You may be right, Philip. I prefer to believe it’s a trend.
From: Philip Veerman <>
Sent: Friday, July 14, 2023 3:32 PM
To: 'Geoffrey Dabb' <>; 'Kim Farley' <>; 'Canberra birds' <>
Subject: RE: [Canberrabirds] Report of the COG Woodland Survey at Majura , 30 June
Is it reasonable to suggest it could be a matter of random timing. Whole groups of Noisy Miners may move around and thus just most of them just be somewhere else
at the time of the survey.
From: Canberrabirds
On Behalf Of Geoffrey Dabb
Sent: Friday, 14 July, 2023 10:09 AM
To: 'Kim Farley'; 'Canberra birds'
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Report of the COG Woodland Survey at Majura , 30 June
How interesting about the Noisy Miners, Kim. Not many reports of that trend. I wonder if they are deterred by something in the Defence area. They have certainly taken over on the adjoining Fairbairn Golf Course which is brimming with
potential colonizers. Not many trees just over the fence, though. More like Stubble Quail country.
From: Canberrabirds <>
On Behalf Of Kim Farley via Canberrabirds
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2023 4:59 PM
To: Canberra birds <>
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Report of the COG Woodland Survey at Majura , 30 June
On Friday the 30th of June, Barbara Allan and I visited the Majura Defence Training Area for the quarterly COG Woodland Survey. It
was a sunny and calm morning after the very cold weather of the previous days.
Overall, we saw only 25 species at the eight sites we surveyed. Barbara said this is likely the lowest number of species ever seen during her many years doing the survey. On the other hand, we
saw more water bird species than is usual, including Aust Grebe on a dam that has never produced a single sighting of any species. We also counted 65
Pacific Blacks Ducks, with most of these at just the one site. And as with the March survey, there were far fewer
Noisy Miners than has been usual. Five Scarlet Robins were recorded, along with
Striated, Buff-rumped and Yellow-rumped Thornbills at multiple sites and along the tracks between sites
Kim Farley and Barbara Allan
