Birds in your Backyard

[corvus]

I find it strange that I hear and see more birds in my backyard and immediate area than I see/hear when in the bush , what are your experiences.
c

[gorby]

whilst walking back from Lee's paddocks in a myrtle forest,we heard several types of bird chirping quite loudly and one of our group said there must be a snake closeby and sure enough a big black one was slithering along the track in front of us.

[MrCAMEL]

I find it strange that I hear and see more birds in my backyard and immediate area than I see/hear when in the bush , what are your experiences.
c

I'm not sure.
I've never been in your backyard or it's immediate area.
But looking outside at work today I saw a ripper of a Scarlet Robin that was being a legend before I could get anyone else to look at it. Not that anyone else there would be the slightest bit interested in birds, of that sort, but I called them over.

While walking in the bush, I find the only common bird that I know for sure is the Green Rosella. They are basically everywhere and they look and sound awesome.

I would really like to see Princess Parrots in the wild.
They are the best birds ever

[woka]

I find it strange that I hear and see more birds in my backyard and immediate area than I see/hear when in the bush , what are your experiences.
c

Maybe you should join this site: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/

[Son of a Beach]

I do notice a wider variety of birds in my garden than what I notice in the bush: rosellas, sulphur crested cockatoos, yellow tailed black cockatoos, gallahs, wattle birds, crows, blue herons, white cranes, ducks (native), blue wrens, silver eyes, cranky fans, plovers, some kind of plover-chick-and-starling-eating brown hawk, native hens ('road-runners'), kookaburras, magpies, and a whole lot of others that I've no idea what they are, (and of course blackbirds, starlings and sparrows). I've not seen any black swans, sea eagles or sea gulls cross the road and land on my side yet.

... but I'm disappointed that I don't get any currawongs in my garden - and I could do with out the white cockatoos... they're truly obnoxious.

Bushwalking, I see: Currawongs, wattle birds, blue wrens, crows, black swans, yellow tailed black cockatoos, rosellas, wedge tailed eagles (only twice )

[olblackbilly]

G'day all, I have a bird bath outside my kitchen window which I fill up each day, also have lots of acacias and banksias etc wich attract all the different varieties of honeyeaters etc....just a small sample of birds i see everyday..... yellow throated honeyeaters,black faced honeyeaters,new holland of course,blue wrens,scarlet and dusky robins,firetail finches,bronze wing pidgeon,wattle birds,fantails,scrub wrens,blue winged rosellas,welcome swallows....i could go on forever...the wedge tailed eagles built a nest just over the road from me, but i dont think they used it, i think they build 2 or 3 nests at one time but i am not exactly sure about that.....my favourite animal is a little pygmy possum eating the nectar out of the banksia flowers....there are heaps of birds in the bush but the most important thing if you want to see them is to keep quiet sit still and be patient.....regards...olblackbilly

[johnw]

I find it strange that I hear and see more birds in my backyard and immediate area than I see/hear when in the bush , what are your experiences.
c

I agree. At home (outskirts of Sydney) we get mainly native noisy miners (very aggressive to other birds), wattle birds, pied currawongs, magpie larks, rainbow lorikeets, sulphur crested cockatoos (can be a nuisance), occasionally crimson rosellas, blue wrens, masked lapwings, corellas, grass parrots. We had a family of native ducks wander through the back garden on one occasion; don't know why as we're landlocked by other properties and the nearest water is at least 1km away (aside from the swimming pool, but they weren't using that).

As for introduced species pigeons, sparrows, starlings; and gazillions of those dreadful feral pest Indian mynahs (our local council recently asked for volunteers for a pilot trapping program to examine ways to exterminate them - they were overrun with applicants - unfortunately I missed out).

In the bush up here (depending on the location) over the years we've seen pied currawongs, crows (more correctly Australian ravens I think), yellow-tailed black cockatoos, superb lyrebirds, crimson rosellas, New Holland honeyeaters, scrub wrens, kookaburras, white-breasted sea eagles, various other sea birds and wetland species (I'll have to look at my photos to list them), peregrine falcons, many different honeyeater and small robin species, goshawks, Gang-Gang cockatoos, blue wrens, owl (once, couldn't identify the species), wedge-tailed eagle (rarely), nankeen kestrel (once, maybe twice in the Snowy Mtns). There are others but I'm struggling to recall them all.

We mainly hear the birds in the bush or see them flying about; they aren't always easy to observe. And when your'e walking they're easily disturbed. I think it's good advice to keep still if you want to see more of them. I believe that there are now more birds in urban environments than previously. Some reasons for this may be, I think; more planting of native species (esp. since the 1970s) and other bird attracting plants, destruction of the natural environment either man-made (development) or through bushfire, forcing birds to look for alternate feeding grounds.

I don't see as many birds when in Tassie, but that's likely due to not being there often enough. Mostly I seem to notice black currawongs, although I have certainly seen other species. And I've photographed wetland and shorebirds several times.

[olblackbilly]

one bird i forgot to mention was the grey goshawk wich in tasmania is pure white with red eyes,an endanged species,some bloke down the road shot one about 15 years ago for killing his chickens,apparently they mate for life and are completly monogomous......olblackbilly

[Taurë-rana]

... but I'm disappointed that I don't get any currawongs in my garden

Keep hoping Nik, I heard then saw a pair of currawongs (at least that's what they looked like) just down the road from my house the other day. I thought they must have come for a seaside holiday.

