Greetings all,
A delightful evening stroll up the western shore of Lake Ginninderra
just now yielded all the usual suspects -- much squabbling among the
W-P honeyeaters and some very belligerent swans -- plus a few
noteworthy (to me, at least) observations.
For the past few weeks, on every visit to the lake I've seen a darter
perched low down over the water in the same willow tree. Every time
it's approached it dives into the water and makes no attempt to fly
(although I pause to wonder now how it gets back up onto its branch).
The markings on the head and neck are very pale, suggesting a female,
but the behaviour is more typical of a young bird. It occurred to me
tonight that it might possibly be an adult that is injured and cannot
fly, though I can't see any sign of injury...
Other highlights were my best view yet of one of the Little Grassbirds
that nest there every year, apparently gathering nesting materials (?),
a proud pair of Wood Ducks taking their newly hatched fluffballs out
for a paddle, 35+ Sacred Ibises settling in for a night on the island
with all the willow trees. Others have reported seeing Reed Warblers
back in town, but I've yet to see one at Lake G. On the way home 14 Y-T
cockatoos were lumbering generally northwards after having been knocked
off course briefly by an aggressive (is there any other kind?) magpie.
John Brannan
--
36 Challinor Cres., Florey, Canberra ACT 2615, Australia
Ph.: (+612) 6258 6038 Fax: (+612) 6258 6238
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