Quick trip to Gloucester

I visited Gloucester this last weekend, to participate in the "Groundswell Gloucester" Conference.
I have uploaded a series of images of the main speakers (not all, however, as the conference included a series of workshops, so inevitably no-one sees or hears everything).

I have also uploaded here a few images of some of the birds I saw in the grounds of the township of Gloucester.

As usual, you can click to enlarge the images to see the details better.

Sacred Kingfisher
which was nesting in this tree.

Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike flying over me.

Satin Bowerbird waiting near his Bower

Satin Bowerbird's bower is a display ground - not a nest.
Blue "toys" scattered on the far side of the Bower.
Mostly blue plastic - straws and bottle tops
Some Crimson Rosella tail feathers (blue ones).

Next door to my motel there was a clump of
"Wild Tobacco" plants where the local
Cattle Egrets assembled each night to roost.
Safety in numbers, presumably.

Several Helicopters were being used by the RFS
as there was a large fire burning to the north from Gloucester

Male Australian King-Parrot
This bird flew into the Motel grounds while I was watching.

Male Pied Butcherbird

Two adult Pied Butherbirds and a chick

It was the presence of the chick which
presumably triggered this and other similar
divebombing displays.

One the second morning, the air was clear of smoke
and this was the view from our Motel.

A massive rock face is a feature of the Buckets Range.

Full view of the Buckets Range.
Wild Country by any measure.

Talking of wild country
It seems this geography has inspired the locals
to "go feral" - at least in their slogans.
lets hope it is merely a "bluff"

Less Common birds at the Feeder Table

I have shown you so many Bowerbirds at the Feeder Table recently that I hesitate to show any more. However, I will, for good reason, I hope.

This image shows how the Satin Bowerbirds take over my feeder tables.
Most afternoons, about 4:30pm, I get up to 10 Bowerbirds coming or going.
There are 6 birds in this frame - all "green birds".
I mostly feed them small apples and occasional pears.
A small price to pay for so much excitement.

But, before I go on, I promised a fellow Nature Blogger "Catmint" that I would show her an immature Crimson Rosella, to clarify some confusion which had arisen. Here are two.
Juvenile Crimson Rosellas start more-or-less green, with blue flashes on their wings, blue in the tail (always) and blue cheek patches (always).
Check out the notes about coloured plumage development in Birds in Backyards (Australian Museum and Birds Australia site).The tricky thing is that there are regional differences in these colour transformations. I get some fully red/blue Crimsons here, but the ratio is probably only 1:5. I know I regularly see a pair of fully coloured birds, but I regularly get a dozen multi-coloured birds in the garden feeding on the grass seeds. These birds (in these images) are typical of most Crimson Rosellas seen in Robertson. They are very common in my garden (yard) but this is the first time I have seen any at my Feeder.

As the Crimson Rosellas mature, they develop the full crimson (dark red) colour for which they are named.
Here is a lovely fully mature, fully red/blue Crimson Rosella, taken in Canberra several years ago.

Back to the Table, this Crimson was holding its own with the Bowerbirds, which is pretty good going, as they tend to mob other birds.

One bird which the Bowerbirds never "mob" is this Pied Currawong.
Note the huge beak (quite dirty, as it has obviously been digging for grubs).

Another unusual visitor to my feeder table is the Grey Butcherbird.
This is the second time I have seen one (both juveniles) experimenting with a fruit diet.

Contrast the sizes of this bird and the Currawong, which is sitting in roughly the same place (reversed directions).
The adult Butcherbirds are much cleaner, especially the males.
This one might be a young male, just developing his full markings.
His head is quite clearly marked, but the belly is still scalloped.

Back to Bowerbirds.
*****

Here is a stunning male.
Note the ivory-coloured beak
and the shiny blue-black plumage.
The "Blue Birds" are pretty nervous.
There is an optical illusion with the male birds.
They are so black that they almost appear to disappear.
If it were not for the pale beak, feet and those weird eyes,
you could almost not see the male.
Note the young bird flying in over the top.

Here is a female bird, showing strong markings on the wings, where a recent "moult" has seen new feathers grow in the wings.
The beak is fully dark, and the eye is purple. On the right is an immature male, just developing the ivory coloured beak.
The green colour around the neck is stronger green than the more bronze colour of the female.
Tree Dahlia flowers and fluffy Sassafras Seeds tomorrow.

More on Bowerbirds, plus a stray Butcherbird

Following up on the male Bowerbird's recent visit, I saw him briefly the next day, with other members of his clan.

It was late in the afternoon, and the light was not good. However, it does give an opportunity to compare plumage of the female and the immature male bird (nearly mature).

The literature has it that female Bowerbirds keep their dark beaks
whereas the immature males (nearing maturity) gain the
ivory-coloured beak of the male.
This bird is just showing that colour.
However, it also has a deeper green colour (than the female)
on the throat and back of the neck.
Its eye colour is very intense, too.

Here is a family group (one assumes), on the feed table.

I say "one assumes", for a second or two after that shot was taken, the male threw a Tantrum. Nothing else could describe it.
He aimed a kick at the young male (on the right).
But the youngster held its ground.
The female (in the middle) ducked out of the way,
but did not fly away. She stayed put.
The adult male, not having got his way, flew off in a huff.
The female and the young male resumed eating from the fruit on the table.

It was all over in a split-second.
That's why the male is blurred, and the others are clear.

*****

On a more peaceful note, I was surprised to see a young Grey Butcherbird trying a vegetarian diet on the feed table the other morning.

As Butcherbirds are not used to coming to the table, I grabbed a quick shot through the Kitchen window. So it is not very clear, unfortunately. But clear enough to be diagnostic.

It probably will not come back to the table.

With the huge numbers of moths which are around Robertson at present, no doubt this bird and ts colleagues have plenty of high protein food to eat.