I was surprised to see two Noisy Miner nests today, at Birdsland, that had young chicks in them. I had thought they’d probably stopped breeding by now but it seems not. Although, I have read and heard that not all birds breed only at springtime, some do breed for longer periods or all year round.
What also surprised me is that one of the nests was right out in the open, atop a barren tree – not a very big tree at all. Whereas, the other was hidden in foliage in a tree in another space. Where the one in the open was, there were two Butcher birds calling nearby. I was immediately concerned for the chicks! However, the barren tree is surrounded by other trees so maybe it wasn’t as out in the open as it appeared to be to me.
It was the sound of the chicks that got my attention as I walked along the path, coming towards this barren tree, and then saw the adult alight the nest near the top of the tree. I walked past it towards another tree, under which I stood, and then proceeded to take photos. I didn’t want to make the parent nervous and wanted them to be able to continue what they were doing without feeling unsafe in my presence. I was using my 500mm lens for these shots. Click on each individual image to view large.
