Bird of the Week - Bernhard Schmitz Photography

Whilst I’m a fairly novice bird watcher, Suki the cat had always a great interest in birds for her own reasons. With the exception of cooked specimens, I tended to ignore feathered animals before I moved to Australia in late 2005 to join Mrs. Schmitz in Sydney. This changed soon after we settled in the suburb of North Bondi where the sheer abundance of colourful and exotic species sparked my interest in avian topics. I started to write down bird inspired observations which I put on this little weekly blog about Australia, Sydney and the feathered and not feathered locals.

Bernhard Schmitz & Suki the cat

SEE BIRD OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE >

The Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) or Rotnacken-Honigfresser 2012/08/23

Winter seems to be high season for these small honeyeaters that feed on the nectar produced by the many plants that flower in the cooler months in many parts of Australia. Grown up in a country where winter is a synonym for ice, snow and bare branched trees but not flourishing vegetation, be it in gardens or pristine bush, the simple fact that you can see so many flowers during the supposedly cold season is for me as a born European still hard to grasp.

The Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) or Schwarzbrauenalbatros 2012/08/16

Though the Black-browed Albatross is the most widespread and common member of the albatross family it’s situation is grim due to a dramatic reduction in population triggered by the consistently rising demand for seafood by us humans.

The Eastern Whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus) or Schwarzkopf-Wippflöter 2012/08/07

It’s notoriously hard to catch a glimpse of this bird but it can be frequently heard and easily identified by its long drawn out call - a long note, followed by a "whip crack" – which also serves as ringtone for my mobile.

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