Restless Flycatcher update

July 2012 was the last time I heard a Restless Flycatcher in the area when I saw only 2 of them together. It, along with it's mate, has since disappeared. I have been to many different locations in Tenterfield since July and have not heard this species at all. It's call is very distinctive. As far as I can tell it is not at the Tenterfield Park either.

I am guessing this is yet another species that has left the Tenterfield area. I will be placing this species under the "species that have left Tenterfield" from now onward should I happen to come across any old or new videos I have of this species.

White-plumed Honeyeater Lichenostomus penicillatus

The White-plumed Honeyeater is a rare visitor to Tenterfield. I believe I have not seen this bird before or have not paid attention to it's calls before. I'm just not sure about this species as to whether it is a resident bird species or not. Either way I have yet to see any more than one individual of this species. below is a video I took of my first sighting of this species. The sighting occurred at my neighbour Carol's place on the 6th October 2012.

All I know about this bird species is it is shown eating something from the new growth of the tree it was seen in. I'm not even sure of the tree species it was in.

UPDATE: Grey Shrike-thrush nesting nearby

It's only bad news really. The pair of Grey Shrike-thrushes that were attempting to nest at my neighbour Carol's place, in the bottom half of the water fountain by her back door, have abandoned the nest and separated as a couple. The mate, more than likely a female, has not been heard from for probably 5 days now.

I was over visiting Carol yesterday and discovered the nest was empty. I took some photos but no eggs were even laid in the nest. The photos did not come out clear enough to add here. The nest was a crude attempt at building a nest, and was full of sticks and leaves, and some lichen and cobwebs by the look of it.

The male was spotted calling from trees when I was there, like he was trying to attract a mate. His song seemed desperate and urgent. The poor little fellow, I think he misses his mate.

As Grey Shrike-thrushes are not normally seen or heard in Tenterfield it may be some time before another bird comes along. His voice is loud, and for a very good reason. If you are the only one of your kind within a 10km square area you'd want to be heard too. Surrounding Tenterfield is lots of trees but generally Tenterfield is an open plains area mostly inhabited by willow trees and the odd gum trees. The entire area is not ideal for most bird species actually.

Why this bird simply didn't move away from the area with his new mate is beyond me. Why he didn't find a more appropriate nesting site is again another mystery. Having a large dog suddenly start barking and is known for chasing birds is not an ideal location for building a nest in that vicinity. It's stressful for birds especially if you are a newbie to the area.

Has it become so bad for birds that they are forced to inhabit areas in close proximity to human habitats? Where else are birds going to breed or sleep when there are barely any plant life outside of people's homes? Tenterfield is not designed for birdlife, and the areas in town outside of people's homes are mostly barren of plant life and generally are open spaces with lots of grass everywhere.

The Tenterfield Creek is also barrren, mostly devoid of trees and other plant life. I am surprised that the birdlife in Tenterfield is clinging to what little habitat there is here. The birds surely must be desperate to stay here, else they all would've left by now.

The Grey Shrike-thrush was the same, desperately clinging to life in what little plant life they could find. Obviously there was enough food in the area for them to stay but simply not enough plant life to breed in. Whether the male Grey Shrike-thrush finds another mate or moves elsewhere is anyone's guess right now. It will take time, if he chooses to stay here. However, locating more of it's own kind is almost next to impossible here in Tenterfield, as the male depends upon them passing through town before he can hopefully find a mate. His best choice is to leave town and try and find a population of his own species elsewhere and start again from there. As sad as it will be to see him go, there really is no other option for this species in Tenterfield.

Haven't heard this bird call in about 7-10 years

Oh, how time changes everything. Just before it got dark tonight I was out the front potting up some willow tree cuttings that had taken root when suddenly I heard this bird call that I haven't heard in Tenterfield for years. I have absolutely no idea what species makes this bird call. I also can't remember the last time I heard this exact same bird call either, but it must be at least 7 - 10 years ago. It is not the sort of call you forget either, considering I heard it all the time in the past. It is the sweetest, softest, and gentlest call you'll ever hear a bird make.

The bird call sounded like it was on the west side of town about a kilometre from me. It brought back memories of hearing this bird song all the time in Tenterfield. It soothed my soul hearing it again. This bird song is the one that made me fall in love with Tenterfield in the first place.

