Cattle Egret, Central Zoo, Kathmandu
Cattle Egret, Central Zoo, Kathmandu
One of the beautiful birds I saw on display during my visit to the Central Zoo in Kathmandu was this Cattle Egret. This species was quite familiar to me as it occurs locally here in South Australia. I’ve also seen this species on display in various zoological collections here in Australia.
This species has an interesting history here in Australia. It began colonizing parts of Australia during the 1940s, probably coming from Indonesia. Since then it has spread throughout northern Australia, down through eastern Australia as far as Tasmania and southern Western and South Australia.
It has a wide range of preferred habitats, including pastures, croplands, paddocks, swamps, wetlands, estuaries and tidal mudflats. The individual shown in the photo is showing a little orange plumage on the forehead. In full breeding plumage this species can be spectacular with the whole of the head, throat and front a bright orange colour.
The species is native to Africa and Asia but it has spread to both north and south America as well as to Australia.
The photo below was taken of a bird in a walk through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo in South Australia. It shows the orange breeding plumage.
Cattle Egret, Adelaide Zoo
Top 5 Bird Photos
When I go travelling one of the first things I pack is my binoculars. Added to this is my bird identification field guide. The third essential item is my digital camera. Armed with these items I’m ready for anything. Over recent years I have managed to take some great photos while travelling. Today I want to share with my readers my Top 5 bird photos.
1. Red Capped Robin:
I didn’t have to travel far to get this photo. About a half hour south of home is the Pangarinda Arboretum which features hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of Australian native plants. It is a haven for a wide range of native birds. This male Red Capped Robin came quite close and literally posed for me.
Red Capped Robin
2. Laughing Kookaburra:
I had to travel for two hours by plane and an hour by car to get this photo. I was on holiday staying with my son and daughter-in-law in Sydney. We went to the Taronga Park Zoo one day and this Kookaburra just sat there posing for me. Yes, I know we occasionally have Kookaburras in our garden at home, but none of them have posed like this one did.
Laughing Kookaburra
3. Noisy Miner:
Noisy Miners are common in many parts of Australia. Because of this they are not hard to photograph. This photo, however, I find very pleasing. It was taken in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. I was able to get to within several metres of this feeding bird who was quite unconcerned by my presence.
Noisy Miner
4. Red Browed Finch:
Finches in Australia come in a wonderful range of colours. The Red Browed Finch is a somewhat subdued member of the family. Despite that it is always a delight to see this dainty bird. This photo was taken inside a walk through aviary at the Cleland Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. There were even more Red Browed Finches on the outside of the aviary.
Red Browed Finch
5. Musk Lorikeet:
We regularly go to visit our daughter in the Clare Valley in the mid-north of South Australia. On one occasion this Musk Lorikeet was feeding on eucalypt tree flowers in her garden. I was delighted to get this photo because this is a hard species to get clear photos of; they often feed deep in the foliage right at the top of very tall trees. Since taking this shot I’ve managed several more great shots of Musk Lorikeets.
Musk Lorikeet
If you have enjoyed these photos of birds you can see more than 500 more shots on my Photo Gallery.
If you want to learn more about Australian birds go to my blog called Trevor’s Birding.
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Waterbirds near Goolwa in South Australia
Australian Pelican
On our recent visit to Goolwa in South Australia we went for a drive along the River Murray to the barrage near the mouth of the river. This barrage keeps the salt water from entering the river system at high tide.
This area is usually quite a good place for birding, though on this occasion there seemed to be just the usual birds one would expect. Nothing really exciting or out of the ordinary. Still, good birding days are usually like this. They make the really special days extraordinary.
Little Pied Cormorant
Along this stretch of the river we saw plenty of Australian Pelicans, White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, Great Egrets, White-faced Herons, Pacific Black Ducks, Grey Teal, Little Pied Cormorants, Magpie Larks and Silver Gulls. Several Purple Swamphens stalked through the reeds while on the grassy areas a number of Masked Lapwings guarded their positions. Black Swans gracefully glided through the shallows and Singing Honeyeaters were the dominant species in the thick bushy areas along the sand dunes.
Picnic at Newland Head Conservation Park
Settler's Cottage in Newland Head CP
After our visit to Waitpinga Beach (see my previous two articles) we drove the short distance to the camping and picnic ground in the nearby Newland Head Conservation Park. This park is only a short distance from Victor Harbor and little over an hour’s drive south of Adelaide in South Australia. The camping ground is not big and can only cater for several groups of campers at once. The picnic grounds consist of several picnic tables.
Silvereye
A feature of the camping ground is the partially restored old settler’s cottage. This has a large verandah with some picnic tables and a BBQ for use by visitors. It was here that we had our morning tea of a cuppa and some biscuits. While we were doing that we were entertained by the local birds. Several Silvereyes were feeding in the bushes nearby and I managed to take the photo above. A family of Superb Blue Wrens came hopping around our feet seeing if we would drop a few biscuit crumbs for them. Several Red Browed Finches joined in the fun.
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
Superb Blue Wren (male)
Birding at Victor Harbor
Yesterday I wrote about our recent trip to Victor Harbor in South Australia I also wrote about the beautiful birds I saw feeding in the Bottlebrush (Callistemon spp) bushes and trees in the street where we parked.
In amongst all the Musk Lorikeet parrots on a feeding frenzy were a few Little Wattlebirds. There are several species of Wattlebirds native to Australia. The most common species around home here in Murray Bridge are the Red Wattlebirds. I have quite a few photos of this species but the Little Wattlebird has so far eluded me – until now. They were so intent on feeding that they took little notice of me and the camera only two or three metres away.
Click on the photo to enlarge.
Little Wattlebird