Hi all,
Thanks to everyone who responded to my request for sites where I might have been able to find Gang-gang Cockatoos and Superb Parrots. Thanks especially to Peter Cranston who put me on to the site at Burton and Garran Halls at the ANU for
the Gang-gang. The birds are being fed there and are extremely tame, so much so that a male landed on my shoulder and several other birds tried to land on my head, only to be thwarted by my involuntary ducking!. The bird was a much sought after “lifer” for
a lady from WA who I was taking birding for the day n Monday.
Among the other species she was after was the Superb Parrot. I tried in vain to find this species at about half a dozen suggested sites including the Hawker area, Mulligan’s Flat and Goorooyaroo Nature Reserves and other sites that I knew
of. Obviously this year they have not returned in the numbers that have graced our area over the past few years. The closest I got was hearing one distant call in the Hawker area.
I did manage to get the lady several other species that she was especially keen to see (at Campbell Park) and I showed her the first Platypus that she had ever seen, at Tidbinbilla NR.
One thing that did surprise me on the day was the almost total lack of small birds in Mulligan’s Flat and Goorooyaroo NR’s in the areas we visited. The ANBG was also very quiet.
I have another lady visiting from Cairns at the end of the month who is also after Gang-gangs, plus several other local species. Ah the joys of being a birdo!!
Cheers, and thanks again,
Mark
