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
0407105460
