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Hi Birders,
Since my last report on Quorrobolong
near Cessnock in the Hunter Valley NSW, I have made two further visits, one on
Friday 29 August 2003 with Regent Honeyeater Recovery Team Co-ordinator David
Geering, and the next on Wednesday 3 September with Margaret Pointer, Peter and
Mark Malvig. On the 29/8 visit, the numbers of Regent Honeyeaters had dropped
from 50-60 the previous week to only 15 birds. Catching and gleaning for insects
& lerps and taking nectar from flowering Red Stringybarks were the main
activities observed. The pair that had feeding young in a nest high up in a
mistletoe clump in a Grey Box were still present but alas, while they were busy
chasing off any other birds that came near the nest, they were not feeding
anything in the nest although they sometimes peered into the nest. We were left
to assume that something had recently taken the young as they would not have
been large enough to fledge and besides the two adults were present around the
nest. There were no large concentrations of Regent Honeyeaters and the
maximun number seen at any one time was 7 feeding in one large flowering
Stringybark. No birds were observed to have been colour-banded. Other birds
present included 5 Gang gangs, and recently returned migrants not present
on previous trips such as Rufous Whistler, Dusky Woodswallow and 2
White-throated Gerygones. In addition 2 Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, a pair of
Brown Goshawks, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Olive-backed Oriole and Bellminers were
seen. A new nest of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater was located while other pairs
were sitting or feeding young in other nests previously found.
On the visit yesterday (3/9/03) only
two Regent Honeyeaters were located, about 1 km further east, ie on the way in,
from where the birds were previously were found. These two birds were in more
open country, and were catching insects and gleaning in Grey Box, mistletoe
clumps in Grey Box and in several large broad-leafed Ironbarks, the birds were
relocated 2 hours later in the same spot on our departure, they were not
colour-banded. Overall 72+ Regent Honeyeaters were found at this site between
2/8/03 and 3/9/03, with at least one nesting attempt, and two colour-banded
birds were located. This result is similar to what occurred in the year 2000.
Next year the Central Coast Regent Honeyeater Volunteer Operations Group will
have survey the site much earlier to see if the birds are present before
August.
Other birds present on this visit
included a Collared Sparrowhawk, a nest with 2 eggs of a Yellow-tufted
Honeyeater, nesting Kookaburras, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes, Crested
Shrike-tit, Black-chinned Honeyeaters and the Fuscous Honeyeaters were observed
stealing nesting material from the failed Regent Honeyeater's nest.
Alan
Morris
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