Tuesday, January 10, 2012

White-Faced Heron and Corellas




The White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) is the most commonly seen heron in Australia. Every few months we even see one having a wander in our own suburban backyard. While on holidays over New Year I spotted one walking along the edge of the Bay, looking for something to eat. They feed on fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects, although it caught nothing while I was watching.




This one is a young White-faced Heron as it has not yet developed the characteristic white plumage  around the face. The male and female have a similar appearance and while breeding have long feathers along the head, neck and back.




They do not migrate and can be found in nearly any habitat where water is present.




You may remember me sharing about the flock of Corellas flying with Master J's r.c.plane a couple of weeks ago, also while on holidays.




As mentioned, one of our other children caught the incident on their iPod but we didn't have sufficient internet coverage to upload at the time. Now home, we have uploaded it. 

You can stop the "blog music" by pressing pause on the You-Tube clip at the very bottom of the page so as to appreciate Corellas, they are quite noisy! You'll understand why I asked Master J to stop flying with them so early in the morning. Corellas feed mostly on the ground, eating grains, grass seeds and sometimes fruit.

Sharing at World Bird Wednesday.


27 comments:

Tina´s PicStory said...

wonderful pics! :)

Lanlizzy said...

Loved the video! One has to wonder what the Corellas were thinking, were they trying to join in on the flight with this strangest of birds or perhaps frighten the intruder away. Either way it made great veiwing and I'm sure Master J was filled with joy! have a lovely day.
Cheers
Lanlizzy

Ruby said...

Beautiful pics!!

Giga said...

Świetnie wygląda lot ptaków za latawcem :-).Zdjęcia czapli też urocze. Pozdrawiam.

Looks great flight of birds as a kite :-). Photos herons too cute. Yours.

HANS-PETER ZÜRCHER said...

Wunderbare bilder....

Liebe Grüsse aus der Schweiz

Hans-Peter

tinajo said...

Beautiful! :-)

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

Beautiful series of shots !

Nadege, said...

Wonderful captures of the Heron.
Amazing flight with the Corellas

Jeanne said...

I love this heron! Just gorgeous and the photos are so good. Great video of this amazing flight of "birds". Think that is so interesting that they were flying with the model plane.

Gail Dixon said...

I didn't realize there was a White-Faced Heron. How cool. I love the pale blue color of his feathers. He sure was staking out the waters for a meal; hope he found something! Watching the Corellas was fascinating!

Angie said...

Great video! And I once saw these birds while visiting Hawaii. Beautiful images, Karen. :)

Gillian Olson said...

Love the bird shots, the video is great, shows the frantic movement of the birds and allows us to evesdrop on their conversation.

Filip said...

Good pictures, in the Netherlands you also see many Herons. They are just everywhere.

Greetings,
Filip

Unknown said...

Good sequence!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

theconstantwalker said...

A lovely Heron and what a fantastic post to see and watch..

mick said...

Great birds and photos but the one of the flying corellas and the plane is extra special.

magda in queensland australia said...

Have you seen the movie "Fly Away Home" Pieces of Sunshine?

What the Corellas have done in joy with Master J's plane is an actual project being employed to rehabilitate migratory birds in the USA... the people involved in the programme fly the craft the birds have learnt to follow... and in so doing... learn their migratory flight path.
It is a wonderful achievement.

If you haven't and choose to see the film... watch the extras too... there are websites listed about the founders and the project you may enjoy discovering.

Your Heron photos are beautiful and the information appreciated.
And I couldn't have turned the volume down for the Corellas, maybe up, but never down... love the raucous racket of their voices when are in large numbers.
Have the honour of their visits often happen in my yard, and once landed the grass becomes a moving swarm of white.
They are comical with their antics and fun to watch.

eileeninmd said...

Great photos and birds. I love the video and hearing the sound of those Corellas. What a great capture! Thanks for sharing.

holdingmoments said...

A beautiful looking Heron, and the video is amazing to watch.

Brian King said...

That is a gorgeous heron! Love the color!

Mary Howell Cromer said...

All are great, but the third image down is a stunner! What a great video clip~

Liz said...

What lovely captures of the Heron! I have been trying to find a Heron for so long!

Karin M. said...

... a fantastic photo series ... super nice pictures ...
Greeting Karin.

joo said...

Herons are gorgeous!

Springman said...

Great piece of blogging here! What a peaceful experience. You heron captures are extraordinary but the simple shot of the model plane soaring with the birds really speaks to me of humankind's longing to join in heavenly flight. Video too is enthralling. Loved it!

Pat said...

That was really cool! I just smiled from ear to ear while watching the video! Thanks so much for sharing it!

Arija said...

I had to turn the sound down on the video. We have sulphur-crested cockatoos, galahs and little corellas making a racket in the mornings.
Like your young heron, we have one resident at one of our dams.

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