RECENTLY, while my partner was in a meeting, I sat in my car surrounded by tall King Island scrub. There was a home nearby with a small orchard nestled in the grass.
It was a cool, calm and very cloudy day, and to begin with I wasn’t really looking for birds – they came to me.
I was parked in an open area, about half the size of a footy oval, with King Island scrub all around.
The island native vegetation is mostly regrowth from earlier forest stands.
This regrowth creates a mosaic type setting of trees all in together. As they grow, the race to the canopy intensifies.
Some species grow more quickly such as the Eucalypts with Blackwood trees and Wattles almost keeping up.
Other trees which grow slower are the Banksias, Casuarina, Mountain Willow, Swamp paper bark and the Manuka or prickly ti trees.
There are a number of these species in the understory which are in various stages of growth as well as smaller trees and shrubs like boronia, heaths, ferns, orchids, mosses, lichen and numerous other plant species.
Some are plentiful while others are less common. This amazing selection of plants is ideal habitat for the local birds where many different species live.
On this day, I didn’t have my binoculars or camera, only a notebook. In 20 minutes I recorded 15 different birds.
There was one on the roof of the home fossicking about in the gutter, some were exploring the apple trees, probing in the bark and around the fruit, others hopping about in the grass searching for insects or seeds, while other birds were busy dashing in and out of the foliage high up in the tree tops.
A cacophony of bird songs drifted to me from among the undergrowth, calls were heard in the distance and by others flying overhead.
While thoroughly enjoying the solitude I realised the songs came from all directions. Then I thought, ‘How did I learn which songs belong to which birds.’
The location of where we choose to look for birds is a good indication of which birds we will see.
The birds in our backyard will be different to the shorebirds on the coastline as will the birds of the bush or birds on farms, farm dams and lagoons.
All these locations are great.
Here on King Island there are numerous species of birds to see in any of their natural environments, with some being extremely difficult to observe.
Migratory birds are far more mobile, so aren’t here on King Island all all times of the year.
You can learn to identify a bird if you write down a few notes, for example, the place where you saw your bird.
Was it bigger or smaller than a bird you already know. Include everything you can before it disappears.
Colour of legs, feathers, size of beak, was it flying, swimming, walking, running or just trying to hide from you?
And if you happen to have your camera, that makes the identification much easier and quicker.
As for me, I remember the totally relaxed feeling of being in the bush surrounded by this tranquility and quietness with bird songs all around me. It was lovely to have some time out and just live for the moment.