Hello Everyone,
My apologies to those who receive this message twice, (I am sending to two
groups).
It's a long time since I have raved on about Red Hill on Sydney,s Northern
Beaches, that's because it has gone very quiet there because of the drought
we have all recently experienced (some still experiencing). The last time I
went there was in October last year when I was hard pressed to find even a
Little Wattlebird or New Holland Honeyeater which are usually there in their
dozens.
Anyway this morning I decided to visit to see if things had improved after
our recent rains. I found species numbers were still down but individual
species had bounced back up: Little and Red Wattlebirds, Spinebills and
Silvereys were everywhere, Whipbirds were calling strongly but that's almost
all, no Brush Bronzewings or Bar-shouldered Doves. There were a few nice
birds however: 2 Double-barred Finches, 2 Brown Quail and 2 Chestnut-rumped
Heathwrens, the first I have seen there for over 2 years.The best birds were
5 Glossy Black Cockatoos, the first time I have seen them there and only my
4th. sighting for the Northern Beaches.
While there I spoke to 2 separate people who told me an identical story,
both had seen Glossies there recently on several occasions and both had seen
Emus there this year. Some may remember I reported a male Emu and 5 chicks
at Red Hill last year, this bird was impounded after camping in someone's
yard. Emus are locally extinct (in the wild) in the Sydney region so it
would appear we still have escapee emus roaming our suburbs.
Bruce.
Bruce Cox.
48 Rangers Retreat Rd. Frenchs Forest.
Sydney. 2086. Australia.
Phone:--02 9451 5394.
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