This was another very pleasant day spent at Nurraging Reserve at Doonside indulging in some bird photography. A hot day was forecast, so I started out early and stayed till about 2 pm.
I saw a good range of birds during my visit. Two species I always hope to see at Nurragingy are Azure Kingfishers and Blue-faced Honeyeaters. I didn’t see any of the honeyeaters, and I had a fleeting glimpse of an Azure Kingfisher – but didn’t manage to get a photo. But despite this, I was delighted to see a lot of other nice birds. When I arrived, I could hear the call of a Sacred Kingfisher. It was in the same place I had seen a pair on an earlier trip, and sure enough, there were two perched close together.
There also seemed to be a few Grey Butcherbirds and their chicks –
I ddi the walk around the perimeter fire trail twice during my visit, and on both walks I was rewarded with quite different birds. There were the usual Superb Fairy-wrens –
And some Eastern Yellow Robins –
Here is a Yellow-faced Honeyeater –
And a Yellow Thornbill –
And I lucky to spot this beautiful Scarlet Honeyeater with an insect –
The it cleaned its beak –
And then dessert –
Here are two Olive-backed Orioles –
Back around the pools, I could here some birds making a lot of noise. I thought there may have been a raptor in the area. But no. It was a different sort of predator – a Lace Monitor.
This Magpie Lark was trying to persuade it to leave –
Here is an Eastern Rosella –
Here is a Dusky Moorhen family –
and an older chick in another pond –
A few Turtles were around –
And a Laughing Kookaburra with a small cicada –
A family of Wood Ducks –
And a young Australasian Grebe –
A Little Pied Cormorant –
on my second walk around the perimeter fire road, I saw this nice Eastern Spinebill –
And a bit further along, I spotted a Willie Wagtail flying madly around trying to dislodge this Pacific Baza –
