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I
don't recall having encountered many silent Crescent
Honeyeaters. I think they are normally noisy
and with a very obvious sound. Then again, maybe I more typically seek them out
from having first heard them, rather than seeing quiet
ones.
Philip
The many non-Canberran subscribers to this chatline might be
puzzled by our seasonal preoccupation with the Australian National Botanic
Gardens, which nestle on the lower slopes of Black Mountain, near the
ever-optimistic Australian National University, and the recently again-ravaged
CSIRO. The attraction here is that during the relatively poor months
for birds in this town (except for the cockatoos!!) the Gardens attract a suite
of ‘altitudinal migrants’ down from the nearby hills. Typical of these are
Golden Whistlers and Rose Robins. Another species, rather scarcer this
year than usual , is the Crescent Honeyeater. Based on my own
experience of a couple of visits a week, the Gardens have had less than the
usual bird influx this May and June. Yesterday I glimpsed a male
Rose Robin and a couple of skulking Bassian Thrushes, both species I would
expect to see in perhaps one out of three 2-hour visits. There
was also a female Crescent Honeyeater - a silent participant in a
loose mixed feeding flock with Brown Thornbills and Yellow Robins, among
others. There do seem to be a lot of children making use of the Gardens,
perhaps the result of the milder weather, or perhaps the attraction of a new
‘Red Centre’ display which is adorned with a model of an oversize Thorny Devil,
a cause of squeals of delight from the younger garden-user, and a popular spot
for family snaps. Yesterday I heard the stern direction ‘Wayne – get over
closer to that thing with Nanna …’
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