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Any Port in a Storm :: The Beacon :: Putting Down Roots :: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
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AuthorTopic: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds (Read 3,507 times)
tod2
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Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Thread Started on Oct 27, 2010, 7:02pm »		[Quote]
Spring has sprung and having accounted for the blooms on my doorstep I would love to show you some of my feathered friends who delight my world everyday.

Starting with the most dramatic and most eagerly awaited every August are the Yellow billed Kites.
Each evening, glass of wine in hand, I watch Manfred_von_Richthofen aka The Red Baron, do battle with the enemy (those pesky Fork-tailed Drongos)!
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Maybe on some evenings I envisage Sir Douglas Bader at the controls, or my tour guide that led me through the Loire, an ex French Air force Helicopter pilot!
Anyway they all qualify in what I delightfully watch above my head :D

The battle commences thus:
I walk onto the deck and whistle several times. Immediately above the treetops ahead of me, a dark winged-creature appears. Closing in it looks like a Stealth Bomber with wings spread wide and unwavering. I throw a piece of chicken onto the lawn below and in seconds a whoosh of wings passes my head and the perfect execution of a super pilot grabs the chicken, followed by a screeching and constant attack by the little feisty Drongos! I am still trying to capture this dogfight on camera but those little devils are so fast! I wanted to watch this expert diver and retriever of chicken scraps at more close quarters. So I devised a method of enabling the creature of the air to land in front of me and enjoy a victory dinner by putting a large beef bone on the lawn!

Here he comes....
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Oh you beautiful boy!
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The ever present Ibis's make sure there is something for them!

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Sebastian the cat checks out this ace pilot
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Hey, can I join you guys?
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Young chick still showing his down
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Chick decides to be King of the Heap!
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Two chicks come down for a gourmet meal
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Standing on the back of a truck I managed to see what was happening in the nest - thanks to my telephoto lens! What a reward :D
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kerouac2
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #1 on Oct 27, 2010, 7:07pm »		[Quote]
Showoff! (That's wonderful, tod!)

I think the cat would be unwise to challenge these birds.
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tod2
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #2 on Oct 27, 2010, 7:28pm »		[Quote]
Thanks Kerouac! I'm going to do more showing off tomorrow ;D
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imec
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #3 on Oct 27, 2010, 7:36pm »		[Quote]
Oh, this is fantastic!! What an incredible post tod2 - wonderful photography and what an amazing place you must live to witness this! Thanks!!
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bixaorellana
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #4 on Oct 28, 2010, 4:29am »		[Quote]
Pleeeeeze show off more!! Tod, this is incredibly exciting. I can't believe the shots you got. I was holding my breath as Manfred dived and achieved the prize. Good grief -- that third shot!! That's definitely one of the coolest wildlife and actions photos I've ever seen. But then you followed that money shot with The Baron making a landing. Damn!

When Sebastian strolls over for his portion, are there two adult birds in the photo? Can't believe you caught one of them looking squarely at the camera.

How did you get the kites to start coming down into your yard? Do you get the same ones every year?
Hey -- can we see some drongos?

Thanks SO much!
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tod2
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #5 on Oct 28, 2010, 6:59am »		[Quote]
You are very kind - not all the shots can be camera perfect because of the incredibley fast movements - just no time to focus properly! The beef bone shots are taken using a tripod as the kites stay more or less in one place.

Yes, 2 adults keeping a wary eye on Sebastian. Probably the male & female whilst still nest building.

It all started about 5 years ago when we noticed they were inhabiting the Blue Gum trees across the road. We live opposite a farm. They constantly circled looking for roadkill or an unsuspecting rat etc.,
so I threw some chicken pieces onto the lawn. Didin't take them 5 minutes to swoop down!
It then became a late afternoon/early evening , say around 5-6pm, daily ritual.
If I couldn't spot them sitting on a branch I whistled several long calls and threw the meat down.
Soon they knew my whistle meant "dinner is served" :)

They return from North Africa each year - go to the same nest (this year there seems to be 2 nests) The new nest is visible with the Kite standing in it from my bedroom door! Now that I know where it is I will try to do some telephoto shots but it's too high up to see inside the nest.

