Aussie Birds

We have spotted some interesting birds recently. This time of year, there are lots of baby emu around. We see mom (or dad?) walking around the bush followed by several young emus. Normally emus run away from us when we approach. Protecting their young ones, they can only lead them away at a walking pace. When I came up on one group quickly on my bike, the parent placed herself between me and the chicks while they continued to escape.

Christa got some great pictures of the Wedge Tailed Eagle. We often see them eating carrion along the road. They are the largest bird of prey in Australia and can have a wingspan over 7ft. Road kill is a large part of their diets. They swoop in and steal it from the smaller birds like Australian Ravens that often get there first.

We have seen some colorful parrots. The first two are Australian Ringnecks. I am not sure about the third one. The closest thing we can find is an adolescent Adaleide Crimson Rosella...

Here in Woomera, there are several birds that congregate in the bushes outside my apartment. If I open the door carefully, I can get some good shots of them.

Little Corella (a member of the Cockatoo family)

Yellow Throated Miner. Tim had one of these outside his apartment that was protecting a nest. It would swoop down at everybody that approached his apartment. The first swoop was a bit scary since you never knew what direction it would come from.

A few months ago, we had tons of Galahs here in Woomera. I haven't seen them around here recently, but we still see them when we drive a couple hours south. This one had one of the pinker crests I have seen.

We have heard Kookaburras multiple times in the Flinders Ranges. They were very noisy one evening when we were outside eating dinner at Wilpena Pound. We got to see one when it landed in a tree close to us, but it was getting dark and neither of us had a camera so we have no proof...

Here's a YouTube video with a Kookaburra making its calls:

Kookaburra sound

Australian Ravens. On our hikes (or even around town), they screech warnings when we are walking through their territory. This seems to be one, though it could be some other corvid... The split-tail seems a bit odd...