Hello all,
I am a newbie to birds but enjoying learning what our fellow residents are on our new property. Hubby and I have 5 acres of native bush and scrub grass in the Moore River region of WA (just nth of Perth) and it is teeming with wildlife such as frogs, shingle backs, monitors, skinks, roos and an abundance of bird life. 100s of splendid fairy wrens - which I absolutely adore, especially as we moved here in the middle of mating season so we have enjoyed the electric blue of the males flitting about but also now have the new little ones coming out to say hello. And what chatterboxes they are! A true joy! :)
New Holland honey eaters, rufous whistlers, kingfishers, kookaburras, galahs, swifts etc... and regular visits from large flocks of carnaby's (they are always a treat). There are still a few feathered friends about that I am yet to get to know... which is the main reason I am here. As I am relatively bird illiterate I'm hoping to learn a thing or two!
About me? I'm a middle aged mum of 2 grown children and a nature loving, tree hugging hippie.
I look forward to getting to know my feathered friends a little better and maybe make some new ones! Thanks for having me!
And a hearty welcome to Birds in Backyards, earthchild. In beginning to learn about birds you're embarking on what I reckon is one of life's great journeys. I hope you find it as mind blowing as I did when after a while I began to see the oh, so important relationships between the birds & their natural habitat. If you can keep intact as much of that as possible you'll be providing a valuable service to the birds & other critters who live where you live.
Thanks Woko. Hubby and I intend to do our best to keep our place as critter friendly as possible. We try not to interfere with nature much, except I do like to "de-tick" our local bobtails. ;)
And with the warmer months ahead we ensure there is always access to water for anything around.
2 months in and I am in heaven. I have realized though that I may need to save up for a better camera! Get those distance shots happening! :)
No matter how much knowledge you have, you can always learn more.
Hi earthchild13.
Your block sounds like heaven! Your new feathered friends sound like a delight too. Looking forward to seeing some of your pictures.
Cheers. Chris.
Also in WA on a similar sized block. We don't get your wrens though. Colour me green!
Hi Chris,
Whereabouts are you in WA? (Nth/Sth/inland/coastal?)
I have uploaded a few photos on various forums here but decided to add a couple in this thread for anyone interested. I have been here for 4 months now and am in awe of the variety of birds we get on our property alone!
Anyway... here's a few examples... The ibis is new. Only been visiting the last week or so.
Ps. Sorry about the photo quality. I am yet to get myself a new camera.
No matter how much knowledge you have, you can always learn more.
Hi Earthchild13,
Love the photos! You seem to have a selection of birds that is a little different to the ones we see here. Great to get the three honeyeaters in a row like that. The ones I've seen briefly here move so quickly that it's hard to even get one to stay in one place for a few seconds for a picture, let alone three.
We live in the hills to the east of Perth. We get the usual magpies, galahs, 28s, kookaburras and bronzewings pretty much all the time. And we also get wattle birds, Carnaby cockatoos with the white tails, plus a few of the black cockatoos with the red tails as well. Red-capped parrots now and then, corellas, new holland honeyeaters, pardelotes and other little guys I haven't got a good sighting of yet. A frogmouth too. Occasional goshawks. Never seen an ibis or a bee eater or a blue wren though. Lucky you.
Don't worry about the photo quality, it's fine. There are some unbelievably good photographers on this site and it's easy to be a bit overwhelmed by just how good they are compared to the rest of us. But there are many of us who also enjoy the shots that aren't magazine quality. At least I certainly do.
Please keep posting your pics in this thread - and elsewhere on the site. Does your hubby take pics too, or do his interests lie elsewhere? My wife takes shots of the garden but doesn't attempt the birds.
If you'd like to see some pictures of our birds here in the hills, I have just finished putting some photos taken on our block onto a small web-space that our ISP gives its customers for a home page. Not a public site as such, but just somewhere to show our wild-life to friends and family, plus some other family related stuff. Maybe you could build something similar for your own pictures as you start to collect more? If you're interested I could send you a link via this site's message system, if I can figure it out. I'm pretty sure that it's active.
All the best with your photography on your block. Cheers. Chris
Hi again Chris!
The Honeyeaters - we have 100s here and whilst they are extremely quick and active I am lucky enough to be able to sit and watch them from the comfort of my patio or gazebo and so manage the occasional snapshot. Not too often but every now and then.
Hubby doesn't have the patience I do but he does try! Haha!
You get red tailed black cockatoos!? I'm jealous! I am yet to see one myself. We only get carnaby's here - I will upload a photo.
Also have included a cuckoo strike I spied a while ago. See them every now and again but they're quite elusive. We have loads of red wattles here too but I find it hard to get a good pic - I think I may have one on my camera that I got the other day so I'll check and upload it if I do.
I would love to check out your photos if you're happy to share the link! I'm obsessed with anything nature!
And thanks for your words of encouragement in regards to my shots. Nice to know I'm not looking entirely amateur to everyone! Haha!
Hels
No matter how much knowledge you have, you can always learn more.