Hi all
Had a brief stop at Bushells Lagoon in the Hawkesbury around 730am on 16
Nov on a humid, partly overcast morning. Sightings included 16 Great
Crested Grebe, several Brown Quail feeding in open on causeway and
nearby bare ground, a Baillon's Crake, c 18 Glossy Ibis, Rufous
Songlarks, Black-fronted Dotterels showing breeding behaviour, and
Horsfields Bronze-cuckoo. A larger rail was also flushed but I did not
get adequate views for an id - a blob with some slightly reddish brown
uppers dropping into reedbed - suspect Banded Rail. There was also a
quail calling from reeds close to the causeway which I believe was a
King Quail - could not see the bird but am familiar with their mournful
call having previously bred this bird in captivity.
I was interested to see what remained of the White-browed Woodswallow
invasion in this area noted on 20 Oct. On that day there were at least
40-50 birds present with many involved in initial stages of nest
building and defending territories. In the same location a month later I
could find only 2 pairs of birds, and all previous nest sites noted
showed no signs of activity. The birds were almost silent (vs incredible
ongoing commotion a month back). One male was seen carrying food into a
cypress pine where a nest was present but it was quite high and hidden
and I could not get a good enough view to confirm if chicks were in the
nest.
Eric Finley
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