Reviewing my Garden Bird Survey numbers recently, it
occurred to me that this season gone was a particularly poor breeding one for
Jerrabomberra. Our resident pair of Swans had a failed attempt in Spring
and so far have not attempted an Autumn nesting. We usually see around 20
young Swamp Hens per season, this year we had only 5 from two nests. Moorhens
produced only 2 young – usually at least 12-15. No Coots produced at
all. Even our resident pair of Magpies produced only 1 young for the year
and I did not see a Magpie Larks nest. There were no Grebes nesting and
only one family of Black Ducks. The exception has been Crimson Rosellas with significant
numbers of green birds around. I wonder if this poor season is reflected
elsewhere? A possible reason for the poor return on water birds may be
the decline in typhus reeds around the local lake for which most birds rely on
for nest sites.
Regards
Lindsay Hansch
