The most interesting movements are of species that are
definitely not here and then – bang – they are here.
There are some species that are a bit confusing because some
years they can be found in mid-winter ie they don’t move at all, or
birds from further south arrive here and don’t go any further.
These are represented by Noisy Friarbird, Dusky Woodswallow and Fantailed
Cuckoo. I don’t think any NFBs stayed around this winter.
The Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike is here year-round each year.
It reaches a definite low in winter. However if I correctly interpret
Philip’s summary, it is rather more than a quarter as abundant in gardens
in July as it is in its highest month. The ACT Atlas coincidentally has it
recorded in about 20% of cells in July as against 80% in December, but the
winter rate in Canberra
itself must be much higher because the winter map shows a concentration here with
an absence from non-urban areas.
Birds like the triller, oriole and L & S Flycatchers can
be a bit tricky because while definitely migratory individuals can trickle
through coming and going at unexpected times.
Four birds that are in the either gone or here category,
that you can set your calendar by, are to me the Rufous Songlark, Dollarbird, Reed-Warbler
and Bee-eater. Of course the numbers of those can vary quite a lot from
year to year. Moreover none of those are really garden birds.
