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Everyone had a morning free so we all shoe-horned aboard Junior
Brat's dinky Ford and went to McDermott Place, Lake Ginninderra. Soon as we
arrived, the Noisy Minors announced they could hear Little Grassbirds and
hurried to the reed clumps as I plodded along toting my monopod-mounted
binoculars (thanks again for the idea , Bob). "You look like ole man Scrivener
surveying the border with that thing," a cheeky Auburn-crowned Babbler
said. But the Little Grass birds were there and most cooperative. One perched in
full view and song on the outer ranks of the reeds so were able to glass it for
a good 5 seconds before it moved into the reeds a bit but still afforded
reasonable views until it moved further into its green mansions, and we could
hear probably at least another two nearby.
Eucalypts near the boat ramp contained the usual Lake Ginn
woodlanders: Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Grey Shrike Thrush regaling us with what
I call its breeding -season song. Tree Martins, warring White-Plumed
Honeyeaters attacking everything including their own kind, garrulous Red
Wattlebirds, Magpie-larks, smattering of Dusky Woodswallows and a bronze-cuckoo
which presented a good profile view so, from the facial markings, we could say
it was a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo that was likely en route to the higher, wetter
forests. Nearby a bunch of Kookaburras enacted the old Movietone News
theme.
We headed to the western end of Diddams Close and walked into the
peninsular grassland. Immediately, we flushed a bird that flew fast, high and
far. "Going by the triangular wing configuration, it's a Skylark," I said. With
that, the Brats launched into a soulful but discordant rendition of
the French ( French-Canadian?) song Allouette, ad libbing
with English words when their francophonal abilities failed. Elderly gent
walking small dog stopped and stared while dog gave tongue to a glissando
of falsetto yaps. "Shut up!" I bellowed gently. Brats complied and small dog
whimpered as the E.G. threw me a glance which may have indicated
he thought me a tad uncouth. Anyhow, a welcome tranquility descended
upon the grassland.
The ground beneath trees beside the access road was studded with
Yellow-rumped Thornbills together with 7 Double-barred Finches. A bare
poplar near the toilet block held a tiny Collared Sparrowhawk while 11 Crested
Pigeons grazed nonchalantly below. Also glassed a female Nankeen Kestrel on
a Ginninderra Drive street lamp.
John Layton
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