A homage to LBBS – the affectionate abbreviation for “little brown birds”. Cheerful little souls that drive birdwatchers to distraction 🧐
Is it a Brown Gerygone, or a Scrubwren? No – definitely a Thornbill. Striated, Yellow or Brown? Not sure, too fast, best to take a photo. Click. Gotcha – definitely a Brown Thornbill. Hello.
More raptors in the forest - this time a Grey Goshawk. What is it doing? Nest building is usually in Spring when the nest is built about 15 m above the ground. It is a stick platform 50 - 60 cm wide, 35 cm deep and lined with green leaves. So the log the bird is moving is unlikely to be flooring for a new build or a reno project. And it looks a tad too large for successful lift-off.
Hunting? Grey Goshawks are usually stealth hunters of small prey such as birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and arthropods. Their plan of attack is to wait patiently on a branch next to a trunk and then dive at lightening speed, knock over their prey and then quickly return for the kill. They also pull Ringtail Possums from their drays and I have no doubt a Lyrebird wandering on the forest floor would also be on the menu. However, moving the log is likely a search tactic for arthropods.
The bird activity we can be certain about in this video is the frantic alarm call of the Scrubwren in the vine thicket, alerting his nearest and dearest of the presence of real and present danger!
(Please share the video to other bird watchers and Mother Nature enthusiasts as recordings like this are a very rare treat).
A rare camera capture of a Alberts lyrebird hen and chick. The chick is very young - we have never seen them in person or on camera at this age. A lively little fella! And if one listens carefully the chick is calling to its mother.
The video is especially heartening, as this year (being La Nina) the birds have had a very energetic breeding season in stark contrast to the drought (2015 - 2019).
However, we must be realists as it is thought lyrebird chick mortality in the first year is 90%, as with most bird species. Lets hope this little one draws the 1 out of 10 straws and survives...
This video shows the end of the male Alberts Lyrebird display. It involves repetitions of churring, "woka"s, gronking, and mimicry though a full display always ends with mimicry. The mimicry is often Grey Shrike-Thrush though Kookaburra is also a feature of some of the males in this forest.
The ending of the display varies enormously, often being completely absent! Why cut a display short? The reasons are varied but ususally due to being too early or late in the breeding season, or disturbed by a change in the environment (e.g. a new vine or fallen branch), alarm sound of a bird or pademelon, crows flying overhead, or no females nearby.
This ending is present, but short. Why isn't it longer - I guess it is because no females are nearby. If he was concerned by an alarm call or crows he would leave the display area and wait nearby before re-entering and continuing with the display. He didn't re-enter and continue,so it is unlikely females were nearby to impress.
As you may know, each breeding season I take a limited number of people into the forest to witness the lyrebirds displaying up close and personal. Only one visitor has seen a full display - and that was this year. Mark was the lucky person - and he was rewarded for his exceptional patience and stillness. It was a fantastic experience. As he said afterwards, "Rare things happen rarely!"
As the male bird's display progresses he will “gronk” – a very distinctive sound along with characteristic churring and clicking. At the same time he will dance, alternating the position of his tail while pushing up and down on the vines in perfect time. If you are listening at a distance during the breeding season the gronking noise can be heard a long way and it is a good indication that a male is most probably displaying, and if you approach closer you will then hear the softer sequential song. However, the gronking noise on its own is also made out of breeding season and what it communicates to other birds is poorly understood. We know when they make it, who makes it but not (yet) why!
After gronking, the male then goes back into sequential song peppered with territorial calls, just as he was doing before. And so there can be several episodes of gronking, dancing, and sequential song.
It is easy to think that once the male bird “presses the display button” that the display will go start to finish, but that is not the case. Although there are definite parts to the display and they broadly occur in the same order each time, a display will be terminated at any time, particularly if the bird becomes aware of a change to their environment that is new or perceived as a threat. So for a male bird to “press the button” and to go right the way through to the end of the display is not common, and very rarely seen in person.
(At 1.30 mins in this video there is a lovely example of feather rustling (with no feathers moving!).
