Plenty of blackbirds breeding in the gardens here. We back onto Ginninderra Creek and Percival Hill. I walk PH all the time and blackbirds are generally rare there, particularly at the moment, which leads me to my next simple thought. They
appear to me to favour a damp shady environment. Their main activity all year round is scratching my mulch seeking worms and generally making a mess. At this time of year they are also fond of soft fruits. This suggests to me that our dry sclerophyll forest
is not a preferred habitat for them. This is particularly so at the moment as the long dry conditions mean there is virtually no leaf litter for them to scratch in. Percival Hill is not a damp forest and in the past when I saw a few there they were near the
dams where the vegetation is thicker and the microclimate wetter. For that reason I would be surprised if they colonised our local forests except very near water.
From: Paul Gatenby <>
Date: Wednesday, 30 January 2019 at 8:52 pm
To: David Rees <>, calyptorhynchus <>
Cc: chatline <>
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Blackbirds in wet sclerophyll
Also well established on Lord High Island, in the forest
From: David Rees <>
Sent: Wednesday, 30 January 2019 8:25 PM
To: calyptorhynchus
Cc: Canberra Birds
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Blackbirds in wet sclerophyll
Seen the occasional one in the Tidbinbilla sanctuary in the last few months, so maybe.
Go to NZ where they are well established in undisturbed native forest.
On Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 4:53 PM calyptorhynchus <> wrote:
My observation is that Blackbirds in the ACT are mainly found along rivers and in very mature and well-watered suburbs, not to any extent in wet sclerophyll forests.
Do others agree with this, and if so what is the barrier to their entering wet forests here as they do in other parts of se Australia?
--
John Leonard
Canberra
Australia
www.jleonard.net
‘There is kinship between people and all animals. Such is the Law.’ Kimberley lawmen (from Yorro Yorro)
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