Tag Archives: Nature

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Wilson’s Warbler

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Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) by Ian

Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Wilson’s Warbler ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 09-21-10

Here is the attractive Wlson’s Warbler one of the New World Wood-Warblers (family Parulidae) that is quite common in Canada and the western United States. We encountered this one at Point Reyes, an pleasant coastal area and good birding spot just north of San Francisco. With a length of only 12cm/4.75in, the specific name pusilla (small) given to it by Alexander Wilson in 1811 is appropriate.

The Wood-Warblers, so named to distinguish them from the unrelated Old World Warblers, are justifiably popular with American birders, particular during the spring and fall migrations. They come in a wide variety of shapes and colours, with over 50 species (out of a family total of near 120) occurring in North America. Most species spend the winter in Central and South America, a few in the warmer southern states such as California and Florida and during the migration, many birders are on the lookout for Warblers occurring outside their breeding range.

Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) by Ian

Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) by Ian

Alexander Wilson moved from Scotland to Pennsylvania in 1794 at the age of 28, became interested in ornithology in 1801 and decided in 1802 to publish a book illustrating all the North America birds. This appeared as the nine volume American Ornithology between 1808 and 1814, though Wilson died in 1813 and the ninth volume was completed by his friend George Ord. He met John James Audubon in 1810 and probably inspired him to publish his own book of illustrations, even though Audubon’s reaction to Wilson is described as ‘decidedly ambiguous’. (He declined to subscribe to American Ornithology, felt his own illustrations were much better and, in 1820, decided to publish the ‘greatest bird book ever’.) Seven species of birds are name after Wilson, including two on the Australian list, Wilson’s Phalarope and Wilson’s Storm-Petrel.

I have had a report of a list member having trouble accessing the Birdway website. If you have encountered any such difficulties recently, I’d like to hear from you. Recent additions to the website include:

Black Turnstone
Cassin’s Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklet
Sora
Virginia Rail

Best wishes,
Ian
—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

Another winner for Ian. What a pretty little warbler. I like that black cap it is wearing. As he said, they are in the Parulidae Family. You can see his photos of the Parulidaes and then check out the whole family here at the Parulidae Family. There are 120 members in the family at this time.

By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. (Psalms 104:12 NKJV)

Ian’s Bird of the Week – American Bittern

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American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) by Ian Montgomery

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) by Ian Montgomery

Ian’s Bird of the Week – American Bittern ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 9/14/2010

Lightning, they say, doesn’t strike the same place twice. Luck, in bird photography, is rather similar: a missed opportunity usually remains just that. High on my list of American targets was the American Bittern, a cryptic and elusive bird of inaccessible reed beds that had successfully eluded me since I first did some serious birding in the USA exactly forty years ago. Imagine my delight and disappointment when I finally flushed one from reeds on the Feather River at Lake Almanor in NE California last Sunday but wasn’t quick enough to get a photo of it as if flew off. I found it in the viewfinder okay, but the autofocus didn’t as often happens when it gets distracted by a complex background.

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) by Ian Montgomery

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) by Ian Montgomery

Yesterday, two days later, at Sierra Valley in the Sierra Nevada (‘Snowy Mountains’) I saw a large bird flying towards and past me across more reeds and decided to photograph it even before I realized that it was another Bittern, see the first photo. Shortly later, another more distant one flew past and then I found a couple more lurking in the dwindling area of wetland remaining at the end of a dry summer. Eventually, I startled one in a ditch beside the road which froze in indecision (if in doubt, freeze, is a Bittern maxim) frustratingly close but on the other side of an unpicturesque barbed wire fence.

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) by Ian Montgomery

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) by Ian Montgomery

Then started a waiting game with an endlessly patient opponent that I was bound to loose. Eventually, I moved along the road away from it in the hope that it would come through the fence to regain the sanctuary of the ditch. In time, it did just that and quite stealthily, second photo. Bitterns are bizarre birds in appearance and behaviour, with extraordinarily effective camouflage and very beautiful plumage. When it had entered a small patch of reeds not much bigger than itself, it vanished, and search as I could with binoculars from a short distant, I never saw it again.

