A Couple of Days Late

I have not updated the blog for a couple of days because we went to the Vivid Sydney show, and I have been busy reorganising my garden shed. So this blog entry is a collection of observations over a couple of days.

The Galahs have been a bit frisky lately and showing off. I feel a bit sorry for the owners of TV aerials because they have become swings and exercise bars for the Galahs. As a side observation, I think the old Sydney aerials are a lot stronger than the modern digital ones. I see very few of the old aerials that are broken but the modern ones seem to be missing bits and pieces.

The Cattle Egrets are quite plentiful now.  I struggle to get close enough for good shots of them because they are a flocking bird and warn one another of my presence. Typically they fly to the furthest end of the paddock when I come on the scene. There are always one or two perched on the backs of cows, who seem quite oblivious of their presence.

I came across a flock of about half a dozen Cattle Egrets feeding on the triangle of lawn near the gatebox. As always they were skittish and moved away from me. I sneaked up behind some casurinas and managed to get some photos of them but they were still too far away for my liking. Cattle Egrets, being white are difficult to photograph in full sun because the white "blows out" leaving little feather detail. I under expose by about 1 stop to retain detail.

To make it even more difficult, a lone White-faced Heron thought that the patch was its territory and it was chasing the egrets vigourously all over the place. The heron was in breeding colours so he may have been frustrated that there was no partner around. I had not seen such aggressive behaviour from a White-faced Heron before.

The Noisy miners were in full force near the Swing bridge. They were having a "gang conference" outside this hollow branch, making me wonder if they were trying to assert their authority over some other species of bird seeking a nesting site. There has been considerable interest in  the holes and hollows in this tree for some time with Galahs, Corellas, and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, all showing an interest. I doubt whether any of those would feel intimidated by the Noisy miners.

There are always a couple of Dusky Moorhens on the storm water pond at the end of Hayward Pl. They are quite hard to photograph though, being dark birds against a dark background. Fortunately, on this day they were reasonably close and in full sun. They had a batch of chicks hear last season so it will be interesting to see if they breed here again this year.

I noticed a Rainbow Lorikeet fly into a hole in a Gumtree near the factory. It did not come out and later it was joined by another one. It looks as though it is being used as a nesting site. I thought that they did not nest until spring but it appears that they are starting early. I find it difficult to get photos of birds that nest in hollow trees. They seldom stay near the nest and fly in and out very quickly. This one sat peering out for some time. It is on my regular walk so I will keep an eye on it.