I went for a bike ride along the Cooks River taking my camera with me to see if any interesting birdlife was out and about. First I went to the Tempe Wetlands for a quick look then rode along the cycleway up the river to the wetland at Cup and Saucer Creek.
At Tempe, I saw some of the usual birds – New Holland Honeyeaters, Willie Wagtails, Wattlebirds and Welcome Swallows.
In an inlet at Gough Whitlam Park I saw a large school of small fish. They were trapped in the pool by the falling tide. I imagine they would have been very easy food for some bird to catch.
The most interesting thing I saw on my ride was a pelican sitting on a post near the bridge across the Cooks River at the Old Sugarmill. The pelican was happy to sit on the post doing nothing much. Occasionally it would preen itself or stretch a leg. A bit disappointing for a photographer? I thought so, as I stood nearby with my camera ready. But then a magpie swooped down very close to the pelican. The pelican responded by standing with its beak open pointed towards the magpie. This was interesting but I wasn’t quick enough with my camera.
However, a few minutes later this behaviour was repeated. The magpie swooped again. This time I did get a photo or two. Another five minutes of patient watching and it happened a third time. Very interesting to observe.
Great sequence – the swooper is a Pied Currawong presumably with a nearby nest. It common to see any large bird harried near nests & young – incidentally Pelican will rarely take birds but they are equipped to raid a currawong nest.