Thanks Geoffrey,
while I can't help you with appropriate group names, at least I can offer an explanation for the high numbers of A. Shelducks. Lake George is a traditional moulting site at this time of year as Harry Frith and others have documented in the past. Now the
lake has water and the shelducks can congregate again on the lake.
Michael Lenz
On Sat, 1 Jan 2022 at 10:09, Geoffrey Dabb <> wrote:
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,
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