Barbara Allan and I carried out the autumn survey on Friday 27 March between 7.30 and 11 am at the end of daylight saving, but the early start did not appear to affect the birdwatching. It was bright and shiny, but for most of the morning it was cool, and the light breeze had an icy edge. Later in the morning, as usual, the wind got stronger.
It was quite good birdwatching all round, with nearly every one of the 8 sites providing some interesting species, with the mix of birds indicating a change of season. For example, at Mick’s Lake (a medium sized farm dam) there were 16 Grey Fantails, a Rufous Whistler, a Golden Whistler, a Fan-tailed Cuckoo, 4 Scarlet Robins, a White-eared Honeyeater, 2 Australasian Grebes (each with a young offspring in tow), and a White-throated Gerygone.
Between sites we observed a group of about 7 Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes heading north.
White-throated Gerygones were observed at many of the sites, as well as the White-eared Honeyeater and Scarlet Robins. The latter were in twos and threes, often quite vigorously contending for the local territory.
Grey Butcherbirds were heard at a couple of sites, a species that has been seldom seen here previously. There were quite a few White-throated Treecreepers about, and White-winged Choughs were often heard a little way off-site, with a group of 15 being seen while driving between sites. In fact there were a lot of “White” things about, even a White-necked Heron to go with the Gerygone, Treecreeper, Chough and Honeyeater. Missing was a White-winged Triller, but interestingly enough I heard one near Range Control the week before when I attended the Range Conference to give us access to the range unaccompanied by an Environmental Officer.
Even when there were few species being observed, there were enough interesting species, including 3 Speckled Warblers and 2 Mistletoe birds at Subsite 3. The highlight for me was the dark shape skulking about the treetops at Site 7 which I eventually ran down and identified as a Brown Goshawk.
The environment in general is holding up fairly well, with a discernible increase in the number of kangaroos of all ages, with muscular males very much in evidence. There is some serious lerp infestation in some of the eucalypts (particularly Blakely’s) but not in others, and I have never seen such healthy mistletoe, which is everywhere. The dieback at the Grenade Range is serious, and despite two good seasons, some large trees have died, and many more are on the way. It is hard to understand, since I have seen them wax and wane over the last 15 years, often during severe drought, and until recently they have been fighting to hold on.
Paul Fennell
Editor Annual Bird Report
Manager COG Databases
0262541804
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