Dear All A very very Merry Christmas to the whole list from me!!! A huge pure
flock of 1000+ Fork-tailed Swifts has been swarming over my place in
Smithfield, in Cairns northern beaches, all morning today. This arrival is bang
on-cue, as this species normally arrives here on the Cairns coastal plain in
numbers usually a week either side of Xmas. Last season they were almost a
month early, but this year's arrival date is more typical. A very small flock
of birds were seen last night at dusk by another observer in the Cairns
southern suburbs, so it seems that the big numbers have streamed into our
vicinity over night, on Santa's sled trail!! Many birds are in various stages
of tail moult, which could cause some potential confusion, if one is not
careful, with mis-ID'd House Swifts. I have put a report just now onto Birdline
Nth Qld, with a pic of mine showing how these moulting "short-tailed"
fork-taileds can look. This report may not be published for a little while yet
today,
depending on how busy the moderators are up here, but please do look out for
it, as it shows how misleading these birds can appear at times, and may be of
some use to others. Have a great day everyone!!!! BIG BIG Xmas Cheers from
Martin Cachard,Cairns, 0428 782 808
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