From:
To:
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 10:06
PM
Subject: [canberrabirds] White Ibis
nesting high in trees.
Hi COG listers.
On 18 October I
posted a report about having glimpsed what looked like a group of White
Ibis nesting high in Eucalypt trees above the Federal Highway about 1.5 km
north.
There were no follow-up
comments.
Well, today I was able to return south
(from Robertson) and stopped for a quick look, (with camera in hand) - to
check if I had been deluding myself. It
is definitely what I thought.
The attached shots were taken from
the road edge, as I did not have time to explore further, and get closer
(I always seem to be racing down the highway, for appointments in
Canberra, when I make this trip). I have several different images, and at
maximum resolution I can just make out 7 birds in these 2 nests,
some adults, some advanced young. There may be more. They were very active,
moving positions, sitting, standing up, etc.
At first I assumed they had taken over an
old Eagle's eyrie, but on closer examination, there is a smaller nest off to
the side, which I assume has been built in an attempt to deal with
over-crowding issues, or to create the feeling of a
"colony".
I know these birds often nest in
trees, especially around suitable wetlands in Sydney, where there is a
population explosion occurring. Their preference in Sydney seems to be
for Palm Trees as nesting sites.
In over 40 years of birding in Canberra I
have never seen this nesting behaviour before.
However, what really puzzles me is the
choice of this dry hillside, high above a Highway. A natural place for an
Eagle's nest, not for Ibis, I would have thought.
The nest(s) are in a tall
Eucalypt, above a deep road
cutting/hillside bank, on the eastern side of the Federal highway, about 1.5
Km north from the Yass River crossing (itself just north of Mack's Reef Road).
I know that the river cuts around the back of this hill, so the birds are
closer to water than it might seem. But as far as I know there is no
"swampland" anywhere near this location. The Yass River is just a typical
Southern Tablelands creek, at this point, with a narrow, eroded creek
gully, with a steep bank. Not what I would have thought of as Ibis
habitat. There will be farm dams around, but again, not classic Ibis
habitat.
Any comments, please?
Cheers
Love to Grow: Grow to
Love
*******************************************************************************************************
This
is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra Ornithologists
Group.
List-Post:
<>
List-Help:
<>
List-Unsubscribe:
<>
List-Subscribe:
<>
List archive:
<http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds>
List
manager: David McDonald, email
<>
