Large flock or Little Corellas

[Ryu Callaway <>]

My count of birds at the Fadden roost a week ago was 225 - significantly down on the all time high I had there at the same time last year of 900 birds.

However, I frequently see flocks of 200-300 over Narrabundah College, and on the 15th had 3 flocks in quick succession flying over totalling 750 birds. The large flocks are always moving in the same direction - due north from a roost or feeding grounds in Symonston / Callam Brae, but I have seen this movement at various times of the day ranging from about 8am to 2pm. 

Large corella roosts exist in Fadden and ANU, all shared with Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, and possibly on Lake Ginninderra, Callam Brae, and Sullivans Creek in Lyneham or O'Conner.

From my monitoring of the Fadden roost over the past 3 years, numbers drop off significantly between Sep/Oct to mid Dec, and the relative lack of breeding records I think suggests that birds move away for breeding (or they may just disperse). The large flocks for the rest of the year appear ro be resident, and they tend to stick together in large mobs throughout the day rather than disperse in smaller flocks - this is particulary evident when comparing the arrival of SCCs and LCs to their roost (with the latter often arriving in 2-3 large flocks of hunderds with just a few other groups, while cockatoo flocks arrive constantly with each flock generally less than 20, although final numbers often similar to corellas), and could explain GDabb's obs of them being relatively absent from the usual roadside feeding aggegrations of SCCs and Galahs. Large gatherings of LCs were regular when I used to go to Lyneham High, either from the ANU roost or another roost in Lyneham/O'Conner which remains unconfirmed to date.

The hope is that the roost survey planned for the weekend of 6-9 June will provide a better picture of both the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Little Corella populations in the ACT, as well as shedding light on their roosting habits and movements. There are still sites that need to be covered - Telopea Park, Conder, a few in Watson/Hackett, ANU, Lake Ginninderra, Flynn, Aranda, Macgregor, and AIS. The unreliable 28-day rain forecast shows no chance of rain, so go on and nominate your sites :)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xWS5vhRnuiI7AzyED6HklIB_6dlSVwDj4OBJzuRDltU/edit

Ryu