enjoying bird watching

@kmakm I think you're already doing it! I did a 6 week mindfulness course last year, thanks to the psychologists at Peter Mac and The Women's and really enjoyed it but got out of practise.Last week I went along to the Complementary Therapies day at Counterpart  where we did a mini mindfulness workshop so trying now to do just 5 minutes a day .....still hasn't improved my sleep though :(

@poodlejules I like to close my eyes and identify absolutely everything that I can hear when I'm outside. I used to do it with my children when they were little.

Birdsong is the best sound you can hear of course. That's a lovely idea to use it as a mindfulness exercise. I'll try that tomorrow! K xox

Gorgeous! Cockatoos have also invaded our naturestrip lilipillies.Noisy things that they are I still love listening to them. Its also a good time to practise mindfulness when listening to birds, just close your eyes , zone in and listen .......even if you only last 5 mins, it's rewarding! ;)

They don't come every year but most autumns we are visited by Gang Gang Cockatoos. This year we have quite a sizeable flock hanging out in our street. They're moving from eucalypt to eucalypt, making their trademark creaky gate sound. A bit smaller than their Sulphur Crested cousins, I love their soft grey feathers with red crest colouring. Males only of course!

We have fruiting lillipillies in our garden which are bringing in the rainbow lorikeets. We also see galahs, cockatoos, maggies, seagulls and pelicans (flying over, not landing!).  I love waking up to bird call and we have had a few butcher birds serenading us lately.  Although we are in Qld my husband and I both work over the border and have sadly been up before the birds!  

@Michelle_R, How lovely to watch. Those black and white birds might be butcher birds. Are they a bit smaller than magpies and is their beak chunkier? Google 'butcher birds' and you'll soon know.
@Fraser, Those Indian Mynahs have such mean cranky looking faces. I know that is putting human characteristics on birds,  but I often find myself doing it.

At present I have two rosellas right outside the window on the balustrade, chirping their heads off to get attention - and now wing flapping!  We also get cockatoos and kookaburras, and occasionally black & white magpie-type birds who sing one beautiful pure note - don't know what they are called - we love seeing them all.

We are inner city so apart from hordes of marauding mynah birds (look closely, you can see the raptor connection!!) and sparrows, not so many visitors but there are beautiful, squabbly rainbow lorikeets who strip my date palm and leave the pits everywhere and wattlebirds with scarlet wattles and hoarse cries. 

Outrageous!

Dear @Sister, Aren't birds beautiful and fascinating to watch. I think people everywhere have their own names for birds. Eg my husband calls Crimson Rosellas 'Mountain  Lorries'. And Apostle Birds get called 'CWA Birds' (because they band  together and chatter - how sexist is that!)