Friday 20 October 2017

A Garden Visitor 11

The beautifully-coloured Pale-headed Rosella is a bird we don't often see in our garden here. The occasional sighting would have us all rushing to the nearest window or doorway in hopes of observing the occasional one who dropped by. This year though, beginning during the very dry months of Winter, we have seen more of these pretty parrots (and many other birds) than ever before. They have been coming in to feast on the grevillea flowers, particularly the tall, red-flowering variety just outside our bedroom doors.

I have been trying for days to capture a decent photo but they are very flighty, taking off at the slightest sound or inkling of another presence. These are the clearest  photos of them in our grevillea that I managed to snap:

 Pretty black flecks, beautiful blue and a pale head.
 
Brighter colours on a more sunshiny day.

 Can you see the little patch of red feathers just under its tail?

Next week, from the 23rd to the 29th October, our family will be joining in with the Aussie Backyard Bird Count.   We'll be tallying up the number of different birds we see in our garden and sending in the totals to Birdlife Australia, the bird conservation organisation behind the count. Our numbers, put together with numbers recorded in lots of other backyards around Australia, helps to provide information about birds that live where we live and the health of their populations. 

In our backyard we are sure there will be kookaburras, butcherbirds, magpies, currowongs, crows, cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets to count. I think there might be a few Pale-headed Rosellas as well this year.

If you love watching the birds in your garden, and you live in Australia, perhaps you might like to join in with the Aussie Backyard Bird Count too.

Meg




11 comments:

  1. I have signed up for the count again this year, Meg. Our Storm Bird has arrived back from overseas as usual but during the count each year our regular visitors, the cockatoos, hardly ever put in an appearance for some reason. It should be an interesting week.

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    1. There have been a lot of cockatoos around here of late, Chel. They are feasting on the seeds inside the pods of the rocket that I've let go. Cheeky things they are! Meg;)

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  2. How lovely to see, we do a garden bird watch/count here in Britain, I am passionate about looking after the wild birds and now our avairy birds, would love to see some photos of your garden birds if you get the chance.
    Best wishes
    Marlene

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    1. I love having the wild birds visit the garden, Marlene. We have planted lots of native flowering plants for them and have bird baths too. There's always birdsong on the wind and I just think that's magic really. I will do a post, perhaps next week, with some photos of the birds we count next week. I might even be able to get a better photo of this Pale-headed Rosella but it's pretty tricky to get a clear one! Meg:)

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    2. Thankyou Meg that would be wonderful x

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  3. Aren't they just beautiful birds? We have had some king parrots this year in our backyard, that was exciting! Yes, this will be our third year doing the bird count. My daughter really enjoys it.

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    1. I wish I'd been able to get a better photo that shows it's brilliant feathers more clearly, Belinda, but every time I get too close they take off! My son loves the bird count too. Meg:)

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  4. Glad you got some pictures of them....I actually saw one fly in front of my car as I was driving out of my street about a month ago....it stood out because of the yellow and blue and we normally see the green parrots so I was pretty excited to see it to.

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    1. It is exciting when you catch that flash of colour and catch a glimpse of these pretty birds. Having planted the grevillea just outside our bedroom has allowed us to observe them from a reasonably close distance. As soon as I try to get a bit closer with my camera though, they are off! Meg:)

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  5. Oh, I love the one with the brighter colors. What a gorgeous bird! Thanks for sharing, Meg.

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    1. The photo taken on the sunnier day really does show up the colours of this beautiful little bird so much more than the ones I managed to get on the more rainy, overcast days. I'm hoping to get a clear photo one day soon ... though I may need to sit down and be very, very still for a long time to be that lucky! Meg:)

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