Frogs, Fights and Feathered Friends

Bursting with D...Liciousness

What an interesting few weeks it’s been since my last post.  As I’ve mentioned before I have pinched a pot from my loving sister to turn into a new birdbath. The Wrens Splash Pool (that’s what I’ve named it) will also double as a fish & frog habitat. I need to keep the mosquito wrigglers at bay and to that end I’ve added 8 “Blue Eye” fish, & thanks to my lawn mower guy 12 tadpoles.

I’ve been worried that all I’ve done is introduced another food source to my already spoilt birds. 2 days after I put in the tadpoles, I came home from work to find them sunbaking right on the surface of the pool. They even let me prod them in the back before they took off to the bottom. Well seems they learn fast. Both the taddies & the fish now bolt to the dark depths at the very first sign of danger. This bodes very well for their long term future.

It won't be long and Fergus (the froggie to be) will climb from the water,

give me a backward glance and go off to look for a mate.
Bwahahah. He will have a bit of a wait as he is the first of his kind in my backyard.

He'll have to wait for the other taddies to join him.

Wilma the Red Wattlebird has also taken to the Wrens Splash Pool.

This must scare the shit out of its other residents.

I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to lying in bed listening to the frogs chirping away the night.

This first video is on me making the Wrens Splash Pool. The 2nd is the end result.

https://youtu.be/2j3GNgD5p7E
https://youtu.be/pDuri571AiQ
Spring has well and truly sprung and the birds are doing what birds do in spring. And by the number of times they’re doing it, I can expect to hear the pit-a-patter of a lot of little feet.

Thunder & Storm in a moment of tenderness.

All this mating means an increase in testosterone. This increase in testosterone means an increase in aggression. This increase in aggression means some great photos. God I look forward to spring. Maybe even more than my birds.

Cedrick the Lorrie going beak to beak with Russell the Raven

They say it's not the size of the dog in the fight,

but......

Cedrick the Lorrie is a bully. He has the temperament of a pit bull on Ice.  He prefers to think of himself as colourful.

One of the birds he seems to love picking on the most is Shiloh, a juvenile male Satin Bowerbird. Shiloh is way up on Cedrick’s shit list.

Every now & then Shiloh stands up for himself. It never ends well for him. But you’ve got to give him credit for trying. 

You'll get further with a kind word & a stick,

than you will with a kind word alone.

Cedrick’s not the only one to pick on Shiloh. Red the Wattlebird also likes adding to Shiloh’s stress levels. But Red isn’t as aggressive as Cedrick,  so more likely to find Shiloh giving back as good as he gets.

It's not as it looks.

Cedrick hasn't impaled Red with a jimmy bar

Cedrick is an anomaly.  He won’t back down from the biggest of birds, yet the Judge (a Crested Pigeon & the most gentle of birds) intimidates him.  

Mal the Noisy Miner, well Cedrick would rather bite off his head than share a banana, but on occasion that’s just what they do.

You just know Mal the Noisy Miner is shitty himself.

A bird I do look forward to seeing every year are my Koels. Every October for the last three years, they’ve returned to my backyard from their long & arduous trip from New Guinea. They have given me some great photos & a pretty interesting  Bio;

https://bradsburras.blogspot.com/2016/02/its-summer-storm-birds-are-here.html

https://bradsburras.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-storm-birds-are-back.html

While I might like their return, there is one bird that doesn’t.

Yes. You guessed it. Cedrick. His attitude towards these Northern Visitors is appalling. BUT, it does afford me some great photos & videos.

Not a photo you'll see everyday.

Cedrick the Lorrie using his head as a bettering ram.

The Hakka has nothing on this greeting.

Coinciding with my Koels return is my latest purchase. A GoPro Hero 6. I got this as it’s got a much higher frame rate than my GoPro Hero 3. What this means is, sharper images when there is action and also terrific slo-mo videos.

You should check these out;

https://youtu.be/xG8Fl_C99VQ

https://youtu.be/qHbrRJPOV9Q

We have had a few scorcher days already this spring, so I thought my Kookas might enjoy a quick hosing. I reckon they enjoyed it but they say a picture tells a thousand words, well here are 3.

I can't say why, but this photo reminds me of Bob Marley

A reason to laugh

Kit the Green Catbird is a strange one. He lives across the road in a vacant block. I hear his calls every sunset. He loves grapes, which are always on tap at the Tapas Bar, yet I only see him around this time every year.

This guy is part of the Bowerbird family, but differs from his cousins in 2 main ways. Firstly, he is the only Bowerbird not to build a Bower. He attracts a mate by what he can present in his beak. His other nuance is he’s a monogamist. You see Bowerbirds are real players. They will mate with as many females during the season as they can, then have absolutely nothing to do with the rearing of his offspring. The Catbird however is the complete opposite. He selects a mate for life. During the year he enforces his bond with his mate by bringing her food. He also takes an active part in raising his bubs.

As well as Kits return I have a little Willy Wagtail that lives in the mangroves behind my place. He’s not interested in what I serve up, but on occasion calls in for a drink.

