Stuart Rae

Bowra Birds

Major Mitchell's Cockatoos Lophochroa leadbeateri fly over the lagoon at sunset

Here are some shots of the birds we had around the campsite at Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, see previous post. For more on the birds caught and banded visit the piece Jon Coleman, who organised the meet, on the Facebook page of Australian Bird Study Association Inc.

Australian Ringneck Barnardius zonarius parrots forage for seeds around the edge of the camp. They like to keep in the shadows. That way their eyes are shielded from the sun and they can see any predators approach.

Parrots are so versatile, they can grip such slender stems such as on this shrub, to reach the seeds still set in the dried flower heads, then pull out the seeds with their tongues and bills.

Over by the lagoon, there were four Willy Wagtails Rhipidura leucophrys hunting insects. This one was using branches lying in the water as perches to hawk from.

This Willy Wagtail was using a kangaroo as a hunting perch.

It wasn't catching insects on the kangaroo's back, just using it as a vantage point to spot prey on the ground nearby, possibly disturbed by the roo.

There were several White-headed Stilts Himantopus leucocephalus patrolling around the water, dipping to snatch insect larvae from the water, mosquitoes hopefully.

And there were six Black-fronted Dotterel Elseyornis melanops feeding in the very shallowest water. Well, their legs are a lot shorter than the stilts'.

In fact they are rather small birds, small enough for the group of them to hide in the sand around a log lying on the shore.