Scarlet Honeyeater at Goorooyarroo

[martin butterfield <>]

Red Wattlebirds(RWB) and Noisy Friarbirds have basically vanished from my patch at Carwoola.  Since the last week in February I have only seen or heard RWB on a couple of occasions and Friarbirds not at all.  Perhaps they know something about the quality of weather we are about to experience?

On a different topic, I waddled round the Veterans running handicap at Stromlo Forest Park this morning.  I recorded 4 birds as I panted past.  In conversation with Terry Munro afterwards he also saw them so is having bad luck with sport.  Migrating honeyeaters interfere with his bowls and Chats muck up his walking!  The spot where I saw them was 35:18:58 S  149:01:52E if anyone is still recording - where the running track comes closest to Urriara Rd.

Martin

On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 1:31 PM, Steve Holliday <> wrote:

Hi all

 

Prue and I did the autumn woodland survey at Goorooyarroo this morning in perfect conditions. Highlight was a female Scarlet Honeyeater seen at sites 8 and 9, feeding in flowering mistletoes. It is possible there were 2 different birds involved but as the sites are only a couple of hundred metres apart it was probably just the one. GPS for site 8 is 35 12 39 / 149 10 59. There are many flowering mistletoes at the southern end of the reserve at the moment, keep an eye out if you are in the area.

 

Also saw or heard OB Orioles, Speckled Warblers at 2 sites, a Brown Falcon, Yellow-faced and White-eared Honeyeater, Golden Whistler, Mistletoebird, Aus Grebe with 4 small chicks. No sign of honeyeater migration, in fact surprisingly few wattlebirds and friarbirds present given all the mistletoe flowering.

 

Non-birds included a Shingleback, our first Pasture Day Moths for the season, lots of flowers, and 10 species of butterfly including Spotted and Imperial Jezebels, Chequered Copper and Stencilled Hairstreak.

 

Cheers

 

Steve