, and wide awake at 3:30 am.  I recovered within a few days, and returned to work last week.  The reality of day-to-day life has hit us both hard, and we are already planning our next trip overseas.  But to stave off the feelings of melancholy, we headed out of town for the weekend.

We chose to visit South West Rocks & Trial Bay Gaol.  It's only a quick three & a half hours drive up the coast, or roughly the same time it takes to drive to the Blue Mountains from Lake Macquarie.  I had never visited the Trial Bay/South West Rocks area before, and I'm wondering what took me so long.

It was a wildlife wonderland.  I saw probably 50 or 60 dolphins, 8 x south-bound whales, two sea turtles, several hundred Eastern grey kangaroos, rosellas, lorikeets, Eastern koels, White-breasted sea eagles, Wedge-tailed eagles, Whistling kites, and three splendid Brahminy kites.  I've never seen so many Brahminy kites in the one place before.  I was in love !  Best of all - there were no traffic lights ANYWHERE in the area.  Not a single traffic light.  Doesn't that say it all.

The whales will need a bit of care to identify.  I noticed quite a bit of white on one particular pair of them, and their behaviour and blows seemed different to the typical humpbacks we see in the Lake Macquarie area.  I must admit, they looked an awful lot like killer whales.  But they were several kilometres out to sea, and I suspect they were most likely Southern right whales.  There is an extremely unlikely possibility they were something unusual like Brydes, but seriously, I am not holding my breath.  I'll have a chat with some of my old friends from ORRCA and get an expert opinion.

We headed east to the Lighthouse at Smoky Cape, and were inundated with Eastern grey kangaroos.  Sadly, they seemed to be suffering from some sort of pathogen, as 90 % of the animals feeding near the lighthouse had inflamed, swollen and mucky eyes. Hmmm.

Sick Eastern grey kangaroo, Smoky Cape Lighthouse 24th October 2015. 

This morning I was up well before dawn and watched the sun rise over the ocean once more. Amanda chose to sleep in, so I found myself alone, perched high on a sea cliff watching the new day begin while waves smashed into the golden-pink granite far below.  I couldn't help but reflect on my time in Italy.  It was truly a dream given form.  I walked among temples built to the Golden Mean 3500 years BC, built with hand tools to incredible standards of perfection.  The wonderful people, the food, the incredible history - it was so much more than I could have ever imagined.  As much as I enjoyed Italy and the contrasts from Venice, the Dolomiti, Cinque terra, Carrara, Pisa, Milan, the cave houses, Amalfi, Roma, watching the sun set over the sea at the glorious "Turkish Steps", Corleone, Agrigento in Sicily and the wonderfully fertile giardino at 'Tonio & Marissa's casa di montagna in Calabria.

Yes, this morning gave me time to reflect and think.  With all my wool-gathering, it was a bit of a challenge, but I got a few nice shots.  And then I felt the urge to climb a particular sea-stack.  It was steep and fun to solo a little cliff, and I felt totally alive, right here, right now in the moment like I had not felt for years.  The pleasure of moving over vertical rock is something that never leaves you.  I topped-out and found flannel flowers in full bloom all over the top of the little stack.  It was beautiful.  Simple, pure and beautiful . . . .

Flannel flowers covered in dew, South West Rocks NSW, 25th October 2015 

During our exploration of the greater South West Rocks area this morning I noticed Channel-billed cuckoos and several Dollarbirds perched on the powerlines.  As I have mentioned before, both of these birds are migratory, and it's a real sign of spring when both species arrive.  I heard Channel-billed cuckoos in Maitland last week, but these were the first Dollarbirds for the Spring, so they'll almost certainly be in the Hunter Valley right now.  