I can't help but hope this bird will stay in Tenterfield now. It's call was my only source of comfort for my soul which I miss hearing. As this bird was heard as it was roosting, hopefully it will hang around Tenterfield tomorrow long enough for me to get a recording of it's call. I hope it just isn't on it's way through to somewhere else, as a lot of birds have been doing lately.

Unfortunately I did not get a video recording of the bird call. My new digital camera doesn't pick up low pitch (soft) sounds about 1 km away, so it would've been pointless anyway trying to record it. Hopefully tomorrow I will hear the bird call again. If it is about a km away I will be going to try and record it's call up close.

I'm going to be checking the bird calls of the species I haven't added posts about. I'm hoping this species is on my list and can finally identify it after all these years.

Red-rumped Parrot Psephotus haematonotus

The two Red-rumped Parrots I saw today I actually thought were the Turquoise Parrots that I saw recently. I first came across a female Red-rumped Parrot which flew out of my neighbour Carol's bird feeder and flew into a nearby tree. It looked similiar to the juvenile Turquoise Parrot in colouring. Then I spotted a bird which I first thought was a female Turquoise Parrot which I took video footage of. I thought, originally, the mother and juvenile Turquoise Parrots were in Carol's garden but did not know where the male was. Inspecting the video later on tonight I noticed that the second bird I saw had red colouring on or near it's rump. The video footage itself is very blurry and out of focus, and am only keeping it for the sounds the male bird made.

Ironically, both the female Turquoise Parrot and male Red-rumped parrot are identical in appearance, except for the red colouring on the rump/near the rump of the male Red-rumped Parrot. The female Red-rumped Parrot looks identical to the juvenile (fledgling) Turquoise Parrot. That is why I initially thought the Red-rumped parrots were Turquoise Parrots. Both species are so closely identical to each other it is really hard to tell them apart unless you take video footage of them or see them closer up than I did.

Even though I am guessing these birds are Red-rumped Parrots I am just guessing. As my digital camera refused to focus on anything today, and it has a lighting problem, I am still using it because it has a better zoom that my mobile phone. Also, my digital camera, a GE 14.1 megapixel PJ1 records bird sounds accurately more than my mobile phones do. It looks like I need to replace my digital camera already.

Below are 4 screenshots from the video I took of the male Red-rumped Parrot today. The video was taken after sunset but before it started getting dark.

Updates: species nesting and breeding

Over a period of about 1 & a 1/2 weeks I have observed some changes with some of the birds nesting in Tenterfield. The Red Wattlebird which I thought was the only one left in Tenterfield has started begging for food for it's young about 5-7 times a day. As soon as it has eaten a bit of the food I give it (sometimes), it flies away with a large mouthful of food. Not long afterward it is back again wanting more food. The adult bird, it is the one with the left-bent tail feathers, continues to fly down to the creek where the nest is to feed it's young. So, obviously, it has a mate who is also taking care of it's young, which appears to be constantly sitting or very near the nest. I saw it's mate out feeding herself/himself tonight just before it got dark just after sunset. Today and yesterday the food begging has slowed down a great deal to just 2-3 times a day.

Yesterday when I gave a bit of meat to the Australian Magpies, the adult male flew off with some of it in his beak. He only does this when chicks need to be fed. Going on passed experiences I would say the chicks have hatched less than 4 days ago. Very little food, that I can tell, is being given to the chicks at this time and it was only once yesterday that food was taken to the chicks, but they have hatched nonetheless. Also, the adult male Magpie has been seen more in it's old territory than it's new territory. I'm guessing that the 2 days of rain we had recently brought back the Magpies to their old territory (south side of Douglas Street).

Much earlier in the day (yesterday) my brother Daniel told me he saw 2 crows attacking an Eastern Brown Snake in the paddock opposite the nest of 2 Torresian Crows, on the other side of the road. Daniel did not know if the crows had killed the snake or not and he had no idea that the crows were even nesting. I had to go out yesterday, and before I turned the corner of Douglas and Francis Streets to go onto Francis Street, I saw a crow on the road feeding on a dead rabbit. On closer expection of the rabbit the eyeball was missing. The crow had eaten it. How disgusting!

