Hello birders,
This is just a reminder that the search for Swift Parrots and Regent
Honeyeaters
is on again on August 8-9.
People in the Maryborough and Bendigo areas in Central Victoria have enjoyed
the presence of many Swift Parrots in recent weeks. Flocks of 100 Swift
Parrots
have been recorded at two locations near Bendigo, and Melbourne birdos looking
for a lifer might be interested in heading to the Paddys Ranges State Park near
Maryborough, where they are as thick as thieves. I was there on the 22-24
June,
studying the habitat selection and foraging behaviour of Swift Parrots, and I
literally had more birds than I knew what to do with. They are using Red
Ironbark
nectar.
Swift Parrots have switched from lower-lying areas to the Red Ironbark stands
across much of their Victorian range. In some places, the Ironbarks are
finishing
and Yellow Gums are attracting the birds. Isn't it interesting how flowering
eucalypts in a forest will peak in a sequence, giving a "staggered effect" (as
one
eucalypt starts to drop off in flowering another starts to peak). This
flowering
behaviour is thought to result from competition for pollinators by the plants.
Can anyone tell me what the Londonderry birds are doing? are they using Mugga
nectar?
Simon Kennedy
"Just a musky this time"
PS Saw a Bush Thick-knee near Maryborough last week. They are rare in
Victoria now, which some tropic birdos might find hard to believe.
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