Hi All,
Walked through Centennial Park on friday afternoon. Excellent afternoon
birding. Despite the lakes being anything from low to just about dried up,
diversity of ducks was great, and saw three Australasian Shovelers in the
Duck Pond, alond with more Chestnut Teal and Wood Ducks than at other times.
Darter numbers seem to be down, but most other waterbirds still present, and
exposed mudlfats seem to be good for other species. Black-winged Stilts,
Royal Spoonbill (2) Cattle Egret and Great Egret all present. Something
must be under the bark in the paperbarks (Melaleuca quinquenervia) at the
moment becasue a number of smaller species were picking over the bark on the
trunks of many trees, including superb fairy Wrens, a Grey fantail, lots of
Silvereyes showing a range of racial patterns, and Yellow-trumped Thornbills
looking like a flock of Sitellas as they moved over the branches. Mixed
with a batch of Silvereyes, Yellow and Yellow-rumped thornbills was a small
group (about 10) of Brown Gerygones. A first for the park for me, and a
second Eastern Subrubs record for this sp. for me. Thought I had seen this
species once before here on campus, but the habitat had seemed wrong and i
had no bins at the time, so I wasn't sure. Hoskins mentions that these
birds can move out into drier habitats in cooler months.
Minutes later scored a new tick for my Eastern Suburbs and park lists -
excellent views of an a Grey Goshawk flying low over Busby's Pond. Even
more suprsingly, on my return through this part of the park, i saw a
subadult female Brown Goshawk perched on one of the islands in the same lake
only an hour and a half later.
Brown Quail conspicuously foraged along the edge of the kensington pond near
their usual haunt, and the aviary escapee Peahen and Major Mitchell Cockatoo
were both found.
Cheers.
Frank
Frank Hemmings
Curator
John T. Waterhouse Herbarium
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of New South Wales
UNSW SYDNEY 2052
AUSTRALIA
Tel +61 2 9385 3274
Fax +61 2 9385 1558
CRICOS Provider Code:00098G
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