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Hi All,
I am just back from a quick visit to SE Qld and
coastal northern NSW. I was surprised at the dryness throughout the areas
we covered - from north of Moree in NSW, right through Qld from Goondiwindi at
the NSW border, to Beaudesert, and north to Munruben Forest region, the
countryside was very dry, and the air was thick with smoke from bushfires, and
huge areas were blackened. Right down the northern NSW coast to Coffs Harbour
and inland till west of Tamworth very dry conditions and fires were
encountered.
* While in Munruben (?kms S/W of Brisbane) I
noticed very aggressive behaviour from a pair of Dollarbirds (1st-2nd
Oct). They were inspecting hollows in a tree and constantly attacked every
other bird that came near. In an adjacent tree the Galahs were behaving like
real galahs - fooling around - and this had the Dollarbirds swooping on them
repeatedly. The Galahs too became aggressive, fighting with each other,
then with locked claws, falling to the ground in pink and grey flurries of
feathers.
Nearby, a Willie Wagtail attacked a Laughing
Kookaburra with more than usual gusto. The Spur-winged Plovers were shrieking
and swooping, and even the Rainbow Lorikeets were squabbling. Scary
place!
I wonder if this spate of aggressive behaviour is a
response to the massive loss of habitat in the area? My resident daughter told
me that in the Munruben area alone there had recently been 200 separate fires,
so nest sites, building material and food would be getting pretty
scarce.
Judie Peet, Dubbo NSW
(The only thing certain in birdwatching is that
nothing is certain, etc.)
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