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

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The White-eared Honeyeater (Lichenostomus leucotis) or Schwarzkehl-Honigfresser 2011/03/09

This inquisitive White-eared Honeyeater is a resident of Cooma, a town in the south of New South Wales. Some unkind souls drop the ‘o’ from its name to point out the reputed comatose feel of Cooma, the main town of the Monaro region, with what I would describe more positively as country-town atmosphere.

The Long-billed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus baudinii)  or Baudins Weißohr-Rabenkakadu 2011/03/03

The Long-billed Black Cockatoo is a cockatoo endemic to south-western Australia and also known as Baudin's Black Cockatoo, which commemorates Nicolas-Thomas Baudin, a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer. It is somehow surprising that Australia is an English speaking country today, given the history of European exploration of Australia.

The Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) or Rotlappen-Honigfresser 2011/02/10

Like so many Sydneysiders this feathered resident was taking a sip of his favourite beverage, in his case nectar, last Australia Day, the official national day of the country. Australia Day is a public holiday celebrated annually on January 26 supposedly commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 but is in practice another welcome excuse for a barbeque and to down a lot of drinks.

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