I got up early in the morning and headed to Tempe to join the Tempe Birdos for their monthly bird survey.
As the group was assembling at Tempe Wetlands, I had a look in the first pond, and spotted a Willie Wagtail working on its nest –
And we heard a Channel-billed Cuckoo, and then spotted it.
This month, I joined the group surveying Tempe Reserve. Here are some of the birds we saw –
Little Black Cormorants and a Chestnut Teal
Then we saw this Striated Heron on the back of a boat.
And two Australasian Figbirds –
In the dog compound, this Magpie was having a wash –
Crested Pigeon
Noisy Miner
And we noticed some small cicadas –
A White-faced Heron was hunting in the salt marsh.
We also spotted, what was probably the same Striated Heron again –
These are the fruit of the Kangaroo Apple. We wondered if they are eaten by birds.
An Dwarf Apple – Angophora hispida was in flower. They always seem to attract a wide range of insects.
Near the morning tea picnic table, a family of Crested Pigeons were posing –
After the survey, the group finished as usual with morning tea. It was pleasant to chat with the whole group. I then made my way home via the Cooks River.
Here is a Willie Wagtail in Gough Whitlam Park –
The Tawny Frogmouth install sitting on its nest.
And nearby was an Olive-backed Oriole family –
Here is a Welcome Swallow further upstream. It is hunting for insects.
it is just about to grab one –
I then went to see how the Tawny Frogmouths were going at Marrickville Golf Course. I first spotted an adult (probably the male) back on a nest –
It looks like they are trying for a second set of chicks this season.
Not far away are their present chicks. They seem to be doing well –
And the other parent was roosting nearby –
The last spot I visited was the Dibble Street Waterhole. On the way, I photographed this Rainbow Lorikeet in a garden –
At the Waterhole, I could see some Dusky Moorhen chicks –
And this Rainbow Lorikeet was enjoying the nectar from the flowering Norfolk island Hibiscus.
