In April we were transported to Australia with Pieter van Oudtshoorn.
Pieter’s perception of the country was a desert with bluegum trees and no mountains but he was persuaded by a friend to visit, and he was glad that he did. Accompanied by his wife and their friends, the trip took him all over the country including Sydney, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Darwin taking in many different habitats. Taking the more common birding route up the Esatern coast would have produced more sightings but Pieter and his wife wanted to see a different side to Australia.
We greatly enjoyed Pieter’s photos (although he bemoaned not having a better camera at the time) which included huge flocks of parrots like Keralas and Galahs, Cockatoos, Cockatiels and Lorikeets. It was fantastic to see these birds flying free rather than in aviaries. Other highlights were many species of Honeyeaters, Fairy wrens, and of course the iconic Kookaburra. Some of the birds caused a double take like the Silver Eye which looks like our White Eye and the Rainbow Bee-eater (which sadly in the past was slaughtered for eating too many bees).
Pieter noticed than many of the birds seemed to be frowning. He came to the conclusion that it’s because of all the fighting that goes on between them. For example one species of Mynah chased every other species away from one particular area, which ultimately caused problems because the other species were effective pest controllers and the incomers were not.
This was such an insightful and colourful talk, look out for the next edition of the Batis for the full article.
More about Australia’s varied birdlife:
“Australia is home to over 700 species of birds. When you include Australia’s offshore islands and territories the number increases to around 900 species; of these about 350 are endemic (found only in Australia). The parrot and pigeon families may have originated in Australia and are well represented today. Also dominant are the songbirds that began their worldwide conquest in Australia and now make up half of the world’s 10,000 bird species. Families such as the honeyeaters proliferated to make use of the plentiful nectar from eucalyptus and paperbark trees.
Self introduced birds to Australia include swallows and raptors. These have been joined by human introduction of starlings, sparrows, the Common Myna and other species. There are migratory shorebirds that breed in northern Asia and Alaska and arrive to feed over the Australian summer before returning. Offshore over 200 of the world’s 350 species of seabird can be seen in Australian waters”.
(From: https://www.australiaswonderfulbirds.com.au/)
Thursday 3 April, 6:30pm for 7pm at the Somerset West Library Hall.
Refreshments available. Parking attendant on duty.