The spring woodland bird surveys at Gooroo north were held on a mild, slightly cloudy morning before the wind and the heat picked up. Last spring the grass was long and dense, the ground was saturated and wildflowers
were prolific. This year the grass was cropped short, already drying off and wildflowers were sparse, but the dams were still full.
The trees were not looking healthy with very sparse canopies on most of the Yellow Box. Perhaps this was why I had the impression that the number of birds was relatively low, particularly small birds such as Thornbills,
Weebills and Pardalotes. Only 31 species were recorded at the 10 minute counts with few additional species in between. The early summer migrants present were
Western and White-throated Gerygone, Rufous Whistler, Horsfield’s
and Shining Bronze-Cuckoos and Pallid Cuckoo. The only honeyeaters were
Noisy Friarbird and Brown-headed Honeyeater.
Highlights included Superb Parrots at 3 sites and a flock of
White-browed Woodswallows circling overhead. Breeding records included
Australian Raven and Striated Thornbills with dependent young.
As I walked out after the surveys I came across a pair of Masked Lapwings with 2 medium-sized chicks, so I started on a wide detour to avoid the wrath of the parents. The adults were feeding some distance from the chicks
and a low flying Australian Raven took advantage of this, swooping low and plucking one of the chicks off the ground. The parents took off in mad pursuit, the first one to reach it hitting the Raven at full speed. The chick was released and fell to the ground,
bounced a couple of times and scuttled off into the grass to live another day.
Cheers
Nicki Taws
0408 210736
