Digi Dave suggested a trip to visit the Australian Botanic Gardens at Mt Annan. He had to pick up some equipment nearby, and thought a visit to the gardens would be nice. It was. The flowers were magnificent and there was a lot of interesting birds to see.
I was keen to look for the Swift Parrots which have been living in the gardens during winter. They are just about to migrate to Tasmania – their summer home. We first visited the Banksia Garden where they were seen before, but we could not spot any. Another birdwatcher suggested we come back in the late afternoon. There were plenty of other nice birds to observe in that area. Here are some –
Olive-backed Oriole (female) –
Satin Bowerbirds –
An Australian Raven had managed to grab some chips, and had flown over to the pool where we were. It was interesting to watch – the bird dropped the chips into the water, dunked them a bit, then started eating them. Perhaps it was washing off the salt? Or cooling them down?
And a Noisy Miner was having a bath.
We did a short walk through some interesting forest nearby.
Then we headed to another location. On the way we stopped near a canal for lunch.
Then we went to another lake. There were many birds around it and a hide. I saw my first new bird of the day – a beautiful Mistletoebird –
In a tree nearby was a Black-shouldered Kite. We waited to see if it would take-off, but it didn’t while we were there.
In the trees near the lake was a Brown Goshawk.
And some Welcome Swallows were wizzing around through the reeds –
Another was collecting mud for a nest –
It was then time t head back towards the Banksia Gardens in search of the Swift Parrots. on the way, we stopped off to see some amazing flowers –
Back at the Banksia Gardens, we looked for the Swift Parrots, but with no luck. Some of the other birds –
Red Wattlebird
Bell Miner
Then, around 4:30 pm, the Swift Parrots started appearing. I was lucky to get some photos. Here is a selection –
