Hi all – my son and I were up in the country beyond Bulls Head, and below Bulls Head, this morning. The forest was beautiful, still, cool and, as John L noted below, quiet, especially the usually
rowdy honeyeaters.
But birds were active in places, especially just after dawn when the sun came over the ridges. Red-browed Treecreeper, Crescent Honeyeater and Cicadabird (the latter heard only) were highlights,
but I dipped on Rufous Fantail and didn’t hear a single flycatcher. Fan-tailed Cuckoo were calling everywhere. Lists are on eBird, for what they are worth.
The gate at the top of Blundell’s Creek Road was shut, and access to Warks was also blocked at 35o22’19”S, 148o50’43”E. Apparently there are several trees across the road, and
the road is rough as some of the surface material has washed away in the rain.
Steve
From: Canberrabirds <>
On Behalf Of Mark Clayton via Canberrabirds
Sent: Thursday, 30 December 2021 12:55 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Upper Warks Road this morning
Having banded in the general area of Wark's and Lee's Creek and up at New Chum's roads back in the mid to late 1960s to the mid 70's and frequent visits since over the years, I have commented that the area in the last 10 years or so has been totally "dead,
dull and boring" bird wise. I did a blitz site there several years ago and didn't even record any White-browed Scrubwrens, one of the commoner species we used to band, and only a couple of Brown Thonbills. This also applies to Campbell Park and the Lake Road
near Lake George. Species that I used to see regularly back then appear to have completely disappeared from the local area. Several examples are Brown Treecreeper, Hooded and Flame Robins, Southern Whiteface and even species that people probably still think
of as common, the White-plumed Honeyeater. Climate change has a lot to do with it but so have successive ACT Governments (both persuasions) with their mad desire to knock down every native eucalypt, build as many "houses" on tiny blocks as they can and then
try and replant with exotics. I drove down John Gorton Drive yesterday and couldn't believe the amount of clearing going on near Bluett's Block. The current ACT Government couldn't care less about their local legislation concerning our listed "Threatened Species".
I have lived in Canberra for nearly 70 years so have seen huge changes in our bird life, mostly for the worst!
Mark
On 30/12/2021 12:30 pm, calyptorhynchus via Canberrabirds wrote:
I went out via Picadilly circus and Bendora dam road to the upper part of Warks Road. All the roads were open and in fact the gate at the top of Warks Road was open to although I parked outside and walked down.
The road was eerily quiet, I’m not sure why this is but there didn’t just didn’t seem to be many birds about and even the common species weren’t very common. Perhaps the birds are between the first and second broods, or perhaps they have
had such a rotten time with the cold, wet and windy weather they have just given up on breeding.
I did manage to see a few good things, Rufous fantail, red browed tree creeper, and around the junction of Warks Road and new chums Road they were five or six Cicadabirds calling from different directions. I manage to get the bins on one
female.
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