We did get a new visitor to the Tapas Bar that I’m glad only visited the once. A Brush Turkey that calls my street home. He hoovered up all the food within a few seconds. This guys was going to send me broke. They are one really ugly bird.

Check out my video on his visit. I had a bit of fun with this one;

https://youtu.be/2B-Cwy6Z1O4

Thanks for getting this far. Stay tuned as I have one more post before Xmas. My highlights of 2017.

Until then, live life to its fullest, stay safe & see you soon.

For the Love of Baths, Food & Yoga

Mine is the backyard for the discerning bird. An upmarket resort for birds if you will. 

To start with, we have for their dining pleasure, the Tapas Bar.

Open early, our diners can select from the freshest of seasonal fruits, exotic rices & selected meats, bugs & vegetables.

Here, they are free to experiment with forbidden pleasures, without the angst of someone looking down their beak and judging them. All are equals. Birds of a Feather.

Kookaburras are free to eat fruits, Insectivores to eat eggs and Nectar-eaters rice. And all do........

Every now & then the cats present me with a Cockroach that made the mistake of heading to my veranda lights. Unfortunately for both the cats & the Cockroach (but especially the Cockroach), he is immediately placed in a container for a worse outcome in the morning. Served as a live treat to a very grateful Kookaburra.

Consuming the Cockroach was only part of his treat. His most favourite veg in the whole wide world was Chefs famous mash. No way was he sharing this with the others. Like the Cockroach, the mash was all his, his, his.

You can’t have an upmarket resort without a pool. At Kookas Retreat we have 2. 
The Tranquillity Pool is a shallow water pool heated by the rays of the early morning sun. Ideal for a morning dip, brunch from the floating Tapas Bar, or just a place to dunk your head after a big night.

Even reflections choose to dine here

Pedro thinks he’s an Ostrich.
And Ostriches stick their head in the sand.
What do you do when there is no sand handy?

The Tranquillity Pool is also a place of fun. When you’re over the stresses of the day and just wanting a place to hang and just be silly, the Tranquillity Pool waits for you.

Eye spy with my little Eye.

Who ever came up with the saying

"Water off a ducks back"

Never saw this

Splish Splash, just taking a bath.

Could this photo have inspired the "Headless Horseman" story

Koobbitism: A virus that infects birds.

How do you know if your birds are infected?

Check the photos below I took on the weekend. Notice they have transformed into evil little rabbits and their eyes have taken on that glazed-over zombie look.

What to do if you have infected birds? Lock yourself indoors, close all windows and hide under your beds.

Did you ever see the documentary by Alfred Hitchcock “The Birds”? It showed a towns bird population infected with the virus turning on their human neighbours. It scared the shit out of me, I’ll tell you.

At first it started in the Kookaburra population. Scientist are baffled by this new virus. Their biggest fear is that it may jump species. Well it seems their greatest fears have been realised. Below are 3 photos of a Satin Bowerbird. This first photo shows the UNinfected bowerbird looking on at an infected Kookaburra. The next 2 photos shows he has clearly been infected. God help us all!!

Now you can’t have a great Bar, Sensational food and an Ambiance that well, spells out L.O.V.E.

Without there being a little.

I think it’s touching that Cedrick & Daphne the Lorries, that have been together for so long, still get a kick out of just holding hands.

And have a look at Wallace’s (Wally to his friends) girlfriend. She just can’t take her eyes off him. Sheer adoration. Aint love grand.

You can see why they did a series of commercials about Rhonda & Ketut. 

Cedrick & Daphne the Lorikeets.

Love can be shown in just small gestures.

Love can also be seen in a look.

Love can be as simple as just sharing a meal.

The Tapas Bar & Tranquillity pool isn’t just about eating & drinking, although for some it is…

It’s also about relaxation. Here is Pedro Pee Wee taking us through some Yoga moves to burn off some of those excess calories you may have gained during your visit or just to center yourself.
Here are a few simple poses for beginners...................
The Mountain Pose;

The Mountain Pose;
Lift your arm to 90 degrees

Then extend your body on a horizontal angle while standing on tippy toes.

The Spinnaker Pose;

The Spinnaker Pose;
Center your weight evenly between you feet while extending your arm out at 45 degrees at the same time spreading your fingers as shown

The Scarecrow Pose;

The Scarecrow Pose;
Rotate your shoulder blades by extending your arms far behind your head, then move your forearms at 45 degrees

I did mention earlier on that we had in fact 2 pools. This is the latest addition to my yard to make my bird experiences more memorable. The Wrens Splash Pool.

While it might be heaven for the birds, the fish I got to eat the Mosquito wrigglers must think they have been delivered to some sort of hell. They were even visited by the yellow eyed Devil himself.

It only took 24 hours for Wallace (Wally to his friends) to discover the cool, soothing waters of the Splash Pool. He now visits it daily for a swim and a flutter.

They say Birds are one step removed from Dinosaurs.

Here Red the Red Wattlebird looks onto a Jurassic Park reflection from a  millennium ago.

Well that’s it for this post, except I’ll leave you with a thought;

Tapas Bar Life lesson No 1

When you expect someone to jump thru hoops for you…….

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Make it achievable