Author: Trevor Quested

This morning in our garden in Bundaberg Queensland Annie noticed a Spangled drongo eating a brown honeyeater. This is the first time I have seen a drongo eating another bird. _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org

We have some cage escapades drinking at our water bowl this morning. The birds look like red rumped parrots except the male is turquoise head and back and front. There is white halfway down his belly. The The middle of the back is grey. He looks very pretty. The female is all leaf green. All very exciting. Happy New Year everybody. Trevor Quested Bundaberg Qld. _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org

A month ago we were excited to have a White-throated Gerygone nesting in our front garden in a wattle (Acacia leiocalyx). We have recorded the Little Bronze Cuckoo every year on our land in Bundaberg Qld. We joked about the possibility of the cuckoo parasitising the Gerygone at the time. This afternoon I saw the juvenile Little Bronze Cuckoo fed by the White-throated Gerygone. An illustration of the juvenile is in the new Pizzey and Knight Birds of Australia Digital Edition on my iPad. There is no illustration of the juvenile in the Morcombe app. However, both apps’ text mention the common host is a Gerygone. Trevor Quested. Bundaberg. Qld. =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================

On our land in Bundaberg we have several paperbark trees (Melaleuca quinquenervia). We have a flock of 8-10 Grey-crowned Babblers that built nests in many of these trees. About a fortnight ago we watched a Laughing Kookaburra continually visit one of these nests. At first we thought the Kookaburra was attacking an active Babbler nest but we realised the Kookaburra was rearranging the sticks of a disused nest. It is now a saucer shape and the bird has been sitting on it for a week. It appears there are only a pair of Kookaburras not a family group which helps. However we will know more when the eggs hatch. A friend, Deane Lewis took a photo yesterday and I put it on my PBase site here http://www.pbase.com/trevor_quested/image/153161945 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================

Eric Zillmann observed 10 pairs of Barking Owls in the Bundaberg district some years ago. His article is reproduced in our Newsletter. http://www.bundabergbirdobservers.org/downloads/2009-1011_October_November_Newsletter.pdf =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================

Thanks Mike Carter for asking about us. We are not in a flood area and just lost a lot of trees from the horrendous winds. Chris Barnes is ok but I’m not sure about his house. It hopefully is safe but the water was still rising when we last spoke. Nev and Jann Capell were evacuated by boat as their home went under. They are with friends. Sad news about Bill Moorhead’s home. It is right in the line of the raging Burnett River. Trevor Quested Sent from my iPad ===============================

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Dear Kirri In the traveling stock routes south of the town there are good stands of casuarina and the White-browed Treecreeper can be found. Head towards Gunbar and you will find White-winged Fairywrens in the Saltbush. You may encounter Major Mitchell Cockatoos anywhere. Hillston has three good habitats converging with the Lachlan river, the box forests and the saltbush country. You will have a good list of birds I’m sure. Trevor Quested. Bundaberg.

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I always understood only cuckoos could eat hairy caterpillars. We have many Processionary Caterpillars on our block in Bundaberg, Qld at the moment. We have just witnessed an Olive-backed Oriole eat five caterpillars in a row. The bird shook each one for some time before swallowing them. There is a bird bath nearby and the Oriole didn’t drink at all during the feeding. Trevor Quested Bundaberg. Qld. ===============================

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Hi everyone, We have our new website up and running. There are a few maps of where to bird in the area and newsletters saying what we have been up to lately. We have an article on the photographing of the Paradise Parrot all those years ago. I am sure we will be adding more as needed. Have a look please. http://www.bundabergbirdobservers.org/site/ Trevor Quested President BirdLife Bundaberg ===============================

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Brian, Here are some you may be able to use on your walk with the group. They are by Graham Alcorn from the Blue Mtns NSW from his book The Bird Baths of Umbigumbi Trevor Quested, Bundaberg

Balance of Nature

One day a Sitella, going down,

Passed a Tree Creeper, going up.

“And how are the insects, up?’ ‘

“And how are the insects, down?’ ‘

The insects up on which I sup

Are juicy and divine.’

‘The insects down on which I dine

Are sweet as honey wine.’

And so they live in harmony

Though they forage the bark of

the selfsame tree.

Fish of Air

Wheeling, soaring, circling,

swooping on sickle wings,

out of the storm clouds come the Swifts,

swimming in the wind.

The boundless air is their ocean,

it’s fronts and pressure systems

their tides and currents.

A nightly cliff face to cling to

and launch into the dawn,

a rock ledge to glue a nest to

is all they need of the earth.

Variegated Fairy Wren (Malurus lamberti)

Fairy Wren, Fairy Wren,

Into the bushes, then Out again,

In again.

All we can see of you,

Field glasses peering,

are Flashes of blue.

Malurus, Malurus,

Onward you lure us,

Curious,

Furious,

Wither you will.

All we want is to look at you.

Please stay still!

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