To do the plumage justice, I’ve included cropped enlargements of a couple of photos taken when the bird was behind the barbed wire. The fourth photo shows the gorgeous long neck feathers that drape over the breast and the exquisitely patterned feathers of the wing coverts.

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) by Ian Montgomery

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) by Ian Montgomery

Worldwide, there are four closely-related species of large Bitterns, one in North America, one in South America, one in Eurasia and Africa and one in Australasia. All have declined in population, but only the Australasian one is classed as endangered. All live in reed beds, all are mainly nocturnal, skulkers and easier to hear than see, particularly in the breeding season when they emit far-carrying booming sounds: presumably, they find each other easier to hear than see.

Links including recent additions:
Australiasian Bittern
Wrentit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-shouldered Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Black-footed Albatross

On an almost totally unrelated subject, Birds Australian North Queensland has had a request from an Australian, Carolyne Hepi, living in a remote area of Papua New Guinea to support the local school by buying their 2011 Birds of Papua calendar, price 20 Australian Dollars. I think it is a great idea. Her email is carolyne_jon@hotmail.com and, if you want more information, I’ll make a copy of the pdf she sent us (size 3.8MB) available on the Birdway website.

Best wishes,
Iab
—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

Thanks, Ian, for another great birdwatching adventure for us to read about. Saw an American Bittern in Texas in early 2000 and they are hard to capture in binoculars let alone get a decent photo of them. Great job!

Bitterns are in the Ardeidae- Herons, Bitterns Family which has 14 species world-wide. Also check out Ian’s Ardeidae family photos. The Bitterns are part of the Pelicaniformes Order and are mentioned as a Bird of the Bible.

I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom(broom) of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts. (Isa 14:23)

Family#26 – Ardeidae
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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Buller’s Shearwater

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Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri) by Ian

Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Buller’s Shearwater ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 09-07-10

Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri) by Ian

Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri) by Ian

I went on a pelagic boat trip from Monterey shortly after my arrival in California. Buller’s Shearwater was one of three species of Shearwater that we encountered in quite large numbers. The others were the Sooty and the Pink-footed. All three are on the Australian list, though the Pink-footed, which breeds off the coast of Chile, is extremely rare in Australia. Buller’s breeds on islands off New Zealand and both it and the Sooty (breeds in New Zealand, the Falklands and Tierra del Fuego) are regular visitors to both Australia and California in the their annual circuit around the Pacific. Having myself just endured a flight – with considerable artificial aid – across the Ocean, I couldn’t help but be very impressed.

Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri) by Ian

Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri) and Pink-footed Shearwater (Puffinus creatopus) by Ian

I’ve chosen Buller’s as it is the most elegant and distinctive of the three with very white underparts (first photo), a well-defined black cap, and M-shaped dark markings on the otherwise grey upper surface of the wings (second photo). With a length of 46cm/18in and a wingspan of 100cm/40in it is intermediate in size between the smaller Sooty and the slightly larger Pink-footed. Incidentally, Buller’s Shearwater is the 600th Australian species to be included in the website.

We encountered all three mainly in flight, but also swimming on the surface in mixed flocks. The third photo shows two Buller’s and a Pink-footed. The Pink-footed also has a pale body, but the contrast is less marked and, in flight, the dorsal surface of the wings are relatively uniform in colour. The Sooty, is dark all over except for paler underwing patches.

Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri) and Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) by Ian

Buller's Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri) and Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) by Ian

Another common bird on the trip was the Black-footed Albatross, which nests on islands off Hawaii. The fourth photo shows one flying alongside a Buller’s Shearwater and it has about double the wingspan – around 2m/80in – and is comparable in size to the Australian Mollymawks such as the Shy Albatross.

Relatively calm seas with a 2m/6ft swell were ideal for the trip, but it was overcast and rather gloomy for photography. Photo of the day wasn’t a bird but a Pacific White-sided Dolphin, fifth photo, which obligingly soared out of the water when I was idly following it underwater in the viewfinder of the camera. Whales were very much in evidence with Hump-backed, Fin and Blue Whales and a few days later I photographed Grey Whales farther up the coast. Consequently, I’ve added a section on Cetaceans to the Other Wildlife part of the website.