As we returned to Newcastle this evening, I could hardly believe me eyes as we passed Blackbutt Reserve.  We found a very large adult diamond python trying to cross one of the busiest roads in Newcastle.  We stopped the car and I raced back as fast as I could, just managing to prevent a car from running straight over this amazing animal.  I grabbed him, and I suspect that he was probably just over 8 feet long (I am 6' tall and he had at least two feet on the ground when I grabbed him by the head and lifted him up.  I also have over 40 years experience as a herpetologist).  Actually, I suspect that this may have been a captive animal at some stage, because he had a very small head in comparison to the length and diameter of his body.  I was surprised to see he had a divided anal scale as most diamond pythons and carpet pythons have a single anal scale.  My wife and I grabbed the beautiful beast and took him down to the deepest rainforest area of Blackbutt reserve and released him there.  I just hope that he realises his mistake and does not attempt to cross Croudace Road ever again.     

The Channel-billed cuckoos have arrived.

Just a simple observation - I heard the raucous shrieks of several Channel-billed cuckoos during my lunch-break in Maitland today, Friday 23rd October 2015.  These birds are common, but migratory.  This was my first observation of the species in the Hunter valley for Spring 2015.

Welcome swallow update

I checked the car port late last night - there was an adult Welcome swallow roosting alongside the nest.  Better still, there were two fledglings roosting together inside the nest.  Thank goodness - the swallows have successfully nested again this year.  Hopefully the other adult was roosting somewhere nearby with more young.

  

An Empty Nest . . .

We returned home from extended leave yesterday to find our Welcome swallows nest is empty.

We are still a bit tired from the flight, so we haven't been out and about in the back yard much yet, but there seems to be little activity around the carport.  I'll have to check when it's dark tonight.  Hopefully they have successfully nested and the offspring fledged just before we got home . . .

Brief Observation - First Eastern koel for Spring 2015

I was just paused to refuel the lawn mower a few moments ago (17:30 Eastern Daylight Savings Time) when the distinctive call of an Eastern koel began to echo around the neighbourhood.

We returned to Casa da Ayre only late yesterday afternoon from 6 weeks holiday - so the Koels may have very well have arrived in the Lake Macquarie area before now.  But nonetheless it is worth publishing a brief note regarding the casual observation of a migratory species.  Spring is definitely here now ! 

Out of curiosity I looked back through my sightings of this species last year - See HERE .  It turns out that last year they arrived on Friday 3rd October - so it's very close to the same time.     

Welcome swallow brooding

Welcome swallow brooding, 29th August 2015

We have been watching our swallows hanging around the carport, zipping around the back yard and roosting in or alongside their old nest for quite a while now.  At the start of this month we thought that surely they would start to breed any moment.  I guess the watched kettle never boils, but at long last it seems the female may be brooding.  When I headed off to work yesterday morning they seemed particularly vocal, and we have noticed one of the swallows has been sitting in the nest all day. 

We are walking on air at the moment, for a number of reasons, and this is just the icing on the cake.  Casa da Ayre is a very happy place indeed.         

Our Welcome swallows are nesting again - ALREADY !

I mentioned in my last post that we thought Spring was coming early this year.  I am almost certain of it now.  Our Welcome swallows have been bolstering the lining of their nest with nylon "fleece" from the dog bed last week.  We were delighted to watch them constantly zipping in-and-out of our carport this weekend, and spending longer each time in their nest as the day passed. 

I am expecting to see a swallow sitting in the nest all day again soon - I feel that nesting is imminent.  According to www.arkive.org (See - http://www.arkive.org/welcome-swallow/hirundo-neoxena)  " ... the breeding season of the Welcome swallow runs from July to April, with a peak in breeding activity between September and October. Breeding tends to occur earlier inland than on the coast ...".  So we are definitely right at the beginning of their known breeding period, and I am watching events unfold with interest.

The first blush of Spring 2015

Spring is coming ! Spring is coming !

While we were enjoying breakfast this morning, Amanda & I were delighted to watch an Australian magpie carry nesting material into a large Eucalyptus tree across the street.  We had just been commenting on how warm it had been for this week just gone, but we thought that perhaps it was because we'd been in the snow at Oberon last weekend.  We are now in the last few days of July, and spring is officially only 4 weeks away, so I guess Spring might be coming early this year.

