Hi Mariko,
Spotted Doves are another unwelcome bird that is slowly establishing itself in the local area. Some people like them and consider them harmless but do we really need another introduced species in Canberra? The CSIRO museum does not (as yet) have any specimens from the local area, so ..................!!
Your experience with Grey Butcherbirds is similar to mine. For the first time in the 36 years I have lived in Kaleen, a young butcherbird took up residence in the local area. Every morning over winter he would turn up for a feed of mince meat. Both the local magpies and currawongs had him bluffed but he always managed to get his share. We would hear him calling 5 minutes before he arrived on the back deck.
Most butcherbirds locally are found in the better wooded areas around Canberra where they breed. When territories break down and the young are forced to leave their parent’s territories, that is when they can be seen in the suburbs. It is not a common bird locally and hasn’t adapted to permanent city living like those in Sydney.
Mark
From: mariko buszynski [
Sent: Saturday, 12 October 2013 6:59 PM
To: canberrabirds
Subject: [canberrabirds] Grey Butcherbird and Spotted Dove
I did not realise that Grey Butcherbirds are not so common in Canberra. We had a juvenile (?) bird in our garden in Hughes for two months, August and September. He came everyday and gave us a private lesson on his songs and calls. It was brown and not grey at all. We had an adult grey butcherbird in our garden several times before. Duncan identified it as a grey butcherbird for us. The bird fed on leftover food for magpies. He never came while magpies were there but had beaten magpie larks. He left first week in October suddenly. I wonder where he has gone.
Yesterday I saw two Spotted Doves for the first time in our garden hanging around with Rock Doves for a while. Is it a bad news?
