The Plain and Bungendore South

[Martin Butterfield <>]

To support David's view of a 'first' I have just checked the list of observations attached to my CBN article on this species and that shows no instance of the birds being reported from two sites on the same day.  

However I do have a memory of Christine D report the birds being disturbed at Bungendore Meadow Dam by cattle dogs working the bovines and flying across to Trucking Yard Lane.  They still weren't in both sites simultaneously.  (That is supported by records in eBird for 16/8/15.)

Similarly the late Kim McKenzie captured an image of a duck flying in to Trucking Yard lane from the South on 1/11/14 ...

​ so that may mean they used 2 dams on the same day .. but probably not at the same time.  Kim didn't usually submit records to COG but did alert locals.

Martin

Martin Butterfield

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

On 30 August 2016 at 14:52, David McDonald (personal) <> wrote:

On Saturday, the day before Martin's obs, I counted 22 Plumed Whistling-Ducks at Burrows Lane Dam AND 38 at Trucking Yard Dam. This is the first time that I have seen them on two dams at once (well, you know what I mean!).

Also good numbers of both martins (i.e. fairy and tree) at the Bungendore Sewage Treatment Plant and the southern end of Lake Road.

David

On 28/08/2016 3:07 PM, Martin Butterfield wrote:

I have just been for a drive around the Hoskinstown Plain and the dams on the Southern edge of Bungendore.

The Plain was very quiet.  I visited a couple of spots where I have seen Diamond Firetails a few times in the past but not this time.  The paddocks inhabited by Banded Lapwings and White-fronted Chats offered 69 Magpies but neither target species.  The highlight was seeing 2 Black-fronted Dotterels on a dam just North of Hoskinstown on Hoskinstown Rd.  They are quite uncommon out here in Winter: this was the only record for August in 10 years.

​Going in to Bungendore I found the Plumed Whistling Ducks at Burrows Lane Dam.  My count was 40 but they were sitting in relatively long grass and I may have missed 1 or 2.  

The other two dams were very low on birds although 180 Galahs were perched above the hay racks (and a further 17 - total thus 197, a prime number!!! - perched on the racks).

​

Martin Butterfield

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