 

Yet another Welcome swallow update

It's just so lovely - a pair of Welcome swallows roosting in
our carport on a freezing July afternoon. 

We have had a pair of Welcome swallows roosting under our carport every night for several months now.  They successfully nested in our car port late last year, and the chicks fledged on Sunday, 26th October 2014.  

There seems to always be only two individuals each night, and at first they were roosting in the metal channel alongside the nest.  With the temperature plummeting over the last week, they now seem to be roosting exclusively within the previously abandoned nest.  It's snowing like a ripper in the Central West and at Barrington Tops right now, and the wind is icy.  It's blowing from the NW at a constant 20 knots and really feels like it is straight from Antarctica.  Tonight is one of the coldest nights of 2015 so far, and the birds were in the nest by 3:30 pm - much earlier than usual.

It is interesting to make a note of this behaviour.  I expected that once the young had fledged, the nest would be abandoned until next year when the breeding season came around.  I have no way of determining if these are the same birds every night.  I would assume they are, but they are not banded or have any readily identifiable marks.  I can't even say if they are the adults that built the nest, or perhaps two of the young that fledged in October 2014.  But perhaps this old "abandoned" nest might be more important than expected for their survival.    

White-bellied sea-eagle hunting Grey-headed flying foxes

White-bellied sea-eagle loitering in the Flying fox camp with serious intent

I heard an unusual commotion in the Grey-headed flying fox camp in Maitland last week, much louder than normal.  I looked up just as a large bird of prey flew off through the canopy, with Flying foxes scattering wildly as it left.  Unfortunately I was too far away to get a clear look at the bird, or to see if it had actually caught a Flying fox.  I thought that it had looked a lot like a Wedge-tailed eagle, but I was not close enough to be certain.  I remember thinking at the time, "Now _that_ was impressive !"

I think the identity of the mystery raptor might have been revealed yesterday.  There was an adult White-bellied sea eagle perched in the open on a branch about 20 metres from the Flying fox camp when I arrived at work.  The Flying foxes seemed to be completely indifferent.  I was shocked when the sea eagle flew from it's perch, straight into the heart of the colony, yet strangely, the flying foxes did not appear react to the intrusion in any way.

The Sea eagle showed obvious intent in the bats, and I have no doubt whatsoever that it was hunting them.  Yet the Flying foxes still seemed to completely ignore the Sea eagle in their midst.  It did not get close enough to strike at an individual bat, and none of them left the cover of the tree.  Unfortunately the Sea eagle left the tree after a minute or so, and I did not notice it return during the day.

Upon reflection, looking at the images I had taken during the incident, the Flying foxes appear to be much deeper inside the canopy of the trees than normal, and none of them flew away from the canopies of their shelter trees during the Sea eagle's intrusion.

It will be interesting to observe this Sea eagle's future visits to the Flying fox camp, and to note whether it will successfully predate upon a Grey-headed flying fox - and whether the Flying fox's reactions to the Sea eagle change with time.

White-plumed honeyeaters, Maitland, NSW.

A shy White-plumed honeyeater, Lichenostomus penicillatus, Maitland, NSW May 2015

I was enjoying the late autumn sunshine during my lunch break on Tuesday this week, and absorbed in the thrill of learning how to use a new camera.  The chirping call of a Honeyeater managed to make it through the raucous cacophony of the Grey-headed flying fox camp in the garden .

A couple of lip-squeaks soon had several birds dropping down together from the canopy, 15 metres above to investigate my presence.  They were quite shy, and tried their best to keep foliage between us.  I struggled to get a clear image.  They were White-plumed honeyeaters, Lichenostomus penicillatus - a common species here in the Hunter Valley. They checked me out briefly and left, satisfied that I wasn't competition or a threat.  

All too soon my lunchbreak was over and I was back at my workstation once more, absorbed into the responsibilities and team work of my role.      

Yet another Welcome swallow update

It is no secret that Signora Ayre Jr and I have a passion for our lovely Welcome swallows.

