A Bird in the Hand...Part 1

There are lots of birds that are common in South Australia that are given no second glance by the locals. However, those birds are new to me, and a challenge to capture on camera. Here are some of my attempts from my recent trip. The first is the New Holland honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandadiae). This is said to be the most common of the honeyeaters in South Australia, a small mainly black bird with white patches and yellow tufts to the rear. I tried unsuccessfully to capture shots of these fellows feeding on a bottle brush tree in the evening, but they were so fast and agile that by the time I had raised the camera, they were gone. I have subsequently found out that they can take less than 1 second to alight on a stem, insert their beaks, suck or lick out the nectar from a flower, and fly to the next twig. The morning after my failed attempts, I stood in a car park opposite the hotel and, dodging cars and people, watched a flock come in for breakfast nectar on the same group of trees. I counted two seconds for the average "stay" on a twig, but with an occasional longer pause. Thus, I just kept bringing the camera to bear on a small portion of the tree, and "patiently" waited. The first image comes from a continuous burst where the bird waited about 5 seconds before flying off. The second shot of three birds squabbling over a group of flowers arose because the threesome kept coming back to the same spot, no doubt a particularly rich source of nectar. Again, a continuous shoot bursts was used. I consider these lucky captures, but, nevertheless, not too bad.

  


Coincidentally, at the same time as I was trying to snap the honeyeaters, a flock of what I think were Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus) appeared for a feeding frenzy. I find these fellows very difficult to capture as they usually are hidden in the upper branches of a tree while they feed. You can hear them moving and fluttering around, but they seem to want to eat out of view of others. At last I got a brief window where this one appeared. Even so, I think these shots are not so good, recent ones from vanndra and MaccaBeast putting these efforts to shame. 

  


Continuing with the parrot family, I managed to take a few shots of the Australian Ringneck (Barnartdius zonarius) during our trip around the Ayre Peninsula, Port Lincoln and the Gawler Ranges. Indeed, there was at one time a subspecies called the Port Lincoln Parrot, but it has interbreed itself out of existence. There seems to be some variation in these ringnecks, and I shall be happy to correct my identification should I be wrong.

    

As with most other parrots, the ringneck is a very gregarious bird, usually to be found in flocks. However, unlike say the Rainbow Lorikeet, these ringnecks are quite happy to perch in open areas and stare back at any passing travelers - they are not camera shy!  


To finish off Part 1 of this birdie survey, let me introduce to you the galah - if you live in South Australia you'll probably be saying "Oh No! Not the b***dy galah!", or words to that effect. This is a very common species of pinkish grey cockatoo also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo (Eolophus roseicapilla) that can be seen just about everywhere in pairs or small flocks. A very social bird, galahs are can live 20 - 40 years in the wild (70 - 80 in captivity) and form strong permanent bonds with their partners. Because of their ubiquity and their sometimes noisy and playful behaviour in urban settings, galahs have something of a mixed reputation, the word itself having become Australian slang for a fool, and the bright pink plumage being associated with gaudy dresses. However, from an outsiders perspective they are charming birds that in contrast to many others can be easily photographed. The first photograph is a bonded pair, high in a tree, probably enamoured of one another as both crests are raised. The bright pink breast feathers are clearly seen with the whitish crest and grey wings.




The next image shows a close-up of a galah with its crest erect. I was only about 3-4 meters away from this one (and its mate) and it seemed to raise the crest when it felt threatened, but having seen me and assessed me as not a problem, only a pommie after all, down went the crest and it resumed feeding.


  





I expect that if I lived in South Australia, I might get a bit fed up with these guys as they are everywhere, but as "a stranger in a strange land", I found them fascinating.

In Part 2, I'll be looking at some other species including the Red Wattlebird, a rosella, and the noisiest birds in the world - the Corellas - beware.

Cheers

David