Archives for September 2019

The cockies that bring mayhem and mischief to our valley in winter have left for breeding grounds in the upper Derwent Valley and it’s a relief not to hear their squawking, screaming and general carrying on. After they arrive in autumn, the cockies raid fruit trees in gardens and also attack wooden roofs, presumably to sharpen their beaks. But the antics of the hundreds of cockies which roost at night in the Waterworks Reserve from about May to the end of August have … [Read more...] about Cockies prove they’re not bird brains

They’re back. The welcome swallows have returned to the Waterworks Reserve. Most years I can set my calendar by them, always turning up in the first few says of September although last year they were about a week late for reasons I could not determine. At the end of August I always watch for them, just in case they make an earlier than usual return, along with the traditional early trans-state migrants, the striated pardalote and the fan-tailed cuckoo. An entry always goes … [Read more...] about Swallows make a welcome return

It’s that time of the year when magpies start to show their belligerent and rowdy side – and I’m not talking about Collingwood supporters. The comparison might seem a little unfair coming from a St Kilda devotee but the Collingwood joke always appears to emerge when I mention magpies and their apparent aggressiveness during AFL finals time at the start of spring. And so it was in the last week of August when I toured an infamous magpie “war-zone”, Clarence St on the Eastern … [Read more...] about Spring is magpie attack time

When planning a bird garden, and taking into consideration the food requirements of birds, we must divide the plants into three categories to match the bird groups I discussed last week in my “home for birds” column. As I mentioned, these are the nectarivores, frugivores and seed-eaters. Birds eat practically every type of living thing. Beaks are a good way of identifying what type of food they eat. Birds will forage in shrubs and trees, on the lawn and among ground … [Read more...] about Gardens must not stand in isolation