Dear Birding Aus Folks,
Thanks for the replies to our Kingfisher note ? the
Kingfisher stayed away from our clothesline, although
we did have a Grey Butcherbird hawking from it on our
miniscule back lawn last year. GB?s are not exactly
common around here either ? that one was a juvenile
bird, this year we had an adult GB briefly. Can?t help
wondering if it was the same one back again as these
are the only two we?ve ever seen here.
Our current clothesline friends are a pair of Willie
Wagtails which are nesting in next door?s backyard,
luckily in full view of our part of the yard. The eggs
are currently being brooded in a nest constructed from
every skerrick of cobweb the parents could glean from
our clothesline. It wasn?t long ago that it was
unusual to see a Willie Wagtail in inner city
Brunswick at all, then for a bit they were seasonal,
now we have them all year round and breeding. Things
are looking up ? no doubt helped by Moreland Council
having a policy of using indigenous street plantings
for the last few years.
The Merri Creek is about 3 km East of here. We are
much closer to what is, nominally at least, the Moonee
Ponds Creek ? in reality a concreted drain criss
crossed with bridges, flyovers and walled in by giant
concrete sound walls. Hence our amazement at seeing
the Sacred Kingfisher here! If it followed this
waterway to the city it really was a hardy soul. It
did fly off to the East, so it could have been heading
for the Merri ? equally though, we?re very close to
Royal Park, Princes Park and the Old Melbourne General
Cemetery ? all South or South East of us. For those
who don?t live in Melbourne, the Merri has been
rescued by a strong group of environmentalists who?ve
spent years cleaning up the creek, replanting it, and
attempting to fight off the inevitable government
proposals of freeways, powerlines etc down the valley.
It is now a real showpiece, and even at the
Coburg/Brunswick end it supports such birds as
frogmouths, kookaburras, wrens, and the Sacred
Kingfisher.
Jan Flack
http://briefcase.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Briefcase
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