Emerging Plans for the New Season - June 2009

Can you spot the two scaly-breasted lorikeets with their lispstick red beaks?  They've just taken off after a drink and a bath at the lilypot.

Our backyard has been a hive of activity as the birds prepared for winter. The currawong kids have returned in big numbers after travelling around the countryside during summer.  Over a dozen young adults congregate daily, renewing acquaintances with the crows and magpies.  The younger ones are much smarter than their parents and quicker to respond to the cheek they get from the noisy-miners and butcherbirds. 

The galahs have been sorting out their nesting holes, while the noisy-miners have been building new nests.  The good rains this year has kept the bowerbirds in the region and many of them visit for a bath.  Teddy-Toms our early pied-butcherbird chicks, now fully adult with their own families have returned.  The birds surprised us again.  A big butcherbird conference in the old mulberry tree, saw Freddy and Terry leave, while their juvi Jerry was joined by two of Teddy-Toms kids in their area.  There were no fights or squabbles, just a singing negotiation.  (Last year, we saw their negotiations resulted their kid Terry joining Dimpy and Chucky; Freddy returned while Butch and Cass left.)

Their grey butcherbird cousin Larry has been trying to get his oldest Barry who comes up from the valley for a feed to stick to his territory, though Barry is as cheeky with his parents as Teddy-Toms have been with theirs.

The slides below give a glimpse of the daily scenes.

(click on the 'next' button to forward through the slides).
Previous Slide 1/18 NextEmerging Plans for the New Season - Jun 09Cresty - tries out the new baththe galahs too like the ceramic bowlJerry's a teen nowLarry's enjoying the sunshineGally Galah is pleased to the find green grass in JuneThe minnies are pleased with the sunshineAll enjoy their social get togethersVicky-Mindy-Monty with their best MinnieTeddy-Toms and Freddy-Terry hold a conferencewhile their magpie and minnie friends potter belowFreddy-Terry leave while Teddy-Toms kids join JerryThe bowerbird maidenreturns to her baththe clear mornings turnto misty winter daysLarry tells Barry its time to leaveTheir pied cousins form new teamsthe young crows and currawongs get reacquainted

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