Returning to the Hunter from my North Queensland trip has proven a wise decision, with birds nesting everywhere.
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My first trip took me to a property north of Maitland – and many thanks to the farmer who told me a great number of birds were in his property. He wasn’t kidding.
My first sighting was Dollarbirds, high in the trees and making plenty noise.They arrive in our area October-November, around the same time as our Rainbow Bee Eaters, and start nesting.
Honeyeaters were also prominent, and there was a pair of Kookaburras feeding chicks high up in the trees, but too high for any shots.
Never mind, it was a beautiful day and great just to be out.
My luck improved shortly after though when I came across a tree stump with a nice hole, and heard chicks calling. It turned out to be the find of the day, an Eastern Rosella’s nest.
They are one of Australia’s most beautiful birds. We have a wide range of rosellas in Australia but the Eastern is one of the most prominent.
I used the four-wheel-drive as my hide and waited for the arrival of the parents. In they came after about 30 minutes. The female appeared to be the dominant feeder, but the male’s colours were dramatic.
It turned out that the chicks were not yet coming to the edge of the hole, so I decided to return a couple of days later. I was rewarded with images of the chicks – fully feathered - and parents together. During this period we had a big storm and I managed to get shots of the parents and chicks really wet.
From my experience with rosellas, the parents usually return every hour or so to feed chicks, taking turns to do the feeding. They then fly off together.
Eastern Rosellas have a courtship display similar to the Crimson Rosella. As breeding season approaches the male will sit on a branch near female droops its wings, squares its shoulders, fluff up its breast feathers and move its fan tail from side to side.
Eastern Rosellas nest in a hollow limb or hole in a living or dead eucalypt, anywhere from a few metres above ground to a great height. Nests have also been found in holes in rotten logs lying on the ground and in fence posts.
My next will be on our magnificent Rainbow Bee Eaters. Until next time.
