Alison Russell-French and I had a very nice morning at
Mulligans Flat Sanctuary last Sunday, recording 71 species
of birds. While nothing rare/unusual was seen, highlights were a large
number of White-winged Trillers (an ACT vulnerable species) on the eastern side
of the reserve doing display flights and calling, and two Little Eagles (ACT
vulnerable species), one a light phase bird and one a dark phase.
Years ago a pair of Little Eagles (one light phase/one dark phase) used to
be regularly recorded on our woodland surveys at Mulligans, but we had not
recorded them there for a long time. Good numbers of small bush
birds were around including Sacred Kingfisher, Scarlet Robin, Speckled Warbler,
Leaden Flycatcher, Varied Sittella (another ACT vulnerable species) Rainbow
Beeater (flying high overhead) and 3 species of cuckoos. Superb Parrots
were heard, but did not seem to be flying over the usual routes/corridors.
We also recorded White-eared Honeyeaters at several places, mostly on the
eastern side of the reserve. Unfortunately, White-plumed Honeyeaters and
Hooded Robins seem to have disappeared from the reserve. The large dam
area was quieter birdwise than in recent months, but we did record Whistling
Kite, Aust. and Hoary-headed Grebes and Australian Shoveller there, amongst
other ducks and coots. An echidna foraging in the open north of the large
dam and a large Bearded Dragon with beautiful, sandy coloured markings were also
spotted.
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