I was out at the Tharwa Sandwash on Sunday afternoon and while
it was not exactly peak bird watching hours, I would agree with Bruce about the
lack of small birds. However, I was lucky enough to see 2 separate flocks of
20+ Double-bar Finches, 3 Whitefaces enjoying a sand bath on the trail and 1
female Speckled Warbler along with the usual suspects. I did not see any
Flame Robins but was delighted by 2 pairs of Scarlet Robins which reinforced
what an amazing sight they are in the bush and how easily they disappear.
One of the females had enough colour that I thought it might be a Flame to
begin with.
Cheers
Shaun
From: Esme Barker and Bruce Ramsay
[
Sent: Tuesday, 12 May 2009 1:15 PM
To: Canberrabirds
Subject: [canberrabirds] Tharwa Sandwash 12-5-09
Possibly
the effects of winter (although the morning was beautiful to be honest) -
but Tharwa Sandwash this morning was down in numbers of both individuals and
species. Only 21 species seen - my lowest total since last September when I
started visiting the location each month. Unlike more recent months, only a
negligible number of Honeyeaters (2 White-plumed and 1 Fuscous were all that
were around today) and a very surprising lack of small birds - only a single
Brown Thornbill, a few Wrens and 2 each of Weebill and Silvereye.
However,
the area wasn't completely bereft of interesting sightings - for me the
most noteworthy were:
a
White-bellied Sea-Eagle flying past quite low as it followed the course of the
river downstream - the same sighting as I made last month of, I assume, the
same bird
3
Scarlet Robin - male, female and immature
male
and female/immature Flame Robin
a
Restless Flycatcher - a very striking bird which I haven't seen for a few
years, so it was very rewarding to spot one today
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