Summer in central west NSW

["Robert Gosford" <>]

I can echo some of David's observations from the south coast of NSW at Jervis Bay -

 

- two juvenile Collared Sparrowhawks appear to have been abandoned post-fledge by their parents in the heavily-wooded gully next to our house that runs down to the beach - they have been in CSh boot camp for the past fdew weeks and the changes in their flight, pursuit and kill eficiencies are manifest and a joy to watch - though like Dave's Peregrines their mewling calls are incessant and inacapable of being ignored. We have seen one kill and several meals - usually with the successful bird silent but busy on a dead horizontal branch or on the ground and the unsuccessful sibling sitting nearby keening excitedly. 10 days ago they were busy chasing Eastern Spine-bills and Restless Flycatchers or tailchasing each other through the dense hakea, banksia and eucalypt scrub behind the house - occasionaly erupting into the clear air over our heads - now they are more confident flyers, chasers and killers - they range through the 15 ha. or so of the gully area at all heights - I am surprised how much time they spend near to and on the ground and at how easily and quickly they weave their way - especially in pursuit mode - through all layers of the forest ...

 

- I have also seen increasingly large MFFs around - the usual Variegated Wren, Red-browed finch, Brown thornbill and White-Browed scrub wren mixes are back moving through the yard and gully on a regular basis - they also do a good job keeping the bugs off the veges.

 

The fruit on the pittosporum outside the window is slowly turning yellow and I'm expecting to see thornbills and silvereyes picking out the seeds and flesh soon(ish).

 

On late nesting - last weekend we found a Little Wattlebird's nest with two eggs in it - perhaps a month or so late - maybe a re-nesting - what was surprising was that the nest was no more than a meter from a well-used track and in a tree-hollow in a live tree (not a dead tree stump at about chest height as seen last year), again about 1.5m off the ground. I'll keep an eye on how long the eggs last before some keen tourist samples them ... and whether she will re-lay ... again?

 

Robert

-----Original Message-----
From: [On Behalf Of
Sent: Monday, 17 January 2005 3:31 PM
To:
Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Summer in central west NSW

At my place, 35km south of Dubbo it is clear that breeding for many species has been completed.  

During spring it was easy to find the resident species such as Inland and Buff-rumped Thornbill, Eastern Yellow Robin, Sitella and Speckled Warbler on the hill behind the house but these species were not visiting the garden as they regularly do during winter.  The mixed species flocks are now reforming and these are venturing from the forest immediately behind the house into the house yard.  The aforementioned species are now in the yard on a daily basis and on Saturday was accompanied by a female plumaged Red-capped Robin.  After a short absence the Double-barred Finches are now also returning.  For the past couple of months three Glossy Black Cockatoos have been coming in at dusk to drink either at our dam or that next door.

The Gilberts Whistlers that called almost constantly during spring (except the morning that two English birders dropped in to see them) have now become silent.  White-winged Trillers, Rufous Whistlers, Rufous Songlarks and the White-browed and Masked Woodswallows, all so conspicuous in spring, have moved on although the Bee-eaters remain.  One recently dug a burrow only three metres from the pool deck at the back of the house but appears not to be interested in going on with it.

Over the last couple of months we have had an influx of raptors apparently moving through the area.  One of the largest immature female Brown Goshawks I've ever seen showed a more than healthy interest in my chooks for a week or so which meant that my young chickens were restricted to their pens for a while.  It has now moved on and the chickens are safe free-ranging again.  I did have a Wedge-tailed Eagle on the chook pen one day but I think it soon decided there was better picking on the highway three kilometres away.  The odd young Collared Sparrowhawk has been seen cruising around but they seem not to be at all interested in the aviaries or chook pens around the yard.  Most excitement has been reserved for the family of Peregrines that decided to make my front paddock the centre of their foraging area for some four weeks.  The chattering of the two dependant young was hard to ignore.  The few periods of relative quiet was when you half expected something to happen.  Several times a falcon was seen to silently cruise through the paddock, obviously leaving the kids behind with strict instructions that silence would be rewarded with lunch!  (this may explain the disappearance of the Songlarks etc).  I only observed one kill, blood-curdling cries had me tearing outside to see a Peregrine carrying off a screaming Magpie-lark.

Never a dull moment!

David Geering
Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator
Department of Environment & Conservation
P.O. Box 2111
Dubbo  NSW  2830
Ph: 02 6883 5335 or Freecall 1800 621 056
Fax: 02 6884 9382



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