satin bower birds - Calwell

["Philip Veerman" <>]

Yes the bower in my neighbour's yard is still certainly active. Some birds add to it and other birds steal from it, (in particular several times I have seen one of them fly away from that bower carrying a decoration, directly over my kitchen window and continue in that direction) so I suspect there is another bower somewhere nearby. There are so many bowerbirds here I certainly can't keep track of which is doing what. Although I think there is only one blue bird here every day. Indeed of the birds that are regularly using my garden (as apart from my broader GBS area), these are the most abundant species by far. Victoria asks about "I have read nesting usually occurs from Sept so is this event early?" but to clarify, activities at a bower are not associated with nesting. The males are interested in displaying and attracting a female much earlier than the females start nesting.

 

Philip

 

-----Original Message-----From: Denis Wilson [ Sent: Monday, 23 July 2012 7:46 PM      To: victoria
Cc:       Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] satin bower birds - Calwell

Hi
Victoria

Bowerbirds have been singing/squealing/squarking at my place for
about a month, now.
(In Robertson, NSW).

From memory, Philip Veerman
has also been reporting BB display activity for a few weeks.
Nesting seems to
occur much later (October to December, from what I have
read).

Regards

Denis Wilson.

On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 7:36 PM, victoria <> wrote:

Had a few green/brown satin birds last year in the back yard however no black satin bower bird. This year they returned again and have been carrying on for a few wks. On the weekend I finally saw the black male and he had prepared his bower with blue decorations of course. He was presenting himself and objects to  a, or a few females for a day or 2. Fantastic to watch and hear. Then two gr/br birds attended to the bower adding materials (I have read immature males can help). There was also a distribution of blue objects over the other side of the yard but no bower elsewhere, as yet.

 

Their varied calls and ‘whistle’ as in a bomb/missile falling, is quite amazing.  Lucky me.

 

I have read nesting usually occurs from Sept so is this event early?

 

 

Victoria

-- 
Denis Wilson
"The Nature of Robertson"
www.peonyden.blogspot.com.au