Spotlighting Buttonquails and backyard bird visitors

Buttonquails are annoying birds in the wild. Or so I thought. During the day you can almost step on them, then they flush and fly only 10 or so metres away and then scurry off along the ground, well away from where you saw them land. I have had this experience on many occasions. The only way to tell what you just saw and I.D. them is if they call after landing. Last week I saw and heard Red-chested Buttonquail. After discussions with a friend, we decided to head out spotlighting over the weekend. There is a stark difference in their behaviour from day to night.

Although we didn't manage to see the Red-chested, we did stumble across a number of Little Buttonquail. They might fly when flushed, but not 10 metres, normally under 5 metres, and easy to follow with a torch. Then they just sat in that spot. A very different night time experience, allowing for (finally) some photos of Little Buttonquails in the wild.

Little Buttonquail

After the excitement of the spotlighting, I was in for a few more treats over the weekend. After many overhead noisy flights, one male Cockatiel decided to check out mybackyard. It was hard not to notice he was there, constantly calling. I love these birds, strikingly patterned on their faces.

Cockatiel

Next was a Black-faced Cuckooshrike. There have been a small family of these flying around the neighborhood and occasionally they sit in the large gum, normally up high, but this one came in for a closer look.

Black-faced Cuckooshrike

While the Cuckooshrike and Cockatiel were hanging around, I had a third visitor, although this one was up high in the gum. I watched as the Pied Butcherbird listened and then found the cicada. All the White-plumed Honeyeaters were sounding tempered alarm calls, but I was thinking, "if you get rid of a few cicadas from the tree mate, go right ahead". The cicadas have been very noisy. The butcherbird managed to get rid of this one.

Pied Butcherbird 

Cockatiels, Little Corella, Pied Butcherbird and an unusual threesome - bird photos

All of these photos or either around or near Alice Springs. The birding is starting to hot up as the weather cools down and the water starts to disappear except for the main waterholes and larger creek beds and reserves. The budgerigar flocks are getting larger south of town and there are lots of juvenile birds of all sorts around the area at the moment.

If you have ever wanted to visit the region, now would be a great time, get here before the bulk of the tourists arrive and enjoy the wonderful local gorges without too many others.

Hope you enjoy the photos:

Cockatiel

Little Corella

Pied Butcherbird

Nankeen Kestrel, Galah and Magpie-lark

A day that started and ended with a Hobby and a Butcherbird with some others in between

This morning I was up early, just before the sun broke above the surrounding hills. An Australian Hobby had caused the White-plumed Honeyeaters to send out the alarm call so I went outside to investigate. It had decided sitting on the power lines not far away was as good a place as any to greet the morning, much to the chagrin of the smaller birds around. Interestingly, one of the birds not so afraid was the Pied Butcherbird. It sat about 20 metres away and stayed there for quite some time, long enough for the sunlight to hit the hills in the background. Eventually the Hobby flew off, and the Butcherbird continued foraging and feeding on the insects in the grass below its perch for about an hour in total.

Australian Hobby

Pied Butcherbird

I spent the majority of the day in and around my mobile office and was amazed at the variety of birds that frequented this small patch. A Collared Sparrowhawk flew past at one point, Magpie Larks, Willie Wagtails, Yellow-throated Miners, Crested Pigeons and a lone Peaceful Dove that sat with the pigeons on the power lines. I was delighted to get another visit from the Red-browed Pardalote and managed a few more photos. I noticed the crown puffed up as it was making its noise.

Red-browed Pardalote

I played around in photoshop just for fun with the photo below, taking out the majority of the colour except for the bird. I actually like the adjusted one of the two.

After the work day had finished I needed to enjoy some quiet spaces and headed out to an old favourite spot. I had in my mind to take some photos of the dust settling over the road with some spectacularly coloured hills in the background. Although it didn't quite come out the way I had imagined, it was still close enough to add to this post.

Dust settles as the sunset lights up the hills

On the way to my "quiet space", I came across a pair of Major Mitchell Cockatoos by the side of the road. They didn't fly off as I was expecting and managed to get some nice close-ups.

Major Mitchell Cockatoo

Once I had arrived at my quiet place, there were only a few birds around, one of which was a Rufous Whistler chasing amoth. The original photo (the first of the two below) was "washed out" due to the sun position, but as with the Pardalote photo above, I had a bit of a play with colour and light and like the altered image better this time as well.

Rufous Whistler catching a moth

As I drove back, feeling refreshed from the hum of the day, I came across an unusual sight. The light was fading and I knew the photos wouldn't be very good, but I've added a photo showing my two original birds from the morning, although not the same two. Sitting perched on a bare tree were an Australian Hobby and a young Pied Butcherbird. The day had come full circle.

Australian Hobby and Pied Butcherbird

Early morning birding action at the Haasts Bluff Cattle Pens

Up early this morning and witnessed some wonderful bird action. I managed to get to the Cattle Pens about half an hour before the sun was due to rise. It was interesting listening to who starts making noise when. The Yellow-throated Miners and Sacred Kingfishers were the early risers, accompanied by some Pied Butcherbirds and Australian Magpies. Next was the Budgerigars, Cockatiels, Australian Ringnecks and Mulga Parrots. The Mulga Parrots seemed to awaken the Australian Hobby and the action commenced, still too dark to take photos. Then along cam the Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, their presence known by the calls at first and then they came in to view.They loped in over the creek bed, past the rising sun and settling on the Cattle Pens

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo with the rising sun

Sunrise through the shrub

As the sun quickly rose higher, the Budgerigars started moving around, some showing off their homes, others coming down for a drink.

Budgerigars

By this stage the flies had arrived, and the cicadas were starting to chirp. The Australian Hobby I had been watching for a couple of evenings commenced his daily terror run along the creekbed and a Whistling Kite was hurried away by the Yellow-throated Miners. A Brown Falcon called in the distance and then I noticed a Black-shouldered Kite high in a far off tree. I hoped it would come nearer and it dutifully obliged. It hovered over the grass across the creek from my position but still a little way off. then it dived and I thought it was going to catch some prey just beyond my vision, but it came up empty. It perched on the highest part of a tree almost directly opposite me, and proceeded to be questioned by the Yellow-throated Miners, not quite brave enough to take it on one at a time. A Pied Butcherbird also checked out the intruder, and seemed content to start with, before it decided the Black-shouldered Kite was no longer welcome. Below is a series of shots with the BSK and the butcherbird.

Black-shouldered Kite

Recent birding shots

I've been a bit all over the place recently, to Haasts Bluff back to Alice back to Papunya and back to Alice again. Here are some recent shots from the past week or so:

Rainbow Bee-eater (at Papunya)

Brown Honeyeater (Simpsons Gap)

Pied Butcherbird yawning (Haast's Bluff)

Splendid Fairy-wren (Simpsons Gap)

Wedge-tailed Eagle (soaring over Papunya)

Grey-headed Honeyeater (on the road to Haast's Bluff/Papunya)

Wet Rock Reflections in Claypan on the road to Haast's Bluff/Papunya

White-fronted Honeyeater (Larapinta Drive about 30 kms west of Alice Springs)

The grey moon

Peaceful Doves (Ilparpa Road near Alice Springs)