observing birds

How do bird families behave?  Do they remember each other after they leave home? What happens to the young juveniles as they wander through alien territories looking for a new home?  Do the birds help each other?  Do birds from different species help each other? Maggie and his community have shown us much about bird culture.  Here we share the insights we have gained about their social life. 

Presents real life stories and anecdotes on how the different bird species form friendships and interact with each other and also with us humans.  The spotlight is on:

    -    inidvidual birds or animals we know by name and who are part of our extended bird family, and

    -    the bird-bird and bird-human relationships that we have observed and experienced.

Currawongs tend to lead nomadic lives.  They are very good at hiding in the dark shadows in a tree and are hard to spot, even though you have seen them go in and know exactly where to look.  They are big and sneaky looking birds, but actually quite shy and surprisingly timid.  Even juvenile magpies and pied-butcherbirds can boss them around quite easily.  All our youngsters

Pretty in pink, Galahs are small cockatoos.  They love playing in the rain, swinging upside-down like acrobats and gymnasts from the most awkward spots.

They are quick to issue warning signals at the slightest hint of danger with their customary loud and screechy sqawks. Though they can boss the much bigger currawongs off the water bowl by the mere spread of their wings. 

Blue-faced Honeyeaters and Noisy Miners belong to the same family - hard to believe just looking at their faces.  Around our yard they seem migratory, appearing during late winter and early spring.  They are an assertive species and stand up to their Noisy cousins.