After entering the display area and calling loud Territorial Calls (TC) and listening for other birds doing likewise, the male then begins the next phase of the display. This is composed of a sequential song broken by TCs and listening for other male bird calling. The sequential song (SS) is mimicry of noises heard in the forest. About 80% of the SS is Satin Bowerbird (SB). SS tends to follow a particular pattern and different males can be identified on their preference of particular bird songs to mimic in different parts of the display. The songs that are mimicked tend to be mimicked in short sequences rather than longer song versions mimicked by Superb Lyrebirds. In this this video I think (happy to be corrected by more knowledge birdos) the birds mimicked are: Logrunner (LR), clicks, feather rustling, SB, Crimson Rosella (CR), TC, SB, TC, LR, click, SB, LR, click, SB, CR, TC, (listening), CR?, TC, CR?, (listening), TC, SB, TC, click, LR, click
I have chosen a selection of videos taken on a camera trap of the display of the male Alberts Lyrebird. They feature different parts of the display and will be posted over the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy them.
This video is of the beginning of the display - the bird enters the display area, stands on his display vine and begins to call and sing. The loud crescendo call is his territorial call. The call is relatively specific to the local area but there are subtle recognisable differences between the males within the local area and the territorial call also changes during the breeding season.
The other song is the sequential song - it is composed mainly of mimicry of other birds, principally the Satin Bowerbird, as well as feather rustling and beak snapping. Just as with the territorial call there are also differences in the sequential song between the males regarding some of the birds they choose to mimic, as well as a variation in individual birds from year to year.
This is ability to learn new songs/sounds is a special feature of the lyrebird brain. In other song bird species the chicks learn their songs from the adults when very young, often being rewarded by adults with food when they get it right. At around 6 - 8 weeks of age the song centre of the brain becomes "crystallised" or "set" for the rest of their life.
Lyrebirds are different - each year their song centres "decrystalise" and during this period they are capable of learning new songs and sounds. Their songs are principally learnt from the adults surrounding them however there is a plasticity of the song centre of the brain that sets them apart from other birds.
Knoll bird working on his mojo - not sure falling off the vine is going to impress the girls....
Lunch time in the forest
Lunch time in the forest for an Alberts lyrebird and two pademelons.
Adult male Alberts Lyrebird displaying
Breeding season for the Alberts Lyrebrids is just starting, and should be full steam ahead for the next 4 weeks or so. Here is the latest video of "Favourite" beginning his courtship display. I have tracked him for six years and this year he has changed his prefered display site (again) and moved to a very densely vined area.
It is always a great pleasure to see him display - for one, it means he has survived another year and there is a good chance he will be successful in the mating game. And secondly, by tracking the birds we can collate more data on how they behave and thereby help "at the coal face" to ensure the survival of this threatened species.
The forest revitalised...
An update on the forest following 400mm of rain in January and February, the same amount of rain received during 2019. The forest giants have responded quickly, replacing lost canopy. One of the tree species that were totally denuded during the dry period was the Australian Stinging Tree. They are now resplendent in copious light green leaves that are covered in the tiniest hairs capable of the most vicious sting! These trees are one of the forest giants and are very important colonisers of ground whereever the canopy has been breeched. They are also an extremely important source of food (fruit) for the wide variety of pigeon and dove species that live in "Carabeen" - brown cuckoo dove, white headed pigeon, emerald dove, wompoo pigeon, wonga pigeon, top knot pigeon and the rose-crowned fruit dove. And possibly the double-eyed fig parrot (heard but not seen, so not confirmed yet).
The Wompoo pigeon can presently be heard calling from the roadside at the northern end of Carabeen Nature Refuge. It is such a delight to listen to their booming voice carrying through the forest.
(Please note the Nature Refuge is privately owned and permission to enter the property must be sought before entry. Please do not be offended if permission is not granted.)
New young mature Alberts Lyrebird displaying 2018
Breeding season is well and truly in full swing. The males display all year but the intensity (number of displays each day) dramatically declines in September. Being a particularly dry year (when egg laying is known to decrease), the breeding season 2019 seemed late to start and may finish earlier than usual.
