How many birds?

One of the pleasures of living here, where there is some bushland less than 100 metres away, and where so many houses have trees and mature shrubs and bushes as part of there gardens, is to listen to the world waking up.

Every morning the butcherbirds, magpies and Currawongs set to work. Later the Ravens join in and the the Rainbow lowries. Pee wees and wrens get going too. This time of the year the storm bird makes its presence known on some mornings also.

How many birds do the rest of you hear in the morning?

Currawongs, Galah's, Cockatoo's, Roselas, Lorrakeets. Ruddy Minor :(( rats.

Many feed off the natives shrubs in the back yard

Then frogs of a night near the pond, skinks, blue tonges during the day

A good thread Arthur :2tsup:

Mornings are beautiful at this time of the year aren't they.
I'm not a morning person so I am only now at this time of the morning, just getting my full faculties together. However I am like you in as much as I love the bird life in our little part of paradise.
Telegraph Point is well treed, and our place more than most.
I had the butcher birds and kookas following me as I mowed the front yesterday. They were after the crickets and hoppers in the grass. Later in the afternoon the wonga pigeons came down for the easy pickings of the mowed seed heads.
During the day we often see satin bowerbirds, white headed pigeons, yellow breasted robins, numerous honeyeaters and lots of others depending on the season.
We had king parrots mid summer, but they are gone now. I did hear some yellow tailed black cockatoos this morning but didn't spot them, and while I'm typing, a wattle bird oo-oo-ar-ar-oo-ee'd.
Bottom line is that habitat brings the birds and birds bring joy.
Ain't life grand.
SG

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Originally Posted by artme

One of the pleasures of living here, where there is some bushland less than 100 metres away, and where so many houses have trees and mature shrubs and bushes as part of there gardens, is to listen to the world waking up.

Every morning the butcherbirds, magpies and Currawongs set to work. Later the Ravens join in and the the Rainbow lowries. Pee wees and wrens get going too. This time of the year the storm bird makes its presence known on some mornings also.

How many birds do the rest of you hear in the morning?

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I wasn't aware of the varied birdlife in my area until you mentioned it. So far this morning I've shot and identified 28 different species!

I've always enjoyed waking up to the sound of the Shortwave Radio Birds (Magpies - according to the bird spotter's handbook) but the screeching Yellow-handled Parrots (Sulpher Crested Cockatoos apparently) get on my nerves a bit.

This ornithology lark is quite fun!

I only listed a few of those around here, as I guess the rest of you did.

I see and here all the other birds mentioned also. At times I have a flock of up to a dozen blue headed hoiney eaters flitting around, as well as leatherheads. There are a few black faced cuckoo shrikes in the area and some little twitters that I haven't identified as yet. They are too quick for me.

At night the birdlife is replaced by the flying foxes, and possums that have adopted us.

Flying fox sh#t is not pleasant but so what. We don't get that much.

We're lucky to be in a leafy suburb and just down the road at our pony club we have noisy minahs, black and grey butcherbirds, magpies, kookaburras, crested pigeons, turtle doves, rainbow lorikeets, scaly breasted lorikeets, eastern rosellas, plovers, tawny frogmouths, crows, currawong, pheasant coucals, few variety of ducks, ibis, cattle egrets, whip birds. Blue heron, woompoo pigeon and a crested hawk do the round occasionally too. It's a real managery. Even a couple of dumped rooster took up residence near our shed for a day, but the foxes saw to one of them, the other went to a rooster rescue service. I don't know what they do with them, but they do eat a lot of chicken. I forgot the fig birds and common kholes too and the cuckoos

cheers
Michael

Rainbow lorikeets, crimson rosellas, eastern rosellas, sulphur crested cockatoos, galahs, corellas, yellow tailed black cockatoos (rarely), king parrots, crested pigeons, noisy miners, peewees, magpies, butcher birds, currawongs, koels, tawny frogmouths and a raptor of some kind (only seen twice) who took out an indian dove.

And those bloody indian mynahs!

Living in Oatley NSW its a very leafy suburb and there is a Park nearby so of a morning there is a rich sound of the bird life as we awake, Kookaburra's, Cockatoo's,Magpie's, Miner Birds, Lorikeet's etc.
ItIn the mornings I am greated by several Lorikeets who call me for there grapes or honey on bread who have no fear of me as they jump on my hands to get the food and the Magpies who take bread from me. The Magpies will follow me arround the yard as I do gardening looking for the insects that I desturb for a quick treat, they too have no fear of me.
I could never keep a bird in a cage as it is great to see the wildlife free as they are and when they want they visit for there hand-outs.

Regards,
Keith.

I lived in Oatley for a few years as a kid Keith; not far from the bush reserve on the river. Great place to grow up.

