Spotted Harrier

["Philip Veerman" <>]

Spotted Harrier spotted or sighted at Fyshwick site (no, not today).

 

Sure, fair point, just a different emphasis. In which case I can add that my comment was more about your interest in coming across a local Spotted Harrier than about whether there is evidence of a continuous band of sightings from Cooma to Canberra.

 

Thus I was being hopefully encouraging to you. As in the bird is less rare than suggested by "a couple of sightings at Kellys", given how much birding effort goes into that site. Then again my success ratio of that species in that site might average as low as one in 50 to 100 trips. Who knows? I don't have statistical records like that. Maybe the COG database can give that ratio overall for all observers but biased by the question of how many times do people (like me) go there and not see exciting species and so not put in a datasheet?

 

As for that species, what happens is when one if found, several people might get to see it but it seems that most such sets of observations only last a small number of days and then a long gap till the next time. And as hinted by Martin, not more than one bird.

 

I also understand Martin's comparison between the records for the 2 harrier species as being as expected, given the habitats between here and Cooma and the places people would look for and see these birds.

 

Philip

 

-----Original Message-----From: Julian Robinson [ Sent: Friday, 11 May 2012 11:22 AM
To: 'Philip Veerman';       Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Spotted Harrier

Yes I wasn’t thinking this was anything like a representation of all sightings, just suggesting that the birdata map shown was not evidence of a continuous band of sightings from Cooma to Canberra.

 

Julian

www.flickr.com/photos/ozjulian/

 

 

From: Philip Veerman [ Sent: Thursday, 10 May 2012 23:09      To:
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Spotted Harrier

 

Hi Julian,

 

I'll leave interpreting map expertise to others but I'll comment on this. Of course it depends on how far back in time you go, but at least in my local memory there is surely more than "a couple of sightings at Kellys". As I know of 3 if not 4 of those couple are mine (although to what extent they are on what system. I'm not sure), plus several others that were not mine, that I know of.

 

Philip

 

-----Original Message-----From: Julian Robinson [ Sent: Thursday, 10 May 2012 10:52 PM
To: 'martin butterfield'; canberrabirds chatline      Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Spotted Harrier

I’m always wary of those large squares on the Birdata maps and have an interest in coming across a local Spotted Harrier, so zoomed in one stage further … I believe it indicates a couple of sightings at Kellys, one at maybe Narrabundah Hill (Weston Ck) and one out west around Brindabella Rd.  To the south none until well after Michelago then three along the Cooma Rd.  The apparent band on the map of squares is an artefact, with no actual sightings between Canberra and nearly Bredbo.

 

 

Julian

www.flickr.com/photos/ozjulian/