Mate, it's a Spangled Drongo.

We managed to get around 5 kilos of mulberries off our little tree before the birds discovered it.

At first, the birds landed on the top branches - which I can't reach anyway - so I didn't mind sharing a few, since most of the birds are new to me, and generally very pretty (or unusual-looking anyway).

Stop that mulberry thief!

We took to leaving the camera and the Bird Book out by the window so that we could quickly try and identify new birds as we saw (or heard) them. I'm usually not quick enough to catch them with the camera unfortunately, but we have managed to sight - so far and to the best of our knowledge - a large number of honeyeaters and berry eaters, including the Spangled Drongo! I wish I had a photo of it, but isn't that the coolest bird name ever?

We've also spotted Noisy Friarbirds, Brush Wattlebirds, Red Wattlebirds, Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Figbirds and King Parrots, in addition to some smaller honeyeaters I haven't been able to identify and the garden variety Common Mynahs and Noisy Miner birds, which are also mulberry thieves as it turns out.

A Noisy Friarbird, with it's characteristically bumpy beak.
Looks a bit like a miniature vulture, doesn't it?

All this bird activity has (almost) compensated for the loss of mulberries from the tree - although next year I will definitely be netting it - and has inspired the girls to put together their own bird identification book, using photos thieved borrowed for personal use only from Flickr - with a specially designed cover drawn by the girls ;-)

Living on the edge of a swamp Ramsar listed Wetland of International Importance, we are also lucky enough to see heaps of birds when we go for a walk or ride, such as herons, egrets, ibis and swans, so we've included those birds as well.

We're now also planning a Breakfast with Birds encounter at our local Wetlands Centre and season passes for the kids for Christmas.

Who knew a mulberry tree could be so much fun?


Cheers,