We have been delighted to see that a pair of them have been roosting, snuggled up together in the frames of our carport roof, within a metre of the nest.  Because we do not want to disturb them, we tend to look for them after 9 pm when it is well and truly dark, and they are settled in for the night. They are gone every morning when I head off to work.   

We are unsure if it is the adults that bred here earlier this year or a pair of fledglings that have returned, but for the past six weeks or so they have been roosting here every night,  within 50 cm of the empty nest.  We had a particularly mild evening on Friday night, and I was thrilled to see that both of the swallows were actually roosting together inside the nest.  

If I observe this again, I will try to take a photo to post on the blog.  They are just sooooooo sweet.          

The Welcome swallows are lingering at Casa da Ayre

Amanda and I partook of our luncheon on the back verandah at Casa da Ayre today.  A Welcome swallow materialised and did several high-speed loops around the backyard calling loudly before zooming under the carport.  It didn't emerge out the other side.

Amanda gave a bit of a squee of delight.  It is so good to see them back.  I slowly looked into the carport, and sure enough, the swallow was peering back at me from the joists, less than 50cm from the now abandoned nest.  Amanda worked from home yesterday and mentioned that she had noticed a Welcome swallow actually sitting in the nest for a few hours.

I suspect that this bird might be one of the nestlings that fledged late last year, or perhaps it's one of the adults just dropping by to see if the nest is still usable for next spring.  According to Birdlife Australia, this species nests from August to February, so we are now well outside of the usual breeding season.  I will keep an eye out to see what develops.  See here and here for more details about Welcome swallows.    

  

The seasons are definitely changing . . .

Autumn has definitely arrived at Casa da Ayre.  The days are getting shorter and last week it was still pitch black dark when I was leaving for work.  It might be different now, as Daylight Savings has ended this weekend.  Ahhhh, I love the extra hour's sleep in the mornings.

The last two weeks or so we have had a Pied butcherbird carolling throughout the morning.  Now its gorgeous call seems to be heard off-and-on all day.  Even Amanda has remarked about how she loves to hear its' call.  

Last week we started to hear the Pied currawongs calling.  They didn't seem to be stopping; just calling as they were travelling through.  I used to see them en masse at my parent's place in Charlestown.  They would spend a few days resting in the nearby pocket of mature Eucalypt & Angophora spp woodland before continuing their migration.  Some years there seemed to be hundreds passing through in a constant stream of birds.  These days the migration seems much smaller.  But the weather patterns change substantially from decade to decade, and the environments the birds use will change to reflect that.  

This morning Amanda & I took the dogs for a walk along the Cycleway from Eleebana boat ramp to the Cafe strip at Warnersbay.  While we were passing the Cherry Road intersection, just before the bridge over South Creek, I saw my very first Spangled drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus).  It was flitting out from some mature Casuarina spp trees, chasing insects.  It was quite low to the ground, only 3-4 m high, and we were within 6m of the bird.  We both had quite a good look at it for three minutes or so.  I am certain it was a juvenile as its' eyes were drab brown.  The "fish shaped" tail was unmistakeable.  

The Spangled drongo fills and ecological niche quite close to a Dollarbird.  However, the Dollarbirds would have migrated northwards by now, while the Spangled drongos are just arriving to spend the winter months down here.      

    

Backyard wildlife or "army worms" at Casa da Ayre

Juvenile Australian magpie feasting on emerging moths & caterpillars at Casa da Ayre

I have noticed an outbreak of "army worm" caterpillars in our back lawn recently, and have been contemplating whether I should spray them. I decided against it, and I am very glad that I didn't.

I was enjoyed my breakfast this morning on our backyard verandah while watching this juvenile Australian magpie and it's siblings feast on the "army worm" caterpillars and newly-emergent moths still too cool to fly, for nearly an hour. It warmed my heart to watch them darting about and munching heartily.  Every so often they seemed to stop and warble quietly to each other with pure delight.  Life is good !

