My garden is a half acre block at Wongarbon, a small village ~ 20 km east
of Dubbo. I've only been here six months and have been trying to restore
a nice garden from the Kikuyu jungle it was when I moved in.
The garden is dominated by mature Calistemon and Grevilleas and a nice mix
of eight eucalypts (including a Mugga Ironbark, a Yellow Box, a
stringybark, a couple of unknown gums and two mallee eucs) scattered
around the yard. Next door and across the road are two vacant paddocks
with large mature White Box.
The weekend just gone was the first weekend at home on four weeks and, I
think, only the second in two months so it was nice to see what was
happening bird wise.
I woke Saturday morning to the usual chorus of Blue-faced Honeyeaters
getting stuck into the flowering grevilleas. They were accompanied by
Yellow-throated Miners and a pair of Striped Honeyeaters in fine voice.
The most numerous birds in my yard, White-plumed Honeyeaters and
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters were also in fine voice. The Pied Butcherbirds
were also in fine autumn form piping away.
At about 9AM I got a new bird for the garden. A party of 15 White-winged
Choughs moved in. I had heard them nearby before but this is the first
time I had seen them in the yard. I suggest they make a daily appearance
but I don't see them as I'm not there during the day. Although Saturday's
visit was brief, due to the attentions of the Magpies, they spent much
longer in the yard on Sunday merrily scratching through the leaf litter
under the mallees. These mallees were also a focal point for the
Blue-faced HE's, these birds foraging busily behind the peeling bark.
Other conspicuous birds were the King Parrots (hanging around for the last
month), Ringnecks and Eastern Rosellas. The local flock of Apostlebirds
also made their present known on several occasions. Flocks of Weebills,
Yellow and Yellow-rumped Thornbills moved through several times
accompanied by the odd Striated Pardalote and Western Gerygone.
The highlights of the weekend were flocks of migrating Bee-eaters flying
over on Saturday and a flock of White-browed Woodswallow going over on
Sunday. I hadn't seen White-browed Woodswallow over Wongarbon for several
months.
By the way, the garden is starting to look a picture.
David Geering
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