Turning the corner I tried to see if the snake was dead or not but could not see any signs of a snake. However, on the way home I was actually swooped by these same two Torresian Crows. Well, if you can call it swooping. One of the birds flew from the Tenterfield Creek in the showgrounds area to a gum tree on the ST. Joseph's Catholic Primary School property, at the bottom left of the oval as I got within range of their tree. One of them was sitting on a nest prior to the attack. With 2 birds in the tree one flew over my head about 20-30 feet above me, then sort of lifted it's tail up, flapped it's wings then continued to fly normally. They made no noise when they swooped me. Just before the attack, or during it, I heard a sound that was quiet but weird. It sounded similiar to the noise you hear of dew on an electric fence, creating a slight clicking charge sound. It was a softer sound to that of an electric fence and it was more of a clicking sound than anything else. The second bird swooped me moments later. They both flew onto the Rural Fire Service boudary fence and just sat there doing nothing as I continued to walk passed the area. I was probably less than 150 -200 metres from the said gum tree.  This might actually explain why, several weeks beforehand, I saw a Laughing Kookaburra trying to ransack something in the same gum tree before it was chased out of the tree by one of the crows. Perhaps the kookaburra was trying to take over the crows nest to use it for itself to nest in? I doubt the crows would've had laid eggs back then but I could be wrong.

For probably a week now the Masked Lapwings have stopped swooping. I'm guessing that the juveniles have learnt how to fly and can now flee danger should any come the chicks' way. I am certain that at least 2 breeding pairs of Masked Lapwings have bred this October. The pair that was hanging around the paddock on the corner of Francis and Miles Streets (opposite the showgrounds) that would not move from that paddock have moved on as well. I believe they were nesting too but I avoided that paddock when going on foot into town as they were getting very aggressive in the end. The Lapwings spend most of their time hanging around the Tenterfield Creek or within several hundred metres from the creek.

For the passed 2 days the grey Shrike-thrushes have gone very quite. I have heard one of them calling out at dawn but generally they are quiet throughout the rest of the day. I barely hear a sound from them now. I believe they are sitting on eggs, as of this morning they were still in the area. Within the last 24 hours both birds were seen flying away from their new nest to the creek in a southerly direction. There have been no other sightings of either one of them around my neighbour Carol's back door and I have not seen them flying around my immediate area in the last 4 days.

The Crested Pigeon who was nesting has not been heard lately either. It is still quiet and it has been seen feeding so hopefully there will be chicks running around the place soon. I have checked today if her eggs have hatched or not but can't tell as the female, I think, is still sitting on the nest.

Lastly, to the White-faced Heron... It appears at first glance that the White-faced Heron's nest has been abandoned. As the nest is about 50 feet off the ground it is really hard to see what is on the nest. I also have to move away from the tree to get the right angle just to see any kind of activity on the nest. My hands shake if I hold a camera almost above my head. So, I need to take lots of photos of the nest hoping at least one of them will be crystal clear and not shaky.

Just before sunset tonight I took a few photos of the White-faced Heron's nest, and all are blurry. But the photos reveals that the adult bird is not sitting on eggs anymore and that the eggs have hatched, or at least that's what it looks like. The photo below, despite it being blurry, reveals an adult White-faced Heron doing something similiar to kneeling or standing up in the nest. The bird is to the side of the nest as well. This is a promising sign actually as I have never known White-faced Herons to actually nest in Tenterfield itself.

How to tell if birds are breeding in your area.

I have studied a lot of birds in Tenterfield over the years, and this post is a collection of my observations of many different species during their breeding season. I hope it will be useful to anyone who reads it.

Different birds breed at different times of the year, as we all know. Most bird species in Tenterfield breed from August to December of each year, basically during the warmer and wetter period of Spring. Being in a drought still, raising chicks is much higher demand work than non-drought seasons. Survival rates of offspring is dramatically reduced by the absense of a lack of food for the young, developing chicks, and as such breeding seasons are altered by weeks, months or even years. To the extreme side of nature some species may opt out of breeding for a few years until the rains returns. There are so many possibilities that could happen that birds must not only guarantee their own survival but the survival of their chicks if they decide to breed at all.

Okay, let's say you want to know which birds are actually sitting on eggs right now. Firstly you must have some knowledge of the birds' behaviour visiting your area (or garden) prior to reading this information. For example, how often they visit your garden, what they eat, where they eat, and who they eat food with. In the early stages of breeding most adult male birds tend to get aggressive toward other males of their same species. They might also attack other species to chase them away from a nesting area they have chosen. Their songs begin to change at this stage as well.

