I am fascinated by the different shapes the nankeen kestrel makes while hovering - here are lots! It's a beautiful bird. Guess what I'm dreaming of now - a camera that can take sharp images at this distance, like the ones you see in birds in flight books. I think it would cost about as much as a new car though, so I'll just be dreaming.
Your good at this Birdgirl.:)
That's a nice bit of camera tracking,
you've got steady hands.
Al
Wow, I'm with you Birdgirl, they make fascinating watching don't they!? You did well there to track and hold steady, .... do you really need a car? LOL
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I'll tell you a funny one:
I saw a piece of fake fur at the Salvo's so I bought it and took it home.
I also keep sheep hearts on hand for my mate "Old Man Kookie" (he must be 5yrs or more).
Idea: Roll sheep's heart in fake fur,
brown coloured icecream lid heaped with gumleaves for a sled, brown string to pull artificial rodent along the ground.
So dressed up in greens and a "ghillied" tripod, I head up the mountain behind the house to a high clearing roundabouts where two wedgetails frequent.
I sat under some tall bushes on my little fold up camping stool and waited, and waited...and waited.
After 2hrs the wind really picked up, branches dropping everywhere, so time to call it a day (the ants had already claimed my decoy!).
I'm not done yet, I'm sure there will be more forays like this as the Spring evolves.:)
Old Man Kookie.
Al
Ha ha that is hilarious. Hope someone was filming you! Tell me if you are successful and I might give it a go. Trouble is, where I go are wide open places. I did buy a brown t-shirt and an olive hat but the birds of prey see me anyway and take off. I try to creep up to the whistling kites behind trees. Birds of prey that hover are easier to photograph, but this one was covering huge distances surprisingly quickly and was going down into the grass and up again quite often. She didn't seem to mind me standing there though
Birdie - I need the car to get to the birds!
My plan, get the birds to come to my camera.
A source of fresh water and little bit of tucker like apple/sunflower seed always attracts this gang.
They think they own the yard, and they are fearless!
Al
I haven't been here in a while....but I'm glad I popped in! Wow! Great shots Birdgirl2009, and Conspirator, I LOVE the look of Old Man Kookie. How cute! And what a group to have visit your yard. Beautiful birds!
Carla Maxwell
Beautiful birds indeed Carla. But hey Conspirator , if you are feeding seed to Loris then you will cop a serve on here . Hopefully you mean just fruit for them.
I love the shot of them all lined up there and I love the story about Old man Kookie etc.
Maybe I am not inventive enough.... I have been considering getting a special camo outfit as I must stand out like the proverbial in white t shirts etc. The birds probably laugh all the way to the tree tops when they see me coming LOL
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I love the way the lorikeets are arranged. We have them here every day and they won't let any other birds into the feeder when they are there - they'll move into the other tray to keep one out.
Thanks Al, birdie, Carla - I went a bit overboard but I really love them
So Birdie, am I bad for tossing them sunflower seed?
It started when I put out mixed seed and noticed the Lorikeets
picking out the sunflower seeds. They dominated all the other birds, so I tossed a handful (or two) on the lawn at other end of the yard in the mornings to give the other's a break. I'll admit I don't mind them around because it gives me a chance to work out a new Nikon camera I got a month ago (when I posted the speckly breasted Lori).
The apples are cheap, but I hav'nt tried any other fruits.
So tell me what's best, and now you can give me a serve, but be gentle. :)
Butcher bird actually looking at the Lorikeets just above.
Al
Ha ha Al, I am always gentle... even when I am serving it up!
There have been many posts before that deal with this issue, and you would not be the first to find out that the Lorikeets are their own worst enemy as they do like the seed, but they have a unique tongue ( I will find a pic for you from an old post I did) that is specially made to extract nectar from their natural food.... flowers. it is a furry kind of tongue and unfortunately gets damaged by eating seed. If you want to attract them , then there is special mix you can buy and I think some folk soak bits of fruit in it. But it really is important that native birds do not become reliant on us as a food source. ( that's another one that'll get you a serve on here LOL)I'll post the picture shortly in a new post so we don't detract from Birdirls beautiful BOP shots.
Was that gentle enough? or would you like a few smiley faces in there to make you feel all warm and fuzzy ? he he
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I've got a Lori mix I bought for the nestling a few weeks back, "Harmony Wild Bird Mix".
I suppose if I kept it well diluted it would work out budget wise.
I really like the feeders Birdgirl had.
I know the birds take advantage of our generosity, but it's priceless having such a living backyard.
And they do attract alot of other breeds in aswell.
Thanks for going easy on me :)
Al
Al, when I put out seed I put out some finely chopped apple as well. The rainbow lorikeets always choose the apple before the seed. I chop it up finely because they usually pick up a piece, turn their heads to one side, chew it a bit then drop it on the grass
Thanks Birdgirl, apples are all they get now, thanks to Birdie saying "they are their own worst enemy".
Chopped up like you said, they won't eat the skins, the snails get those, and a blue tongue gets the snails. :)
Al
Aahh Al.... the circle of life... don't you just love it? :)
Didn't know Blueys liked snails even, in NZ it used to be the Thrush that got the snails . No need for snail killer ....
Sunshine Coast Queensland