Glorious parakeets...

I haven't posted for a while as the weather has been and is so terribly dry and hot. The birds seem to conserve their energy on days like this, and don't seem so visible (or audible) ... and I am also less motivated to walk abroad.

But at least today I witnessed a colourful group of rainbow parakeets, along with a couple of native miners [manorina melanocephala], noisily feeding in some young eucalyptus trees. Because the trees weren't tall I was able to get a good look at the birds. I noticed that the miners can feed upside down, just like the parakeets.

There were no blooms on these trees, so they must have been feeding on insects.

I hardly ever see native miners around my particular neighbourhood, so this was an enjoyable event. I find their grey plumage much more visually appealing than the dark brown Indian myna, with which they are often confused. My mother in Queensland calls them "mickies", and loves them dearly.

I also noticed that both species of bird chose the eucalypts for their foraging, and ignored the native sheoak [allocasuarina] beside them. There must be some insect that targets the eucalypts in particular.

A few nights ago I also glimpsed an owl or frogmouth of some kind in the park at the end of the street. I couldn't see it clearly enough to identify, but its silent, gliding flight on large wings was unmistakable. It was a windy night after a hot day, with a deliciously cool breeze blowing through the trees. I felt privileged to see this magnificent night bird.