Musk Lorikeet
Glossopsitta concinna
Location: 31 Watsonia Road, Watsonia
I have a confession to make, as a naturalist, I should have always been “into” birds, and these days I do love nothing more than going out birdwatching, but it hasn’t always been this way. I have always been obsessed with underwater creatures, but an interest in the animals of the sky has only happened in the last 6 or or 7 years. I can honestly say that becoming an amateur birder or a “twitcher” has greatly improved my life. No matter where I go in the world, there are always beautiful birds to find, and I always love watch their intriguing behaviours. At home in Australia we are unbelievably fortunate, we have many amazing birds everywhere you go, but in particular we live in “the land of the parrot,” as we have 56 species. It is believed that a lot of birds first evolved in Australia and spread across the world, hence the large diversity. Of the 830 species of birds found in Australia the Musk Lorikeet is one of my favourite. They’re a little harder to spot and keep an eye on than their bold cousin’s the Rainbow Lorikeets, but I never get used to watch these stunning little clowns of the sky.
Musk Lorikeets are nomadic, moving to different areas in different seasons. They feed in large noisy flocks, on nectar and pollen from flowering trees. I must apologise to my neighbours, as in order to capture to capture this image I kept going outside early in the morning, camera in one hand, coffee in the other, still in my pyjamas. Flocks of these birds would land in the flowering Eucalyptus and I would walk around trying to capture the perfect image of one, or I would just stand there, looking up into the trees watching them, who knows what my neighbours were thinking. I think this resulting image was worth the strange looks.
