Thursday, 8 March 2012

On the grass

I drove past the Barwon River at lunchtime today and noticed a flock of Bar-tailed Godwits feeding on the edge of the outgoing tide on the mudflats near the boat ramp. By the time I got my camera out they had flown a little further downstream and were too far offshore to get any close-up shots and the sun was behind them from the closest vantage point so I gave up on them but noticed a solo Crested Pigeon and an adult and juvenile Noisy Miner feeding on the mown grass close-by. They allowed me to get reasonably close.

Crested Pigeon, Ocean Grove
Crested Pigeon, Ocean Grove
Noisy Miner, Ocean Grove
Noisy Miner, Ocean Grove

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3 comments:

  1. Noushka10 March 2012 at 01:35

    I just discovered your blog!
    A lovely presentation and to top it all;.. great photography!
    It is such a beautiful dove with its green and pink coloration on the wings!
    I notice you also you spell Miner! In South Africa, we wrote Minah for a very similar bird!
    These have a yellow patch behind the eye which makes them very elegant!
    Cheers!

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  2. Ian Smissen10 March 2012 at 22:36

    Hi Noushka,
    Thanks for your comment. It's always nice that other appreciate what I really do just as a hobby. Your blogs are superb! I'll have to brush up on my French though ;-)
    The Crested Pigeons do have lovely colouration. Unfortunately, I just could not catch the glistening colour patterns in the wings in these shots but I'll keep trying. I'm not sure of the etymology of the name Miner. I suspect that the name may be due to the superficial resemblance to other Myna, Mynah, Minah birds from other parts of the world. The Noisy Miner shown here is actually a honeyeater (Family Meliphagidae). We also get the Common Myna, introduced from South Asia, which is a starling (Family Sturnidae).
    Cheers, Ian

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  3. Noushka18 March 2012 at 23:53

    Thanks for your reply!
    So probably Miners and Minahs are different birds altogether!

    If you go on my blogs, there is a Google Translator for you to understand (more or less: the translation is never tops!) and since I am totally fluent in English, yours comments in this language are welcome!
    I dearly hope to get to Australia ASAP, the fauna there is absolutely fabulous! Lucky you! :)
    Cheers Ian!

    ReplyDelete

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