Thank you, John.
I've probably said this before, but I'll repeat it now. There's a problem
for overseas visitors wishing to record lyrebirds: they are winter breeders,
and when they are singing at their best, most other local bird species are
not. And there is a further catch: in severe drought conditions (which we
now have in Oz) lyrebirds appear not to breed at all. Leastways they don't
sing much: need all their time to get enough food (invertebrate fauna in
leaf litter and soil) to stay alive.
But if you, or any other naturerecordist, wishes to come here in the period
late May to early August, I'll be happy to advise you on where and how to
record Albert's Lyrebirds. But best wait until you hear that El Nino has
been replaced by La Nina.
BTW, as far as I know, the Albert's Lyrebird that I recorded, is only the
second individual of this extremely shy species that has ever been known as
an individual. I first tape-recorded him in 1984. My competition recording
was 1999. He was still alive and well, winter 2002. A male Superb Lyrebird
takes about 7 years to reach maturity. If Albert's are similar, then this
bird is now well into his twenties - a goodly age for a wild bird. (He is
in the O'Reilly's Guest House section of Lamington National Park, in case
anyone reading this knows that area.)
The other known individual was mentioned in a book ("Flying Fox and Drifting
Sand", by F. Ratcliffe) published in 1936. From the description, I am
convinced that he occupied a territory (several hectares) in exactly the
same location as the present bird.
Syd
> From: "Neville Recording" <>
>
> Hi Syd;
> Congratulations on winning the Silver Fox Award! It was great to hear an
> Albert's lyrebird and I hope one day to record one myself. For those who
> haven't heard of the silver fox, its the first prize for the Wildlife Sound
> Recording Society.
> John Neville
>
>
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