Hi all
End of March did a short trip to Mallacoota for friends' 40th wedding
anniversary, returning via the coast. After very
little rain for over 6 months, lots of purposeful burning off around Mallacoota
is going on, which appears to have impacted
on bird movements and sending at least some of them into town. A small number
of eucalypts are in flower. A small but
welcome amount of rain on the night of 29 March.
A few birding highlights:
Mallacoota:
** Superb Lyrebirds right in town now (eg in the bush above Develings Lagoon)
- so nice and easy to see.
** Ditto Eastern Whipbirds, even in people's gardens, giving great views.
** Eastern Yellow Robins and Wonga Pigeons - lots of them everywhere, both in
town and in the bush (eg Double Creek).
** Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters - several around the airport, again giving great
views as they perched on fences and ran around
on the ground (so strange for a honeyeater to be on the ground, and reminds me
of the Roadrunner of cartoon fame).
** White-naped Honeyeater (with red over eye) and Azure Kingfisher at Develing
Gully.
Other:
** Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers were welcome sights at Mallacoota, Burrill
Lake, Bithry Inlet
** Azure Kingfisher at Murrah River, south of Bermagui. A bit of a surprise
to me considering the river level was so low,
but I guess a lot of areas are relatively dry and the birds have to take what
they can get.
** Very brightly yellow Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters at Wonboyn River
** Bar-tailed Godwits happily foraging on the sandbars at Merimbula
** Jacky Winter at Miners Track at Mallacoota, and Murrah River
Fauna:
** A gazillion Eastern Grey Kangaroos on the Mallacoota golf course. The
"few" you see during the day become hundreds at
night. The relevant authorities are currently disallowing any culling.
** Mainland Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) at Mallacoota gun club reared up
at little before taking off into the scrub.
** Very dark Swamp Wallabies (Wallabia bicolor) on the track to Shipwreck
Creek.
Also enjoyed some time identifying plants, and it was nice to find Tylophora
barbata in flower - this is a vine with a flower
a little like a hoya.
Cheers and Happy Times with Nature
Irene Denton
Concord West, 12 km from Sydney city, NSW Australia
S 33°50.278' E 151°05.406'
Newsletter Editor: NSW Bird Atlassers
Preferred email address:
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