Picture the scene. It is a dull, cloudy day in Melbourne. It looks like it will rain any second. However, birds still visit my feeder and garden- maybe the variety of species is lacked, but in individuals, there are a lot of birds.
The first bird I see while watching the birds of my garden is the house sparrow (see the previous post about my 'Top Three Garden Birds'). House sparrows visit the feeder and trees around the feeder in hundreds of birds. On the ground are a few spotted doves (see the 'Top Three' garden birds post). Joining the sparrows at the feeder is a species of bird that I probably wouldn't have here if the feeder wasn't here- the rainbow lorikeet.
Yes, I know that these birds are abundant in Melbourne, but I still take the time to watch their beautiful plumage. Up to 2 birds can be at the feeder during the 1 time. Hopefully, even better birds will start visiting as well.
As I continue looking at the birds, a common myna, an introduced pest in Australia, swoops in and lands on a tree and one of the shyer residents of the garden, a blackbird, flies into the shadows. These are some of the more uncommon visitors to our garden.
Hiding among the many house sparrows is a solitary Eurasian tree sparrow. It can be distinguished from the house sparrows by its sandy brown cap and white neck-collar.
Unlike the house sparrow, the tree sparrow is not sexually dimorphic. A small population used to inhabit an area near my house, but construction has destroyed their home.
The tree sparrow, house sparrow, spotted dove and myna are all introduced, while the rainbow lorikeet is native.
With some good images, I walk back to my room after a good session of birding for the garden.
No comments:
Post a Comment