Twitcher, birder, dude?

We are all many things, gems with different facets, and one facet of my life is pretty obviously birds. To say it is just birds would be incorrect as I've always had a fascination for nature in general, but my passion for birds perhaps rises above the rest. Many people who have noted my affection for winged things have referred to me as a Twitcher and that isn't quite right.  Billie Oddie, the short bearded comedian who was part of the Goodies (for those of us who can remember back that far) wrote his excellent 'Bill Oddies Little Black Bird Book', a well thumbed copy of which nestles comfortably between various bird identification guides in our library. Bill, a self confessed Twitcher, takes time in his book to cover the various terms that Twitchers use and in particular gives broad definitions of the various types of people who enjoy birds. I will briefly paraphrase his work, but would thoroughly recommend that you seek out a copy of the book yourselves. If nothing else it's an amusing read.

A vital part of a Birder's library.

Firstly lets get rid of some of the older tags such as Bird-spotter or bird-fancier. Well the latter more normally refers to someone who keeps, breeds and shows birds. Birds such as pigeons or fancy poultry and although I keep chickens that's hardly a reason for me to fall into that category. As for bird-spotters, well it's a silly word, I'm going bird-spotting...spot,spot, spot; no, that just won't do at all.  Well how about Ornithologist, that's not silly; well no it's not, but it really does suggest scientific qualifications that I certainly don't possess. OK, how about bird-watcher? Well some years ago that would have been a perfectly acceptable title, but there just seems to be so many people who are into bird watching these days, whereas in the past it was a serious interest held by much fewer people and as with many things in life there's a touch of snobbery involved and so the bird watchers had to evolve and add a bit of esoteric exclusivity to their titles, and so new classifications arose; the dude, the birder and the twitcher.

Dude. A posh bird-watcher, who probably doesn't really know all that much about birds. He potters out after breakfast, stays in cosy hotels and waits for the sun to come up before venturing out. They might own a set of 1920's vintage brass naval binoculars and have a bird book that makes the average coffee table groan under its weight. The Dude doesn't really mind what they are watching as long as its has feathers and can sing. They definitely prefer the more brightly coloured birds and have no real interest in why a bird does something, but is simply amused by their antics.

Twitcher. Sitting at the other end of the spectrum is the Twitcher. Often misidentified as tramps who have had the fortune to come across some old military clothing, but revealed in their glory by the hugely expensive bins and scopes that are hanging from their necks.  The Twitcher lives for the tick, it's his reason to be. Quite literally the tick that you put alongside the name of a species when you see it.  Ticks are related to the various lists that a Twitcher might keep - a country tick, a state tick, a world tick (for those that travel a lot) and most importantly a Life Tick. In Britain there have been 470 or more recorded species, but if you've got over 300 you've done pretty well. In Australia the number is far larger, perhaps nudging a thousand once you include sub-species and immigrants, so 700+ is the figure that an Ozzy Twitcher might begin to consider as respectable.  There are strict rules about what can be ticked, so escapees are definitely off the list as are dead birds. If you find a bird that appears to have expired and miraculously you revive it using the Sylvester Brosch method manipulating its wings, then you have a tick, but if after your hard work you still have a dead bird then you Dip Out (Dip Out is Twitcher's slang for missing out on a tick). There is debate about whether sub-species of birds is allowed. As an example there are at least four sub-species of the Striated Pardalote - melanocephalus, uropygialis, substriatus and orantus. Does that count as one tick or four, it's still open to debate. There are many other 'rules' that the Twitcher follows, but it all boils down to lists and numbers, and a need to prove that your collection is better than anyone else's. The reason for the name Twitcher? Well, they actually begin to twitch as the possibility of getting another tick.

Birder. The Birder sits broadly between the two. Generalising (as usual) the Birder is seriously involved in studying and identifying birds.  He or she goes watching birds, but doesn't go bird-watching, instead he goes 'birding'. The term implies a certain ruggedness, almost athleticism, whist Bird-watching sounds a bit more passive.  Birding is more active, you move and move quite far when necessary, If the birds don't come out you flush them out and track them down and you don't just watch them, you study them, identify them and then move onto the next lot. Here's excitement, here's dedication...here's birding. Not bird-watching, or spotting or fancying - birding. Got it?

