birding-aus

Swift Parrots in South-east Melbourne

To:
Subject: Swift Parrots in South-east Melbourne
From: Chris Tzaros <>
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 10:17:26 +1100
To Michael (and others who have seen the Swift Parrots in s-e Melbourne),

Have you noticed exactly what the parrots are eating.  Do they appear to be
foraging amongst the blossoms (i.e. taking nectar) or are they possibly
consuming insects or insect exudates?   I would be interested to find out.
Also, what other species are present in the area?  Are there numerous
Lorikeets, Wattlebirds etc., or just Swifties.  

Best of luck Michael in identifying the eucalypt species.  Some of those
non-indigenous ones can be tricky at times.

In terms of the suggested night-migration mentioned in Schodde and
Tidemann, there is evidence for that occurring.  However, they also appear
to take-on large-scale movements during the day.  A couple of years ago, I
was working in the largely agricultural lands south of Bendigo (around the
Sutton Grange district), and every 10-15 minutes, small groups of Swifties
(between 6-12 birds) would 'swiftly' fly overhead, quite high, coming from
the south and heading north (towards Bendigo).

Regards,

Chris Tzaros


At 10:38 AM 31-10-00 +1100, you wrote:
>At least 6 swift parrots seen at 7am today (Tuesday). Schodde
>and Tidemann say much of the migratory movement is at night but
>perhaps they'll hop on to the northerlies just coming through.
>
>"Their" eucalypts (I'm trying to i/d the species) are in front
>of the Fildes factory in George St, Sandringham, second factory
>from Tulip St (Melway p77 B12). 
>
>I'd be interested to know if anyone has looked for them as
>result of my postings. 
>
>Michael Norris
>
>Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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