Lorikeets of Adelaide - Musk and Rainbow

I had a short 4 hour lay-over in Adelaide on the way home and went for a bit of a walk. Fortunately the rain I had experienced virtually constantly since leaving home a week earlier had dissipated. I had been looking for the Musk Lorikeets in Melbourne but they were in different locations to me there, so I was happy to hear their slightly subdued calls (compared to the Rainbow Lorikeets) as I commenced my walk.
The Rainbow Lorikeets were their normal gregarious selves, and they were my first decent photo models, and it wasn't until I was almost back to the airport that the Muskies finally showed themselves enough for decent photos.
Lorikeets of any type are colourful and I love to see them in general, although it is sad they are now well established in Alice Springs despite not (I think) being native to the area, hence they will start to affect the local populations of parrot species. However, I did enjoy the below photos.

Musk Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet

Beautiful Parrots, Lorikeets and Rosellas of southern Australia

Even the non bird-watchers would have to agree Australia has some of the most stunningly coloured parrots. They are not always easy to see and photograph, but they are very rarely quiet. Chattering while feeding or flying, and generally displaying amazing bursts of colour yet still able to hide in the foliage when they want.

I have recently spent a fair amount of time in Victoria and South Australia, trying in vain to get decent shots of some species, while being spoilt for choice with others.

I must admit I love watching and photographing parrots. I have Australian Ringnecks that visit my backyard and despite seeing them daily when at home, still get a thrill with their vibrant colours.

One of the most spectacular would have to be the Eastern Rosella, recently voted the prettiest bird in Australia. Even though I saw quite a lot of these, I didn't get any photos that really displayed their vibrance. The Mulga Parrot would have to come close as the "prettiest" and fortunately for me, I was able to get lots of beautiful photos.

I hope we look after the habitat for all of the species in our country as it is an awful thought to live in a world without these wonderful creatures.

Below are some of the photos from the past few weeks:

Mulga Parrot

Red-rumped Parrot

 

Musk Lorikeet

Purple-crowned Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet

Crimson Rosella

Yellow form Crimson Rosella

Eastern Rosella

Bluebonnets

Pacific Baza, Northern Rosella, Red-collared Rainbow Lorikeets and other photos of birds around Batchelor

After the heolter skelter the boys and I have been doing over the past week, today was one of those days where we just relaxed around the campground at Batchelor. Swims in the pool, mini-golf, washing and walking around bird watching was the order of the day.

The main excitement came in the late afternoon when a Pacific Baza decided the clump of trees around our campervan was a good place to hunt. We were treated to some tremendous views near the van, then the boys went chasing it around the campground for the next half an hour.

The first inkling was a large bird moved from one tree to another out of the corner of my eye. I knew it was large, so not most of the species we had been seeing. I ran around to the other side of the trees, hoping for a Collared Sparrowhawk or similar. When I saw the little crest on the head I called to the boys to grab their cameras and said there was a Picfic Baza. No, this isn't a typo, my son Banjo called the Pacific Baza a Picfic Baza in 2010 when we were travelling around WA. The boys didn't need much bidding. We were quite surprised how large it was, how large the wingspan, how small its moves from tree to tree or even within a tree were the majority of the time. It allowed great views.

Pacific Baza

While the boys chased the Pacific Baza, some Northern Rosellas flew into the top of a nearby tree

Northern Rosellas

The day started early as my youngest son spent two hours waiting for and eventually getting some wonderful, almost professional quality video of some Red-collared Rainbow Lorikeets. Check out his blog to see some of the video on his blog (see the blog post here.) I took a few snaps as well.

Olive-backed Oriole

Victorian birds - Lorikeets, scrubwrens, water birds

We've landed in Victoria and it takes a little while to get used to the new sounds and sights. Here is a small selection of the locals in the eastern suburbs:

Rainbow Lorikeets:

 Brown Thornbill

Eurasian Coot

Musk Lorikeet

Pacific Black Duck

Red Wattlebird

White-browed Scrubwren

Enjoy your Bird-watching!

Silver-crowned Friarbird, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Rainbow Lorikeet and others from Victoria River area

Some more photos from the weekend at the Victoria River area in the Northern Territory. Older posts are listed below:

Silver-crowned Friarbird

Blue-faced Honeyeater

 Rainbow Lorikeet

Red-winged Parrot

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Great Bowerbird

Recent posts:

http://rwsboa2011.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/purple-crowned-fairy-wren.html

http://rwsboa2011.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/varied-lorikeets-cockatiels-and.html

http://rwsboa2011.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/owlet-nightjar-southern-boobook-and.html

http://rwsboa2011.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/striated-pardalote-friendly-and-cute.html

Happy Birding!

Rainbow Lorikeets (Melbourne)

My in-laws have a bird feeder just outside their balcony. Little Corellas were sitting there when I went to grab the camera, but they had gone and the Rainbow Lorikeets had arrived, and then one flew down to attack the apricot tree:

(click to enlarge photos)