Territorial birds will always be on high alert for invading rival families trying to steal their territory or mates, and an all out war will commence as a result, with both family groups attacking each other. Both males and females, young and old will get involved.

The very first sign in the birdlife's breeding behaviour though is seeing a second bird hanging around the first one, or suddenly seeing many more birds of that same species, or mated pairs rebonding with each other via song. Birds congregate together during the breeding season to form "mates" or "breeding pairs" and to reestablish their territories as breeding pairs. When they come together they will fight, argue and chase each other. It will be noisy and unless you are deaf or constantly wear headphones whilst playing loud music in your ears, you cannot miss this loud vocalization of the birds. After a few weeks the congregation of birds will separate into pairs of birds and will go their own way. You may only see a few pairs of birds hanging around the immediate area after that happens.

To the actual nesting of breeding birds, their behaviour changes from "Eat, rest, socialize" to "Eat, build nest, Eat, and resting less than normal". Their spent energy is higher than normal finding a suitable nesting site, then spending more time building their actual nest. At the same time more food is needed for them to eat. When nest building birds are not relaxed. They are always on alert and have a lot to be worried about - predators mostly. You might see one of the adult birds (or both) disappear for a while (or altogether). Resident birds that suddenly disappear for days on end is a sign of them breeding - as long as it is within their known breeding season.

However, when birds are sitting on eggs, everything changes, again. Birds are at a very high alert stage as they must protect their eggs at all cost. They must do everything to protect their young from predators, even if it means swooping humans. Birds seem to know that humans are carnivors, and as such treat us as predators just like any other predator bird or animal. (Food for thought: Have you ever seen a Masked Plover or Australian Magpie swoop a sheep, cow or horse?) Just having one stolen egg, or one unhatched egg could mean the end of their chances to breed for that season, or year.

Egg sitting consumes a lot of energy. If both parents are sitting on the eggs rosters are taken. It can actually be very deceiving with birds that are egg sitting because you may only ever see one bird hanging around of that species, whereas in fact there are really 2 birds. Unless you can identify the male from the female with a particular species, you may not be aware that both adults are sitting on the nest. This is also the time when birds go quiet. Birds do not want to be found by predators, when they are egg sitting. Predator birds that eat the eggs of other birds, like the Torresian Crow, will begin to hang around more often, in a chance to steal eggs from nesting birds. But egg stealers seem to target nests in the preliminary stages of just after an egg has been laid, as the egg is fresher and the yolk is still intact. Eggs are stolen and eaten for their high protein content. Egg sitting birds need to eat more at this stage. They need their energy to lay on the eggs and have the strength to counter-attack a predator's attack. Both birds, usually, depending upon the species, experience increases in hormone levels throughout the entire breeding season, and react to threats to their eggs and young under the influence of high hormonal levels. When a bird is sitting on eggs, it will try as lay as horizontally flat as possible and will keep perfectly still if a predator is nearby.

After the eggs have hatched, things change again with the birds behaviour. With the constant demand for food to feed their young as their top priority some species will turn to human handouts for additional food to help feed their young and themselves. It is normal for some species that demand food from humans to beg for food from us at this time of the year. Finding food to feed growing chicks is no easy task. Australian Magpies, for example, feed their young five times a day. With handouts from humans, that's 5-6 trips to the nest by 5 times per day. That equals to about 25-30 mouthfuls of food for just 2 chicks per day, on average. That does not include the food they need to eat themselves, which is more than what they would normally eat when they are not breeding. The parent Australian Magpies also need to feed themselves, and as a result (from the human perspective) looks like the Magpies are starving hungry all the time. If they begin to eat the food themselves, sort of nibble on it, then fly away with some of it in their mouth, you know for certain they are feeding their young. Other species will be seen feeding more times than normal, in a non-stop feeding cycle for most of the day.

However, this is usually the time of year when the big predator birds and reptiles are also breeding, as they depend upon the life cycle of a good supply of juvenile birds to feed their own young with. As sickening as that is to us humans this is just the reality of nature for birds.

EVERYTHING MUST EAT OR IT WILL DIE.