Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Nine Month Investigation

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About nine months ago during my first visit to the vine forest and as I was extricating myself from the stinging barbs of a vine, I caught a glimpse of a startled bird as it darted away. What was striking was the white bars on its greyish wings. I thought that it would be easy to identify but how wrong I was. A month ago I caught another glimpse of the greyish bird with the sergeant’s stripe on its wing. I was beginning to think that I was imagining the bird.
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For the past two days I have been walking a new route to take some pics of a flowering gum tree and I am amazed to see a pair of these birds catching insects over a small billabong. After some patient watching, it turns out these birds are Dollar Birds Eurystomus orientalis which I have often seen perched on a branch, but never in flight.
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What a beautiful sight they are in flight. One moment they can seem a dull grey but then turn into a turquoise blue with an emerald sheen. All the while showing off the light patch on their wing tips. Who would have guessed!
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To see some amazing pics of Dollar Birds go to:
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/mendistan/472234722]

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A Time Of Plenty

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The woodlands are full of shrieking Red-collared Lorikeet, Trichoglossus rubritorquis feeding on the flowering Broad Leaf Box Eucalyptus oligantha Schauer.
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