A pigeon has set up an ad hoc love shack at his Kennington place, looking for love in all the high places.Spring has sprung and love is in the air.

It’s a fitting, funny piece for National Bird Week, where once again Victorian’s have been asked to help spy out the numbers of our avian buddies.

It’s something you can do from the comfort of your garden. So far this spring I’ve spotted a crested pigeon, a couple of vibrantly coloured parrots, and some small, swooping swallow-like varieties.

Read more: Renewed focus to save the Swift parrot

The Greater Bendigo National Park has been designated as one of Victoria’s top 10 parks for spotting – look out for  Speckled Warblers, Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters and Swift parrots.

I’m an accidental twitcher. I’ve travelled long distances but not specifically in search of birds, although I can tick off sea eagles, condors, kites and robins. My favourite bird, though, is the kookaburra (it’s the sound that always tells me I’m home after time overseas). I’m always chuffed to see one, often sitting sentry on a fence.

My childhood home is a haven for sparrows, noisy miner birds (love ‘em or hate ‘em) and wattle birds, with their wonderful splash of red under the beak. 

They come to bathe (perfectly viewed from the kitchen window), splashing vigorously and then flying away to air dry. They come to be fed, the larger birds trying to hog the limelight, but their smaller, more agile brethren outwitting them. When the natural going is tough (as it is during the Big Dry) they know help is there. They also bring their offspring along to be introduced, sometimes after a winter spent elsewhere.

They are the feathered family members. They scold when you forget them, are delighted when you remember. So checking their numbers – a feathered census – seems a small price to pay to make sure they are flourishing. If you’ve got time this weekend, grab a cuppa and start counting.  In the process you might just make some new friends.

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