I’ve been crook this week and am still feeling very, very ordinary but I had an idea for this week’s post that could relate to our new year resolutions.
Although it looks as though this adult Hooded Plover was standing still you can see from the splash of bubbles that it was on the move. This is one of the hoodies from Phillip Island.
This shot clearly shows why the Helmeted Honeyeater got its name. This is one of the wild birds that is part of the amazing recovery program at Yellingbo in Victoria.
I was totally thrilled to see the female Malleefowl turn up at the mound to lay an egg as I was tucked away beneath my fabric hide at Scotia.
I had goosebumps when I was looking at this Powerful Owl, and they recur as I look at the photograph. A truly magnificent species.
Another magnificent owl species. Years ago I heard the distinctive barking call of this bird at my property. Years later I heard it again only to learn that an ecologist was playing the call from a nearby forest!
I always feel strangely blessed to see Brolga, but to see this family at the Western Treatment Plant was especially lovely.
This exquisite species suffers horrendously during Victoria’s duck shooting seasons. It was a rare pleasure to photograph a living Freckled Duck.
Blue-billed Ducks are variously listed as endangered or vulnerable. No prizes for guessing how they got their name!
This remarkable species is endangered in Victoria and NSW. I have photographed them in the wild in Queensland, and a shot I took was used on the cover of a young adult novel.
Once common, now in trouble along with the Eastern Curlew, Great Knot and many others.
Oh how I love lying on the ground, watching birds go about their business!
This beaut parrot species flies between Tasmania and Victoria each year. I believe I briefly saw them at the WTP but this shot was taken of a bird that is part of the captive breeding program at Healesville Sanctuary.
Gang-gangs used to feed in my garden when I lived a few minutes from where I live now. I’m greatly saddened that their numbers have declined so rapidly.
It was an indescribable honour to watch albatross.
The ABBBS band on this Shy Albatross was readable – which was exciting for me and even more exciting for the team who had banded it ten years previously. I wrote about this fascinating bird in an earlier post: Missing in Action for Ten Years
I have no idea why these birds are called Black-necked Storks when their necks are so beautifully coloured.
This species has made a remarkable resurgence thanks to some brilliant work on Lord Howe Island.
Several species of black-cockatoo are in trouble. They are sensational species.
I was in the bush one day when I mentioned to my friend that what I’d really love to see was a Southern Emu-wren… within seconds this little beauty turned up. Neither of us could believe our eyes.
I thought this post would have maybe half a dozen photographs, I’m pretty staggered to see how many endangered species I have photographed. There are other shots I could have added which I haven’t processed yet, or which are horribly blurred.
But the point of this New Year post is to suggest that we all aim to do at least one thing this year to help endangered birdlife. It could be something as simple as buying something from the Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater online shop, or maybe making a donation to one of many worthy causes, or volunteering, or planting habitat… the list goes on and on. Please let me know if you have other ideas or links you’d like to share.
Oh, I’ve added my podcast video with Thomas Doerig from Birding today to the Ethics/podcast link above – I hope it works that way, please let me know if you have trouble with it. I’m rapt to see that over 400 viewers on the YouTube link alone have been interested in ethical bird photography.
I hope there are no glaring errors in this post. I thought it would be short and sweet as I’m feeling crook and was aiming for an early night. I’ve done three negative RATs so presumably it’s nothing too nasty.
Wishing you and our birds a wonderful 2023, happy birding, Kim
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