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While it's not quite autumn, Alan Ford and I
witnessed a very active MFF near the dam at the end of Kathner St Chapman this
morning. Among these were many yellow-rumped thornbills, a family of
black-faced cuckoo-shrikes, grey fantails, willie wagtails etc. The
undoubted highlight was 3 diamond firetail close together, one carrying grass
(for a roosting nest?), and another an immature. While I saw one a
fortnight ago, I have only a handful of records of this species in the area
after actively birdwatching here for close to 30 years.
Also present were 10 dusky woodswallow. These
are postbreeding and similar numbers have been seen nearby over the past
month. Again this is a species for which I have very few records in the
area prior to this successful breeding season.
A visiting sparrow/goshawk flushed them all into
the air, together with about 20 red-rumped parrots, which too have been very
commonly feeding here over summer. They seem to roost in the suburbs, a
couple of weeks ago I saw over 70 at the cnr of Hindmarsh and Eucumbene Drives
flying out of suburbia to feed in the paddocks at the W end of Cooleman Ridge
etc.
It's well worth a visit. Not sure if the
rufous songlarks have gone (last saw some 14 days ago, and white-winged triller
a month ago). A brown quail was heard and then flushed from here a
fortnight ago, but the stubble quail seem to have stopped calling compared with
just one month ago.
Jack Holland
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