birding-aus

birding-aus Re: Musk lorikeets in Melbourne

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Subject: birding-aus Re: Musk lorikeets in Melbourne
From: (Mike Tarburton)
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 18:22:04 +1100 (EST)
birding-aus

Merrilyn

In response to yur request below I submit the following:

Musk Lorikeets and Rainbow Lorikeets and occassionally others fly north
over Wurunjeri Walk in Blackburn South prior to or at sunset, and return
from the north next morning.  I have thought they must nest in the tall
trees of Blacks Walk, but although I have often thought of checking I have
never done so.  This has been happening for the Nine years we have been in
the area (for at least part of the year).

Both species feed on the trees around Wurunjeri Walk, though the Musks much
more so than the Rainbows.  This year i saw them in The West Australian
Flowering Gums, Eucalyptus callophyla, West Aus Bottlebrush Callestimon
coccinia, as well as the local Yellow Box and a malle type Eucalypt.

Hope this helps

Mike


Every evening for an hour about sunset, (approx 7.45 pm to 8.45 pm
today) thousands of musk lorikeets fly north over my house in suburban
Burwood, Vic.  They call loudly as they fly over in waves of flock after
flock.  Each flock is from 30 to 100 birds flying in smaller groups
within the flock.  The sky is seldom empty of birds during this time.
The same phenomenon is happening in South Oakleigh, nearly 7 km south of
here.

Other people must have noticed this.  If so where are you?  I would love
to know where the birds are coming from, and where they spend the
night.  I wonder how wide to the east and west the area of bird movement
is.
Presumably the birds fly south in the morning (when I am asleep?).
Perhaps not all the birds fly the full distance, whatever that may be.
They might stop off along the way, and rejoin the flocks during the
evening return to wherever.

Only a few years ago (or so it seems) there were no lorikeets in this
area, then rainbows started gradually appearing, followed later by musk
lorikeets, which now have increased to numbers beyond what I ever could
have imagined.

I would love to hear from anyone else who has noticed the birds, and
even from people in the general area who haven't seen/heard them so I
know where the limits of their movement are.

Merrilyn.

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