princes bridge

Little Black Cormorants Showing Nesting Behaviour

December 18, 2016 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

I was starting to get excited. I thought it was nearing the end of the first part of the breeding season around Balyang, which meant I could slow down and focus on other things. There was a new pair of darters preparing to create and raise young. There was significantly less numbers of young cormorants.

Then I noticed this. A little black cormorant carrying nesting material! YES!

I followed where it landed and noticed that it had started constructing a nest. WOOHOO! I’d been wondering for a while why I saw a lot of LBC’s along the river but saw no nesting behaviour. The other cormorants have REALLY stepped up their nesting behaviour so maybe they just don’t nest earlier like other birds? On the first day, we could see one pair constructing a nest.

The next day I returned. The nest was well and truly finished and the cormorant was starting to display courting behaviour. On subsequent days, I noticed other LBC kicking the young little pied cormorants out of the nest and attempt courtship.

I didn’t witness any mating or other types of behaviour. It *does* mean an extended season visiting Balyang. I’m going to visit twice over the next month, and then resume weekly visits watching the young little black cormorants grow up. It will be interesting to compare that with the other cormorants. Have seen no sign of the great cormorants showing courtship or nesting behaviour.

Hungry Darter Playing With A Leaf

March 12, 2016 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

I was at Princes bridge recently when I saw a young darter sitting on a log. It was then chased off by this darter, who was perhaps a month or two older then it.

It’s very competitive along the Barwon at the moment. It then started pecking and playing with anything it could find: leaves, branches, sticks etc. Not many photos turned out because it was directly below me. These are the photos that really stood out.

Princes bridge updates

March 10, 2016 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

At last. We have reached the end of a breeding season and normality has been restored. I must admit, it is relaxing not having to note everything down and to be able to stay at home and bludge. There is still a lot I want to observe this season, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to see everything before the birds fly.

In the below photo, you can see a pied cormorant. But wait: isn’t this post about Princes Bridge? I had never seen one here before and have no idea if it is unusual behaviour. I know it’s only a couple of km from the ocean, but they are still a bird I associate with beaches.

I did manage to get a photo of it defecating, so now have the complete set of Australian cormorants pooping.

Towards the end of February, I noticed that a pair of darters apparently courting. On this visit, however, I was greeted by mostly empty nests. It was a bit of a shock, similar to when all the birds left the mating tree. There is still courtship behaviour going on elsewhere. I have no idea what makes them choose to abandon an area. It really does feel like they use a particular batch of trees to their full potential and then move away a little bit.

I was photographing the darters swimming when I noticed these turtles in the background. I managed to get Seth his first turtle lifer recently, he really wanted to see one along the river. Of course, my notes show that we both saw one along there when he was a little tacker but that doesn’t really count.

I took the below photo to show the differences in colour in the birds. One is clearly juvenile, you can still see that dangly bit of skin under its chin. The other doesn’t look like a full adult, unless it is moulting. Also seems to be some staining? Interesting.

The final set of photos show little black cormorants showing courtship behaviour. I think they may be making another genuine go at breeding. No idea if they always breed a bit later or if this is just a recent thing. I did get poor quality video of it though.

And thus concludes a season of cormorant observing! I suspect there is a lot of useful data in these photos but I have no idea what to do with it. I need to come up with a better strategy for future seasons, especially with breeding data. There is just so much going on that it’s easier to avoid and rely on someone else to report.

Looking forward to going to Apollo Bay at the end of the month! Nice to have a change of scenery 🙂

Darter Having A Yawn

March 8, 2016 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

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Princes Bridge Little Black Cormorants #2

March 3, 2016 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

There are going to be a billion gajillion photos of these guys in the coming days. Fortunately, very few people read this blog and will avoid being overwhelmed.

I love this series of photos. Love them. Both adults were near the nest so the chicks looked to their parents with anticipation. All chicks were looking in the same direction at the same time.

At this age, which I think was 2 1/2-3 weeks, the chicks very distinctly looked like little black cormorants. The face and wing patterns gave it away. I am going to LOVE doing the week by week comparisons of both species.

It’s still curious as to why these guys, and all other cormorants, gave up nesting at Balyang in favour of here.