Garden Visitors

Although we've now lived in Sydney a little more than 20 years, I still feel a patriotic pride when I see our more iconic landmarks, those landmarks that still inspire awe on our infrequent trips to or through the city. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, colloquially know as "The Coathanger" and the Sydney Opera House, both stunning engineering feats, are two such landmarks, landmarks that welcome travellers as the aircraft circle the city before landing.

Similarly I never cease to stop and admire the native wildlife that abounds in the Sydney Hills, and be grateful that I live in such a beautiful and diverse area and that much of this wildlife chooses to grace our garden with its presence.

Ours is a land of contrasts and the wild birds are surely a testament to this with their plumage so vibrant and quite unique.

This Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is a member of the parrot family. Lorikeets are essentially nectivors as can be seen by this Grevillea-snacker spotted recently in my mother's garden.

This juvenile Magpie will soon lose the grey wing and breast feathers as he/she becomes an adult.

The adult Magpie (or Maggie as they are also known) has extracted this strand of coconut fibre from the coir fuchsia basket.

He (or she) is gathering nest construction materials for the next batch of babies. Magpies have a very distinctive carolling song, although they can tend to be somewhat aggressive during nesting season. I have heard of children being attacked whilst walking home from school by Maggies and wearing icecream containers on their heads for protection.

Although their plumage lacks the vibrancy of many other native Australian Birds, the Kookaburra is quite a majestic bird. They seem to hold themselves with dignity and pride and it is said that in full voice, a Kookaburra sounds like it is laughing. They do not eat seeds like the majority of our other airborne visitors, instead delighting in finding an unsuspecting worm too close to the surface. I have childhood memories of feeding minced beef to Kookaburras, who become somewhat tame. This one was not, thus the low detail as my camera was on high zoom. .An adult Kookaburra is similar in size to a Galah.

Many of the  Rainbow Lorikeets around our house have become quite tame. You can see by the slight reflection of the glass that this quirky little guy has come right up to my kitchen window ledge and is appealing for additional food.

They are quite comical birds, looking at you with first one eye then the other.

Maintaining a fresh supply of clean water for native birds is important in our climate, and although I am not sure I'd like to drink my bathwater, these little Rainbow Lorikeets don't seem to care.

King Parrots are not frequent diners at our Bird Cafe which makes a sighting all the more special. The more brightly coloured one at the front is an adult male with the softer coloured female behind. Many of the birds visit either early morning, dusk or on dull days, seeking camouflage in the shade and shadows.

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are quite large birds, with a reputation for tending to be somewhat destructive and for not being the smartest birds in the tree. It isn't unusual to see large flocks on the ground by the side of the road, eating grass seeds; or, in full flight, a mass of white in the sky while their high pitched screeches fill the air. Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are often breed and kept in captivity. Those that are "hand raised" often become very tame and they can be taught how to "speak", although sometimes their vocabulary of learned words and phrases is not totally suited for polite company. These birds can be quite long lived, with birds in captivity living 20 years or more.

Their mid air acrobatics frequently involve dips and dives from television aerials, a boon for those in the business of replacing and/or repairing the damage. The finial you can see on the top of birdfeeder is no longer there, courtesy of a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.

The Galah is also a cockatoo, a cousin to the Sulphur Crested, except a little smaller, without the coloured comb and blessed with greater intellect.

I have always thought that the pretty colours of the Galah match the colour scheme of my home so well.


Perhaps the shyest of our avian visitors is the Eastern Rosella.

Much smaller than the Crimson Rosella, this bird is very timid and particularly flighty. Photographing the Eastern is quite challenging and only achieved by stealth. You can see this one is quite watchful, any sudden movement and they are gone. The feathers of their extended wings are quite beautiful when seen from beneath, perhaps one day I'll manage to capture this fleeting vision  on camera.

We situated our birdfeeder in the garden below our kitchen window and in this way the birds can be seen almost at eye level. The birdbath is in the same garden so we can also enjoy seeing the birds use this from a similar vantage point.
 

Occasionally we have very  unexpected visitors, like the Fairy Blue Wren. This tiny little bird flitted around the garden, fast as quicksilver. And as quickly as he had come, he had gone!

I spotted this brown tree frog resting inside a flower pot. I try to maintain my garden using as few chemicals and pesticides as possible in the hope that it will remain ecologically sound and able to support native wildlife of many kinds.

This evening, on dusk, I could hear the song of more than half a dozen frogs in my garden. As I walked around the different places, they would momentarily fall silent upon hearing or feeling my footsteps, before again resuming their chirping sounds, thankful for the recent rain. It was interesting to hear the different pitches and rhythms of their "voices" as they sang their happy courting songs.

 

Then of course there is the representation from the reptile family.Although I must admit that lizards give me the creeps, I do welcome Blue Tongue Lizards as they help keep the snail population in check somewhat. I think this guy lives in the neighbour's yard as he/she only visits infrequently.

Of course I can't forget our inside bird, Pippin, who is a cockatiel (or quarrion), although Pippin isn't really a visitor, she is a resident. Pippin has chosen my husband to be her person and she greets him loudly every evening when he arrives home from work. She hears the sound of his garage door being raised and starts her welcome cries. Cockatiels can also be trained to speak and whistle. Pippin, however, has chosen not to adopt our language nor whistle on command. 

We bought Pippin as a "hand raised" bird but I don't think she was properly socialised and she doesn't like being handled, so much as we'd like to be able to take her out of the cage, we have to respect that she isn't comfortable doing so.

Crimson Rosellas are fairly frequent visitors, I love their vivid red and blue colouring. You can see them below devouring my tiny immature apples as if I only grow them for their dining pleasure. I have thought about buying a fruit net for my tree to keep the birds away from the fruit but apples are only $2-4 per kg so maybe I really am growing them just for the birds!

 

What??? Oh ok, it's just Izzy the cat-bird and she's not a visitor, she's one of the garden supervisors!