Hello all,
The past 14 days (1st Oct to 14th Oct) have been very productive as far as
birdwatching in my backyard
goes.
I live in the residential suburb of Woody Point in the city of Redcliffe which
borders on the north-eastern reaches of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Redcliffe City is the site of the first European settlement in Queensland.
It occupies a small peninsula which forms part of the shoreline of Moreton Bay,
a significant RAMSAR site.
With a population of around 50,000 most of the original environment has been
greatly altered/modified with very little natural bushland remaining.
Housing and industrial complexes have replaced most of the original bushland
with canal estates rapidly replacing the natural mangroves.
My home is situated on a 900 sq m plot in a medium density residential area
where the housing blocks are a mix of 600 and 900 sq m single and multi-
dwelling lots.
A few hundred metres to the south is the 'beach' (where I found the SIPO earlier
this year) and a few hundred metres to the west is a park/football field/school
playground with a few remnant 'gum' trees that I can see through the accursed
palm trees people seem to think beautify their properties.
For several years now I have been keeping a weekly record of bird species I
observe in, over or from my property.
This has resulted in a total of over 80 species.
In the past 14 days I have observed 42 species, two of which are 'firsts' for
the list.
Highlights of the 14 days were:
1/ First record of a Tawny Frogmouth.
A neighbour mentioned some time ago that this species was around but I had not
previously seen or heard one.
Then during the night of 5/10/2001 I heard a strange, persistent call not far
from my bedroom window.
By checking the Bird Observer bird call tapes for owl and frogmouth calls I was
able to identify the call as that of a Tawny Frogmouth.
It was not the usual "oom oom" call but one of the hissing calls, one that I had
not heard before (Tawny frogmouth call 2 on tape 6 of the Bird Observers Club
set: 'A Field Guide to Australian Birdsong').
2/ The Leaden Flycatcher that I first recorded on 2/9/2001 (first record of this
species in my backyard) returned on 7/10/2001 and stayed for a few days. On
7/10/2001, while I was standing at my backdoor listening to the various calls of
the Leaden Flycatcher and trying to figure out exactly where it was, a Brown
Quail dropped into sight a few metres from me in the middle of the yard!
Another first for the list.
3/ The Channel-billed Cuckoo returned on 3/10/2001 at 4:30 am.
The Common Koel returned on 11/10/2001 at 6:00 am.
The Olive-backed Oriole dropped in momentarily on 1/10/2001.
At least two Dollarbirds arrived on 13/10/2001.
The Spangled Drongo was still around at least until 10/10/2001.
The Southern Boobook was calling during the nights of 10/10/2001 and 13/10/2001;
I probably miss them often due to my propensity towards sleeping at night.
The Collared Sparrowhawk was observed on 7 & 8/10/2001 while (possibly) another
Accipiter was observed on 7/10/2001.
(This second bird appeared to have a rounded tail as opposed to the notched tail
of the 'regular' sparrowhawk that 'owns' this area.)
4/ The kingfisher on the clothes line is always a highlight.
The 14-day list:
Brown Quail
White-faced Heron
Great Egret
Straw-necked Ibis
Australian White Ibis
Collared Sparrowhawk
Spotted Turtle-dove
Rock Dove
Crested Pigeon
Galah
Little Corella
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Rainbow Lorikeet
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Pale-headed Rosella
Common Koel (heard)
Channel-billed Cuckoo (heard)
Southern Boobook (heard)
Tawny Frogmouth
Laughing Kookaburra
Sacred Kingfisher
Striated Pardalote
Little Wattlebird
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Noisy Miner
Brown Honeyeater
Leaden Flycatcher
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Figbird
Olive-backed Oriole
Grey Butcherbird
Pied Butcherbird
Magpie-lark
Australian Magpie
Spangled Drongo
Torresian Crow
House Sparrow
Welcome Swallow
Tree Martin
Silvereye
Common Starling
Common Myna
Total: 42 species.
A surprising total for a suburban backyard???
Cheers
Bob Inglis
Woody Point, SE Qld.
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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