Hi Alan, Jade,
This concentration of Brolgas just north of Old Post Office Lane at Ulmarra
is certainly gaining some attention. Every time I drive past someone has
stopped to photograph them. I counted 39 on January 23 and 45+ on January
26. They are in corn stubble, a favourite feeding habitat (though not
exactly natural). On the latter date Chris Hallam, a local grazier/farmer
pulled over to have a chat. He is the owner of the land on which we
recorded the Painted Snipe last year. He looked at the Brolgas with envy
and said "I have just planted a big paddock of corn so these birds will be
visiting my place in the future".
These numbers are the highest that I have recorded so close to Ulmarra. We
often have up to 10 birds in the area. The largest numbers occur near
Lawrence where I had 100 birds in one paddock some years ago. There is a
pair at Trenayr, just north of Grafton, which appears to be the southern
limit in the Clarence Valley at present. There is a pair at Station Creek
in Yuraygir National Park and another at Corindi, N of Coffs Harbour and
small numbers on the Macleay near Kempsey and possibly other Mid-north Coast
sites.
Regards
Greg Clancy
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