[Taurë-rana]

I just checked some photos, and they were definitely currawongs. I was just confused by the fact that they were in Devonport. I've never seen them here before.
Apparently they were widely eaten by the early settlers, and said to be quite tasty!

[Son of a Beach]

I just checked some photos, and they were definitely currawongs. I was just confused by the fact that they were in Devonport. I've never seen them here before.
Apparently they were widely eaten by the early settlers, and said to be quite tasty!

hmmm.... maybe I should move this post to the 'Quality Dinner Ideas' topic in the Bush Tucker forum.

[corvus]

Sign of the times ? I have heard Currawongs near the Mushroom Factory at Spreyton,will head up to the Don Reseve this weekend to look for them.
c

[flyfisher]

Corvus, your favourite bird wouldn't be a magpie would it after certain midweek events?

FF

[corvus]

Yes only after the footy when we win

[the_camera_poser]

We have tons of Currawongs here- cool birds.

[corvus]

Regretably did not see or hear any Currawongs in the Don Reserve did see Yellow tailed Black Cockatoos ,Thornbills,Fantails,Fairy Wrens,Blue Crane,Masked Lapwings and heard Ravens,Kookaburras,Grey Butcherbirds and others that I havent yet learned to identify.
Great spot for birdwatching so close to home.
c

[flyfisher]

Apart from the usual blackbirds and starlings we have little grey wattlebirds,3 pidgeons ,a magpie family which call in from time to time and the odd grey butcher bird.
Sometimes a mob of white cockatoos come to visit the neighbours caged one.
FF

[rabbit]

At the moment there are 6 black cockatoos savaging the banksia tree in my backyard.
We also have Honey eaters, wattle birds and lot of others too.

Ryan

[Chris]

At the moment there are 6 black cockatoos savaging the banksia tree in my backyard.

I'm green with envy, they're absolutely my favourite bird! Their call is wonderful.
I've been trying to get a decent photo of them for years. We've had quite a few near home over the last few months, attracted by many very old conifers, but never satisfactorily close except on really dull days. I did spend quite some time watching them feed on very large pine cones, which was a great experience.
Our banksias mostly seem to attract Little Wattlebirds too, though I did see a pair of Common Bronzewings there today (don't remember ever seeing them before, so don't know about the common!)

[frank_in_oz]

Just spent 2 nights at Melaleuca and were honoured to see many Orange Bellied parrots from the Deny King Bird Hide.

This group are mainly juveniles. That place is a mecca for bird watches and twitterers from all over the world. They are a unique group.....



My wife saw 12 together one morning about 8% of the total population.

[mikethepike]

The Central Plateau always seems to have only the scarcest population of birds and bird species and is seems almost eerily devoid of bird calls in the early morning. Do others agree? Also,can anyone direct me to a species list for the Plateau? Thanks.

[tas-man]

The Central Plateau always seems to have only the scarcest population of birds and bird species and is seems almost eerily devoid of bird calls in the early morning. Do others agree? Also,can anyone direct me to a species list for the Plateau? Thanks.

Parks have a "complete" bird list for Tasmania here http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=3049 with links to more details on endemic and endangered species. Back in our garden, our 2 acres is on the "Land for Wildlife" register and we have made minimal disturbance to the native vegetation to encourage native birds and animals to remain. I have kept a dead eucalypt outside our kitchen window which is a regular resting place for the local birds, making it easy to keep an eye on who is around. Here is a recent photo of a Peregrine falcon (Falco perigrinus) taken from our house.

[mikethepike]

Thanks muchly for that list tas-man, it also gives a clear list of the Tas endemics. I'd still like to hear from birdie/bushies' experiences on the Central Plateau though. Last spring I camped/bushwalked in sth-west WA and kept a bird list (quite an impressive one for me but the experts would have added many more) and I blame this for being the only person in the family to get ticks! Next Tassie trip I thought I'd take the binos but I fear that in the same way, this will leave me more susceptible to leech attachemnt. Uggh!

[Talus]

A couple of years ago, a grey goshawk landed on my clothes line. I live a few blocks away from the Hobart CDB!

[Nick S]

This blog has a good list of tasmanian birds with photos as well.
http://tassiebirds.blogspot.com/2005/06 ... -list.html

[corvus]

Many thanks Doc
c

[rabbit]

I don't know if this is really the backyard. But a Big Sea Eagle flew overhead yesterday and it looked amazing.

Ryan

[corvus]

I don't know if this is really the backyard. But a Big Sea Eagle flew overhead yesterday and it looked amazing.

Ryan

Close enough Ryan as I have only seen them between Penguin and Burnie on the coast ,have also seen a pair Wegies at the cliff face behind the old Tioxide site and a single one over Kelcy Tier.
c

[rabbit]

One of the wedgetails I saw was on the summit of Mount Duncan and it was flying only 20 metres away from us. I think it was trying to work out what we were doing up there! Big eagles are a truly amazing site to watch though, especially when flying close by.

Ryan

[corvus]

We had a Wegie fly down the Anthony Link Road straight at us last year and on the previous year one take off under our feet on Mt Oakliegh from no more than a couple of metres only to soar up to meet its mate
c