The past few days there have been clouds of what I think are Soldier
Beetles filling the air in parts of Katoomba. I wondered if these are
palatable for birds. There have also been unusually large numbers of
Welcome Swallows moving through and feeding on flying insects of some kind
- not sure if it's the beetles or something else.
Late this afternoon as low cloud and mist rolled in after a particularly
hot day (yes, it even gets hot in Katoomba occasionally) I caught a glimpse
of two White-throated Needletails flying high, until they faded off into
the mist.
The Rockwarbler that I wrote about previously has become a real regular,
gracing my garden several times a day with its unique personality. It's
interesting to watch it hopping all over the tin rooves of my and my
neighbours' houses as if they were strange corrugated rock platforms. Late
this afternoon I was standing in the garden watching the mist roll in when
the Rockwarbler announced its arrival with a sudden burst of sharp scolding
sounds. It flashed past, nearly colliding with my shoulder as it flew
straight to the birdbath for a drink and a bath.
A funny thing about Rockwarblers is that if you keep very still they don't
seem to notice you and carry on with their normal activities all around
your feet (or, if they do notice you it doesn't seem to worry them). After
its bath this bird flew to a low branch literally 30 centimetres from my
ankle and proceeded to preen itself thoroughly while I looked down on it at
unbelievably close quarters, trying to stand as still as possible so as not
to frighten it away.
Katoomba is in the upper Blue Mountains, at 1000 metres elevation and 100km
west of Sydney.
Cheers
Carol
Carol Probets
Katoomba NSW
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