Tuesday 13 October 2020

Wild Bird Wednesday 429 - Australasian Swamphen

I have featured Australasian Swamphens (Porphyrio melanotus) on WBW a number of times.  Given that these birds live in (on?) the closest patch of wetland to my house, there is a reasonable possibility that this very bird has been on WBW a number of times.

A few days ago I took advantage of the (slight) change in the lock down rules to visit the wetland with a camera.  Prior to these changes I had not been allowed to carry a camera when I went for my daily walks.  

This bird was pulling single 'reed' stalks from clumps and then eating, what seems to be, the fleshy base.

I was tempted to call this WBW "Beaks and Feets" - but common sense got the better of me!










Stay well and don't forget to link up to WBW.  SM


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

16 comments:

  1. Those Swamphens have such big feet similar to some of the birds I remember in South Africa like Moorhen and Jacana. I always used to think of Little Red Riding Hood and 'Grandma what big feet you have' 😉
    Hope all is well with you, stay safe, Diane

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love how they hold grass or plants in their feet! You got some great photos!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hari OM
    this is a wonderful series of shots on a single task, showing great dexterity in the hen. Love it! YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. An interesting bird with beautiful colours.

    You lockdown was much stricter than ours. I could bring a camera and we were encouraged to walk/hike.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amazing feet on such a remarkable bird. Our local wild bird sanctuary featured the feet of a bird with a little guessing contest as to which bird it was. The feet were black and huge...the guesses were all over the place and it was a surprise to realize it was a swan. Such a beauty but oh my, the feet.
    The bird had suffered pellet shots which was awful but happily was able to fully recover with the care it received at the center. It was also a confident bird that trotted all over the place with much ease.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beaks adn Feet works for me Stewart. Glad you can get out with your camera again now. I cannot see what harm a camera could do with lockdown on! Thanks for hostin, stay safe adn have a lovely week ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We have the very similar Gray-headed Swamphens here in south Florida. They invaded after escaping from an aviculturist and were regarded as a threat to the Everglades ecology because they eat native plants and displace indigenous birds.. Their prehensile feet are so interesting as they pull up the Spike Rush to eat its roots and shoots and also feed their young. There was an extermination campaign which resulted in over 3000 being shot but they quickly rebounded. The Spike Rush is doing better than ever!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fantastic find! Glad you could take the camera again.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love those feet! And that red eye. A beautiful bird!

    ReplyDelete
  10. What an interesting bird. That red beak and feet show up so well.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's a bright beak! Thanks for hosting.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lovely pictures of a lovely bird!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love "Beaks and feet"..Perfect..Would make a fun blog name..

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello Stewart
    Interesting to see how the bird knows how to help itself with its claws, I like great observation very much
    Greetings Frank

    ReplyDelete
  15. Olá Stewart!
    O que mais me despertou foi os tons de azul!
    Que lindo passarão!
    Um abracinho viajante!😍🌸🌼
    Megy Maia🌈

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Stewart, beautiful photos of this bird. It's like a moorhen in our counry. Greetings Caroline

    ReplyDelete