Barbara Allan and I carried out the Majura Firing Range Woodland
survey on Wed 1 April. It was almost ready to be likely to rain, with a
smidgin of faint Hebridean mist lasting until about 8.30. It was overcast
and still for a while, but around 9.30 a strong breeze got up which made visual
and aural recognition difficult.
The main ecological feature was the plaque of kangaroos. I
have been surveying there off and on for 10 years, and this year they are in
genuine plague proportions. Even serrated tussock is gnawed to ground
level. Every female appears to have two offspring at foot, and I believe
the estimate of 9,000.
Highlights were few and far between on this survey, with four
Hooded Robins and one Red-capped Robin being the only real things of interest
to report. No Brown Treecreepers spotted, although we looked in the
area they were spotted last survey. Little brown birds were notably absent,
with only a few Buff-rumped thornbills at one site and spotted in transect.
One Scarlet Robin was heard near one site, and some female
Scarlets were spotted in between sites at the southern end.
Cheers
Paul
Paul Fennell
COG Database manager
02 6254 1804
0407 105 460
From: Nicki Taws [
Sent: Friday, 3 April 2009 12:59 PM
To:
Cc: Alison Rowell
Subject: [canberrabirds] Goorooyaroo woodland surveys
The
woodland bird surveys of northern Goorooyaroo were carried out this Friday
morning in fine and still conditions. Interestingly the mistletoe Amyema
pendula was in good flower attracting numerous butterflies and a few Eastern
Spinebills. These woodlands don't seem to feature on the honeyeater migration
and today was no exception with only a handfull of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters
sighted, even though there seem to be many honeyeaters moving through
southern Canberra today.
As
is usual for this time of year, the small birds were in large mixed feeding
flocks which makes the survey sites either deadly quiet for small birds or
frantically busy. These flocks are invariably made up of Buff-rumped and
Striated Thornbills, Weebills and both pardalote species, with variable
additions of Grey Fantails, Scarlet Robins, Yellow-rumped Thornbills,
gerygones, Rufous Whistlers and a few other species.
An
interesting surprise on one of the otherwise deadly quiet sites was a White-bellied
Cuckoo-shrike dark morph. I passed through one of the usual haunts of Hooded
Robins but didn't find any for the third season running. I was beginning to
despair of seeing this species again at Gooroo when at the second last site I
hit the jackpot with a Hooded Robin, Red-capped Robin and Scarlet Robin all
within the site (plus Speckled Warbler).
02
6251 0303
0408 210 736
