Hello Margaret. I drive across Coppins Crossing several times a week and notice that there are often raptors hovering over the paddock behind the crossing (facing towards Belconnen) but not many other birds. The Molonglo development might be disturbing the birds but perhaps they have not gone far. Driving along Uriarra Road near Huntly Station there are still lots of birds. At Uriarra Village there have been numerous finches, thornbills and scarlet robins around recently and large numbers of blue wrens and Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos as well as the usual avian residents.
Judy Middlebrook
From: Margaret Leggoe [
Sent: Friday, 28 June 2013 3:34 PM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Coppin's Crossing today
Not having been there for two years I decided to check out Coppin’s Crossing before taking my camera out.
1. The road works involve a poorly signposted detour. OK in broad daylight, but wouldn’t want to try to negotiate it before sunrise.
2. The fence has been reinforced, and that part of my equipment I used to push under the fence will be difficult to get in.
3. Down at what was once called “finch central” things were so deserted, quiet and eerie it reminded me of the closing chapter of Neville Schute’s “On the Beach”.
4. In all, I saw 4 superb fairy wrens, one raven and what I think was a black-shouldered kite overhead.
5. I met and talked with a sewage truck driver and he said he used to see lots of robin-red-breasts, but has seen none this year.
6. About 6 Eastern grey kangaroos and a couple of fresh wombat burrows were seen right up the hill near the gravel road.
Have any of you been out there in recent months (forgive me if I don’t remember some recent report)? What has been your experience?
Coincidently (or not), I was in the area to drop off a couple of mynas at the RSPCA. I was remarking on the large number of feral pigeons there, and the RSPCA officer said there used to be a hawk that kept the pigeon population down, but they have not seen it for some time.
Of course we are not supposed to say this, but it seems to me the huge development project in the area just might have driven some of our native species away.
Margaret Leggoe