Now some people have rightly noted that I keep lists. Indeed, not only do I maintain the lists, but I publish them in this very blog, so that makes me a Twitcher... Wrong! I keep lists of what we see at the Holt to keep track on how successful we are at attracting species to the garden, not as a personal collection. Yes I do get excited when we break a daily or monthly record (which I must admit begins to sound a little Twitchy), but it's about measuring the success of our gardening efforts rather than a desire to have a long and illustrious list.  I gave up keeping lists many years ago, and so whilst I might have bordered on Twitcherdom in the years of my misspent youth, these days I fall firmly into the category of Birder.

So, now that we've got all that out of the way what happened in September? Well in 'minor' event in the lives of the Mulholland's was the wedding of our son Richard to our new Daughter-in-law, Nathalie. This isn't the place to expand upon the wedding, but I will say it was a lovely day and everything went wonderfully well. A side affect of the wedding was having visitors from overseas, my brother Pete and his effervescent wife Isha (who is a keen amateur wildlife phgotographer) and my best man from my wedding, Nigel and his lovely wife Julia. I had a limited time with my dearest family and friends and determined to make it count I dragged them all around the local area so that they could experience as much of the local flora and fauna as possible before returning to Europe.  Our trips took in O'Reillys and Natural Bridge (Arch) in the Lammington Rain Forest, Coombabah Wetlands, Ngarangwal Indigenous Reserve, The Spit at Southport and various sections of the Mount Tamborine National Park. We 'ticked' Koalas, Swamp and Red-necked Wallabies, Pademelons, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, an Echidna, various lizards and turtles, a very large Eastern Brown snake and quite a lot of birds.  Here's a selection:

Eastern Brown found by Pete and Isha on the dam wall.

A Little Friarbird singing its heart out.

Scarlet Honeyeaters were daily visitors at the Holt.

A Superb Fairy Wren at Guanaba Park.

A Richmond Birdwing Butterfy had Isha all of a flutter.

A Noisy Pitta on Mt Tamborine.

Isha seeking the difficult shot at Cameron Falls.

A Wompoo Fruit Dove nesting above the Knoll Track.

Brush Turkeys kept chasing Isha and were renamed 'Velociraptors'.

King Parrots at the feeders.

Swamp Wallaby and Joey at Coombabah Wetlands.

Koala dozing in the sun.

Grey Kangaroos lurking in the forest at Coombabah

Raptors over the river.

White-faced Heron, Australian Ibis and Curlew on the Coomera Rover at Coombabah.

Brahminy Kite

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet at the feeder.

Juv. Fant-tailed Cuckoo at Ngarangwal

Even the flies can be brightly coloured over here.

Echidna found by Isha at Ngarangwal.

Paradise Riflebird at O'Reilly's.

Regent's Bowerbird at O'Reilly's.

Red-necked Pademelon at O'Reilly's.

Brown Thornbill at the falls.

A type of Harlequin beetle.

Baby Noisy Miner and parents.

Pied Cormorant off the Spit.

Crested Tern off the Spit.

Pelican awaiting feeding time on the Broadwater.

Nesting Australian Ibis at Waterhen lake.

Straw Necked Ibis at Waterhen lake.

An eel in the water at Natural Bridge

Satin Bowerbird at Natural Bridge picnic area.

An Osprey lifts off from his nest at Kingscliffe.

Meanwhile, back at the Holt we've had a problem with an algae bloom on the Back Dam that doesn't seem to have affected the wildlife, but has turned the water bright green. Having my brother Pete available opened up new options as he's an expert on pumps and things (he's an oil rig project manager). I had obtained a poison called Coptrol that will kill the algae and nothing else, BUT, when the algae dies it removes the oxygen from the water thereby killing the fish. They way round this is to oxygenate the water and I was coming up with plans involving an air pump and a lot of reticulation hosing, when Pete suggested a filter.

Pete the mad inventor at work.

Pete took an old pallet that we stuffed with polystyrene and wrapped in hessian to form a raft. The next components included a submersible pump, a solar panel, a sack of shell grit, some lengths of tubing, three unwanted juice containers and a flowerpot.

Pete removed the spigots and connected the juice containers with the tubing and the pump and then filled the containers with the grit.

As the water passes through the shell grit and hessian sacking it will filter the algae and add calcium carbonate to the water, which can help against the algae. It will also oxygenate the water to some extent.

The water now pumps up through the gravel and then drains back into the dam through the hessian sacking.

