Mulligans Update 2 - Black Honeyeaters

["Marnix Zwankhuizen" <>]

With less birds around the area in eastern Mulligans it didn't take long to find the Black H/eaters. In fact all 3 were perched atop the dead tree (GPS 35 10.04 149 10.52) when I arrived in the area around 6.30pm. I then followed the 2 males for the next hour as the female was not seen again after 6.35pm.

 

I then watched a male bird perched atop another large eucalypt some 50 metres to the west for 5 minutes.A few minutes later I watched both birds feeding on Yellow Box pollen in a sapling just northeast of the huge old Yellow Box where they are usually seen. The males did not seem to mind each others company for the whole time I watched them, in fact they seemed to want to hang out together. It was at this point while the males were low down and close to me that I heard one bird call - a  soft 'seep'. One male was chased away briefly by a Triller. At 6.41pm I found a male in a large Blakely's midway between the dead tree and the huge Yellow Box. I watched it aerobatically catch insects. It then flew to the large Yellow Box into the mistletoe and caught insects again while the other male sat quietly preening inches away.

 

After wandering away for a while I returned at 7.30pm to find both males catching insects from high atop a pair of mature Blakely's half way between the dead tree and the huge Yellow Box. They were joined by many other birds. At one point one male dropped down into a small Acacia allowing close views before returning to the Blakely's. I left them here at 7.35pm.

 

Conditions were ideal - absolutely calm, sunny.

 

I have GPS coords for all the trees mentioned above.

 

Cheers

Marnix