Links:

Buller’s Shearwater
Pink-footed Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater

Pacific White-sided Dolphin by Ian

Pacific White-sided Dolphin by Ian

Cetaceans

Blue Whale
Fin Whale
Humpbacked Whale
Grey Whale
White-sided Dolphin

Best wishes,
Ian

Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

Another great adventure for Ian and what a shot of that Dolphin! Perfect timing. Great bird shots also.

The Buller’s Shearwater is in the Procellariidae – Petrels, Shearwaters Family. At present there are 86 species in the family including the Petrels, Shearwaters, Fulmars, and Prions. They are part of the Procelliiformes Order which also includes the Albatrosses – Diomedeidae Family which has 21 species.

And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. (Numbers 24:21 KJV)

Most procellariids’ nests are in burrows or on the surface on open ground, with a smaller number nesting under the cover of vegetation (such as in a forest). All the fulmarine petrels bar the Snow Petrel nest in the open, the Snow Petrel instead nesting inside natural crevices. Of the rest of the procellariids the majority nest in burrows or crevices, with a few tropical species nesting in the open. There are several reasons for these differences. The fulmarine petrels are probably precluded from burrowing by their large size (the crevice-nesting Snow Petrel is the smallest fulmarine petrel) and the high latitudes they breed in, where frozen ground is difficult to burrow into. The smaller size of the other species, and their lack of agility on land, mean that even on islands free from mammal predators they are still vulnerable to skuas,[28] gulls and other avian predators, something the aggressive oil-spitting fulmars are not. The chicks of all species are vulnerable to predation, but the chicks of fulmarine petrels can defend themselves in a similar fashion to their parents. In the higher latitudes there are thermal advantages to burrow nesting, as the temperature is more stable than on the surface, and there is no wind-chill to contend with.

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Anna’s Hummingbird

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Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) by Ian

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Anna’s Hummingbird ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 09-01-10

As promised last week, here is Anna’s Hummingbird, the common Hummingbird of gardens and parks along the West coast of the United States. Many houses, including the one I am in, have hummingbird feeders to attract these delightful birds.

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) by Ian

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) by Ian

They can be quite inconspicuous, despite the striking colours of the male birds. They alternate between hovering and sudden bursts of very rapid flight which makes them appear and disappear with equal facility. The feathers have, in effect, lots of minute mirrors on them and the bright colour is only visible at exactly the right angle to the light. Otherwise, they look quite dark, dare I say drab, like the male in the first photo hovering at the feeder. The second and third photos, also males, show the claret-coloured head and breast quite well, even though the birds are perched in the shade. Young birds and females are mainly green and grey, though adult females have a small red patch on the throat.

At 12.5cm/4in in length Anna’s is quite large by hummingbird standards. Most of the North American hummingbirds are migrants and spend the winters in Mexico and/or Central America, but Anna’s is an exception and is resident in coastal areas of the western states. They are quite aggressive and males chase other males away from feeders. They also seem quite curious and will check you out by hovering quite closely.

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) by Ian

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) by Ian

Hummingbirds occur only in the Americas and there are more than 300 species. 27 of these, mostly photographed in Ecuador and Trinidad, are on the website: http://www.birdway.com.au/trochilidae/index.htm .

I went on a successful pelagic boat trip out of Monterey last Sunday, so next week’s bird will feature a wanderer that is also on the Australian list that I haven’t seen before. Sometimes, you have to travel quite far to track down local birds!

Best wishes,
Ian

—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

I am glad Ian is getting to see the Hummingbirds up close here. Sure he is as thrilled to see them as we would be watching some of those beautiful birds that they have only in Australia. Welcome to America, Ian.

