Hi all
A while back, I mentioned a visit to Viola, about 70km NW of Julia
Creek. I thought some of you might be interested in a follow-up winter
trip report.
The Pictorellas that were nesting may have fledged their young. When
last seen there were 4 eggs in the nest. This time around, a heavy
coating of poo in the abandoned nest suggests successful hatching and
raising of a brood. Only one adult bird was seen during the 5 day stay.
A couple of birds not encountered the last time were White-winged
Fairy-Wren and Golden-headed Cisticola. According to the Atlas, the
former is at it's northern limit here, while the latter is at its most
inland in the Gulf area and not recorded from this degree block
previously (20/141).
The Rufous-throated Honeyeaters had disappeared from here and the nearby
Cloncurry River. Perhaps they're out on the Gulf Plains feeding on
nectar in the native bauhinia woodlands, where I've seen them in winter
previously. Any comment, Bob Forsyth? Or anyone else who's recently
visited the gulf country?
A first-year Collared Sparrowhawk, possibly one that I encountered
earlier in prickly acacia shrubland, has taken up residence in the trees
planted around the house. This bird was responsible for the only
sighting for the trip of a BB Buzzard. One afternoon I saw it spiralling
upward above the house and as I focussed on it, I could make out an
out-of-focus blob much higher up. A turn of the knob and voila! - a
Buzzard soaring by at very high altitude.
Another raptor proved the bird of the trip. As I was standing in the
garden, a hawk, obviously a harrier, soared overhead only 5-6 metres
high. Excellent looks at a really weird bird: whitish underneath, with a
facial disc edged blackish and black wing-tips, rump white as far as
could be seen. Papuan Harrier, right? No way! The undertail was strongly
barred blackish. This was an immature Spotted, confirmed when I checked
HANZAB. This source also rates Papuan records as unconfirmed and notes
that reports have failed to distinguish between Papuan and the plumage
seen in some immature Spotted, e.g. the bird I saw. This bird was the
first of this plumage pattern that I've seen and was really an
intriguing bird. So very different from adults! By the way, the current
crop of field guides are utterly useless for identifying this plumage
pattern.
Richard
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Richard Johnson
Roma District
Tel: (07) 4622 4266 Fax: (07) 46 22 4151
E-mail:
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