It happens every year around this time, this year it was yesterday, August 13th. They were in the Banksia out the back but had gone by the time I got the camera. They’re usually just here for a just one day per year, I’ve not been able to find any information on their migration habits, or even if they migrate at all. But where do they go for the rest of the year! Here they were last year.

Cacomantis flabelliformis

After the big storms a few weeks ago we had another wet weekend. It didn’t stop us from getting outside though, the two boys agreed to brave the leeches for a walk down to the river to see the flood damage and see what birds we could spot. The creeks were running high but still crossable, it was clear from the debris and flow patterns how high the water had been. Bird wise it was pretty quiet, but near the river just past Murrumba waterfall a Fan-tailed cuckoo flew overhead from one tree to another. Yet again I couldn’t identify it until I got back and studied the photo, hopefully I’ll get it next time. Fan-tailed cuckoo’s are a common bird found all down the east coast of Australia, south and all the way through to southern west Australia. They are also found on other nearby Pacific islands of New Caledonia, New Guinea, Fiji, New Zealand. They are a medium sized bird with a slate grey head, wings and back, it’s breast is a lighter grey, tail is horizontally striped with black and white. A clear identifier of the Fan-tailed cuckoo is the yellow ring around its eyes.

Myrmecia

I’m not bothered much by ticks, leeches, spiders or snakes, but bulldog ants really put me on edge. It’s not just they are HUGE, it’s their behaviour and aggressiveness. While most wild animals seem timid and will avoid human contact bulldog ants will actively seek out and attack a threat. They don’t swarm mindlessly in large numbers, bulldog ants hunt alone and are large enough that you can clearly see their heads, eyes and other body parts. To see an ant turn it’s head, look at you and then turn it’s large body around and start jumping at you is really off-putting. And it’s not all posturing, they back it up with an excruciating string.

Malurus lamberti

[Update] I originally posted this as Malurus elegans – The Red-winged fairywren. It still looks very much to me like the Red-winged fairywren but due to it’s location it’s almost certainly a Variegated fairywren.

In an effort to get some new material to post I camped myself out the back of the house with a camera for a while. I had a first try with Tom but sitting silently in the bush with a 3 year old was never going work! It turned out to be a productive trip in the end, if this bird is what I think it is I can’t find any reference of it being present in the Sydney area. After 15 minutes or so if sitting a pair of these tiny grey birds came into view, playing and chasing each other through the scrubby undergrowth. They really are small, not including the tail I would say less that 10cm from beak to bottom. Their call was a soft shrill, almost like the cross between a buzzing insect and a cherp.

[update] – I thought these were Funnel Web spiders but now I’m pretty sure they are trapdoors, possibly the Sydney Brown Trap-door. See comments below. As much as I hate to do it I recently killed a few large Funnel Web Trap-door Spiders that had taken up residence close to the house near where the kids play. I did it by pouring petrol down their holes until they came out, then squashed them. Not nice but when they’re that close I didn’t feel like I had a choice. They were big ones, it took 2 liters of petrol to get 2 to come out of their holes. I didn’t like killing them, and also didn’t like pouring that much fuel into the ground. It got me searching around for more info on Funnel Webs and how to deal with them. As far as catching goes all that I could find was instructions on how to pop a jar over the top of them. Nothing on how to lure them out of their holes. From looking around I learned that stocks of Funnel Web anti venom is low because of low numbers of the spiders in captivity that are milked to produce the anti venom. The Australian Reptile park, where the anti venom is made, is making requests for anyone able to catch a live Funnel Web to drop them off. That’s cool, if I could only catch them then they could be put to some use. Hoping to come up with something I researched a bit more about the spiders habits and diet. True to their name Funnel Webs live in holes in the ground often with a funnel shaped web at the opening. They lay fine web trip wires near the entrance then at night wait for any small creature to disturb the trip, then they pounce, subduing the prey with potent venom. In this way Funnel Webs eat insects, small lizards and frogs. Late at night I visited another group of Funnel Web Trap-door holes out the front near to the street. It was Funnel Web Trap-door city, I counted about 30 individuals, mostly smaller but about 4 or 5 big ones, all sitting at the mouths of their holes waiting for dinner. I had a go at trying to get a few of the bigger ones out of their holes by lightly scraping a stick near the entrance. Some individuals pounced then quickly retreated back down the hole, others just retreated straight down the hole. There would be no way you could pop a jar over them.

Myzomela sanguinolenta

Last Sunday the two boys and I walked down to the Cascades to meet Mat and some of his friends who were doing the 100km Oxfam walk. We did the salmon thing and headed against traffic from Bungaroo. We were on the Oxfam course between about midday and 2pm, the people we were passing were at the 75km or so mark and had been walking though the night without sleep, some people really showed it, most seemed pretty happy though. Will did very well and walked the whole distance, Tom refused to walk and sat in the backpack until he got too uncomfortable then demanded to be carried! We had lunch and a bit of a play at the cascades, Mat arrived at about 2:30pm, he was fine.

Cacatua galerita

Cockies are a very common bird around here, it can be easy to become a bit indifferent but when you step back and look they really are remarkable. They are are a large bird measuring 44 – 55cm in length, their whole body is snow white, except for the bright yellow “sulfur” crest on the tops of their head. They have a large powerful parrot beak that they use for crushing food and also as an extra grip when climbing.  The sound they make can only be described as a loud piercing screech. Like many parrots they can learn to talk a few words. We have a bird feeder hanging just outside the window out the back. The cockies have become quite aggressive with it, scaring the other smaller birds away and often fighting each other for a perch. When the seed has run out they sit in the feeder and tap on the window, if we don’t feed them they sometime start tearing away at the side of the house. They are not afraid, often when I fill the feeder with new seed they will hold their ground and grab the spoon in their beak before I get a chance to empty the seed into the tray. Their beaks look like they would do a lot of damage to a finger!

The Banksia tree up by the pool has been hacked at, my guess is the Black Cockies were back, this year it was August 9th or 10th.

Phalacrocorax various

This Pied Cormorant was spotted perched by the bank of Middle Harbour River. The noise of the family must have been too much for it as it soon flew away. I’ll have to go back to try and get some clearer photos.

Pied Cormorant sitting near the bank of Middle Harbour River

The Pied Cormorant is a large bird with white underside and black wings and top. They are found in marine habitats and feed mainly on fish but will also take crustaceans and mollusks. Like all Cormorants they catch their food by swimming underwater making use of their large webbed feet. Their feathers are not waterproof which is why cormorants are so often spotted standing wings outstretched in the sun.