canberrabirds

FW: Waterbirds at Lake George

To: Canberrabirds <>
Subject: FW: Waterbirds at Lake George
From: Geoffrey Dabb <>
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2021 23:09:01 +0000

Thank you, Michael.  That is a lot of shelducks.  In my view ‘a lot’ is the appropriate group name.  However, if you accept the authority of this website   https://www.birdspot.co.uk/culture/collective-nouns-for-birds you might prefer to say ‘a doading’ or ‘a dopping’. This raises the question whether group names for northern species can fairly be used for related Australian species. Surely ‘a wisp of snipe’ is acceptable, although I would hesitate at ‘a whiteness of swans’.   If only we had an aboriginal name for a lot of Australian Shelduck.  Although then they wouldn’t be Australian Shelduck.

 

From: Canberrabirds <> On Behalf Of Michael Lenz via Canberrabirds
Sent: Saturday, 1 January 2022 9:26 AM
To: chatline <>
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Waterbirds at Lake George

 

The substantial re-filling of Lake George has raised a great deal of interest. For the first time in many years one can now watch waterbirds on the western shore of the lake from several vantage points.  The lake is not yet full. North from the Badcoe VC rest area the shore line turns to the NE, away from the highway. Further rain and the water from several creeks that run into the lake may still flood remaining dry areas of the lake bed.

 

There have been many reports of waterbird sightings on ebird and several to the chatline.

 

COG waterbird surveys of the lake focus on its eastern side, the deeper part. 

 

The situation is very dynamic and numbers and species composition can change  quickly, depending to a great extent on events a great distance away from  Lake George (inland rainfalls and subsequent flooding, birds moving to suitable inland breeding sites etc.).

 

I thought readers may be interested in getting a summary of the number of waterbirds recorded on 29 and 30 December 21: the eastern side together with Julienne Kamprad on the 29th, the western side on my own at Badcoe VC and Wheatley VC rest areas, the Weereewa Lookout and the SW part along Lake Road on the 30th.

 

Waterbirds at Lake George 29/30 December 2021

Species

East side

West side

Total

Badcoe VC

Wheatley VC

SW

Black Swan

323

  34

  20

    7

  384

Australian Shelduck

800

210

  55

    4

1069

Austral. Wood Duck

     9

--

--

--

      9

Australian Shoveler

  88

250

  35

128

  501

Pacific Black Duck

     2

    8

  71

    5

    86

Grey Teal

490

900

725

240

2355

Chestnut Teal

    4

--

    2

--

      6

Pink-eared Duck

  10

--

--

    7

    17

Hardhead

--

--

--

    3

      3

Blue-billed Duck

    1

--

--

--

      1

Hoary-headed Grebe

--

195

+ 5 nests

    2

    2

  199

Great Crested Grebe

--

--

--

    1

      1

Pied Stilt

--

--

--

  15

    15

Masked Lapwing

  15

  20

--

  88

  123

Silver Gull

  75

200

  40

  40

  355

Little Pied Corm.

--

--

--

    1

      1

Little Black Corm.

--

--

--

    3

      3

Australian Pelican

  10

--

--

--

    10

Intermediate Egret

--

    1

--

--

      1

White-necked Heron

--

    1

--

--

      1

White-faced Heron

  12

    6

--

  66

    84

Australian White Ibis

--

--

--

  93

    93

Straw-necked Ibis

    1

  13

--

    1

    15

 

Numbers at the Weereewa Lookout were very small and have been added to the count at Wheatley. To judge by what I could see while driving between the survey points, I would guess that actual numbers of swans, shelducks and ducks could be 20 to 30% higher.

 

Best wishes for good health and many interesting birds in 2022 to all,

 

Michael Lenz

 

 

 

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