Happy Christmas from Oz

I thought you would like a couple of photos of some of the birds that visit the garden.

This is a pair of Laughing Kookaburras - they are kingfishers and common residents here, nesting in hollows in trees or tunnels in woodland termite mounds (there's one at the bottom of the drive but I don't think there's a nest there). They eat insects and small lizards. When Prue was in the garden this week a kookie swooped down and took one from under her feet. Ruth, their next door neighbour, said that where there are kookies there are no snakes. They have a very distinctive loud chuckling laugh which, when one starts, others join in in chorus so they are very easy to spot.

In the garden is an ornamental cherry tree in fruit which is attracting the birds. They tend to travel around the available fruit in a timed cycle so the Hills parrots visited today before I got my camera to them but I will hopefully catch them tomorrow.

This is an Rainbow Lorikeet which is a medium to large sized parrot. The lime green collar shows it's an eastern form - there's a red-collared form which is northern with fewer colours. The Lorikeet's tongue is brush-tipped for gathering nectar and pollen from flowers and trees which is its usual food although in this area it does eat fruit. It makes a noisy screech in flight so you know when they are in the area. The plumage is amazing as you often see three colours in one feather. It's my favourite Australian bird and I always rush to see them much to the grand children's amusement.

 

 

Happy Christmas and a wonderful 2014 to all .....

 

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