had to sweep & shovel a path through the chomped plums to let Cam out of the garage on his way to school – the cockatoos[1] are back in the plum tree

[1] Sulphur-crested cockatoo

Cockies[1] discovered the plum tree today, a dozen or so were busy splitting the fruit open to crack the stones and eat the kernels, mess everywhere underneath!

[1] Sulphur-crested cockatoo

Saw two Royal spoonbill (Platalea regia) in Huntingdale wetlands[1]

[1] Royal spoonbill

Getting near Daylight Savings Time, the blackbirds[1] are calling ridiculously early in the morning, before first light

[1] Common blackbird

Butcherbirds[1] east and west of us are having a shouting match, first time I've heard them for a while

[1] Grey butcherbird

Over the six weeks from [2020-08-01 Sat] to [2020-09-12 Sat], what birds can I see while in “COVID-19, Stage 4 lockdown” at home. Restricted to one exercise outing per day, 5km range, 1 hour maximum.

Stage 4 lockdown was extended, so I extended my isobirding…

…until [2020-10-18 Sun] which was our last day restricted to five kilometres.

Grand total; 46 species (as of 2020-10-28 Wed).

Amusingly, within days of the lockdown ending I saw a first for me, a couple of Royal Spoonbill in the Huntingdale wetlands.

Morning mug of tea in the garden, a strange noise, I look up. There's a duck perched on a chimney, calling loudly. #chimneyduck

I wonder where the local butcherbird has gone[1]? Haven't heard them for a while. This week's birds are the Brown thornbills in the bay tree

[1] Grey butcherbird

looked up as the Noisy miners[1] were screaming, watched as a falcon went whooshing past overhead

[1] Noisy miner

Eight or ten brown quail[1] exploded up from under our feet on a late afternoon walk around Painkalac creek

[1] Brown quail

Birds now

Wattlebird[1] on the trees. Sparrows on brad’s balcony. White cockies[2] about. Swallows high overhead. A pair of kookaburras in the gum trees [1] Red wattlebird [2] Sulphur-crested cockatoo

Window birds – Noisy miner[1] – six or so feeding in the neighbour's tree

[1] Noisy miner

Window bird – rainbow lorikeets[1] – small flock

[1] Rainbow lorikeet

Window bird – spotted dove[1] – puffed up on the wires

[1] Spotted dove

Removed the dead pigeon from the roof, all afternoon ravens[1] & kookaburras[2] had been thumping and banging and eating the carcase – had to chase off a dozen Euro. wasps[3]

[1] Little raven [2] Laughing kookaburra [3] European wasp

Amazing sight watching a pair of falcons swoop back and forth trying to catch the neighbour's pigeons, while the pigeons spiralled around higher than I'd ever seen them before

lorikeets[1] in the plum tree screeched at us to go away, we were interrupting their feasting

[1] Rainbow lorikeet

The plums are ripening, and as fast as they do, the blackbirds[1] peck holes in them and they fall off and rot

[1] Common blackbird

The cockies[1] are back, splitting unripe plums and adding to the general mess under the plum tree in the back garden

[1] Sulphur-crested cockatoo

cockies[1] have found the plum tree, the ground underneath is littered with split green plums, the kernel eaten out of the stones

[1] Sulphur-crested cockatoo

YTBC[1] flock of 6-8 flew over

[1] Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

Tramway walk yesterday afternoon

Very strong winds around the pier and point so we walked the tramway track. Getting overgrown in places. Around to the river then up to the lookout. Saw two yellow-tailed black cockies[1] and a Gang-gang[2] on the way back from teddy’s lookout. [1] Yellow-tailed black cockatoo [2] Gang-gang

Came home to find two ravens[1] sitting on the back gate, I think one a fledgeling, perhaps making use of the birdbath

[1] Little raven

Scream from the kitchen, the cat has brought a maimed half-dead myna in and dropped it in the middle of the rug

Grey butcherbird[1] on the fence near the study window; calling, calling, calling