Where we live, there are very few hummers even in the winter. Other area of the state get some, but not this area. The description of the reflection the hummingbird gives when facing the light reminds me of several verses.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies’ sake. (Psalms 31:16 KJV)

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes. (Psalms 119:135 KJV)

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3 KJV)

Check out his Trochilidae Family pages and also the Trochilidae – Hummingbird Family page here.

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Pacific Loon

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Pacific Loon(Gavia pacifica) by Ian

Pacific Loon(Gavia pacifica) by Ian

This week’s choice was based on (a) the fact that I promised an American this week and (b) because I ended up travelling a day late on Air Pacific via Fiji as my V Australia flight was cancelled, and wanted to make a horrible pun along the lines of loons and choice of airline and the ‘meals’ that they provide. I’ve decided to spare you that, as we all know that airline food is terrible and I shouldn’t be surprised when it plumbs new depths.

Anyway, it’s lovely to be back in California and I spent some time this morning trying to photograph the Anna’s Hummingbirds in the backyard. They need to be photographed at exactly the right angle to the light to show the magenta on the head. I haven’t yet done that to my satisfaction, so I’ll keep that for another day.

Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica) by Ian - from his Website

Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica) by Ian - from his Website

This Pacific Loon I photographed in Barrow in northern Alaska on my last trip 2 years ago when it was swimming among the ice-floes along the beach where there was some open water in the otherwise frozen sea. ‘Loons’ to Americans and ‘Divers’ to the British form a small northern hemisphere family of 5 species – http://www.birdway.com.au/gaviidae/index.htm – all of which are mostly marine fish-eaters except when breeding when they nest beside freshwater lakes, often far inland. They are brilliantly adapted to an aquatic life and prefer to dive than fly. How sensible.

The Pacific Loon is very closely related and similar in appearance to the Arctic Loon/Diver of Eurasia. The bird in the photo is in breeding plumage (it was mid-summer’s day) and all the loons/divers then have strikingly patterns, while the non-breeding plumage is a rather drab grey and white. They’re big birds, with the Pacific having a length of 64cm/25in.

The enforced leisure of my journey gave me ample opportunities to work on the website, and I have made some additions http://www.birdway.com.au/#updates and finally updated Ian’s Picks:

Black Swan
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock
White-throated Dipper
Northern Brown Bandicoot

Australian Wildlife - Ian

Australian Wildlife

Earlier this year, I provided many photos for a new Brandt guide to Australian Wildlife by Stella Martin and received my copy shortly before I left Australia. I think Stella has done a wonderful job in producing a comprehensive but concise introduction across a broad field which is eminently readable. Being a paperback it’s ideal for the visitor to Australia and great value. Amazon now have it in stock: Australian Wildlife and it is becoming available in book stores. I’ve attached a copy of the cover to whet your appetite!

Best wishes,
Ian
—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

Since Ian is traveling, I went to his website and got the second photo of the Pacific Loon swimming towards the camera. I am sure Ian won’t mind. As Ian said, the Loons are in the Gaviidae Family which is in the Gaviiformes Order. In other words, they are the only family in that Order.

Their sounds are sad and remind me of wailing.

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:7-8 KJV)

See:

Ian’s Gaviidae Family,

Birds of the World – Gaviidae Family and the Gaviiformes Order.

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tooth-billed Bowerbird

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Tooth-billed Bowerbird (Scenopoeetes dentirostris) by Ian

Tooth-billed Bowerbird (Scenopoeetes dentirostris) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tooth-billed Bowerbird ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter 8-20-10

I’m squeezing this bird of the week in between the Birds Australia Congress and Campout, which finished this morning, and my departure for California tomorrow. The Congress and Campout was a great success and ran like clockwork thanks to the preparation, dedication and hard work of our secretary and committee. I had a request from a participant to make the Golden Bowerbird – one of the highlights of the Campout – this week’s bird but this species starred in this role earlier this year. So, instead I’ve chosen the Tooth-billed Bowerbird and included a photo of the Golden Bowerbird, both being endemics of the Queensland wet tropics and inhabiting highland rainforest.

