Today we visited several frogmouth nests on Mt Ainslie (west side) that we've
been watching for some time. Sadly, at one, the nest was unoccupied - the male
had gone. While there we heard a rustling down the slope and found what we've
identified as a Rosenberg's Monitor. Judging by its length it was almost full
grown. This is the first RM that we've seen here and it was exciting. Though
these goannas are said to be more terrestrial than the tree-climbing Lace
Monitor, it is tempting to think that maybe the monitor attacked the nest,
driving off the male and taking the eggs - though we could find no eggshell on
the ground underneath. There could be various other causes of the nest
abandonment, of course. It was noticeable that the monitor held its ground and
did not move away during our time there.
Cheers
Matthew and Stephanie
*******************************************************************************************************
This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra
Ornithologists Group.
Please ensure that emails posted to the list are less than 100 kB in size.
When subscribing or unsubscribing, please insert the word 'Subscribe' or
'Unsubscribe', as applicable, in the email's subject line.
List-Post: <>
List-Help: <>
List-Unsubscribe: <>
List-Subscribe: <>
List archive: <http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds>
List manager: David McDonald, email <>
|
