Kookaburra's insect fillers fill in for kingfisher

Target Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher refused to quit treetops in Townsville Bush Gardens today but obliging male Blue-winged Kookaburra's pounced several times on insects in leaf litter between pauses in our long one-sided chat.

Hard to see the prey among the litter. Close look reveals spiky leg poking up side of upper mandible.

This insect appeared the preferred meal. The many small skinks among the litter consistently ignored.

Nearby, three Tawny Frogmouths in position to look down on unknowing walkers.

And White-browed Robin - after much noisy early calling - deigned to descend from the kingfisher's heights.

Sticking up for birds on sticks

Sick of birds on sticks? Too bad. They've got to go somewhere, apart from with atlas listings. And I've vetoed barbed wire and similar artificial perches. But BOS 'savers' do build up after failing to fit into blog themes. Apart, that is, from theme of birds on sticks. Original, huh? Above, Sacred Kingfisher near takeoff, Ross River.

Horsfields Cuckoo in early-morning light, Townsville Town Common Conservation Park.

Forest Kingfishers in light and shade, Town Common.

Nutmeg Mannikin male, Ross River.

Mistloebird male with fig, just metres away from Nutmeg.

Pale-headed Rosella, Bald Rock  area, Town Common.

Striated Pardalote, one of pair beside Old Flinders Highway.

White-browed Robin, in thicket by Town Common entry gate.

Crawling about to compare Crakes and measure shakes

Bit of crawling about in front of the Tyto hide today and earlier in week brought White-browed Crakes more or less eye-to-eye.

Also brought chance to compare 600mm lens (top) with old 400+1.4x (above). The birds didn't seem to mind the huge 600 or the slender 400 being pointed at them from close across a narrow channel.

But most of the 600 shots were usable, unlike those from nonstabilised 400. Two exceptions above.

Same story- even with tripod - while chasing White-browed Robin juvenile first seen on the ground yesterday. Above 600 handheld of premature nest-leaver hugging the leaf litter.

Didn't want to upset chittering, flittering parent birds too much, so quit and hunted for the group again this morning. Took some time but found youngster looking much stronger (above).

Again though, even shooting from tripod and using various means to brace everything few shots with 400+1.4x combo truly sharp. So, back into the cupboard with the 400.  

Hail to two standout stayers of the year

Time to farewell 2011 and welcome 2012 - by hailing two of the Tyto stayers, species not even Cyclone Yasi could blow away: Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton) and White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa).

Happy New Year!
Click pix to enlarge

Catching up in black and white

Cyclone Yasi didn't blow White-browed Robins (Poecilodryas superciliosa) away from Tyto but did change their behaviour. They now spend more time higher in trees because of stripped and sunnier undergrowth. Today's distant sighting sets black-and-white theme.

Black Butcherbird (Cracticus quoyi) caught out away from shadows at Macknade (near one of my crocodile sites).  

Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus) sparkles on pandanus stump in Tyto.

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarba melanoleucos) in morning sunshine by roadside pool near Toobanna.
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Round robin roundup off target

Grey-headed Robin (Heteromyias cinereifrons) not target of latest trip up to Wallaman Falls yesterday but yet again no Riflebirds came into range.

Missed this Pale-yellow Robin (Tregellasia capito) picking at a worm and then had to settle for worm's eye view of bird on branch.

And from Tyto many sightings but no sharp Black Bittern pictures, so White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa) completes round-robin.   
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Bird lists hard to count on

One can almost always count on seeing Yellow Honeyeaters (Lichenostomus flavus) at Tyto. 

And (above, today) White-browed Robins (Poecilodryas superciliosa) seldom fail to turn up for a tick.


Now the boring points about the foregoing. In nicely rounded numbers, alltime Tyto list grew to 240 in 2010.


My total species sighted in 2010: 170. December count: 100. Monthly counts well down on those for previous five years. A wet, greyish year.


So, how long will it now take to see all 240 birds on the list? Assuming someone cares, my answer: never! Too many (10-20) rare/odd sightings. 210 in three years would be my target. 


But only if La Nina clears off soon. Please ...
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White-browed Robins repay patience

Targets for birders in Tyto include White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa). Impatient group the other day quit quickly. Ten minutes later the bird above flitted here, there and everywhere among trees near the lookout knoll.

More bustling activity by the bird and its partner yesterday - and hungry calls - led to this sturdy juvenile.

Stick around long enough and the birds pop up, and occasionally almost accept the intrusion.

Thus, another crack at capturing magic of Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) eye colour.

 Finally, another eye. Common Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata) stretches out along top strand of fence wire in morning sun this week.     
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Kite and heron help save the days

Chase after Gey and Brown Goshawks most of a cloudy week and what does one get? A few seconds of posing from a Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus). And this bird only stayed around because it was eyeing a dead wallaby nearby.

Drizzle joined the cloud today, but this White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) lifted spirits a bit. White-faces on ground seldom allow one close,  less wary when they are higher up.

Often impossible to spot higher up, seldom seen in Tyto, and always wary, Frilled Lizard (Physignathus lesueurii). Small youngster enjoying sunny spot above concrete culvert a few days ago.

Finally, image of White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa) shaded in pandanus clump, reworked slightly after helpful pointers on photo forum, BirdingOz.

Click all pix to enlarge. Critiques always welcome.

Sharper resolution the 2010 resolution

Never rains but ... 2009 ended in sodden start of big Wet, and more sodding modem tears. Might be time to replace Telstra's blue lemon. Anyway, quick mop-up of holdovers.

Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa aruana?) shows off huge eye as it settles, mostly still, on prolific low-growing local weed, name unknown to me.

Wandering Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna arcuata) also settle mostly still on still morning last month. Not many ducks to be seen today with the lagoon up 30cm-plus in five days.

Just before the rain, caught this Azure Kingfisher (Ceyx azureus) swinging above drying pool along a rainforest creek. Probably be September before any thought of getting dry-footed into same spot.

No problems getting to see White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa). Not so easy catching them with caterpillars in sharp focus. Resolution for 2010 is sharper (lens) resolution!

So, final soft shot, of Rainbow Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus). Immature on left not sharing prey with companion, though it looks otherwise.

White-browed Robin win and loss

Three hours (spread over two days) of stalking juvenile White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa) brought some reward today in Tyto. Junior's natural inclination to hide behind clusters of twigs or under umbrellas of shady foliage was only part of the problem.

The parents never took prey and headed straight back to the juvenile. Rather, they perched and pounced several times before taking a circumspect route back to the ever-shifting offspring.

They are also fast on the swallow. Caught quick shot of parent taking a caterpillar. Two shots later in the same high-speed burst, the bird was up and away with caterpillar gulped down.

Final musing: Most White-browed Robin nests contain two eggs, and in due course two fledglings. But after the birds quit the nest it's hard to find more than one juvenile, though both parents can be seen. Perhaps the parents don't return enough of their catches to sustain both young?