2021 Winter lockdown quiz reveal

Well done everyone! Some awesome entries this year, even from little Lettuce.

The colours and textures of the Australasian Pelican’s bill and gular pouch are astonishing. The pouch itself, close up, truly looks as though it has been knitted. The first time I saw the breeding colours I was astounded, in fact every time I see the breeding colours I am astounded!

Everyone guessed pelican correctly.

Quite a few people suggested a bronzewing for this close up of the pigeon’s iridescent feathers, which is very understandable, and probably deserves half a point.

I was surprised by how different the close up looked to the whole bird, it didn’t look nearly as cute. In this shot the cygnet appears to be looking into the distance, which is my memory of having taken the shot. The close up made it look as though it was looking at the camera.

This may have been the trickiest of all with guesses including a wide range of species. A few people got it though, which is pretty remarkable, it really did look peculiar.

This beautiful cockatoo was pretty easy to identify, they are such unique birds. This individual stole my heart and I wrote about the amazing experience in a post called just that.

My clue for this shot was to look very closely. In reality you’d have to look exceedingly closely. Kelp and Pacific Gulls are often identified by their tails or size, or if you can see them closely enough, by the red on their bills. Kelp Gulls only have red on the end of their lower bills while Pacific Gulls have red on both upper and lower. It’s there, honestly!

Gull, Kelp Gull and Pacific Gull were all suggested here. The fish it was tearing apart by thwacking on the ground was a Leatherjacket.

These iconic birds are an absolute thrill to watch in the wild, and they disappear among the understory the moment you blink. Their camouflage is almost miraculous.

This shot was skipped quite a bit and misidentified a couple of times.

Without scale the answers for the Emu were the most comical. The feathers clearly aren’t properly formed for a flying bird so a few people made the sensible guess that it was a youngster of some kind. I’m glad I have the entire photograph to prove what it really is!

I love visiting the gannet colony, hopefully we will be safely able to venture back into the world soon and I’ll be able to get a few thousand more gannet shots to add to my collection.

Just about everyone got ‘gannet’. They are very distinctive birds.

Cape Barren Geese are fabulous birds, absolutely fabulous. They were so close to extinction a few decades ago that I always feel especially delighted to see them when I’m lucky enough to visit Phillip Island. They often seem to gaze at the view, looking across the saltbush and grasses to the ocean beyond.

Without scale this shot proved fairly tricky too, with quite a few people missing it out or suggesting a smaller species.

Juvenile Crimson Rosellas look so different to the adults that people often assume they’re the females or a different species all together. They are my daily companions, either calling from the tree tops or foraging on the ground.

A couple of Rainbow Lorikeets came in for this species but mostly it was identified correctly.

These grebes are so delicate and beautiful that I always feel especially lucky to see them, though I see them often. This bird is in its breeding plumage, just stretching its wing and leg after a lengthy preening session.

Quite a few suggestions for this Australasian Grebe too, which isn’t surprising when its head was hidden!

And the ring-in is, of course, a rabbit. I have quite a number of them at my place at the moment which hopefully means that the bandicoots and antechinus are a little safer from passing foxes.

Thanks for participating in this year’s quiz. It’s always fun to see the answers. I’ll share last week’s comments shortly and will respond to them soon.

Happy birding, stay safe, Kim

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