Quack, Tweet, Squawk.. click!

[Magicziggy]

So...a thread to share birdie pics.

We went swan hunting at the wetlands this morning.. and they were plentiful.

Taken 30-11-12, Whyalla Wetlands, South Australia





Australian Black Swan

Information

Distribution Density Map

[MSG]

Already posted at Theorama:

Originally Posted by neilloan

I can't tell you how great a privilege it is to have seen this:

Yes, that's the malleefowl, Leipoa ocellata ("spotted egg-leaver"!) It's the only megapode that lives in temperate and semi-arid zones instead of the tropics. It's the size of a large chicken and its nest is up to 5 metres in diameter, and it moves 3 tonnes of soil very day to make sure the eggs are alright.

The Aborigines of western Victoria called it Lowan, and the spirit malleefowl, Neilloan, is represented by the constellation in my avatar.

More information: http://www.malleefowlvictoria.org.au

[Adenosine]

Found here:



But more commonly here:

[praying]

Originally Posted by Adenosine

Found here:



But more commonly here:

I LOL'ed

[borealis]

omg aden. That's Ishmael level shitposting.

[borealis]

Flock of 16 Common Mergansers on our lake this morning, all females, unusual since we usually only see them on their way north in early spring:

nmp

[Adenosine]

Originally Posted by borealis

omg aden. That's Ishmael level shitposting.

Nuh-uh. Mine was funny. And it's the only contribution I can make to the thread since I don't birdwatch.

[borealis]

Couple days ago saw four Golden Crowned Kinglets for the first time in many years. Really bold little birds, as fearless as chickadees.

nmp

[borealis]

you should start birdwatching.

[Adenosine]

Originally Posted by borealis

you should start birdwatching.

I live near a lake, river complex. There are lots of birds. But birds are boring.

[MSG]

Originally Posted by Adenosine

I live near a lake, river complex. There are lots of birds. But birds are boring.

go back to your dungeons and dragons thread you peasant

[borealis]

Also saw a very large unidentified hawk this morning, maybe following the mergansers as they seem to always have some kind of predatory bird shadowing them, often eagles.

The hawk flew too low to see a good silhouette, so all I got was large with an unusually large head.

It may have been a Northern Goshawk:

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/nsbirds/bns0090.htm

It's the right time of year, the right flight (low), and the right size.

[borealis]

They are not boring! They are bloodthirsty smart little dinosaurs with the emotional temperature of tyrannosaurs. Even the seed eaters. They fight, cheat and steal all the while pretending to be harmless pretty little innocents.

[Adenosine]

There's a reason why birdbrain is an insult.

[MSG]

no, there isn't :getout:

[Teshi]

I don't think you guys want me to post my ten billion bird photos, lol

[borealis]

Wrong.

We do.

You could space them out a bit over time if you like.

[oblivion]

I saw a bird in the garden today that I didn't recognize. I didn't see it closely enough to know what the beak shape is. It was small, maybe finch-sized. It hat a neon yellow splotch on the top of its head and a neon yellow splotch under its tail. I'm not sure how much of the belly was yellow. The wings, tail and upper body were mottled brown.

[borealis]

Myrtle warbler?

http://www.google.ca/search?q=myrtle...FaW30AHShYDoCA

[oblivion]

Originally Posted by borealis

Myrtle warbler?

http://www.google.ca/search?q=myrtle...FaW30AHShYDoCA

the splotch on the head is dead on. I'm almost certain the yellow was under the tail, not on top of it. When the bird flicked its tail up and the yellow jumped out I was like "whoa".

[Teshi]

Could have been a yellow-rumped warbler maybe if you're not perfectly precise on the yellow splotch locations

[Teshi]

I just googled it and myrtle warblers and yellow-rumped warblers are the same thing Or rather, myrtle warblers are a type of yellow-rumped warbler

[Teshi]

The under-tail thing made me think palm warbler, but they don't have yellow on the crowns of their heads, just around the eyes

[borealis]

whatbird.com's list of birds with yellow. Take a look ob, see if you can spot your visitor.

http://www.whatbird.com/browse/objs/...or/2116/Yellow

[oblivion]

the myrtle warbler looks closer than anything in that list. Maybe I'll see it again in the next day or two and get a better idea about where the yellow splotches are.