|
I don't know how many of you are aware that
since the major fires that burned down most of the Canberra's pine forests in
December 2001 and the much worse fires of January 2003, Canberra has experienced
a huge influx and concentration of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos (YTBC). This has generated major interest among
COGites. So here is my story of the day:
Today from my work desk (I am now working for a
GPS engineering business) I believe I watched the biggest congregation of YTBC that I have ever encountered. This flock
was not passing by but stayed within the same patch of trees, with new birds
arriving in flocks of up to about 40. Counting was not easy but taking them in
groups of tens and twenties and observing that they were fairly evenly spread
through the trees and even some birds on the ground, almost ignoring that I
could only see the western and upper sides of the trees and not at all birds on
the eastern side of middle of the trees. This flock of YTBC, simultaneously
present, would have been at a minimum 350 birds, possibly as many as 500 of
them, in an area of about 1.5 to 2 hectares. Not bad for being in view from my
seat at work (although I did go the 3 metre walk to get outside to have a better
look). Almost as amazing as the time I saw 27 Wedge-tailed Eagles in a similar
sized small group of trees in SW Qld.
We also have the Glossy Black-Cockatoo in
Canberra now. It has been suggested that with eight cockatoo
species in Canberra, we are the world's Cockatoo Capital City. (Admittedly one of these species has only one bird
present.)
Philip
| 