The wonderful autumn weather of the Far South Coast is now giving way to winter, when for many of us, one of the great pleasures of the season will be to escape the cold, getting warm and cosy indoors.
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Fortunately for birds, in addition to their insulating feathers, they have a higher body temperature than humans, on average, it is 40 degrees C. However, they usually leave the intense activity of the breeding season until spring, and this is when we can enjoy hearing the birds in full voice as they sing their courtship songs. Many birds do not sing at all outside of this time.
But there is a spectacular exception to this: an undisputed star of the show in winter is the superb lyrebird, usually encountered around dense scrub in moist forest.
Although they sing throughout the year, the peak of their breeding season, June to August, is when they really “strut their stuff”.
Rainy or misty days, “miserable”, many of us would describe them as, seem to especially appeal to them!
The males create several mounds of bare soil within their territory for an arena, and displaying their magnificent tails, sing and dance to attract females.
The renowned ability of these birds to mimic the calls of other birds, or any sounds whatever, needs to be heard to be believed.
So if you are taking a walk close to bushland this winter, keep your ears open, these birds are really something special.
The Far South Coast Birdwatchers club organises walks on the second Saturday and fourth Sunday of each month. You can find details on our website: www.fscb.org.au and we are also on Facebook and Twitter.
By Alison Hayes – Far South Coast Birdwatchers