OK, it's not the prettiest island in the world, but I intend to plant some water loving mosses on it to pretty it up.

and the flowerpot...to provide Schnappy the Turtle with some greenery.

Will it be effective, who knows? It's been pumping away for a couple of weeks now and the water colour is changing, become a less luminous green, so I'm keeping the poison locked away for the time being.

Now, it must be time for the birds:

Regulars (Seen at list x5 per week)

Bar-shouldered Dove
Common Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch
Galah
Laughing Kookaburra
Little Corella
Noisy Friarbird
Olive-backed Oriole
Pacific Black Duck
Peaceful Dove
Pied Butcherbird

An Australian Magpie watching his cousin, the Pied Butcherbird, sing.

Pied Currawong
Plumed Whistling Duck
Rainbow Lorikeet
Scarlet Honeyeater
Silvereye

Silvereye in the Grevilleas.

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo
Torresian Crow
Welcome Swallow
White-throated Gerygone
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Common (Seen at least x2 per week)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Brown Honeyeater

A Brown Honeyeater

King Parrot
Lewins Honeyeater
Little Friarbird

A Little Friarbird

Noisy Miner
Striated Pardalote
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo


Uncommon (Seen 2-5 times in the month)

Australian Magpie

Maggie has been away nesting.

Brown Cuckoo Dove
Fan-tailed Cuckoo

A Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Figbird
Golden Whistler
Litte Friarbird
Pale-headed Rosella
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet on a feeder.

Wedge-tailed Eagle
White-naped Honeyeater
White-throated Honeyeater

White-throated Honeyeater

White-throated Treecreeper
Wood Duck
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Rare (Seen only once in the month)

Brown Goshawk
Forest Kingfisher
Leaden Flycatcher
Little Bronze Cuckoo
Little Eagle
Masked Plover
Pheasant Coucal
Red-browed Finch
White-bellied Sea Eagle


Which is 52-species, way off previous years, but explained by being away from the Holt so much (I hope).

August arrives

What happened to July? It was a bad month. My father passed away after a long struggle against a string of infections linked to cancer of the colon some years ago. Although he beat the cancer and fought hard to get back to a normal life he eventually ran out of steam and passed away with my sister at his side. He had a good innings, having reached the age of 92, but in the end although his spirit was strong his body just couldn't keep going. I wasn't able to get back home for the funeral, but I understand my family and his friends gave him a good send off.

My father had been Superintendent in charge of Portishead Radio Station, which in its time was the biggest radio station in the world and in the days before mobile phones and satellite communications, if you wanted to call someone on a ship off the coast of Australia it would be routed through Portishead. It wasn't well known, except amongst the world's maritime community, but it was a vital part of the worlds communication systems for many years.

When he retired he followed the route of many retirees and set about doing all those jobs that he had planned for so many years, and as a skilled carpenter, he soon had their home 'shipshape and Bristol fashion', but then he became bored and so I suggested to him that he and mum might want to take up bird watching. They followed my suggestion and soon became enthusiastic birders. Some years later my mother fell victim to Parkinsons disease and so Dad had to give up birding for a time to care for her until sadly she passed a few years later, After mums death he got back into birding again alongside my sister Joy, who had become a rather skilled amateur wildlife photographer. I remember once getting a phone call from him asking for me to identify a bird, which from his description was a vulture. Surprised, I asked where he was only to be told that he was up a mountain in Majorca. I was even more surprised as Dad had been suffering from arthritis in his ankle and was no longer to cover long distances, but apparently he'd made his way up the mountain on an electric scooter!

In his later years his eyesight failed and he was unable to see his beloved birds, but enjoyed listening to Joy as she described the birds in the back garden. I will miss my Dad. He went from being a highly respected member of the community, leader in his profession, Assistant District Commissioner for the Boy Scouts, and Church Warden to an irascible retiree with a wicked sense of humour and a love of life that was impossible not to admire.

My personal challenges pale almost into insignificance compared to Dad's passing, but I had other problems that added to the missing post. My camera got knocked over onto hard concrete damaging both camera and lens and it took some time for the insurance company to replace them, and I lost my July notebook, so I can't even tell you the birds that I did see in July, so all-in-all July was a bit of a disaster.

