Feel a bit wierd asking people to check out my thrush! But I haven't seen one before, and the two in my book, and on the net, look identical. I spotted this one walking Mt Keira (Wollongong)last weekend. I am thinking Bassain Thrush?
Thrush
Sat, 15/10/2011 - 16:48
#1
michaelrt71
Thrush
Looks like it, and well done for the pic..i think they are very pretty . It is always nice to spot something new in the bush isn't it?
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Yes. We were lucky to see it because it was determined to look like a branch. I thought I would head up the Mt again this morn, but we have had flooding rains since 5am! Ducks and white-faced herons having a ball though.
Interesting bird, good camouflage, it's lucky for us you saw it.
Jeanne
Brisbane QLD
Nice work there. Looks like a young Bassian due to the darker, patchy plumage and the very stubby tail. Love the pose there.
Cheers, Owen.
What a lovely Baby Bassian Thrush, as Owen says the adult has a much longer tail. I have them in my garden. I am surprised to see it in a tree, at my place they live on the ground, and I haven't seen them in a tree. Mum might have put the little one up there, because it could be safer for it? Gorgeous photo, I love it! M-L
M-L
yes Araminta, while I was snapping this little one my daughter spotted the mum nearby.
It's nice to see the Bassian thrush survives in some parts of Australia. Unfortunately, it's been badly affected by development & black birds in the Mt Lofty Ranges & is now critically endangered if I've got my terminology right. Hence my war on black birds (not to mention development!)
Does anyone have both the Bassian thrush & the black bird in residence?
Hmmm... this almost answers a question I didn't ask a few weeks ago. I discovered a blackbird's nest with 3 eggs in it and was debating whether or not to ... do something about it. I didn't and I am pretty sure they have hatched now.
I have noticed an increase in the numbers of blackbirds over the past 4 years. I still have bassian thrushes around, although I'm not sure how many as they are quite shy.
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia
Treasure those Bassian thrushes, soakes, because with black birds around they might not be in future. I guess the reality is eradicating black bird nests is an excellent way of preserving the Bassian thrush.
I've heard some folk say that they could never eradicate a black bird nest because its call is so beautiful. Indeed it is. But so are the calls of the rufous whistler, golden whistler & grey shrike thrush. So if it's beautiful calls folk want then planting indigenous vegetation is the way to attract the Aussie songsters. No need for black birds at all.
Sorry, I have both living side by side on my property, They have done so for years, if I can, I might post photos of both, but I have done so several times. As soon as my new computer works well, I will. Give me some time! M-L
M-L
We have since been back up the Mt and saw another pair of thrush on the other side as well. No sign of blackbirds in that particular area. I live 1km from that sighting and have no local balckbirds either. A small sign, but a good one.
Here they are, living in my garden together, as they have done for years!
The male Blackbird is feeding his young :
M-L
..and one of those, I have at least 6 of those living in my garden!!
(not a very good photo, I have better ones, couldn't find them, my new computer is more complicated.Why do they do that to an old girl??)M-L
M-L
Well, well. Now there's a conundrum, Araminta. Why is it that the Bassian thrush is succumbing to the black bird invasion in SA (so I understand) but not where you are in Victoria? Could it be the higher rainfall where you are providing more resources so that both species can survive? Just a thought.
A good sign indeed, mrt71.
I guess you would have to look at environment Woko to answer that. I think M-L has a rich and varied surround with plenty of food to go around there. When not feeling under threat surely the birds are less likely to show any deterioration.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Yes, birdie is right, i am lucky!! But it's not the State Park that provides the best habitat for the birds, it's the neighbour on the other side of my fence. (Although he has no idea about what kind of paradise he has on his hands)Lucky for the environment, he hasn't got the time ,as he says, to "maintain" (=slash/burn),his 120 acres. Thank god(?) for that!!! Nothing has been done to his property for 30 years,you can't walk through it, just beautiful. A creek,ferns, Lyrebirds etc. I think, what is really good for the invironment, are "old people and lazy, messy people,who don't care to clean up their garden!" LOL !! I don't maintain my garden on purpose. I worry every time new , young people full of energy move in, you can bet your life on it, next week the chainsaw comes out, and trees go! There are two houses for sale close to us, and in my mind I can hear the trees fall already.
M-L
That's really scary, Araminta. I certainly hope that your new neighbours will sheath their chainsaws & cage their lawnmowers thereby demonstrating that they're as environmentally sensitive as you are.
I have to agree with you that minimum disturbance of the garden is so important for Aussie plants & wildlife. Not for me straight-edged lawns & grassless garden beds fringing gravel paths. These environments are virtual deserts, I believe, with nary an Aussie animal or insect in sight.
Very nice portrait. I haven't seen a thrush before. So many birds, so little time to find them all