Sue joined me for another excellent day spent at Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside. We saw a variety of birds, including observing both Azure Kingfishers and Sacred Kingfishers.
Here are some photos from our visit –
Olive-backed Oriole
Azure Kingfisher
Here it has dived down and is returning with small fish –
And another dive –
Water Dragon
And another Kingfisher – a Laughing Kookaburra –
Eastern Spinebill
Golden Whistler
Then a raptor flew high overhead. It was a Square-tailed Kite –
Eastern Spinebill
Silvereye
And a pair of Satin Bowerbirds –
Water Dragon
Another highlight of the day was watching Sacred Kingfishers feeding their nestlings. Their nest its a hollow in a tree, right next to one of the roads, and close to a pond. It is also and area with a lot of Noisy Miners. Each time an adult Kingfisher brought some food close, it had to run the gauntlet of the Noisy Miners. The Noisy Miners seemed to keep away from the nest hollow however. Perhaps they didn’t realise what it was?
And there was another pair of Sacred Kingfishers not too far way –
More feeding –
This Kingfisher has arrived near the nest –
The all of a sudden it decides to move –
A Noisy Miner has landed where it just was –
And it flies closer to the Kingfisher –
The Kingfisher shakes it off and then feeds its young.
This Sacred Kingfisher is using its beak to defend itself from a Noisy Miner harassing from above –
More food arrives –
Next, an Azure Kingfisher arrives –
Also a few White-winged Choughs turn up –
But the Sacred Kingfishers have more feeding to do –
Some more Azure Kingfisher photos –
Turtle –
And before we left, more Sacred Kingfisher photos –
It had been a brilliant visit. It was also good to catch up with Wayne again. He is a local blogger and amateur naturalist with a great love and knowledge of Nurragingy.