August didn't improve much either. Whilst I was in Brisbane at a meeting a trio of Wedge-tailed Eagles attacked the house and killed two of my best layers. Mathilde, an elderly Salmon Faverolle and Mandy, one of my best Blue Faverolles. Mathilde's partner Francois the Salmon Faverolle rooster took the death of his partner badly and faded. He was an old cock anyway, but by mid-September he had just about given up and eventually lost a battle to a younger rooster and died a few days later. At the same time, my other Salmon Faverolle Rooster, 'Ercule, fell ill and although still alive today is struggling and I still haven't been able to work out what's wrong with him. He's been wormed, received broad spectrum antibiotics, treated for mites and fed extra meals, but still can't seem to put weight back on. A more sensible breeder would simply cull him from the flock and replace him with another bird, but that's not my way. When I took on the chooks I took on the responsibility for caring for them and if I can save him I will.

Well, that was a cheery start to my blog. I'm not sure whether anybody wants to read anymore, but there is some good stuff.  The damage to my camera and the ensuing insurance money meant that I was able to upgrade to the Canon EOS70D and to the long desired Canon 100-400 mm lens. A lot heavier than my previous gear, but the results more than make up for the weary camera arm, as I hope you'll agree.

On the birding front August looked good. The Grevilleas and Banksias were in full bloom, which brought in Scarlet Honeyeaters and Silvereyes in abundance.

A male Scarlet Honeyeater in the Honey Gem Grevillea.

A Silvereye in another Grevillea.

And of course we have continued to be blessed by the flocks of Plumed Whistling Ducks, but this has proved to be a mixed blessing as a combination of the dry winter and the nitrates deposited into the dam by the ducks has brought about a serious green algae bloom.

Schnappy, the Brisbane Short-necked Turtle wading through the algae bloom.

We're still working on the algae, but the usual treatment of dropping a couple of bales of barley straw into the dam failed to have any impact at all. On the other side of the plant world, on dry land, we were treated to some tiny forest gems peaking though the leaf litter.

The appropriately named Pink Finger Orchid

Only 6" tall, but really pretty.

and a touch of violet.

Still, onto the birds...

Regulars (Seen at list x5 per week)

Bar-shouldered Dove
Common Bronzewing

A male Common Bronzewing at a feeder.

Double-barred Finch

Double-barred Finches

Galah
Little Corella

Litte Corellas enjoy a snack

Noisy Friarbird

Noisy Friarbird takes charge in the Grevilleas.

Pacific Black Duck

Pacific Black Duck with Plumed Whistling Ducks behind.

Peaceful Dove

The shy Peaceful Dove

Pied Butcherbird

'Butch' the Pied Butcherbird on a cat food raid.

Pied Currawong

A Pied Currwaong sings.

Plumed Whistling Duck

Plumed Whistling Ducks looking alert

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet lurking on a Tree Fern.

Scarlet Honeyeater

Need I say anything!

Silvereye

A rather plump looking Silvereye.

Striated Pardalote
Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo at the feeder

Torresian Crow
Welcome Swallow
White-throated Gerygone
Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Common (Seen at least x2 per week)

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike
Eastern Spinebill
Grey Fantail
Grey Shrike Thrush
Laughing Kookaburra

Laughing Kookaburra

Lewins Honeyeater
Little Friarbird

Little Friarbird in the ever reliable Honey Gems.

Noisy Miner
Olive-backed Oriole
White-faced Honeyeater
Willie Wagtail

Willie Wagtail

Uncommon (Seen 2-5 times in the month)

Australian Magpie
Brown Goshawk
Eastern Yellow Robin
Fan-tailed Cuckoo

A Fan-tailed Cuckoo in the Brush Box.

Figbird

Female Figbird in the old gums.

and the male Figbird

Golden Whistler
King Parrot
Pale-headed Rosella
Rainbow Bee Eater
Red-backed Fairy Wren
Rufous Whistler
Satin Flycatcher
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet searching for seed.

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Chicken munching Wedge-tailed Eagle

White-faced Heron
White-throated Treecreeper
Wood Duck
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Rare (Seen only once in the month)

Australian Hobby
Brown Cuckoo Dove
Collared Sparrowhawk

Collared Sparrowhawk worries the chooks.

Crested Pigeon
Grey Butcherbird
Grey Goshawk
Little Bronze Cuckoo
Masked Plover
Pheasant Coucal
Rose Robin
Southern Boobook
Spotted Pardalote
White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike
White-necked Heron

Which is 63-species, but taking into account that I was away for at least one week and tied up on numerous days, it's a result I'm quite happy with.