birding-aus
>
>GIVE ME BIRDWATCHERS ANY DAY!!!
>
>They did enjoy the day with Andy Burton, as they saw plenty of Lorikeets
>and Parrots in the Sydney area, which was a relief after the quiet time at
>Ayer's Rock. Thanks, Andy, and specially for my new bird, the Powerful Owl!!!!
>We did actually see quite a few birds overall, including some rare ones
>like the Banded Fruit-Dove in Kakadu, and we had a total of 238 birds. Not
>too bad, considering the limited time at each location and the diverse
>interests of people.
>Still, they weren't a bad bunch overall, and they sure enjoyed Australia.
> Happy birding, Klaus
>P.S. I controlled myself and ...didn't mention the war!
and neither did I !!!
Hi Klaus and others,
Unfortunately I didn't have time to advise the birding-aus group of
the Powerful Owl sighting at the time but for those of you who know of the
narrow stretch of rainforest alongside Cattai Ck in Mitchell Park (nw
Sydney) they were there. The pair was roosting in Coachwood with one
sitting on its prey, a heron-like bird. We were very lucky (you make your
own luck when birding) with these birds which were no more than 50-100
metres from the start of the rainforest walk and made for easy viewing.
I think even these aviculturalists (and the bus driver) were impressed
especially after having seen the two Boobooks and Tawny Frogmouths on cue
at Cumberland State Forest. We also managed to find all of their required
Sydney parrots and cockatoos with the exception of the Gang-gang Cockatoo
(failed) and the Little Lorikeet (which we didn't try for); these included
Rainbow, Scaly-breasted and Musk Lorikeet, Eastern and Crimson Rosella,
Red-rumped Parrots, King-parrots and of course cockatoos including
excellent views of Yellow-tailed Blacks.
Other birds included Nankeen Night Heron (Mitchell Pk), Rockwarbler (around
our feet at Evans Lookout, Blue Mountains NP), Satin Bowerbird and bower
(Cumberland SF), and Little Eagle at Bringelly.
Klaus and I reluctantly viewed the caged birds requested by the group. We
visited the Featherdale Wildlife Park at Blacktown and a private collection
at Kemps Creek to the sw of Sydney as well as a major pet shop.
Featherdale has an excellent collection of native birds. The standard of
caging, if you can have such a thing, was very variable with appropriate
"habitat" available for many of the smaller birds, some of which were
breeding (eg Emerald Dove). The collection of raptors looked pathetic with
not enough room to fly properly. One presumes that some of these would have
been injured birds being "looked after". Where would the Ospreys,
Square-tailed Kites and Rufous Owls have come from?
The private collection consisted of about 85 aviaries most of them very
dark and with little vegetation. Most of the species were parrots/cockatoos
including Red-tailed Blacks, Bourkes, Hooded, Golden-shouldered, Superb and
so on. I was surprised to also see such species as Banded Lapwings (about
5-10 sad-looking specimens in one aviary), Bush Stone-curlews and
White-winged Fairy-wren. The owner was an interesting man, certainly
knowledgable about his birds and a good host.
Working with Klaus was good fun but my preference, as I'm sure is his,
would be for more time spent in the wild and less in pet shops and their
like.
Andy Burton
Andy Burton's Bush Tours
703/4 Francis Road
Artarmon, NSW 2064
Email
Ph 61 2 9904 8468 (home and bus.)
Fax 61 2 9904 8768
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