You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Today, Tuesday 14th February, I went for a walk on Stringybark Ridge in Morwell National Park, giving my new knee its longest workout so far, with a walk of about 4.5 km.
It proved to be a remarkable day for birdwatching although unfortunately not for photography. The outward journey was uneventful, following the Stringybark Track to its outer end. Turning at the far end, I was delighted by sighting a Rufous Fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons) http://www.birdphotos.com.au/rufousfantailweb/index.htm . Instead of continuing round the Stringybark Track, I continued across to the Western Boundary and walked back along the boundary track..
About 100 metres along the track, I saw a flash of colour fly into a tree and with binoculars, was delighted to recognise a Sacred Kingfisher (Halcyon sancta) http://www.birdphotos.com.au/sacredkingfisherweb/index.htm , only the second I have seen in the park.
I took the chance to check up on the Banksia plants and was able to locate 12 healthy plants, although most are quite small and only 3 had flowers or flower-buds visible. Not one of them has at present any seed capsules bearing any seed.
Walking on to the northern end of the boundary track, I saw two more species that are infrequent in the Park. A couple of Yellow-rumped Thornbills (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder/display.cfm?id=117 were sitting on the boundary fence and a Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder/display.cfm?id=129 was hawking for insects above the boundary track. This is one of the few areas of the park where I have often seen Dusky Woodswallows and I suspect that in some years they nest in that corner of the Park.
Then in the last 20 metres of the boundary came the biggest surprise of all. A small bird flew up from the nearby paddock and landed in the gum tree which stands in the corner of the Park. Its silhouette as it flew up looked to me like a small parrot and when I got a little closer and got the binoculars on it I was delighted to recognise a Blue-winged Parrot (Neophema chrysostoma) http://www.aussiebirds.bravepages.com/bluewingedparrot.html . This lovely little parrot has not been recorded from the Park before. With its relatives they are called Grass Parrots and they often feed in open grasslands sometimes in quite large flocks, but they move into forested areas to nest. This one appeared to have been feeding in the grassy paddock, but I did not see any sign of any companions.
Sorry I cannot show you my own pictures of these lovely birds, but I have added links to pictures elsewhere on the net
Ken
This message was edited Feb 15, 2006 7:23 AM
This thread has 3 replies. This forum is accessible only to subscribing members of Dave's Garden. There are many free features here, and about half of our forums are completely open to all members. Take a tour of our site and learn more about Dave's Garden, and explore the benefits of becoming a subscribing member.
