Wild Bird Wednesday 409 - Rainbow Lorikeet

Some more pictures from the same weekend as last week.  I wonder what stories we will tell about this time in years to come.

It's not really all that easy is it?

These are Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus).  They must be one of the more colourful birds in the world.

Bright colours and remarkable things are what we need right now I think.

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Wild Bird Wednesday 408 - Musk Lorikeets

Musk Lorikeets (Glossopsitta concinna) are wonderful little parrots that seem to spend a great deal of their time in the higher branches of trees.  This (in my experience) makes them hard to photograph - but this weekend just go, I managed to get some pictures.

This was the first weekend in a (what seems a very, very) long time that I could go out and go birding without risk of arrest.  The state of Victoria and Australia in general seems to have done a good job on containing the C19 nightmare, and we are seeing some relaxation of travel / activity restrictions.

Even so,  I only went to a local park to enjoy the sunshine and eat some sandwiches.  Of course my camera came too, and I found a small group of Musk Lorikeets feeding in the gum trees near the edge of the carpark.

These are fast moving, active little birds - but I was pleased with these upside down images. (They really do look better enlarged).

Let's hope this is the start of a return to a more active life.  But, when in doubt, stay home and stay safe. 

As ever you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share WBW with other bloggers.  SM

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Wild Bird Wednesday 407 - Orange-footed Scrubfowl

They say that some birds - parrots for example - are highly intelligent.  I suspect that this will never be said about the Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt).  Oh well.

If you have a close look at the last picture, I think its pretty clear these really are dinosaurs - probably velociraptors!

These pictures were taken in parks in Darwin.  Crazy looking bird.

As ever you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share WBW with other bloggers.

Stay safe, and stay home.  SM

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Wild Bird Wednesday 406 - Torresian Imperial Pigeon

The tides of taxonomy have once more been flowing over this species.  As far as I can tell these birds are now called Torresian Imperial Pigeons (Ducula spilorrhoa), although many (slightly) older sources seen to call them Pied Imperial Pigeons (D. bicolor).

I certainly called them Pied Imperial Pigeons when I saw these birds feeding in the date palms that stud the parks of Darwin.

Whatever their name, they are a good looking bird.  They are not a rare bird, and in some places their population is growing rapidly.  This growth may be in part due to the fact that in some places they were hunted heavily in the past, and their numbers are recovering rather than 'expanding'.

One source I read suggest these were the first Australian birds to be recorded by European. They were mentioned in the offical account of a voyage by Spanish ships in 1606.

As ever you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share WBW with other bloggers.

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Cats

I think I would be in real trouble without these rascals.  The brown one with stripes is Freda, and the multi-coloured one with the floof is Hector.

I love them both.

Here is some video of Hector doing uncat-like things!

I have never know a cat to play fetch before!  One of a kind is old Hecken Puss!

These pictures look a lot better bigger - so click on the image for a better view!

You can find more shots from around the world at Our World Tuesday.  Cheers  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 405 - Comb-crested Jacana

A brief post this week - the whole lock down and working from home thing has left me frazzled.  I suspect that I am not alone in this regard.

These are pictures of Comb-crested Jacanas (Irediparra gallinacea) and a range of other names based on their ability to 'walk on water' - walk on floating vegetation if the truth be told.

This adult bird, and the young one, were on Yellow Waters in Kakadu National Park.  The tour boat slowly drifted sideways into a path of 'lilies' and the birds were so close they were almost under the gunnels of the boat.  It made for an odd photographic experience,  and some slight odd angles.  The 'blobs' in some of the pictures are leaves that we being blown upright by an evening breeze.

If you enlarge the pictures you can see the blood vessels in the comb of the adult bird.  You can also see that these birds have very big feet even from a young age!

As ever you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below - and also as ever, please feel free to share WBW with other bloggers.

Stay safe, and stay home.  I'll try to get around to blog visits in the next day or so! SM

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