Bendigo is home to a wide range of different birds, some pretty, some plain, and mostly downright annoying at times. But most people aren’t yet educated on all of them, and the knowledge of which bird is which might come in handy later. You’ll find all these beautiful birds at some point while out and around Bendigo, around Bendigo, and I’m happy to tell you all about them — both rare and common!
Silvereyes - Silvereye birds are small, olive and grey coloured birds, with a prominent white ring around their eyes. They eat insects, fruits, and nectar, and are highly adaptive foragers. They are also more common during autumn and winter.
Silvereyes typically forage for food in small flocks, commonly seen together.
Australian Wood Duck - Australian Wood Ducks are the most common duck seen around Bendigo and are most common near watery areas, like Lake Weeroona! Wood ducks are commonly seen grazing on grass and herbs near water. Despite being one of the most common ducks, they are the least aquatic of all Australian ducks.
Aside from this, Wood ducks typically nest in hollows in trees or in nest boxes above or near water.
Yellow-rumped Thornbill - Yellow-Rumped Thornbills are the cutest bird you’ll see commonly around your backyard. They usually forage and move in groups of 3 - 12 individuals. Their song is described as ‘’twittering, musical, sweet, and high pitched” and is also reported to be a mimic of other birds, mimicking the noisy miner. They usually eat common insects but will also eat seeds. They are easily be identified by its bright yellow rump (as the name suggests).
Eastern Rosella - Eastern Rosellas are colourful birds, although males are more vibrant than the females. They use one foot to hold food when eating, and mostly feed on grass seeds, flowers, buds, nectar, fruit, as well as insects and their larvae! They are medium size birds, adorning the colours of white, red, yellow, green, and blue, as well as some accents of black.
Masked Lapwing - The Masked Lapwing, otherwise known as the “Plover” more commonly, is a feared bird, mostly for its extremely territorial behaviour. Its behaviour in the lovely seasons of summer and autumn is shy and harmless, mostly becoming hostile in the later seasons/months. They usually make their nests on stretches of open ground, and tend to reside in those same open spaces, such as parks/gardens, school ovals, carparks, and from what I've seen, in the middle of those grassy roundabouts. They’re also more common in wet, moist environments as well as their preference for open space. They have a wide range of calls, and there is a widespread myth that they can inject venom from the spurs under their wings. (This is, of course, false.)
Willie Wagtail - Willie Wagtails are my favourite common bird. They’re small, sweet, and very cute! (at least in my opinion.) They usually wag their long tails to flush insects from the ground, hence the name! They’re always on the move, and rarely still for more than a few moments during the day. The birds themselves are mostly found in pairs, and the solo birds without a pair are heard singing at night. Their tweets and calls are labelled as ‘Very chatty’ by most, and are very sweet (again, in my opinion). Willie Wagtails are also the kind of bird to spend most of its time on the ground, or perched on low branches, fences, posts, and the like, all to watch for insects on the ground.
Superb Fairy-Wren - Superb Fairy-Wrens (or just Fairy-Wrens) are cute, typically round and fluffy birds, with small, long legs. The male birds are a greyish-brown and black colour, with hints of vibrant blue feathers streaked throughout their upper body, while females and young birds are a duller brown and white compared to the normal brown, black, and blue fairy wren, along with the absence of the colourful blue. They eat mostly insects, supplementing their diet with seeds. They move with a series of jaunty hops and bounces and were named bird of the year for 2021!