Hmmm, I'll definitely have to mow the lawn this weekend though.  Amazing how quickly it grows after a bit of rain at this time of year . . .

Grey Goshawk

What a superb bird of prey, a Grey goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae)

I was travelling home from work a few weeks ago, when I noticed a Grey goshawk perched on powerlines at the Five-Islands Wetlands, Racecourse Road Teralba, NSW.  Of course, I didn't have my camera with me at the time.  Yesterday the Grey goshawk was back, and this time I did have my camera with me.  Unfortunately, the goshawk was quite shy, and I was not able to get very close to her.  It's a pretty dodgy photo, but there is no doubt of my identification.    

As you can see, this Grey goshawk's territory is a little pocket of swamp amidst a heavily disturbed environment.  
Image from Google Earth.

The Five-islands Wetlands is on the banks of Cockle Creek at the northern end of Lake Macquarie.  This is a very heavily polluted area due to the past operations of the Pasminco lead smelter. Despite the horrendous pollution and disturbance to the environment, there is a surprising amount of birdlife around the area.
   
The environment on the western side of the road is open swampy-woodland, dominated by adult Melaleuca spp, Casuarina spp, Pittosporum undulatum and many weeds.  The eastern side of the road is a mangrove community on the edge of Cockle Creek.  On the eastern bank of cockle creek is an industrial area and the densely-packed suburbs of Boolaroo and Argenton.        

A pleasant surprise

Frenetic energy - Honey bee foraging

I was approached by Australian Geographic magazine recently for permission to use this image in their newsletter.  Of course, I was thrilled to give my consent.  They asked for a bio and a story behind the image.

Story - Frenetic energy - Honey bee foraging.  

I was basking in the warmth of the sun, enjoying the perfect weather during my lunch break.  The air was still and heavy with the perfume of flowering Melaleucas.  A quiet droning filled my senses as European honeybees took advantage of the bounty.

This worker caught my eye; frenetically visiting each blossom in turn, hovering for a moment before hungrily plunging head-first into each bloom.  I was learning the controls of a new camera at the time and was pleased to capture this moment.                   

The article can be seen HERE 

Caulerpa taxifolia is back in Lake Macquarie

I was wading the water's edge, fishing at Green Point on the northern end of Lake Macquarie last month when I noticed a patch of unusual, bright green seaweed amongst the Zostera seagrass.  I thought it looked suspiciously like the introduced, invasive sea weed, Caulerpa taxifolia.  So I notified NSW Fisheries via their reporting interface
( http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pests-diseases/aquatic-pest-sighting ) and a week later an Aquatic Biosecurity Officer rang me to discuss my sighting.

There are several native species of Caulerpa that are endemic to the area, so I wasn't too concerned initially.  The officer rang me back yesterday, and my heart sank.  It definitely is Caulerpa taxifolia and the patch is around 100 metres in circumference.

From the NSW Fisheries website;

" Caulerpa was first found in NSW in April 2000, and it has now been detected in 14 NSW estuaries and lakes and one small oceanic population. Caulerpa is a Class 1 noxious species in all NSW waters under the Fisheries Management Act 1994. It is illegal to possess or sell the alga; fines of up to $11,000 apply. The noxious listing also provides NSW DPI with the power to seize and destroy Caulerpa, or require its destruction.  The invasive nature of Caulerpa has raised concerns as it has the potential to grow rapidly, alter marine habitats and affect biodiversity.  Aquatic pests, including Caulerpa are usually extremely difficult to eliminate once they have become established in the wild. It is therefore important to prevent noxious species such as Caulerpa from entering new waterways."
(Source URL - http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pests-diseases/marine-pests/nsw/caulerpa-taxifolia )


Lake Macquarie has been declared free of Caulerpa since 2009.  The graphic below lists some of the previously known occurrences.  This clearly illustrates how important it is to monitor for an invasive pest species for years after apparent successful eradication.

