Since it was too wet to go outside and the back fence is too far away to get a decent photo - ask me how I know and I'll put up the blurry shots I took of the kookaburras which have taken to hunting in the lower part of the garden - I can't show you what it was. But I did grab my trusty bird field guide where I had it narrowed it down to two birds when it obligingly stretched its long neck and turned partly towards us so I could see its bill.
It was a yellow-billed spoonbill but what it was doing sitting on our back fence in the rain I have no idea.
Yellow-billed spoonbill at Perth Zoo
Licensed under C C 3.0 Image by Martin Pot (Martybugs at en.wikipedia)
Spoonbills aren't that uncommon in our local wetlands where they forage for small creatures in the water, using their rounded bills to dislodge and catch their prey but they are definitely not common in our yard. We do have a frog pond but it has a net covering that the frogs can get through but keeps out any predatory birds so I doubt that was what it was interested in. It swung its neck around to survey the neighbour's pool at one time but then went back to sitting hunched on the fence looking in the opposite direction. After about five minutes this it shook itself and flew away in the direction of one of the nearby lakes.
This almost rates as highly in my memorable bird sightings as the early summer morning when I heard something knocking outside my bedroom window where I had the sprinkler on. I went out to investigate and found a large purple swamphen which I assume was trying to catch some of the drops leaking from the tap connection. Why it didn't choose the sprinkler where there was much more water available I have no idea but as soon as it realised I was there it took off running up the road and disappeared.
Wildlife in our garden - you have to admit it's interesting.
2 comments:
Yes, it's always nice to see wildlife. We spent many hours watching birds in our back yard in North Carolina. We had nesting boxes and feeders as well as a bird bath. The dripping attracts the birds (our bath had a drip on purpose) so that's possibly why the swamphen didn't go to the nozzle.
You may be right about the drips, Jo. Our birdbath is just a standard still one unfortunately.
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