Kelly's Swamp

["martin butterfield" <>]

I also toddled past Kellys today and agree toally with Lindell's assessment of the spoonbill situation.  The second image attached shows one of the right-hand pair wrestling with a stick, which I'd estimate to be 1m long, below the nest tree.  It flew off in a large loop over the swamp with the stick in its mouth to add it to that nest.  Meanwhile the left hand pair were busy adjusting the positionf sticks in their nest, interspersed with moments of mutual preening and bill waving.  

It seemed that there were two separate families of Swamphens.  The other image is of one parent and chick.

The other news from Kellys was a single Black-winged stilt and three Australian Shelduck (all doWn near the school).  Perhaps coincidentally, but yesterday I was told of Shelduck on Windemere Station on the Hoskinstown - and I do hope I have spelt that correctly Julienne - being attached to lucerne paddocks.  I noticed as I rode along the highway that a lucerne paddock on the turf farm was being mown.

A little to the East of Kelly's I finally saw a/the drongo in the ACT.  Yahooooo!  It was a brief look, but tickable.

I then went out to Newline ticking several of the specialities.  The avian highlight(?) was being swooped by a Laughing Kookaburra.  This was the first time I have experienced this, and it was much more frightening than the equivalent magpie experience since the Kookaburra starts a laughing routine about 10m out and keeps it up as it goes about 1m over your head.  After 4 such events I had a fair idea where the bird's nest is - two large trees along the fece from the entry hole - and will record the event as a display breeding record.

All of this stuff followed fromme being in town with my bike and four and a half hours available.  Too late for a Big Day but a MLA (Moderately Large Afternoon) looked possible.  I ended up writing down 68 species in 3hrs 45 minutes while covering 15.23 Kms on my bike. Other breeding records were DY Red Wattlebirds on the Causeway; NY Magpies opposite Newline; and (very many) NY Starlings in Newline. 

Martin

On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 1:49 PM, Lindell <> wrote:

Just back from a visit to Kelly's Swamp.

There appear to be a second pair of Spoonbills nest building in the tree in front of Cygnus Hide on the right side-back. One was in the willow and the other brought a stick and set it in place. Would these be the pair from the Kingston side? or yet an additional pair to the wetlands? The original SB remained in her sopt while this was happening - so there were actually 3 in the tree while the fourth one fossicked in the water to the left of Bittern hide.

Purple Swamp hen with two tiny chicks in tow and one with one chick in front of Bittern Hide.

And a pair of Sacred Kingfishers on the dead tree left of the end of tall vegetation between path and water on the left side of the bittern hide.
Four Straw-necked Ibis on far side of the swamp.

 

Lindell

 

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