All of the known adult male birds with territory in Carabeen are present and accounted for (thank goodness). And the new young mature male that established territory for the first time in 2018 is back again this year displaying at the same site (see video).
As well there are three birds on the western side of the ridge, an area that is much drier than the east side and has been thought unlikely to support a stable lyrebird population. This is a very exciting development!
Occasionally in non-breeding season an adult male will call in that area, but never in breeding season, until this year.
One bird is an adult male, one is a female and one is an unknown gender. The male and female are often seen feeding together in the paddock next to the forest edge. Feeding outside of the forest has been recorded by Syd Curtis in dry seasons - it is the first time we have seen it occur here.
These two birds are most likely the pair of birds videoed drinking from a forest spring several years ago. The spring is dry now and the birds have to venture out in the open to gain water from a small dam, unless they travel over a kilometre over the ridge down to Spring Creek.
The male gives an occasional series of territorial calls (not at dawn but 1 - 2 hours later). The calls are undefined in structure compared to the older males on the Eastern side of the ridge - but recognisable as "Carabeen" Alberts Lyrebirds' territorial calls. He also mimics as song, but hasnt developed the Alberts cycle and the mimicry is at times quite undefined and doesnt include the usual large amount (80%) of Satin Bowerbird.
It will be very interesting next year to hear how this young matu
Alberts Lyrebird displaying
2017 has revealed new insights into the behaviour of the Alberts Lyrebirds in our forest. Young males established new territories, and old territories changed shape to accommodate them. One of the male birds with a well-defined territory died before the start of the breeding season and his territory remained vacant until a few months ago. “Favourite”, the bird who has tolerated visitors watching him provided they dress as “short fat shrubs” is becoming increasingly elusive. More groups of young birds (without territories) who roost and feed together have been found. And to our delight two fledgling chicks with their female parents have been spotted!
And this year some things have stayed the same. Nests are still impossible to find! So I will leave the last "word" about the year to Knoll bird. He lives deep within the most beautiful part of the forest. His favourite display site is on the top of a tiny knoll which is lit by the dawn's first light.
Superb Lyrebird mimicking and displaying
Wollomombi Falls and a male Superb Lyrebird mimicking and displaying on a mound only 20 metres from our camp site. Very different in song and display to the Alberts, this Superb had a much quieter call. His mimicking including whole bird songs instead of the Alberts Cycle of repetitive sequential singing one to two notes of each bird species mimicked. The difference in ease-of-mimicry identification and tolerance of people is why many bird watchers have enjoyed the Superb Lyrebird song and display, while the elusive Alberts Lyrebird remains on the bon-a-fide twitcher’s bucket list.
Red necked pademelons
Alberts Lyrebirds can be so frustrating to capture on film. The two adults and chick I have been trying to photograph have moved on. But red-necked pademelons are never camera shy and are always to be found in the footage of camera traps!
Alberts Lyrebird displaying at new site
This year bird “Favourite” has upped digs and moved camp to a new area about 50 metres south of where he has always previously displayed. A new young male has established a territory on his northern boundary and much too close to Favourite’s old roost tree and primary display site for Favourite's comfort. So Favourite has found a new roost tree and has formed a new favourite display site in (almost) impenetrable vine. It took a little while to find it, but it was worth the early starts and careful listening.
Alberts Lyrebird displaying
A magical morning in the forest! While watching “Bob” the Alberts Lyrebird in full display, I was visited by two inquisitive Green Catbirds, and a shy Bassian Ground Thrush while a Red Legged Pademelon (very rarely seen) hopped past. “Bob” was also very happy as a female lyrebird came-a-calling! Lyrebird breeding season is in full swing… If you like to visit and see the birds send me a text 0434352710 and we can have a chat.
Male Alberts Lyrebird courting a female bird early in the bree...
Love this video - this is what a male Alberts Lyrebirds means when he decides he will go all out to impress! No sure that it worked on this occassion. The fact he is still in part moult most probably hasnt helped his cause.
alberts Lyrebirds drinking at a spring
The dry hot weather continues and the only spring on the western side of the forest is now a tiny puddle. These two lyrebirds will soon have to traverse open ground to a nearby creek for water.
