Narrabundah Hill 12md to 3pm – a still cool sunny
afternoon – not a lot of birds to be seen in the air but plenty of small
bird near the ground
There was lots of activity around the perimeter of the
reserve – including a mangy sick fox with skin lesions, a healthy
fox and a very large feral cat with long bushy tail.
Two feeding flocks in widely separated areas were being harassed
by what I believe to have been, in both instances, the same Brown Falcon.
The bird was very cunning, appearing suddenly where flocks could be heard.
While the flocks had a slightly different composition, the majority of the birds
were red-browed firetails – hence they may have been the same RB’s
in each of the flocks.
Two Kestrels were soaring high and loudly calling –
then one on a power stanchion called the other bird which landed on the other
side of the stanchion. A while later loud calling sounds alerted me to
look again and copulation was happening.
A pair of Galahs sounded strong alarms when the ?Brown
Falcon was in the vicinity of a feeding flock – this drew my attention to
one of the birds later taking a twig with leaves on it into a nesting hollow –
both birds were in the tree.
Thornbills – brown, buff, striated and yellow-rumped –
not all in the same place
Wee-bills
Red-browed firetails – 20+ at a time
Diamond firetails – 2
Scarlet Robins – M&F
Speckled Warblers – 2
White-eared Honeyeater 1
Southern Whiteface 3
House Sparrows 6
Red-wattle Bird 1
Laughing Kookaburra 1
Crimson Rosellas 2
Superb Wrens – lots
Magpie Larks 4
Galahs 12
Grey Fantail – heard and briefly seen
Magpies 3
A slow but satisfying expedition. I will do an COG report.
Jean