Tooth-billed Bowerbird (Scenopoeetes dentirostris) by Ian

Tooth-billed Bowerbird (Scenopoeetes dentirostris) by Ian

It’s not spectacular in appearance like the Golden Bowerbird, but it’s an interesting bird nevertheless. It doesn’t build a bower; instead it has a display platform consisting of an oval cleared space on the ground around a small tree trunk with a suitable branch used as a perch for singing above the platform. It decorates the platform with large, fresh leaves that the bird collects by using its serrated bill to chew through the leaf stem. The second photo shows a bird in full song and you can see the serrations on the bill, from which it gets the name. Like other bowerbirds, it is an accomplished songster and very good a mimicry. It is also fussy. Most bowerbirds are extraordinarily fussy in their choice of objects and colours to decorate the bowers. Tooth-billed Bowerbirds only use leaves, but the leaves are carefully chosen for appearance and laid upside down, with the paler surface uppermost. Apparently, if you turn them up the other way, the bird will put them back the correct way.

Golden Bowerbird (Prionodura newtoniana) by Ian

Golden Bowerbird (Prionodura newtoniana) by Ian

They usually start attending their display areas in September, so we were a bit early and I don’t think anyone actually saw one, though there were reports of hearing them. There was, however, some early activity and a couple of birds had several leaves in place. At the peak of the season, there may be up to 30 or so leaves, and these are replaced regularly with fresh ones. The Golden Bowerbirds had made an early start to and were decorating their bowers with pieces of lichen. The bird in the third photo, taken last Tuesday, has just added a piece to the bigger pile on the left and he is standing on the display perch between the two piles of twigs – ‘maypoles’ – that make up the typical bower of this species. The display perch is very important as it is where all the real action takes place, and you can see that this one is well worn.

You can expect an American as the next Bird of the Week. I’ve gone right off flying in recent years, so I’m getting the train to Brisbane for my flight to San Francisco. Unfortunately, there isn’t a convenient alternative to flying if you wish to cross the Pacific.

Best wishes,
Ian
—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

The Bowerbirds are in the Ptilonorhynchidae – Bowerbirds Family. The family has 17 Bowerbirds and 3 Catbirds in it and they are part of the Passeriformes Order (Songbirds).

Previous articles on Bowerbirds:

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Spotted Bowerbird and the Golden Bowerbird

a j mithra’s – Golden Bowerbird

Family#126 – Ptilonorhynchidae
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Birds of the Bible – Eye Hath Seen

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For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. (Isaiah 64:4-5 KJV)

Wood Duck by Dan at Lake Hollingsworth

Wood Duck by Dan at Lake Hollingsworth

When I think of the verses above and the next verse, I think of the neat birds that the Lord has created. Even though they are under the curse, some of them have fantastic colors and markings. Their sounds are so sweet (well, most of them). I imagine the Lord with the most beautiful paintbrush. What must heaven look like when many of the things we experience here are so awesome? Once the curse is removed, what will things look like then?

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV)

The photos below are just of birds and it was difficult to narrow the selection, but what of all the beautiful flowers, sunsets, sunrises, scenery, and on and on. What must heaven be like? Like many of you, I am looking forward to arriving and seeing things that I can’t even imagine as the verses say.

It is not automatic to go there. A person needs to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Please see either or all of the following:

The Gospel Message, or the Wordless Birds

(A little short this week as we are just arriving home after a two week vacation – blogs about the trip to follow later. )

I will let the Lord’s Creative Hand reveal what we see here and it is fantastic.

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Thanks to all the great photographers who have given permission to use their photos.

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Cape Barren Goose

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Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) by Ian

Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Cape Barren Goose ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter 08-14-10

Here’s one, the Cape Barren Goose, from the other end of Australia for a change, taken last year at the euphemistically named Western Treatment Plant at Werribee southwest of Melbourne.

It’s a large goose, to 100cm/40in in length with drooping wing feathers when standing, giving it a slightly 19th Century bustle. It has a large greenish-yellow cere and red legs with black feet. Its range includes Northern Tasmania, the islands of Bass Strait and the south coast of Australia from Victoria in the east to islands near Albany in Western Australia. It’s not particularly common with a population estimated at about 17,000 but the population is stable and it has been introduced to a number of places including Kangaroo Island in South Australia and New Zealand.

Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) by Ian

Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) by Ian

The birds are grazers and feed on grasslands and cultivated pastures. They are wary, and when they take flight they fly strongly, as in the second photo.

The Birds Australia Congress starts in Townsville this evening and the Campout starts next Monday. So, if you’re attending I’ll look forward to catching up with you. In the meantime, in haste, I haven’t updated Ian’s Picks on the website but will do so when I get a moment and will let you know.

Link: http://www.birdway.com.au/anatidae/cape_barren_goose/index.htm

Best wishes,
Ian

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Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

Looks like Ian is off on another one of his adventures down there in Australia. The Cape Barren Goose is in the Anatidae Family along with Ducks, Teals, Shelducks, Mergansers, Geese, Swans and their allies and are part of the  Anseriformes Order.

And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:30-31)

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Banded Lapwing

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Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) by Ian

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Banded Lapwing ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 08-05-10

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) by Ian

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) by Ian

There are two species of Lapwing in Australia. One, the Masked Lapwing, is widespread, common and well-known throughout northern and eastern Australia and Tasmania. It’s familiar because it is at home in populated areas, large, aggressive when nesting, and always noisy when disturbed, even at night, a real larrikin, to use an Australian expression. The other, the Banded Lapwing is the opposite. It’s smaller, quieter, uncommon, not well-known and wary, occurs in drier country away from people, and altogether much more dignified.

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) by Ian

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) by Ian

It occurs mainly west of the Great Divide and south of the Tropic of the Capricorn, including Tasmania, though there is a small resident population in the dry, cattle-grazing country south of Townsville, north of its usual range. A friend of mine took me there last Sunday so that I could take some photos. Previously, I’d seen them only in Victoria and Western Australia.

Masked Lapwings have large, pendulous, yellow, facial wattles that make them look rather ridiculous, but larrikins don’t worry about appearances. Banded Lapwings have small discreet red wattles, that combine tastefully with the yellow eyes and bills and black, white and tan plumage; presumably the scientific name tricolor refers only to the plumage. The birds – we found about ten – allowed close approach in the car and eventually seemed to get quite used to my presence, though the curious cattle came over too and got in the way a lot.

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) by Ian

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor) by Ian

I concentrated on a group of 5 birds, one of which was a juvenile – the third photo – so the birds had bred recently. Juveniles have small, pale wattles and camouflaged plumage. One pair of adults came quite close to the car and eventually mated. Banded Lapwings are supposedly monogamous and I wondered whether this pair were the parents of the juvenile bird.

Lapwings form a sub-family within the Plover family and there are about 25 species world-wide in every continent except North and Central America. I’ve chose a pair of Yellow-wattled Lapwings – from India as the current Old World pick for comparison. This pair is also mating, so either Lapwings like doing it in public or I like photographing them doing it: the choice is yours.

Other current picks include:
Australia: Red-capped Robin
New World: Blue-footed Booby
Other Wildlife: Koala

Links:
Masked Lapwing
Banded Lapwing

I recently spent a night at a Bed and Breakfast place in Alligator Creek recently opened by friends of mine, Colin and Helen Holmes. Alligator Creek is about 25km south of Townsville and close to the Mount Elliott section of Bowling Green Bay National Park. Their house is set in several acres of land with plenty of trees and shrubs right on the Creek. It’s a delightful place and very comfortable and you’ll be well looked after and supplied with a lavish breakfast. I can recommend it highly, so if you’re looking for somewhere friendly and peaceful to stay near Townsville check out their website: http://www.alligatorcreekbedandbreakfast.com.au/ .

Best wishes,
Ian
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Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

The Banded Lapwing is part of the Charadriidae  Family which includes not only Lapwings but also Plovers, Dotterels and a Wrybill. There are 67 species in the family. They are in the Charadriiformes Order which has 19 families.

The Lapwing is one of the Birds of the Bible. See the Lapwing page.

And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Lev 11:19 KJV)

See all of Ian’s Birds of the Week

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Red-necked Stint

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Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) by Ian

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Red-necked Stint ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 04-01-09

This time of the year, almost anywhere in the world, is a good time to go looking for waders. Not only does the (northern) Spring migration mean that unusual species can turn up, but many of these migrants are acquiring their breeding plumages. So, if you’ve ever been faced with the daunting challenge of identifying waders in their drab winter plumage, you could be in for some pleasant surprises.

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) by Ian in breeding and non-breeding plumage

Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) by Ian in breeding and non-breeding plumage

A case in point is the Red-necked Stint, a common non-breeding visitor to Australia, where the plumage is normally anything but red. The bird in the photo is in partial, or ‘pre-breeding’, plumage with the delicate
pinkish-chestnut face and breast and the black and chestnut wing coverts. A dapper little bird by any standards, I think.

‘Little’ is the operative word. Stints – there are 4 species – are the world’s smallest waders and the Red-necked Stint with a length of 13 – 16 cm/5 – 6.3″ is slightly smaller than a House Sparrow (14 – 16 cm). Size doesn’t stop it being one of the champions of migration, breeding in the Arctic tundra of Siberia and northern Alaska and spending the northern winter in Australasia and as far as south as sub-Antarctic islands.

At this time of the year, the birds are feeding madly, building up their fat reserves for the long trip. Apparently, they can lose half of their body weight during the migration.

The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed that the photo was taken at Boat Harbour during a brief visit to the Sydney region earlier this week. It’s tax time and I went to Boat Harbour after a meeting with my accountant in nearby Sutherland. To my friends in Sydney I extend an apology that I didn’t have time to catch up with them.

Best wishes,
Ian
—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

Storks, doves, swallows, and thrushes all know when it’s time to fly away for the winter and when to come back… (Jer 8:7)

This is one of the catch-up newsletters I am finally finding time to do. Will be releasing several more of these in the next little bit. Finally have some time to work on them. See Ian’s Bird of the Week list to see  Ian’s articles. He will continue to do his current ones also.

The Stint mentioned was getting ready for spring migration, but of course this time of the year, they start preparing for their fall migration. I also went to Ian’s Birdway and found an extra photo. The Stint is in the Scolopacidae Family of Sandpipers and Snipes. The Scolopacidaes are in the Charadriiformes Order which has 19 families.

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Red-necked Stint

Ian’s Bird of the Week – White-breasted Woodswallow

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White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus) by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – White-breasted Woodswallow ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 07-28-10

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus) by Ian

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus) by Ian

Some species are a source of continual pleasure even when they are very common, such as the White-breasted Woodswallow, which is to be seen daily in Northeastern Queensland, perching conspicuously on power-lines or trees and chasing insects, swallow-like, in small flocks. They are attractive birds, fun to watch and courageous, frequently mobbing raptors.

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus) by Ian

White-breasted Woodswallows “hanging out” by Ian

Woodswallows get their name from a superficial similarity to true swallows, though in flight they are stockier and lack forked tails as in the second photo. They aren’t related to swallows and form a family, the Artamidae, with the larger more crow-like Australian Magpie, Butcherbirds and Currawongs. The White-breasted Woodswallow is widespread through eastern and northern Australia and is resident in northern coastal areas but migratory or nomadic in other parts of its range.

They are sociable birds, as can be seen in the third photo, and often roost together in large numbers. The fourth photo shows a roost on power-lines near a set of traffic lights on a busy Townsville intersection. When I took the photo, at dusk, about 200 birds were present and the one looking down towards the camera had just elbowed its way into the middle of the row after landing on birds already in place.