Historical known distribution of Caulerpa taxifolia
(Source URL - http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/180641/Lake-Macquarie-2011.pdf) 

The good news is, the Authority responsible for managing the marine pest is now aware of the re-emergence of this species, and will monitor the Green Point population.  Yesterday Fisheries released an alert to the public.  Here is the link to the media release;
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/news/all/2015/lake-macquarie-users-urged-to-be-on-the-lookout

For more information about Caulerpa, visit the page on the pest at the NSW Fisheries website here; http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/pests-diseases/marine-pests/nsw/caulerpa-taxifolia

It's pink-and-grey - Galah day !

Pink-and-Grey - Galah Day !

When I was a kid, one day per year at school we had a "Pink-and-Grey" Gala day, where there were fetes and fund raising drives.  These days were affectionately known as "Galah-Day" by the teachers.  We all used to be expected to dress in a colour scheme of pink and grey.  There was absolutely no way known that any self-respecting school boy would wear pink to school - except for that most protected of species - the sons of a couple of the teachers who went to the same school where their parent worked.

It's funny how a simple thing can dredge up memories from decades ago.  In this case, the adab (with apologies to Frank Herbert) was stimulated by a visit from a Galah to one of our bird feeders.    

The Peanut Gallery . . .

I arrived home today to find we had visitors. A Sulphur crested cockatoo was getting stuck into our sunflowers, and about ten Little corellas were chowing down at our bird feeders.  When the realised I was watching them, they all took off in a cacophony of shrieking.  The cockatoo kept going but the corellas circled around and landed on the garage roof, screaming obscenities at me like the ingrates they are !

The peanut gallery indignantly passing judgement 

   

Revised species list for Casa da Ayre

We have had a few recent observations of additional species to our little slice of paradise, Casa da Ayre.  Namely, Tawny frogmouth owls, Indian mynas (sigh), House mice (bigger sigh) and as of this morning, Sulphur crested cockatoos (long drawn-out sigh).  There is a single Sulphur crested cockatoo feeding on our sunflower heads as I write this.

The Indian mynas were a matter of time.  They are well established in the area and I knew they'd drop in for a visit sooner or later.  Interestingly, there seems to be fewer Noisy miners about, so maybe the Indian mynas are here to take advantage of that.

We've had a bit of wet weather lately, and with the neighbours chooks and our feeding the birds sunflower seeds, we knew that rats and mice were inevitable.  They are ubiquitous across the landscape in urban and peri-urban areas, and anyone who claims otherwise should put a rat trap out overnight in their garden as an experiment.  They are like urban foxes - they turn up in the most unexpected places.  The wet weather has forced a couple of mice into our garage & shed, so I have started mitigating the problem.

The Sulphur crested cockatoo visit is problematic.  These are native birds, but can be very destructive to houses and trees if they start frequenting an area too much.  They are getting stuck into the seed heads of our sunflower patch at the moment, but will hopefully move on once the flowering is finished.    
Here is the updated bird-sighting list, new additions in italics.

Birds

Rainbow lorikeets 

Eastern rosellas

Scaley-breasted lorikeets 

King parrots

Crested pigeons (Nesting)

Noisy miners

Welcome swallows (Nesting) 

Spotted turtle doves (Nesting, introduced)

Masked lapwings

Black-backed magpies

Laughing kookaburras
Magpie-larks

Pied currawongs

Grey butcherbirds

Pied butcherbirds

Galahs

Little corellas

Dollarbirds

Silver gulls

Blue-faced honey eaters

Australasian Figbird

Eastern koel

Channel-billed cuckoo (seen flying overhead summer/autumn 2013/14, heard Spring 2014)
Tawny frogmouth owls (heard calling)
Indian mynas
Sulphur crested cockatoos.

That brings the number of species of birds observed to 26.  Adding observations from the other Orders, the all-species list is now 31 as at Tuesday 13th January 2015.  

Amphibians

Striped marsh frogs

Reptiles

Grass skink (Lampropholis delicata)

Mammals

Rattus rattus  (aka Yuckus yuckus!)
Neighbourhood cat (aka feral cat)
House mouse (Mus musculus)