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Last weekend Elizabeth and Bill Compston and I went in search of the
migrating Honeyeaters from Canberra and the High Country to the south - after
they leave the Canberra region. Back in the 1960s I had helped my father, Steve
Wilson and a number of other volunteers to band migrating Honeyeaters
amongst the huge stands of Banksia ericifolia plants at Tianjara Falls.Those
excursions stopped when the entire area was burnt out in the late
1960s.
I reported on this forum last year that I had
gone into the Budawangs for the first time, and ended up at Tianjara
Falls. It was apparent that the Banksias were fully restored and the
Honeyeaters were there - in abundant numbers.
So, after Mrs Crowe's death
last week, Elizabeth Compston and I decided to plan a trip to Tianjara Falls and
the Budawangs, so I could attempt to show Elizabeth the large numbers of
Honeyeaters which I believe regularly stop over in the Budawangs, in autumn when
the Banksias are in flower. I believe they are a magnet for the migratory
Honeyeaters.
This is very definitely 4WD territory only.
And so, on Sunday, Elizabeth and Bill Compston and I met at Tianjara Falls.
We went south into the Budawangs, along the Twelve Mile Road. This area is the
north-eastern section of the Budawangs. Check the Budawangs - Tianjara Area map,
attached.
Technically, the Tianjara Creek is part of the Shoalhaven Valley system,
and the Budawangs is part of the Clyde River catchment. However, in the
north-eastern part of the Budawangs, there is no marked divide between the
Clyde Valley and the Shoalhaven system. There must be a boundary,
obviously, in terms of which way the creeks flow. But in terms of the habitat,
it is pretty much of a continuum - low, open heath country, interspersed with
patches of Stringybark forest on the sides of small hills, where the soil is
deep enough to support tree cover.
In patches, there are exposed rock
shelves which support nothing more than low heath plants, a mere 30 cm high.
This is especially obvious at a point just south of Kangaroo Hill, where two
roads meet, from where one can make a round trip, returning to Tianjara Falls
via the Tianjara Fire Trail (on the left). Watch out for deeply rutted gutters
in the road.
The point of this long-winded explanation is that as soon as we left
the Nowra-Braidwood Road, not far from Tianjara Falls, we found ourselves in
Banksia shrubbery, and there were lots of Honeyeaters to be seen. It immediately
became obvious that it would be impossible to attempt a census of these birds,
as we saw so many Honeyeaters, flitting along the road, as we
drove along some 30 Kms of roads and tracks. Frequently we would stop
whenever we saw lots of bird movements from the
car Honeyeaters. Mostly these birds were Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. But
we did see many Red Wattlebirds as well - sometimes calling from deep cover,
obviously in feeding mode. Other times, we saw them flying in their silent
groups, typical of migrating Wattlebirds.
Where there were isolated trees in the heathland shrubbery, it was common
to see small migratory flocks moving along, "leapfrogging" from tree to
tree.
In some wet gullies, especially, we saw and heard New Holland
Honeyeaters.
In one area of exposed heathland, we heard (and Elizabeth and Bill saw)
Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters. Their soft, melodic liquid sounding call was quite
distinctive. I had not seen that species for over 30 years, so I was tickled
pink to find them (even if I didn't see them clearly). They are a bird which is
typical of the heathlands, but I had not seen or heard them before, on two
previous visits to this particular part of the plateau (where the shot of
Pigeonhouse Mtn was taken).
During this trip, we also saw several large
groups of Silvereyes, in patches of Eucalypt forest, with Banksia understorey. A
few Brush Wattlebirds were seen, but not nearly as many as the Red Wattlebirds.
We also saw a solitary Nankeen Kestrel, out over the heathland. Several parties
of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. Grey Shrike Thrushes were seen several times.
Spinebills were abundant.
In a period of over 3 hours I estimate we saw
between five and seven hundred Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, but with such a vast
habitat available to these birds, I confidently estimate that there must have
been several thousand Honeyeaters in this north-eastern corner of the
Budawangs.
From the Tianjara area, these birds could move east towards
the Jervis Bay area, where there is a huge amount of suitable autumn habitat
available to them. Alternatively, they can move north, around the rim of the
huge Shoalhaven Valley and Kangaroo Valley, all the way to Carrington Falls,
while staying within easy reach of suitable habitat. (See the second map of the
entire Budawangs and Shoalhaven region.)
If they do move north to Robertson (and I see them regularly here, passing
through), they only have to cross an 8 Km line of unsuitable habitat of Cool
Temperate Rainforest, before they find the huge area of suitable habitat in the
Woronora Plateau. As that Plateau is a prohibited entry area (run by the
Sydney Catchment Authority), it is understandable that there are few reports of
their presence on the Woronora Plateau.
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