Birding From My Desk

When you don’t get out of the office

Bronwen Scott
2 min readJun 25, 2023
Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa, Rhipiduridae), Atherton Tablelands, Far North Queensland. © Bronwen Scott

My apologies for the hiatus. Stuff happens. Stuff always happens!

While I get my writing act back together, here are some photos of garden birds taken through those grimy office windows. I keep my camera to hand, just in case.

The Grey Fantail (above) is one of a pair that arrived in the garden over the past fortnight. Grey Fantails, like their more ebullient cousins the Willie Wagtails, are forthright little birds who are usually unfazed by people and will carry on their business of hawking for insects, pausing only to offer an opinion on your presence. This one was using the Hill’s hoist and the adjacent cordylines as a base. I managed to photograph it in a rare moment of contemplation.

Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis) perched on the Hill’s Hoist, Atherton Tablelands. © Bronwen Scott.

In all seasons, Bar-shouldered Doves (Geopelia humeralis, Columbidae) are the most common pigeon visitors to the garden. The Brown Cuckoo-doves (Macropygia phasianella) and White-headed Pigeons (Columba leucomela) have moved on now that the Bleeding Hearts have stopped fruiting. Crested Pigeons (Ocyphaps lophotes) and Pacific Emerald Doves (Chalcophaps longirostris) make an occasional appearance. Australia does a nice…

--

--

Bronwen Scott

Zoologist, writer, artist, museum fan, enjoying life in the tropical rainforest of Far North Queensland. She/her. Website: bronwenscott.com