Hi all,
Just wanted to tell people about the nice birdy experience I had recently. It probably wasn't an unusual sighting, and I'm not sure that it is scientifically interesting, so I thought that the "social" forum would be a suitable place for this post.
I had a quick visit to the mangroves, via the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, a few days ago. In the gardens, I didn't expect to see much more than a few ducks. However, I felt really lucky when I saw two adult bush curlews and their two chicks. One of the adults was feeding the chicks. Then the rain came. The adult "crouched" and opened its wings, and the chicks ran to the adutls and sheltered under the wings. It was amazing to watch. The chicks were barely visible under the adults' wings.
In the mangroves I saw a few Mangrove Gerygones, which I had never seen before, so that was great. The tiny things are very hard to follow visually as they flit through the trees! I also saw two bitterns - not sure which type; I'll mention them in the "identifications" forum.
Also, I found a Fig Bird's nest. It was right next to me, at eye level. There were several hatchlings in it, and the parents were hanging around. When I backed off a bit, the adult male returned to the nest and sat on the chicks. The nest was lovely. Rather than sitting on a branch, it hung like a hammock from a fork in the tree. The bottom of the outside of the nest consisted of long strands of vegetation (grasses or reeds etc). The ends of these srands were wrapped around the branches, and acted as a support for the rest of the nest. I would love to see a bird build a nest. Did anyone else know that Fig Birds nest in mangroves? The tree that held the nest wasn't on the border of mangrove and another habitat; it was unambiguously mangrove (ie growing in muddy sand in a tidal area). However, I guess that the Botanic Gardens have plenty of suitable food trees (not sure if mangroves have berries etc?). I just thought it was really interesting that the nest was built in a mangrove.
Andy.
That's cool. It amazing how smart birds are even when they're small. Check my story in 'Social'. It's called 'Close Bird encounters'. All of it's true.
Andy, your thread about seeing the Curlews reminded me that we saw curlews one night at Southbank. My 10 year old spotted them first, and I could not believe my eyes. I have only ever seen them on Stradbroke Island.
Hawk, I saw your post re "close encounters" and it prompted me to post my own message about my close encounter with a King Parrot.
Lois, there are also a couple of Bush Curlews in Roma St parklands.
Andy
From what I can work out, your Fig-Parrot report sounds unusual.
Firstly, they are classed as rare, as far south as Brisbane, from what I can find (on the Web).
Secondly, the breeding record does not match the normal ("nests in tree hollows").
Do you have any contacts there in Brisbane, amongst other birders? If so, can they tell you if it is really rare, and if so, it might warrant full documentation and reporting to the relevant bird recording authorities.
Best of luck with it. It sounds special.
Cheers
Denis
Denis Wilson
www.peonyden.blogspot.com
Whoops.
my apologies
I mistook your reference to a Fig-bird as being a reference to a Fig-parrot.
So sorry.
Denis
Denis Wilson
www.peonyden.blogspot.com
Thanks Denis, for your reply. If I had seen a Double-Eyed Fig Parrot in the Brisbane mangroves I would have done a little dance.
The Double-Eyed Fig Parrots are found in a little reserve just north of Brisbane, but on my visit there I didn't see any. However, I did see a couple of female log-runners. Nice.