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G'day All
Some of you may be aware that I
live on the shores of Botany Bay in Sydney. We're a typical bayside type
suburb for any big city with the exception that many of our streets are divided
by traffic islands which are wider than either lanes of the roads which they
divide. They are well planted with native local trees and these make handy homes
for the honeyeater, parrot and cockatoo populations in the area. One block
down the road from me is an extensive series of ovals and playing fields with a
creek which runs from the Cook River into Botany Bay. The whole deal stretches
for a couple of kilometers through suburbia. The 1500 metre long strip which has
ovals also has an artificially cultivated riparian zone
(casurina/banksia/acacia/eucalypts) by the creek - all local natives. In
the midst of it all is an area of native bushland covering around 2 or 3
hectares. This remains from since before the arrival of whites to this
country.
I like an afternoon run and have run through this area for the
last 15 years. During this time, I've noted a number of species but have always
thought that the remnant bushland would not hold much of any note. I study
Ornithology at CSU and a recent assignment led me to examining a particular
species which resides in the area in some detail. Whilst there, I began to
notice calls I had never heard when running and then sights that amazed me. What
follows is my list of species I have noticed with my cursory glances over the
years. The birds marked with an asterisk were spotted within a half hour stroll
by the creek on Saturday (not a bad tick list for 1/2 an hour, I should add).
Many come as no surprise but I would never imagine that species like
Dollarbirds and Olive-backed Orioles would be visiting. I can't believe that
some of these marooned species would be hanging on in such a place and how
dispersal takes place - for White-browed Scrub Wrens there surely cannot be any
- and what to speak of Gene Flow! and the likelyhood of sub-speciation
ultimately taking place. My mind is really boggling here. Of course there are
many islands of wildlife now in Australia and this is a huge problem in terms of
viability of a number of species. Still, our little island seems to stack up
pretty well and I'm sure I'll be finding a lot more there in the near
future.
Australian Wood Duck
Pacific Black
Duck*
Darter
Little Pied Cormorant*
Little Black
Cormorant
Australian Pelican
Great Egret
White Faced Heron
Nankeen
Night Heron*
Royal Spoonbill
Australian White Ibis
Black-shouldered
Kite
Dusky Moorhen*
Eurasian Coot
Masked Lapwing
Silver
Gull*
Crested Pigeon*
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo*
Little
Corella*
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo*
Rainbow Lorikeet*
Australian King
Parrot
Crimson Rosella*
Eastern Rosella
Red-rumped Parrot*
Common
Koel
Channel-billed Cuckoo
Sacred Kingfisher*
Laughing
Kookaburra*
Dollarbird*
Superb Fairy-Wren*
Spotted
Pardalote*
White-browed Scrubwren
Yellow Thornbill*
Red
Wattlebird*
Little Wattlebird*
Noisy Miner*
White-plumed
Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater*
Willie
Wagtail*
Magpie-Lark*
Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike*
Olive-backed
Oriole*
Grey Butcherbird*
Australian Magpie*
Pied
Currawong*
Australian Raven*
Welcome Swallow*
Fairy
Martin*
Clamorous Reed-Warbler
Silvereye*
Common (Indian)
Myna*
Common Starling*
Red-whiskered Bulbul*
Nutmeg Mannikin
House
Sparrow
Feral (Rock Dove) Pigeon*
If you live in the area, do have any other species
for that site? The council had a survey carried out some time ago and I've yet
to have an opportunity to examine it in detail. However, some Council Officers
seemed unimpressed with the survey results, leaving me to conclude that
maybe not much was found.
Regards - Ricki
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