Now 12 km as the crow flies from the Melb CBD. Been here for 20 years and we've noticed a steady increase in bird species and numbers, partic parrots. There's a creek reserve not far away and the speculation is that the dought has brought them down that corridor; also that the wattles that were planted years ago are now over-mature and grub ridden and so a food source for birds.

We have an old apple tree in the back yard and with good spring rains and a bit of help afterwards it will bear quite well. The applies were ripening nicely last month and then the parrots descended. We ended up with one apple but the visual feast was worth the loss.

The only two that I get to hear are the Zebra Bird and the Rainbow Bird.

What the heck are those you may ask??

Zebra is my Plymouth rock cross rooster, and Rainbow is my Australorp cross rooster.

Out at the foot of the Dandenongs, Here is my list.:cool:

Magpies, butcher birds, wattle birds, Cockies, galahs, rosellas, yellow tailed black cockatoos, blue fairy wrens, fan tails. whip birds, blackbirds, turtle doves. bush pigeons, noisy mynahs, thornbills, firetail finches, and many others in the background that I haven't identified. Some sort of owl at night, and sugar gliders as they come out of their nest in the evening. They are very weird. They sound like an unrolling coil of wire to me. :rolleyes: I didn't know what it was until a fellow member of our bush weeding group was talking of them. :cool:

Meant to reply to this on Sunday morning when I first read it but had to scoot off and then forgot, sorry about that :doh:, thoughtful thread Artme :2tsup: There's a menagerie of birds around here and they create a lot of chitta chatta, especially in the morning and especially Sunday morning because they must have known the rain was coming. The conversations subsided as the day went on but before nightfall they all seemed to have lots to say to each other about what had happened during the day and who was going to sleep where.

There is a bird that makes a call which is exactly like the tune of something I can't remember the words of, but it's English, I think war time, about Hitler maybe :? If you you can imagine a whistling sound with this rhythm :whistling2: da dada da da...da da, except the bird leaves the last two da da's to who ever knows the tune :meg: anyone know what the hell I'm talking about :-

We've had Doves and Blackbirds nesting in our Jasmine for the past seven years. The Blackbirds are my all-time favourite birds. Their morning song will brighten any day and after a summer evening shower, they sing like it's their last evening on Earth.

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Originally Posted by springwater

If you you can imagine a whistling sound with this rhythm :whistling2: da dada da da...da da, except the bird leaves the last two da da's to who ever knows the tune :meg: anyone know what the hell I'm talking about :-

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:C I think we had the same bird up here. But now I can't remember the song. :doh:

to many

if they get to close tehy get a nasty injection.

we had 54 butcherbirds, magpies, crows and corowongs coming in to eat the dog and cat food last year.:doh: was costing a fortune.

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Originally Posted by tea lady

:C I think we had the same bird up here. But now I can't remember the song. :doh:

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Thank god for that :U

It may make it easier if the da dada da da was replaced with:

nah nanah nah nah..nah nah

Not sure why though, what...are...the...words, please someone help me make it go away :doh: Sorry about this Artme, it's serious :rolleyes:

Not so serious mate!. I just happened to be musing a bit.

WW loves his Blackbirds but for me the carolling of a group of magpies or the songs of the butcherbirds are hard to beat.

Whenever I was in the bushas a youngster the laughter of the Kookaburras always sounded great. Somehow comforting.

As for birds with character I like the blue wrens and the willy wagtails. The Willy wagtails are surprisingly fiesty little fellas. Had one that nested in a dead white cedar tree on the farm. Anytime I went near it there was an almighty fuss and if I din't leave the thing would land on my head and scratch the hell out of my scalp.:o

First birds heard this morning was a lone carolling Maggie and two female power walkers having a conversation together at the same time :rolleyes: When I was young we visited my Nan at Upper Ferntree Gully and I remember the Bell Bird who's call seemed to carry through the forest for ages. The Eastern Honey Eater has a call which is not as melodic as some but is distinctive for the few beak clapers at the end. It's funny listening to a young Maggie's trying to get their call together :-

<dd>

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Originally Posted by weisyboy

to many

if they get to close tehy get a nasty injection.

we had 54 butcherbirds, magpies, crows and corowongs coming in to eat the dog and cat food last year.:doh: was costing a fortune.

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Shame on you Carl :((


Personally the call of the magpie is my all time favourite.
</dd>

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Originally Posted by springwater

Meant to reply to this on Sunday morning when I first read it but had to scoot off and then forgot, sorry about that :doh:, thoughtful thread Artme :2tsup: There's a menagerie of birds around here and they create a lot of chitta chatta, especially in the morning and especially Sunday morning because they must have known the rain was coming. The conversations subsided as the day went on but before nightfall they all seemed to have lots to say to each other about what had happened during the day and who was going to sleep where.

