Wild Bird Wednesday

Lots of bird type activity here this past week. We have been involved in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count for the past week and were pleasantly surprised at the number of birds we counted in the 20 minutes each day.

Species included - Australian Magpie, Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Crimson Rosella, Little Lorikeet, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Little Wattlebird, Willy Wagtail, Red-browed Finch, New Holland Honeyeater, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Crested Pigeon, Little Raven, Eastern Spinebill, Common Blackbird, Sacred Kingfisher, White-faced Heron, Grey Shrike-thrush, White-browed Scrubwren and our pet Emu.

Activity also on the nesting scene- but not always happy.  This year we had a number of nests attacked and destroyed including the White-faced Herons, a pair of New Holland Honeyeaters and most recently a pair of Grey Fantails. Fortunately it looks as if the Fantails are nesting again as they have been very busy collecting cobwebs from under the veranda eaves and the furry stuff off the new tree fern fronds.

I was lucky enough to get one of the Fantails to stay still long enough to get a photo. He is rather unusual in that he lacks the white chin and eye patch that Fantails usually sport. One of my bird watching friends thinks he may be somewhere between juvenile and immature - but he is one I have not sighted before. Maybe someone out there can help me out here.

Below is a brown variation of the Grey Fantail who came to visit last year. You can see the reddish chest and the buff eyebrow rather than the usual white.

And finally a Grey Fantail and the brown variation displaying in the birdbath.

Liz Needle  -  linking with 'Wild Bird Wednesday"  and 'Outdoor Wednesday' and 'Wednesday Around the World'.