I saw eight of these birds working in a close family unit gathering twigs and grass for their nest, they were interesting to watch. the one with the dark eyes is a juvenile.
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great pics
I have seen them in Jan, Mar & Sep '11 at Coraki, NSW
I recall that they had interesting calls
Peter
That's cool, Shane. I love "action" shots of birds that show their behaviour.
Where were they? (i.e. in or around Brisbane?)
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
In one of the field guides it said they make a yahoo sound, but I must say I didn't here this and I observed them for about an hour, but they do seem to babble to each other and make some interesting calls.
Regards
Shane
I must thank you Tim for your tip off about Hardings Paddock. I went there on Sunday to look for the Rose Robins that you or Steve had seen there and after a walk up to Rocky Knoll without hardly seeing a bird, just spiders and butterflies, we came back down to the picnic area and noticed these birds on the distance, I thought they were Apostle birds, so I snuck up on them and took photos of them and didn't know what they were until I got home. Tim if you go there you will find them on the right side when you drive in, about thirty or so metres past the picnic shed beyond the toilet block. Their nest is in a small tree on the edge of the grassy area you should see it easily because it ain't small and because they have a nest I think they will be there for a while, see if you can get some better photos than what I got, if you have a lens that goes to about 600mm you could just sit in the shed and snap away. I was using a 400mm lens and got as close as they would let me and even then, cropped these photos. I know it's not birds but just want to show you a photo of a butterfly and an unusual spider from that outing.
Regards
Shane
Great Shane, thanks for sharing!
I think that tip was from Steve, as I don't know of the area at all.
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
Sorry Tim I thought it was you, anyway it is off the Ipswich-Boonah road into Carmichael rd and go to the end.
Regards
Shane
oh lovely pics; especially the last one, being so industrious
Thanks dragonfly47, they certainly were a busy family.
Regards
Shane
Those photos are wonderful. I haven't seen a Grey-crowned Babbler yet. But I love the spiny spider, thanks Shane.
M-L
Wonderful and comical should just about sum up the Grey-crowned Babblers. I never saw my first until a visit to the Capertee Valley last October and saw them as well as White-browed Babbler. And a pair of Barking Owls.
The spider is common and it's called Australian Jewel Spider (Austracantha minax).
Great shots Shane, he looks very serious in shot number 2.
Nice shots, those Babblers are really hard to shoot.
Cheers, Owen.
Thanks for letting me know what that spider was Windhover as it was on my backpack, do you know if they are dangerous because the fangs on it look like serious business.
Regards
Shane
Thanks for your comments; cathshane he was wondering what my intentions were hiding behind a tree so yes a bit serious. Owen1 they actually didn't mind my presence up to a point, I am not sure whether that was because they had a nest near me and had no choice but to carry on. M-L I too had never seen them before so it was another special moment for me.
Regards
Shane
Jewel spiders are not dangerous :D
Very good shot,
the last one I viewed I had bad lighting and couldnt
get a decent photo but I LOVE looking at these spiders
We have GCB in Darwin. I sometimes see groups of 20 or more. Great pics.
I'm totally new to bird identification.
We moved from Tas and now live Wide Bay area of the Queensland Coast and have a variety of birds frequenting our block. Most are common, like the Willy Wag-Tail, Magpie, Falcon, Kookaburra, Pee-wee, Owls etc, but the most intriguing has been until now the hardest to identify.
It seems to be a type Babbler, which I'd never ever heard of before. Every morning one will give it's own distinctive "babble" to be answered by several others, each seeming to have their own repertoire. Would that be right?
During the day they squabble on the ground and chase each other around our bbq area. They also play hide-n-seek with the magpies... which is very funny to watch.
I have tried to get video of this but the quality from inside isn't all that good. They are fairly happy to stay on the ground reasonably close to us.
In the afternoons they seem to change their call to a long winded mess of sounds together. This can go on for minutes at a time all together...
Do they like water to bath in and should we leave any food around for them? if so, what is healthy for them to eat?
Hope to get more info on these as we are planting many native trees and shrubs on our block to encourage more natural habitat for whatever wants to hang around here. Any advice is appreciated
If they don't look like the Bablers above then it could be Apostlebirds. They hang out in a group and have similar behaviours to the Bablers. I often see them hanging around together here at Samford. Hope that helps.
hello taswheels or should that be qldwheels
are you on the eastern or western side of the highway?
the grey-crowned should be the only babbler in your area
as stated it could be an Apostlebird or even a White-winged Chough
yes, leave a bird bath out for them but abstain from food
your planting of suitable natives trees and shrubs should provide their food sources
Peter
Great to learn of your efforts to provide natural habitat for the birds of your area, taswheels. Plants which are indigenous to your area provide the preferred habitat as the local birds have adapted to the local plants over millions of years.
No need to artificially feed the birds as the birds are already attracted by the natural food provided by the habitat already there. In fact, artificial feeding often does more harm than good. After all, a native birds surely has a better idea than a human of what suits its needs.
You can use the search box near the top of this page to get more information on both <indigenous plants> & <artificial feeding>.
Thses are the Apostlebirds I was talking about.