Ausbirdtober – Days 15 to 21

Here’s my responses for days 15 to 21 of Ausbirdtober.

Day 15, Prompt: Brightens up my day.

Just about any bird brightens up my day, but perhaps none more than this one – the Eastern Yellow Robin.

Sometimes, when I’ve been working quietly in a forest, I sense a presence nearby. A tickle on the back of the neck, or a flicker of something half-seen. And it’s this still little yellow bird. Perched sideways on a stem, staring intently at the ground. Watching for a small movement in the leaf-litter below.

Above: This robin inspired one of my earliest designs for a greeting card and my first tshirt design… and it’s now also a magnet. The tshirt design has been raising funds for the Environmental Defender’s Office since about 2017.

Ausbirdtober is a fun way to celebrate Australia’s birds. On each day, start with the prompt (see list below), and think of an Australian bird.

Then either create a drawing, painting or print;

Or write a Haiku (a short poem of 3 lines; the first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7 syllables, and the last has 5 syllables).

Then (optional!) share using the tag #ausbirdtober

No AI permitted!

The prompt for Day 16 ‘Likes the water’ made me contemplate my great love of Purple Swamphens. So much so that one of the central characters in my kids book (below) is Suzy the swamphen. That’s her on the cover!

Day 17: ‘Travels a lot’.

The Rufous Fantail is a petite bird, but it travels north in the winter & south in the summer. I live in south east Queensland, and we only see them from spring to autumn.

In autumn the birds head north. Who knows how far north the ones in our garden go…. but Rufous Fantails have been observed traveling low over the water across Torres Strait. Some will keep going, to overwinter in southern New Guinea.

This species can live for at least 9 years, and would make these migrations every year.

So this gorgeous little bird certainly ‘Travels a lot’.

Australian Magpies are great homebodies, they like to stay in the same territory, and defend it against other magpies.

They can also live for 30 years or more, and recognise different humans. So that magpie you see everyday – chances are, it’s been living alongside you & sharing your place for quite some time. And it probably knows you quite well.

So many Australian birds fit the prompt ‘Colourful’. But perhaps a lesser-known one is the Pale-headed Rosella.

Also known as ‘Custard-heads’ – can you see why? 😜

This lady is also a character in my #workinprogress
kid’s picture book. She’s called Custard Unflustered, and you’ll be hearing a lot more about this book soon. Maybe even a Kickstarter campaign!

Not only does this Royal Spoonbill have a very special beak, she’s also a gorgeous bird.

Spoonbills walk through shallow water, sweeping their heads from side to side, with that spoony beak tip submerged in the water, and partly open. They use the beak tip to detect and then grab fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic insects.

I guess if you can’t see your prey well, it’s useful to have a broad beak tip to grab it. Unlike the pointy beak tip of egrets? Another beak question for another day!

Here’s the effervescent Southern Emu-wren, one of Australia’s smallest birds. And I think that tail should probably be longer than I’ve drawn it.

The main threat to this species is habitat loss. Fortunately the Native Vegetation Council of South Australia has shown some care by halting the construction of a rocket launcher at Whaler’s Way, on Eyre Peninsula. This place is a stronghold for the rare EP subspecies of the Southern Emu-wren (who I think is about a million times more worthwhile than space exploration).

Thanks to everyone who’s already joined in the fun. Do as much or as little as brings you joy. The aim is to spend some quiet moments with a bird!