I agree. In fact I would say this is quite normal for
Winter. I am prepared for my usual woodland spots to be either very hot
or very cold, birdwise. The smaller honeyeaters are highly mobile,
and on top of that is the MFF phenomenon. However I would think
the tree-creepers, shrike-tits and J winters would not be far away. That
is, if a visiting billionaire was offering $5000 per species to see them before
his private jet left in 30 minutes for James Packer’s wedding, and if he
was prepared to run, I think I could turn them up in a nearby paddock. Naturally,
it would be good strategy to employ a couple of scouts on a contingent fee
basis. (This reminds me to say that the adjacent paddock to the south –
across Fireworks Boulevarde – has ewes with lambs and should be avoided.)
What I think is more striking is that these days my street trees
often have more birds than any nearby woodland. For most of yesterday
before the rain , in about 40m of street verge, there were both pardalotes, y-r
and striated and brown thornbills, golden whistlers (3), w-eared hons, e
spinebill, wphes (4), w-b swrens, s fwrens, silvereyes, weebills (many).
With the usual RWBs, magpies, curras, king parrots, crested pigs, i mynas and a
couple of e ros, I’d say 20 species and at least 60 individual birds in 0.25ha,
not counting peafowl .
From: Philip Veerman
[
Sent: Wednesday, 20 June 2007 3:54 PM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] the vicissitudes of birding
Quite
true. That happens regularly, on the Saturday when I did the walk at Kambah
Pool going out I found almost nothing. As I started going back, I came across
(COG member) Kevin Windle, We did see about 10 Flame Robins there. I said
that I hadn't seen much that day. I told him about the Wedge-tailed Eagle I'd
seen the last week and how I hadn't heard the lyrebird this winter. On my
return trip, I then found lots of thornbills, the Wedge-tailed Eagle flew
along the ridge again and the lyrebird was singing.
By
the way, there were Brown-headed Honeyeaters there too. (Someone else
mentioned them.)
-----
Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, June 20,
2007 10:27 AM
Subject: [canberrabirds] the
vicissitudes of birding
On Monday I was at the Newline site in the rain in the
middle of the day
looking at the Bl-chinned HE. I was absolutely surrounded by birds, as
reported by others. This morning, it being bright and sunny I slipped
back out to take some photos - and, apart from the reliable Brown
Treecreepers (and how wonderful is that?!), not a feathered sausage! No
honeyeaters, shrike-tits, Sp Warblers, Jacky 'Winters, etc etc etc.
Nothing to be deduced from this of course, other than that we should
never write a site off after just one visit. (Or maybe, we should go
birding in the rain in the middle of the day...)
And of course, it's that uncertainty which is perhaps the central joy of
this ridiculous passion of ours.
keep enjoying it, all.
Ian
--
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Ian Fraser,
Environment Tours; Vertego Environmental Wordsmithing
GPO Box 3268, Canberra, ACT 2601
ph: 61 2 6249 1560 fax: 61 2 6247 3227
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