[1] Grey butcherbird

ten European starlings[1] and two Indian Mynas[2] on the lawn, finally a native, a Red Wattlebird[3] in the birdbath

[1] Common starling [2] Common myna [3] Red wattlebird

A picture of a Mandarin duck stirs up a memory

Country diary: iridescent beauties, pavilioned in splendour When I was 11yrs old we flew to the UK for my uncle’s wedding, I can remember a book of birds of the world that my grandparents owned. White cover, watercolour pictures, all 8000+ birds listed and many illustrated. In an obssessive count-them-all approach I think I wrote out the names in lists in an exercise book or on paper. I wonder what happened to those lists, if I kept them for a while or if they went straight in the bin once we left?

we have a new friend – fairly bold juvenile magpie[1] frequently visiting and eats plums and scraps from the lawn

[1] Australian magpie

YTBC[1] in South Oakleigh

Standing around after athletics training, five yellow-tailed black cockatoos[1] flew slowly overhead, the kids and I all smile and watched [1] Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

sitting in the garden, too hot in the house, watched as a butcherbird[1] came and drank from a cup still full of rain. Must get around to putting in a birdbath

[1] Grey butcherbird

A black cockatoo[1] just flew overhead calling, first one I've seen or heard for months

[1] Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

Kookaburra at night

Some time in the middle of the night a few kookaburras[1] started calling. Not sure when, i think around 4am, certainly well before it started to get light [1] Laughing kookaburra

Lorne morning birds

8 o’clock and time to walk down to the supermarket for bread. A male Gang-gang[1] flies creaking out of the trees and across the road. Magpies[2], currawongs[3], wattlebirds[4] and a NH honeyeater on the way down the hill. Wood ducks and black ducks in the river, a solitary kookaburra on the grass. On the way back a pair of king parrots and one crimson rosella, others calling from the trees. Some swallows, lots of blue wrens flitting about, back to the house with sulphur crested cockies[5] circling overhead

A very satisfied raven[1] just strutted past my window, a big fat chip from someone's lunch carried sideways in its beak

[1] Little raven

removed a half-eaten blackbird[1] wing from the path by the garage – someone's cat got lucky

[1] Common blackbird

Office birds

My desk in the new office is up against the window, only 2m away from a flowering bottlebrush behind the mirrored glass. Every day I watch the antics as pairs of lorikeets[1] and noisy miners[2] attack the flowers, ravens stalk around hunting through the garden bed below. [1] Rainbow lorikeet [2] Noisy miner

Yellow-tailed black cockatoos[1] on the commute

Crossing over Dandenong road on the ride home and over the traffic noise in the damp and gloom there’s the unmistakable creaking call of a black cockatoo – no idea where it was, but they always bring a smile to my face [1] Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

The birds, the birds!

After two weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia where we saw almost nothing in the towns except sparrows and a few swifts it was sheer bliss to be back at work listening to the lorikeets[1] shrieking outside the window, currawongs[2] calling from further away, and hear a kookaburra[3] on my lunch time walk [1] Rainbow lorikeet [2] Pied currawong [3] Laughing kookaburra

Almost sunny morning

No fog today and only light broken cloud cover. A pair of magpies[1] warbled and chortled at me from a park as a butcherbird[2] called incessantly in the tree overhead. Arrived at work and the lorikeets[3] are still screaming [1] Australian magpie [2] Grey butcherbird [3] Rainbow lorikeet

Another misty grey day

It’s been grey and overcast all day, again with alight mist around. The gum trees are still flowering and the lorikeets[1] are still deafeningly loud, at odds with the overall feel of the weather [1] Rainbow lorikeet

somewhere outside there's a butcher bird[1], calling loudly and telling me to get out of the office and rejoin the world

[1] Grey butcherbird

Something different

a pleasant break from all the ravens and lorikeets, on my walk today I had a nice closeup view of a Black-faced cuckooshrike[1] on the wires overhead [1] Black-faced cuckooshrike