From this link you can see that the colouring of the two chicks with an adult is the same as in the video. Also look at the black tip of their beaks which shows they are juniors - I'm trying to find a photo where the white down still is visible through the brown feathers.
http://www.earth-touch.com/result.php?i=Young-yellow-billed-kites-grow-bolder

Forktail Drongos - will try to get some shots as I feed them breakfast each morning of mealworms.
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #6 on Oct 28, 2010, 7:59am »		[Quote]
More entertaining characters making themselves at home in the garden :D

These shots are of a confrontation between an Kurrichane Trush and a Cape Robin - it would be too boring to show the entire sequence of events, so I hope these selected shots give you an idea of the two squaring up - with the Robin's retreat a female Spottedbacked Weaver bird appears. At last the Trush can bath in peace!:


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tod2
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #7 on Oct 28, 2010, 8:01am »		[Quote]
PLEASE can more AnyPorter's show me their bird finds 8-)
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #8 on Oct 28, 2010, 11:33am »		[Quote]
Well, this thing kept annoying us when we were trying to eat a meal in the garden of a local hotel -

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And these hoopoes are a regular visitor to my garden -

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tod2
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #9 on Oct 28, 2010, 12:32pm »		[Quote]
The 'annoying thing' is a Pied Crow ;) My bird book describes him as " a bold species usually found in association with human settlement, where it gleans food scraps, especially haunting refuse dumps"

They are very noisy creatures and have a unnatractive loud 'kwaaaaak' when communicating with each other.

Now, a favourite of mine! That beautiful little Hoopoe :D What a lovely photo of this stunning bird!
We don't seem to have many but when seen it always seems to be on the grassy verges(like in the photo).
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #10 on Oct 28, 2010, 1:27pm »		[Quote]
Pied crow, that'll be the one then.
With the hoopoe, certain times of year they are just all over. My cat loves stalking them and has caught a few.
Nice looking bird.
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #11 on Oct 28, 2010, 1:47pm »		[Quote]
Beautiful, tod! love the unexpected shot of the baby bird in the nest and the hoopoe looks very regal.
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kimby
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #12 on Oct 28, 2010, 6:09pm »		[Quote]
Tod, I guess you can't have backyard BBQs (braais), then, since you've trained the kites so well to come to your yard for food!

When we were on safari in East Africa, we sat outside to eat our box lunches, and no one warned us about the kites. Several of us were actually scratched as they swooped and stole food right out of our hands! We had to hide in the vehicle to eat in peace!
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #13 on Oct 28, 2010, 6:14pm »		[Quote]
Tod, my series of photos of Cordilleran Flycatchers raising their young in a nest on the meter box of my house is located in "Meet the Neighbors" page 2...

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/ind....ead=1417&page=2
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tod2
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #14 on Oct 28, 2010, 6:39pm »		[Quote]
Absolutely wonderful Kimby! I wish we could have a mirror hooked up like that above the Kite nest.

This afternoon the sun came out after really heavy rain & a bit of hail. We set the tripod up facing the nest but only one chick stuck it's head up for a few seconds. Then the sun disappeared and it got too dark. Will try again over the weekend.
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #15 on Oct 28, 2010, 6:54pm »		[Quote]
How high is the nest, Tod? Can you put a mirror on a pole and hold it above the nest?

