They've turned up!
For those who have been following the growing birdlist on my block in the
Capertee Valley (NSW), I'm thrilled to report the presence of three Regent
Honeyeaters. I've just spent the last couple of days there, mainly to do
some work establishing a garden in front of the cabin, and early yesterday
morning a very clear and definite Regent Honeyeater call caught my
attention. It's been a number of months since I've seen any Regents at all
in the valley, with conditions still very dry, so I didn't trust my ears at
first but sure enough, there was a handsome male Regent feeding in
flowering mistletoe in a large White Box. His calls were answered from a
nearby tree where I found two more feeding together - a female and an
immature bird. This made species number 98 for the block.
I continued to hear them calling throughout the day until about 3pm; then
first thing this morning, at 6.15am I found them in exactly the same trees
they were feeding in yesterday. Again, with much calling. Prior to this
visit it had been 3-4 weeks since I'd been able to spend any time on the
place, which was immensely frustrating as I kept wondering what birds I was
missing. Now I know.... and wonder how long they have been there for. The
mistletoe flowers are now past their peak.
Another new addition to the list was a flock of 10 Gang-gang Cockatoos
which flew through, landed momentarily in a tree and continued on their way
westwards. That makes 99 species since I bought the place four months ago.
I'm taking bets on what the 100th will be.
There were plenty of Turquoise Parrots and another, more bizarre, sighting.
On Sunday afternoon I was showing some birding friends around the place
when we noticed a huge bird with red wings soaring above. We also noticed
it was being followed closely by a Wedge-tailed Eagle, which was much
smaller than it! Only then did we realise it was a hang-glider. We watched
as it landed in a nearby paddock. I'm not sure whether to add it to the
birdlist or the mammal list, but on the basis of recent DNA studies have
decided to add it to the mammal list.
Despite the birding I did manage to get some work done. I'd taken down
there 25 shrubs - callistemons, eremophilas, grevilleas, isopogon and
acacia - and laid them all out ready for planting but when I started
digging the ground was so dry and rocky it was like trying to dig holes in
concrete! A great deal of sweat and many blisters later, they were all in
the ground and watered well and nestled into tree guards, each one ready to
embark on a career of attracting and sheltering birds.
Cheers
Carol
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