Bountiful Birds

Bountiful Birds

The wonderful season has produced a bird boom in Western Queensland. The Mulga Parrots are out and about in an abundance. As I walk around in the great outdoors of late, the Mulga Parrot population (which has increased magnificently) skitters around me. They flutter from being on the ground to up in the branches, and back down to the ground - always keeping about 5 metres ahead of me. Are the Mulga parrots expressing their happiness at the huge food supply? The seed heads of the grass are not only rippling hypnotically in the breezes, however they are also starting to get so heavy that the seed heads are bowing to the ground. The insect population is also booming as well, so all birds must be well fed at the moment.

The poor little swallows that commonly build their mud nests under bridges may have seen their homes submerged in recent weeks. These marvellous little architects and builders will no doubt be out and about collecting more mud to rebuild their nests.

The birds are bountiful in Western Queensland in 2010.

Hatching Brolgas

Hatching Brolgas

Brolgas are one of my favourite birds and are also the official bird emblem for Queensland. These stately and gregarious birds are commonly found in Western Queensland, and even in flight they form a distinctive and elegant profile. Brolgas hatch once a year, commencing now and through the month of February, which coincides with the end of the wet rainy season. At the moment, their preferred food of grasshoppers is to be found in abundance in the rapidly growing grasses of Western Qld. Their nest is often a raised mound of sticks and grass located in shallow water or on the ground near water.

The Western Rivers Carer will be keeping her eye out for these birds in the coming months, as the young hatch and slowly grow into graceful birds.