Saturday Critters - Birds at Point Walter Reserve

These were taken in February this year at Point Walter Reserve, a park on the south bank of Perth's Swan River, where I took Iris, my blogger friend from Germany, when she visited Perth.

Quite a few Ravens (Corvus) (I used to call them crows, but apparently this is a difference in their tail feathers and their call too).
They are quite clever and have integrated far too well with humans, learning to pick food from rubbish bins, etc.  I've even seen them opening packages with food and trying to drink leftovers from tins.

You can listen to the Australian ravens via this link:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/Australianraven.ogg

When I arrived in Australia and would hear these noises, at first I thought it was children crying, then I realized it was the birds.

The Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), is also very common in Parks around Perth, as it too has adapted well to city life and is also a clever bird.

In Spring breeding magpies can become aggressive and swoop and attack anyone who approaches their nests. 

The very noisy and territorial Seagulls (Silver Gulls), have become a nuisance in parks and restaurants around the river, as they forage for our food leftovers. If you leave your table at a seaside restaurant they just swoop on it and steal whatever is left!

A seagull carries a piece of food she either found or stole from one of the picknickers at the park

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And lastly the Black Swans (Cygnus atratus), which are native to Australia and are the state bird of Western Australia.
These at the park are obviously also used to the people around them and one of them wandered from the river to a group of people sitting nearby. One of the guys crushed some chips and fed them to the swan. Obviously not a very good diet for the swan, but he ate from his hand.

They might get aggressive if you approach their nest, and I have had swans hiss at me, but this one was quite happy to be around people.

 

Linking to Saturday Critters, please check Eileen's blog for more birds and other critters.