OUTING TO CAMPBELL PARK – 4 MAY 2014
Despite a dire forecast of rain and winds, 4 May turned out a cold,
reasonably still and delightfully sunny morning, attracting 11 COG members plus
two visitors from Brisbane. However, we had a very ordinary start in the reserve
area just north of the Defence Building, encountering a large (and very) Noisy
Miner flock which had displaced all but the two Rosella species, a few Magpies,
Galahs and Red-rumped Parrots. Away from the Noisies, things improved, with good
views of a perched Common Bronzewing, and then some flocks of small birds,
mainly Spotted Pardalote, Buff-rumped Thornbill and Weebill, and subsequently
Golden Whistler, Grey Butcherbird, Grey Fantail, White-eared Honeyeater and
Superb Fairy Wren. Nearby were several intact White-winged Chough nests,
clearly not in use in this season, but eventually we came upon a flock of more
than a dozen choughs themselves. These could well be the progeny of the ones
filmed ‘kidnapping’ at Campbell Park by David Attenborough’s team for the BBC
“Life of Birds Series”. Coming out onto Telecom Road we walked for about 400m,
but after recording only a single Laughing Kookaburra, we returned to the forest
to be greeted by a spectacular mixed-feeding flock of Buff-rumped, Yellow-rumped
and Brown Thornbills, Varied Sitella, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Spotted Pardalote
and a Scarlet Robin pair. Coming back to the very eastern edge of the reserve, a
large fallen log in grassland just outside the boundary had a Willie Wagtail
pair, Australasian Pipit, four Flame Robins and perhaps the morning’s highlight,
a Jacky Winter. A species total of 35 is a good result for this season.
Bruce Lindenmayer.
