Plumed Whistling ducks at Trucking Yard Lane Friday morning

[Martin Butterfield <>]

The paddocks here are basically holding paddocks for an abattoir.  The cattle are given feed while awaiting transport and as Mark notes the various duck and cockatoo species feed around the hay racks etc, as well as grazing on the pasture of these paddocks.  The Shelduck are particularly fond of feeding there.  I suspect the Galahs, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and (occasionally) Little Corellas also dig up tubers in the paddock. At least 500 Galahs and 200 Sulphur-crested were so engaged last Tuesday morning.

The Plumed Whistling Ducks don't seem to feed much during the day.  They mainly stand around the bare dirt edges of the dams, occasionally going for a swim.   Where else they go to feed is an interesting question: if we could answer that it might also explain where they are roosting when not at the three known dams.  We have had a couple of reports of possible sightings from other properties in the area but not regularly.

Martin

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

On 4 March 2016 at 22:20, Mark Clayton <> wrote:

I am sure there are people with more observations of the birds than me but there appears to be a cattle feedlot about 100 metres or so from the dam on Trucking Yard Lane. I have seen Pacific Black Ducks, Grey Teal and the whistle ducks feeding with cattle near the fed bins. They also compete with, at times, hundreds of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Galahs. I reckon it would be a costly exercise keeping the feed up to all that lot.

 

Mark

 

From: Bill Hall [
Sent: Friday, 4 March 2016 10:11 PM
To: 'David McDonald (personal)';
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Plumed Whistling ducks at Trucking Yard Lane Friday morning

 

I counted 23 this evening around 5pm at the same location. All the birds were on the banks of the dam. Does any-one know where the birds feed?

 

Bill Hall

 

From: David McDonald (personal)
Sent: Friday, 4 March 2016 3:33 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Plumed Whistling ducks at Trucking Yard Lane Friday morning

 

Hi, I think Jenny is referring to the Trucking Yard Lane dam.
This morning I counted 24 there, which accords with Jenny's observation.
The Meadows Lane dam, where they were yesterday, was chock-a-block full of cattle, undoubtedly the reason for the ducks' move to Trucking Yard Lane.
David

On 4/03/2016 11:57 AM, Jenny Bounds wrote:

I popped into the lane on my way back from the coast this morning; there were about 25 PWDs on the large dam on the right (as you come off the highway). 

Cheers

Jenny

 

From: Julienne Kamprad
Sent: Thursday, 3 March 2016 11:40 AM
To: CHATLINE
Subject: [canberrabirds] Plumed Whistling ducks

 

I saw 6 today Thursday at 11am on the Hoskinstown Rd. None at sewage works or  Trucking Yard Lane and Burrows  Ln dams.

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