Hi Andrew
Yes, there have been Magpie Geese in those numbers in the Lockyer Valley for
a few years now.
They range around opportunistically, but they often roost in large flocks
around the UQ Gatton campus.
When I came to this area in 1973, everyone thought of Magpie Geese as being
more or less north from Rockhampton, but in the last ten or twelve years
their numbers have steadily increased locally, and they are resident
breeding birds in the valley these days.
They appeared on our Abberton house list in 1992, and I watched 5 of them
swing down onto the creek outside my window just yesterday afternoon.
They occur well south into NSW, with some Victorian records too I believe -
steadily reclaiming the territory they were ousted from 100 years ago.
Bill Jolly
"Abberton",
Lockyer Valley, Queensland.
Visit our website at http://www.abberton.org
Email:
Ph: (+61) 7 4697 6111 Fax: (+61) 7 4697 6056
-----Original Message-----
From:
Behalf Of Andrew Taylor
Sent: Friday, 17 May 2002 7:16 PM
To: birding-aus
Subject: Magpie Geese en masse
Hi there all,
As I was driving up to Toowoomba yesterday morning, I was amazed to see a
huge flock (some 750 to 1,000 individuals) of Magpie Geese in a recently
ploughed-up maize paddock opposite the Gatton UQ campus on the Warrego
Highway. I have seen only the occasional small gathering of Magpie Geese in
SEQ, but never such an enormous number at once. Certainly further north such
numbers might be commonly seen. Could it be the extremely dry conditions
experienced throughout Queensland this summer and autumn?
The geese appeared to be having a feeding frenzy, but as I was smoking along
at 110 km/hr at the time and I was late for an appointment, I didn't u-turn
and have a closer look. Coming home this afternoon, of course, not a single
goose.
Have these sort of numbers been recorded often in this part of the world?
Truly memorable, even though it was for a few fleeting seconds.
Cheers,
Andrew Taylor
Gaven, Qld
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