Hello everyone
Barbara Allan and I surveyed the 8 sites on the firing range on Thursday 31
March, starting at 7:30. It was a beautiful autumn morning, still, cool and
sunny. Normally the wind starts to get up around 9 am, but today the breeze
was very slight, even later in the morning.
Birds were fairly plentiful at most sites, even those which traditionally
reveal few species. The area is drying out, but the vast majority of trees
looked very healthy, except for one species that was infested by lerps. At the
grenade range, down near the airport, half the trees have died after a long
slow decline, and the survivors do not appear to be able to last very long. But
even this benighted site produced a range of the usual suspects: Buff-rumped
Thornbill, Spotted and Striated Pardalote, magpies, ravens, Noisy Miner,
Magpie-lark, starlings and welcome swallows.
It was a good morning for choughs, being observed at 5 sites, with 27 observed
at one site. Scarlet Robins were seen at 5 sites, White-throated Treecreepers
at 4, while Laughing Kookaburras were heard around 4 sites. There were good
examples of the crossover of species during autumn, with about 50 Yellow-faced
Honeyeaters seen passing over one site, and a further group of 30 between
sites. Rufous Whistlers were heard a couple of times, White-eared Honeyeaters
observed 4 times and Eastern Spinebill only the once. White-throated Gerygones
were still there, as were a couple of Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, and a single
Speckled Warbler. Highlight of the Mick’s Dam site was a pair of Australasian
Grebes with quite immature dependent young,
In the lengthy traverse between the sites we observed 30 Little Ravens in open
grassland, 2 White-faced Herons, 2 Australian Pipits, a Golden Whistler, a
Pacific Black Duck and a Grey Teal on one of the numerous but generally
bird-free dams.
Back at Range Control we looked in vain for the Diamond Firetails that we had
spotted there on earlier occasion, the only birds in sight being a couple of
Welcome Swallows, and a single Crimson Rosella foraging on the ground beneath
an old pine tree.\
Paul Fennell
Editor, COG Annual Bird Report
0407105460
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