birding-aus

Avon wetlands at Gloucester

To: "'Penny Drake-Brockman'" <>, <>
Subject: Avon wetlands at Gloucester
From: "Edwin Vella" <>
Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 21:55:03 +1000
Hi Penny

I would imagine you had heaps of rain up your way recently. If so,it
would be nice to see the rainforests in a better state than the past 2
years.

I should try to head that way this summer.

Cheers!

Edwin

-----Original Message-----
From: 
 On Behalf Of Penny
Drake-Brockman
Sent: Tuesday, 2 November 2004 11:52 PM
To: 
Subject: Avon wetlands at Gloucester

Dear Aussers

Took a walk this morning down to the Avon Wetlands on the east side of 
Gloucester town, north of Newcastle and at the base of Barrington Tops 
National Park, for those who don't know where it is.
The wetlands are back to normal, the flood waters have gone leaving 
behind muddy traces on the tree trunks, flattened grass and heaps of 
rubbish against wire fences indicating the height the water attained. 
The Fairy Martins have gone - I guess their nests that were under the 
road flood ways, were swept away, but I disturbed one Latham's Snipe so 
was glad to see they are back. Heard the Tawny Grassbirds and lots of G 
H Cisticolas, and the Dollarbirds swooping around the old red gums in 
which they are breeding, along with far too many Starlings and Indian
Mynas.

Bazas have been seen on a property near Craven, south of Glos., and 
we've found another two groups of Grey-crowned Babblers, one with 2 
fledglings and one with nestlings, and yesterday, when carrying out one 
of my quarterly surveys on a dairy property, six GCBs turned up in a 
most degraded gulley that usually only has Noisy Miners, E Rosellas, 
Pied Butcherbirds, Magpies, Kookaburras and ravens in it. They were 
foraging in old forest gums standing isolated in a paddock. We usually 
see them foraging in rough barked trees and where there is a lot of 
fallen timber and debris on the ground. Here they were flying across a 
grassy paddock from one isolated tree to the other, and foraging up and 
down these big old battered trees.  And we were worrying about their 
safely crossing large open areas of cleared land, thinking they would 
keep to roadside or fenceline vegetation of trees and shrubs and not 
dare the wide open spaces.

Up at Copeland on the 25th October with a group visiting from Brisbane, 
we heard Wompoo and Wonga fruit doves, saw a Pale Yellow Robin, many 
Spectacled and Black-faced Monarchs, a Rufous Fantail displaying on the 
path, and had an almost close encounter with 2 Noisy Pittas (one of the 
party coughed just before one of the pittas came into view over the top 
of a heap of stones, which sent it hurrying away in the opposite 
direction so we never saw it - I guess they will be breeding here 
shortly), Brush Turkeys and a Red-necked Wallaby obliged with close 
views, and found an echidna crossing the road on the way to Bundook.
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