If they return to the nest every year, maybe after this year's nesting you could climb the tree and attach a mirror more permanently to reflect views of the nest.
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #16 on Oct 29, 2010, 8:53pm »		[Quote]
Fabulous photos,Tod2,OMark,and all...Just amazing!!! Hope to be posting in here soon,have a new camera,great zoom zoom on it,bought a tripod,only need to get somewhere and start taking pictures of wildlife soon.
Thanks good people for your great glimpses where you are!!
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tod2
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #17 on Oct 30, 2010, 2:33pm »		[Quote]
Kimby - The nest is on the neighbors farm just across the road, but is about 10 stories high in a tall gum tree. I don't think it will be possible to get anything rigged up. Pity, as it would be awesome to watch the chicks hatch and eventually fledge. :D
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #18 on Nov 3, 2010, 6:19pm »		[Quote]
Wimpy, non threatening Paris birds

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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #19 on Nov 3, 2010, 6:56pm »		[Quote]
Nothing exotic visits my garden :-/ BUT....I did visit Twycross Zoo a few weeks back....

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in my garden the most exotic birds we get are sparrows and starlings...did have a little baby thrush sitting on the cold frame one afternoon tho...

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and saw a baby robin in one of the (many) Garden centres I visited this spring...

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The yellow billed kites are stunning tho...brilliant pics Tod2... ;D
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #20 on Nov 4, 2010, 3:14pm »		[Quote]
Tod ~~ am only now getting back to marvel over more of the bird activity in your yard. The story of getting the kites to visit and to answer your whistle is thrilling, especially since they now return every year.

Love the birdbath activity ~~ that beady-eyed look from the robin is priceless.

Mark, I don't think I've ever seen a picture of a hoopoe before. They are stunning birds. Are they a type of woodpecker?

Even goggling at all the exotica in this thread, I still find the shots of more common birds lovely, plus it's amazing to capture them being still for a moment. Kerouac's fluffy Parisian sparrows and Cheery's sweet little thrush are delightful.

And Cheery, your ability to capture every feather and marking plus actual expressions is wonderful.

Oct 28, 2010, 8:01am, tod2 wrote:
PLEASE can more AnyPorter's show me their bird finds 8-)
Tod, here are some birds from my area. Please note that I did not take all the pictures:
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/ind....ead=3492&page=1
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #21 on Nov 4, 2010, 6:48pm »		[Quote]
Owls always look so peaceful and dignified.... until you see things like National Geographic photos showing the gluttonous owl massacre of rodents or snakes. :o
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #22 on Nov 8, 2010, 12:18pm »		[Quote]
Bixa - Many thanks for those great pictures! I did get a shot of an Oriole the other day but it's not the greatest so I will try again - they are so quick and don't keep still for a minute ;)

At last! Over the weekend we hauled out the big gun and pointed it in the direction of the Kites nest.
We managed to just see a head peeping over the bundle of sticks the parents call home. I think this is the adult - with an all yellow beak. The chicks have a black tip on their beaks.

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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #23 on Nov 8, 2010, 12:31pm »		[Quote]
Closer to home, right above our swimming pool is this vacant apartment described as a sisal log. It has had two tenants in the past, both being Olive Woodpeckers. I hope someone moves in soon........

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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #24 on Nov 18, 2010, 4:26pm »		[Quote]
This is what the kites will be served on the first sunny or clear day - lately we have had quite rainy cold weather. The beef bone was R30 = 3.15euros.
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #25 on Nov 18, 2010, 5:02pm »		[Quote]
I don't think they'll enjoy the matches though.
And how much were they?
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #26 on Nov 18, 2010, 5:04pm »		[Quote]
Aha! They are there for scale, aren't they?
They don't happen to be the household ones that are about a foot long?
Then the bone would probably be from a Brontosaurus, no?
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tod2
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #27 on Nov 18, 2010, 5:23pm »		[Quote]
No Mark, those are just the regular tiny little "light my fag....er maybe fire?" matches! I suspect it is a 'forequarter bone' I think it's a lttle small for the thigh bone in the hindquarters of an ox. Any butchers, vets, doctors out there , please feel free.. :D
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #28 on Nov 23, 2010, 6:37am »		[Quote]
The legend on your photo says it is a lion bone. ;D
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Re: Wild & Wonderful Garden Birds
« Reply #29 on Nov 23, 2010, 11:11am »		[Quote]
You are too sharp Kerouac! and have a wonderful eye for the "unguarded" photographer in me ;)
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