It’s the Aussie Bird Count week…
I absolutely love this week because (to me) it means no matter what’s happening, I have to find 20 minutes each day to sit in nature.
Not that it takes me much persuading!
It’s also a great way to stop, take some time out, and practise mindfulness.
Observing birds and listening to their songs can help to ground you in the present moment, and connect you with nature.
It’s a win-win situation.
It ususally takes me a few minutes to settle so I’m fully ‘tuned in’ and prepared to start.
I find the best way to do this is to start looking around, noticing what I can see.
Then starting to notice what I can hear.
These are the two essential senses for the count.
But if you want, you can also tap into your sense of smell…
Then noticing your sense of touch…
Noticing what you can feel, the air on your skin, your feet on the ground etc.
Once you feel ready you can start your 20 minutes.*
Recently my husband and I have both commented on a different bird song we’ve started to hear, so I was keen to see if I could discover more.
I’ve not been disappointed…
Day one and I discovered a tiny little bird darting around in one of the Grevilleas.
It was, what we often describe as, an LLB: a ‘little brown bird’.
But then another one arrived – obviously the male as it was brightly coloured – so giving me more of a chance to identify it.
A Scarlet Honeyeater…
It’s the smallest honeyeater (not that you can really tell in these photos) at just 10-11cm.
Stunning!
But then I became aware of another small bird.
One that I have seen before, but not on a regular basis – an Eastern Spinebill.
On day two I noticed a few other small birds with olive coloured wings.
They took me a while to identify** but in the end I settled on White-throated Honeyeaters.
Wow, all these birds I’d never spotted before!
Twenty minutes goes far too fast I have to say…
Anyway, today I was about to start my count when all bedlam broke loose.
A Kookaburra flew into a nearby tree – making a heck of a noise (but clearly not laughing) – followed by two clearly upset Noisy Miners (who you’d expect to be… well… noisy).
Then the Magpies started, along with other Miners and Kookaburras.
There were probably others too, but I was so busy trying to establish what was going on.
Then I saw it… a large goanna casually walking across the garden!
I desperatley wanted to grab a photo but the birds were doing far too good a job of chasing it away.
I didn’t stand a chance.
Never mind.
Witnessing nature in action is a gift in itself.
Calm has now been restored so I’m about to start my bird count for the day.
I’ve already spotted two Pale-headed Rosellas and a Common Bronzewing feeding in the garden, so I should be off to a good start…
Ahhhh to another 20 minutes of mindfulness with the birds…
Ann 🙏
*If you’re interested in doing the count go to the webpage to register and create an account.
There’s a very simple app you can use and the website provides a guide on how to use it.
** You can pause the 20-minute timer on the app if you need to check the identity of a bird.