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Post by SueA on Jan 3, 2013 17:28:50 GMT
I'm pretty sure I saw a warbler in our garden today, maybe a willow warbler but I didn't get a photo. I know we don't get them usually in the winter & very rarely in the summer in this area but I can't think of anything else it could be & as we had a blackcap the other week maybe we are getting more summer visitors staying on over winter now. I could hear something calling in a tree in the garden but thought it was probably the robin or dunnock but then when the gang of sparrows arrived a little bird was startled out of the tree onto another shrub & then it flew off, small, greyish/pale yellow, pale eyestripe, pointed beak, very neat appearance, hope it pops in again.
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Post by SueA on Jan 11, 2013 22:06:30 GMT
Saw the little bird again today, it looks like a willow warbler or chiffchaff but I'm still not sure, I got a quick photo through the window but it's not very clear. It makes a little 'hweet' or 'peep' call but I haven't heard it sing, if it 'chiffchaffed' I'd know it was one for sure! ;D  |
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Post by grindle on Jan 12, 2013 5:41:17 GMT
they do look very similar don't they, looking at the RSPB site, the chiffchaff looks more likely as it is an all year round resident in the southern half of the country, whereas the willow warbler is mainly a summer visitor. Could you tell by playing their Audio?
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Post by SueA on Jan 12, 2013 9:46:54 GMT
I've listened to the audio on the RSPB site Grindle but can't tell because the bird in our garden hasn't actually done any real 'singing' as such only the single tweets, if it was a willow warbler though I think I might get it mixed up with our robin singing as it sounds similar. As you say it looks more likely to be a chiffchaff as they do overwinter in some areas. It does all the things that chiffchaffs/willow warblers do, bobbing it's tail & flitting in & out of the bushes, fairly similar to robins & wrens, hard to spot it, only seen it 3 times. The poor thing will be freezing it's socks off if it stays around this weekend.
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Post by joysie21 on Jan 12, 2013 10:05:47 GMT
Do birds eat passion fruits
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Post by Cherry on Jan 12, 2013 15:47:09 GMT
I think the passion fruit would need to be cut open for the birds to be interested. It might appeal more to tropical birds.
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Post by grindle on Jan 13, 2013 9:00:40 GMT
never mind Sue, at least it's nice to have an unusual bird visit whatever it is. All I seem to get is Starlings, with the odd few Blue Tits and one Great Tit. ;D
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bernieh
Full Member
Gardening in the dry tropics Downunder
Posts: 117
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Post by bernieh on Jan 13, 2013 10:06:12 GMT
I'm rather fortunate as I get to see a wide variety of birdlife where I live. Our place is in amongst bushland and we get to see various birds every single day. Here's a few I saw just today:  Forest Kingfisher  Figbird  Red-tailed Black Cockatoo  Rainbow Lorikeets  Sulphur-crested Cockatoo |
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Post by sweetpea on Jan 13, 2013 11:26:34 GMT
Thought that was a galah up a gum tree  Cracking pics by the way. |
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Post by Cherry on Jan 13, 2013 11:53:59 GMT
They are fabulous pictures Bernie. I missed the birds when I was away from Maggie Island. Even the town's birds were different.
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bernieh
Full Member
Gardening in the dry tropics Downunder
Posts: 117
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Post by bernieh on Jan 13, 2013 12:39:14 GMT
Thought that was a galah up a gum tree Cracking pics by the way. Sweetpea, we actually don't see many Galahs out here in the bush. My aunty had one in a cage at her place throughout my childhood days, and I can remember feeling so very sorry for the poor thing. It was a fabulous talker! |
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bernieh
Full Member
Gardening in the dry tropics Downunder
Posts: 117
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Post by bernieh on Jan 13, 2013 12:40:30 GMT
They are fabulous pictures Bernie. I missed the birds when I was away from Maggie Island. Even the town's birds were different. I missed all the birds around here over the last month while I was away from home. Although there were some birds around us every day down in Brisbane, there just wasn't the variety. I really missed the Kookaburra song we hear here most of all. |
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Post by sweetpea on Jan 13, 2013 14:48:40 GMT
Thought that was a galah up a gum tree Cracking pics by the way. Sweetpea, we actually don't see many Galahs out here in the bush. My aunty had one in a cage at her place throughout my childhood days, and I can remember feeling so very sorry for the poor thing. It was a fabulous talker! We had a rosette cockatoo which was about 50 years old when it conked out. It used to fly free in the back garden and always returned to its cage for the night. naturally it was called Rosie ;D Only ever heard a kookaburra when I was at Taronga Park Zoo sydney. They used to fly all around there. |
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Post by Cherry on Jan 13, 2013 16:01:15 GMT
I can't stand birds in cages. As a child, we had an aviary which took up most of the garden, even camellia trees which were 12 ft high. My mum hatched an emu in the slow combustion stove, which was an Esse Fairy, so the name was Esse. Esse got too big and went to Healesville Sanctuary where we went to see her. My husband took our picnic lunch and offered Esse a sandwich which she bypassed and took the whole lunch from under his arm.
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Post by grindle on Jan 13, 2013 16:46:35 GMT
great photos Bernieh, they are so colourful  |
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