December 2016

Tasmania, Australia
Part 9

Striated Fieldwren (Calamanthus fuliginosus)

Fieldwrens are a group of birds I've never had much luck with in the past, as many of the species in the group tend to be quite shy, secretive birds that mostly stay hidden in dense vegetation.

Striated Fieldwren (Calamanthus fuliginosus)

Striated Fieldwrens seemed to be a bit more cooperative, and although they share the habit of remaining in dense cover most of the time, they at least pop up onto exposed perches to sing.

Striated Fieldwren (Calamanthus fuliginosus)

We found a particularly cooperative group feeding on the grass at the edge of an orchard whilst cruising the back roads to the south of Hobart one afternoon that allowed us to get some excellent shots as they frequently perched on the roadside fenceposts.

Striated Fieldwren (Calamanthus fuliginosus)

Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus)

The endemic Green Rosella can be extremely tame in some locations and at one of the campsites I stayed at in eastern Tasmania one even came and landed on the edge of the sink inside my campervan!

Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus)

Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus)

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor)

Banded Lapwings are fairly common in open grassland areas and quite large flocks could sometimes be seen feeding in the paddocks and fields.

Hooded Plover (Thinornis cucullatus)

Spending time on sandy beaches is many people's idea of an ideal way to spend their free time. I'm the opposite and usually go out of my way to avoid them, but they do sometimes have their attractions, and a quiet beach occupied by a pair of Hooded Plovers is one of them.

Hooded Plover (Thinornis cucullatus)

The main downside of lying in the sand to get a nice low angle is that I later had to spend ages cleaning the sand off my equipment. The pesky stuff gets everywhere!

Hooded Plover (Thinornis cucullatus)

Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris)

Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus)

Unlike in the Northern Hemisphere, gull identification is pretty straightforward in Australia as there are only 3 pretty distinctive resident species. Silver Gull is unmistakeable and the only time confusion between the other two should be possible is when the bill is not visible. There is no mistaking the massive bill of the Pacific Gull!

Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus)

Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus)

December 2016 (Tasmania pt.8) 2016 Index