There is a bird that makes a call which is exactly like the tune of something I can't remember the words of, but it's English, I think war time, about Hitler maybe :? If you you can imagine a whistling sound with this rhythm :whistling2: da dada da da...da da, except the bird leaves the last two da da's to who ever knows the tune :meg: anyone know what the hell I'm talking about :-

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Colonel Bogeys March.[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvWLMkxSwIo"]YouTube - Colonel Bogey March[/ame]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_...y_Got_One_Ball for the other version.

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Originally Posted by

Colonel Bogeys March. Hitler Has Only Got One Ball - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for the other version.

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Thanks :roll: :wink: :rolleyes:.

artme, it may be a cuckoo shrike, i think they are called. edit, just googled the call. not it. So you can at least cross that one off.
try here Bird finder - Birds in Backyards a good library of calls.
TL you don't have all those birds in your area :no: It's one lyrebird trying to make you think it's hundreds of other species :doh:
[ame="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3433507052114896375"]Lyrebird Unbeleivable Jungle Bird Mimics Bird and Human Sounds[/ame]# a link for our downunderly challenged friends.

Unfortunately i am up and gone long before the sun so i don't get to hear the dawn chorus
I love the sound of bell birds and rifle birds and of course Magpies.
I hand raised an orphaned magpie once. I was so proud the first day he flew all by himself. :U We used to do a party trick for unsuspecting visitors. I would walk outside, hold up my arm and whistle and he would swoop in and perch on my arm. Very impressive.

:~ you realise now this is going to play in my head all day and if I start whistling it I'll get clouted.
Also its going to bug me as it reminds me of a book I read as a kid which I have been trying to recall the name of the book for sometime anyway it mentions a dancing pony which danced to the tune.

Lyre birds!! When I was in Scouts I was on a major hike once on the way from the head of the Nambucca River to Point Lookout on the New England Tablelands.

One of the fellows was not well (turned out to be tick poisoning) so a couple went on ahead to get the park ranger. The rest of us took the gear and made slow progress. Sat down for a spell and could here a vehicle starting uop. It stopped and happened again, and a third time.

Dammned Lyre bird!!

OK all you knowledgable types- How did Colonel Bogey come to be named so???

When I ran rafting trips on the Mitchell R. (Vic) many years ago I had a bloke on one trip who was an expert at identifying bird calls. "That's an xxx, that's a yyy, that's a lyre bird pretending to be a zzz ..."
Same bloke was woken up one morning by a tawny frogmouth on his sleeping bag, investigating him.

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Originally Posted by artme

OK all you knowledgable types- How did Colonel Bogey come to be named so???

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Wikipedia.

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

Wikipedia.

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Stop taking the fun out of my trivia contest WW!!:p

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Originally Posted by NCArcher

TL you don't have all those birds in your area :no: It's one lyrebird trying to make you think it's hundreds of other species :doh:
:no::rolleyes:No they are the ones I have definately SEEN not just heard.:p
and of course Magpies.
I hand raised an orphaned magpie once. I was so proud the first day he flew all by himself. :U We used to do a party trick for unsuspecting visitors. I would walk outside, hold up my arm and whistle and he would swoop in and perch on my arm. Very impressive.

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:D My Aunt had one that use to come into the kichen and move all the cigarette butts out of the ash tray intp the subar bowl at the other end of the bench.:doh: Also did a nice line in sitting on the back of chairs and p**ing in handbags. :rolleyes::D

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Originally Posted by AlexS

Same bloke was woken up one morning by a tawny frogmouth on his sleeping bag, investigating him.

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:rofl:

A reckon the tune is more like "shave and a hair cut.......two bits." :cool:

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Originally Posted by tea lady

A reckon the tune is more like "shave and a hair cut.......two bits." :cool:

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:2tsup::whistling2:

The tune sort of goes like this :-
Attachment 133545

Some butcher birds do that in amongst their other vocal gymnastics.

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Originally Posted by artme

Some butcher birds do that in amongst their other vocal gymnastics.

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Really, I've never seen the bird that makes that call but I'm listening and looking out with more attention now. I've sad memories of two separate occasions when butcher birds killed our pet canaries while they were outside in the cage :(

Yes, unfortunately that's a BB trait. My mother had the same problem but was quick enough to see the BB land and hunted it.

I can remember the BBs at home pinning mice to the post and rail fence - hence the name butcher bird.

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Originally Posted by artme

Yes, unfortunately that's a BB trait. My mother had the same problem but was quick enough to see the BB land and hunted it.

I can remember the BBs at home pinning mice to the post and rail fence - hence the name butcher bird.

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:oo: It's a jungle out there :brucelee: Yeah and I remember their lethal looking beak and beady eyes and they're sneaky too, still can't believe that's their tune though but then again :hmm: