10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2021

In another year when time stands still when you are not allowed to move freely around Australia or overseas some things happen like clockwork. There is a large influx of tourists to Broome at this time of year from the southern colder climes of Western Australia. The post Pied Oystercatcher breeding season is here again!

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2020

Cattle Egret should not be in breeding plumage in June in the north of Australia! Cattle Egret have been recorded in Australia since 1948. We do occasionally see Cattle Egret around Broome, but never in breeding plumage and always with cattle. The Derby wetlands water had all gone green. Cattle Egret.

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2023

This year, with the exceptional rain and flooding across much of the land there has been a great opportunity for many bird species to move to the area and breed. It is not just the Magpie Geese and Pied Herons that arrived and chose to breed, but also the Australasian Swamphens.

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10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2021

A couple of weeks ago I introduced you to the pair of Pied Oystercatchers that were the first to start breeding along our coast this year. Since then we have had the two pairs of Pied Oystercatchers that breed between the Surf Club and Gantheaume Point lay their first clutch of eggs. Pied Oystercatcher nest.

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2023

Earlier this year when we first observed Comb-crested Jacanas close to Broome they had just arrived from further north in Australia. Often we have had to travel further north to observe Comb-crested Jacanas , but when we have high rainfall during our wet summer months we can expect to observe them.

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10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2022

We first noticed the odd eye in April this year, but it does not appear to bother it and it can still feed and obviously breed too. One of the adult Tawny Frogmouths appears to be blind in its right eye. Tawny Frogmouth with an odd right eye. It does appear to still have quite a bit of down that will develop into feathers in due course.

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2022

He is supposed to help out at that stage of the breeding process. He often lands high up in a nearby tree and looks down. He will have to start to pull his weight once the chicks start demanding food! Male Mistletoebird. When the female Mistletoebird returns to the nest she dives straight in and then turns around and faces outwards.

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2020

At this time of year we are on the lookout for the start of breeding season in Pied Oystercatchers. They use the same nest site for subsequent clutches if any fail during the breeding season. There are still two eggs and although this pair has not been successful for many years at least they are attempting to breed.

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2022

This large flock is generally the non-breeding birds and on one occasion we have observed a nest there, but we do not know the outcome of it. In recent years there have been Pied Oystercatchers attempting to breed along the shores of Roebuck Bay. Many of the migratory shorebirds still have some of their breeding plumage.

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10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2022

Well, it is that time of year again and shorebirds are breeding. Hopefully all of the migratory shorebirds that left Roebuck Bay earlier this year have been successful at breeding in the Northern Hemisphere and will soon be heading back to our shores. I have also learnt to not count my chickens before they hatch.

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

Every year we observe both egg and chick loss amongst our Pied Oystercatcher pairs along Cable Beach and also in Roebuck Bay during their breeding season. The breeding season starts around the end of June and there are still eggs being laid and chicks hatching, but now these are the second clutches of eggs.

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10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

We really don’t like the presence of Black Kites along the beach when the Pied Oystercatchers are breeding. Of course Black Kites also breed and at the moment there is a nest very close to the highway. The post Black Kites breeding appeared first on 10,000 Birds. The forked tail is evident when they perch on beach debris.

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10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2021

The post Australian Hobby breeding in Broome appeared first on 10,000 Birds. We have enjoyed watching the development of the Australian Hobby family over recent weeks. It was nice to have a bird species that we knew for certain that we could find on New Year’s Day and add to our 2021 year list!

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10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2014

In Australia we definitely have our fair share of invasive species and the main problem is that we are such a huge land mass with such a small population. The population of Australia is concentrated mainly around the city areas along the coast and many invasive species have been able to spread with ease.

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10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2017

Magpie-larks are a very common bird throughout most of Australia and they are quite at home among the large cities as well as in the country towns and the remote parts of Australia. The last few months have been exceptionally good for the bird-life around Broome and many species have been breeding or are in the process of breeding.

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2022

It won’t be long before they have all set off on their northward migration to breed, but for now they are feeding up. The mud is full of aquatic insects and their larvae and the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers have joined many other species feeding along this stretch of main highway around Australia.

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10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2022

Australian Magpies are not a common sight in Broome. There appears to be a pair that reside between the Broome Senior High School and the Boulevarde Shopping Centre and we have observed them in that area since we moved here in 1999.

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2021

The Pied Oystercatcher breeding season continues here in Broome along our coastline and once again the birds are not having much luck. The first pair of Pied Oystercatchers to breed this year have had a second clutch of two eggs and they had two chicks, but sadly they were lost within a few days of hatching.

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Eggs Australia Breeding Protection 200

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2017

Not only have the Magpie-larks been busy building their mud nests and the Tawny Frogmouths been breeding at the supermarket car park, but other birds arrived and started to breed. This year has been very wet and the local birds have taken advantage of the situation.

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10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

It is breeding season and they are looking for mates! The breeding plumage of these birds is a lot darker now than during the rest of the year and the head, neck, breast and belly are almost black with chestnut wings and tail feathers. The Pheasant Coucal lives in Northern and Eastern Australia.

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10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2018

After an incredibly wet start to 2018 as a result of several tropical cyclones and other rain events the land remains saturated around Broome and as a result of this there are several bird species breeding that we don’t even encounter in dry years. Our first ever encounter was just over seven years ago near Broome.

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

In Australia we encounter the subspecies Limosa limosa melanuroides. The Black-tailed Godwits that we observe here in Australia breed in east Siberia and Mongolia. In non-breeding plumage they are almost brown, but add a reddish brown colour when they are in breeding plumage.

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2023

They have a very wide range and they are summer migrants to Australia. The Marsh Sandpipers are currently feeding up ready to migrate and breed in the Northern hemisphere. Marsh Sandpiper There are also many Sharp-tailed Sandpipers feeding in the area and they are also feeding up ready to go North and breed.

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10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2022

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes – Coracina novaehollandiae are a common bird species around our home in Broome, Western Australia. They are present throughout much of Australia and as their name would suggest they have a black face! They are often nearby and breed locally, but we don’t always have them at the water.

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10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2018

It is not unusual for only one Pied Oystercatcher chick to survive throughout the whole breeding season despite in excess of sixty eggs being laid by sixteen pairs. It is for this reason that there was not an update last year on Pied Oystercatchers breeding success , because there was not any.

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2017

After a very good Wet Season with substantially more rain than normal over the first few months of 2017 the land was flooded and a huge variety of birds arrived in the Broome area to take advantage of the ideal conditions for breeding. Let us hope they continue to share their lives with us in the north of Australia!

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10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

In the case of the two pairs of Pied Oystercatchers that did actually hatch their eggs and have chicks for a few days they did lay once more, but then they failed to even hatch the second clutch and then no longer attempted to breed.

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2023

As I sit at my desk writing this post about the latest attempt at breeding for one of our pairs of Pied Oystercatchers I realise I have written 677 posts now for this website. Nothing to do for a few days other than stand around on a rock together and contemplate another attempt at breeding. One large Pied Oystercatcher family !

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Eggs Australia Protection 2000 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

It has been more than 5 years since I last went to Australia, and I was even less of a qualified bird photographer then than I am now. All photos were taken in Australia in December 2016 – locations included Brisbane and surroundings, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Melbourne, and the coast near Melbourne.

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Australia Koalas Parrots Birds 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2019

Yellow-faced Honeyeaters – Calygavis chrysops are found in the eastern and south eastern parts of Australia. They are not present in Western Australia or the Northern Territory, so not a bird species that we get to observe very often. Yellow-faced Honeyeaters migrate in huge numbers between March and May.

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2021

It is that time of year again when we start to see the shorebirds around Broome change into their beautiful breeding plumage. We are not allowed to travel internationally out of Australia, but these shorebirds are free to head north. We then witness their departures each evening over several weeks.

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10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2021

On our recent walks along Cable Beach checking on the pairs of Pied Oystercatchers that are currently breeding we have often observed a Little Egret. There are also Eastern Reef Egrets along our coast despite the fact that we are in Western Australia! It appears to be successful at catching small fish. Little Egret.

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2022

According to Tim Low (in “Where Song began”), “so easy were they to breed that by 1859 they cost less to buy in London than in Sydney.” ” Funny how the difficulty of breeding a species can be illustrated in simple monetary terms. Is it offensive to say that Australian Zebra Finches breed like rabbits?

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Australia Birds Sheep Zebras 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

Carpet Shark washed up Carpet shark being returned to the sea I hope you have enjoyed this little insight into our varied wildlife here in the north of Australia. She also monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of beach by bicycle and on foot. I loved your post, I have to visit Australia someday.

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2022

According to Wikipedia, the national bird of Australia is the Emu – which I have not seen yet. On the other hand, some websites state that the Laughing Kookaburra is Australia’s national symbol. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia.

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Australia Birds Parrots Ostriches 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2022

Apparently, the Rufous Whistler used to be known as the Rufous-breasted Thickhead due to its “noticeable breadth of cranium” The source website itself quotes its own source, the delightfully titled “The Useful Birds of Southern Australia”, R Hall, 1907. This is the most common swallow in Australia. .

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Australia Birds Feral Cats Kangaroos 181

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

This year we have continued to monitor the breeding of several pairs of Pied Oystercatchers along the coast in Broome from Gantheaume Point to Willie Creek on the south side. Birding Australia Broome oystercatchers shorebirds' The first eggs were laid in the first week of July, which is the case each year.

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