White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus) by Ian

White-breasted Woodswallow “Squeezed in” by Ian

Back at the website, the ‘Current Picks’ (Australian, New World, Old World and Other Wildlife) are:
Shy Albatross
Purple Honeycreeper
Razorbill
and Platypus

I’ve reformatted the Image Purchases page and published a scale of prices for digital images for the conservation- and/or education-related projects that account for most of the Birdway business: http://www.birdway.com.au/printpurchases.htm

Best wishes,
Ian
—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

Love that last photo, Ian! Can they breathe?  :)

As Ian said, the Woodswallows belong to the Artamidae Family. There are 11 members and they live mainly in Australia and New Zealand. They are part of the Passeriformes Order and “they are among the very few passerines birds that soar, and can often be seen feeding just above the treetops.”

“The woodswallows have an Australasian distribution, with most species occurring in Australia and New Guinea. The Ashy Woodswallow has an exclusively Asian distribution, ranging from India and Sri Lanka through South East Asia to China, and the most widespread species is the White-breasted Woodswallow, which ranges from Peninsular Malaysia through to Australia in the south and Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The group reaches the easternmost extent of its distribution in Fiji with the endemic Fiji Woodswallow.” (Wikipedia)

Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. (Psalms 84:3 NKJV)

See:

Ian’s Birds of the Week

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Eastern Spinebill

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Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) male by Ian

Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) male by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Eastern Spinebill by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter 07-21-10

The Spinebills, Eastern and Western, are in my opinion the most elegant of the Honeyeaters so here is the Eastern Spinebill – I haven’t yet managed to photograph the Western Spinebill of SW Western Australia – with the winning combination of tasteful colours and long, fine, curved bill. The bill is adapted to probing for nectar in the flowers of Bottlebrushes, as in the first photo, or Grevilleas and they also feed on insects.

Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) female by Ian

Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) female by Ian

Males and females are subtly different as the male has a black crown with a sharp transition to the rufous nape while the female has a greyish crown with a gradual transition to the rufous nape. The bird in the first photo is a male, while the one in the second, coming down to drink in a creek, is a female.

Both these birds were photographed in the highlands around Paluma, not far from Townsville. The Eastern Spinebill is found in Tasmania and coastal southeastern and eastern Australia from the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia to Fraser Island in SE Queensland and there is an isolated population in the highlands of northeastern Queensland from Eungella near Mackay to Cooktown north of Cairns. This is perhaps a separate race, named cairnsensis.

I am keen to get feedback on recent changes to the website from visitors with slower, e.g. dial-up, connections. The inclusion of thumbnails to all the 142 bird families represented in the site means that the homepage – http://birdway.com.au/index.htm – has a lot of stuff on it to download. If you have found this a problem, please let me know ian@birdway.com.au as I can easily move the ‘Instant Guide to Bird Families’ to a separate page. This would make the homepage faster and make viewing all the thumbnails optional with a link from the homepage.

Best wishes,
Ian
—
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au

Lee’s Addition:

I don’t know about going to Ian’s site with a slow connection, but I sure do enjoy his new layout. I can jump right to the family I am looking for. I really appreciate your hard work on the front page, Ian. Click to see more of Ian’s photos of Eastern Spinebills.

Spinebills are in the Meliphagidae – Honeyeaters Family which 182 species and is in the Passeriformes Order.

13–16 cm (5–6 in) long, the male Eastern Spinebill has a long thin downcurved black bill with a black head, white throat with a reddish patch and red iris. It has a brownish-red nape, a grey brown back and pale cinnamon underparts. The dark tail is tipped with white laterally. Females and juveniles are smaller and duller. The call is a rapid piping.

The Eastern Spinebill feeds on nectar from many plants, including the blooms of gum trees, mistletoes Amyema spp., Epacris longiflora, Epacris impressa(common heath), Correa reflexa, and various members of the Proteaceae such as Banksia ericifolia, Banksia integrifolia, Lambertia formosa and Grevillea speciosa, as well as small insects and other invertebrates. A 1982 study in the New England National Park in North-eastern New South Wales found that there was a large influx of birds coinciding with the start of flowering of Banksia spinulosa there. They have been known to feed from exotic plants such as Fuchsias.

My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a prospect, And your hope will not be cut off. (Proverbs 24:13-14 NKJV)

http://www.birdway.com.au/meliphagidae/eastern_spinebill/index.htm