birding-aus

Large Flocks of Needletails

To:
Subject: Large Flocks of Needletails
From: Craig Williams <>
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 22:00:09 +1100
Hi folks,

Glad to have my pessimism countered by solid stats marking good flocks
of these fantastic birds!

I did read somewhere though about declines in numbers since the 1980s:
personally I've spotted relatively small flocks around the traps in the
central coast area over the last few years.  Am I correct in reading
"5000 Burrewarra Point, South Coast Region  27/1" for 5000 birds!!!!!! 
what a sight that would have been!!

cheers

Craig Williams

>>> Alan Morris <> 11/16/04 11:19 AM >>>
Hi Birders,
While I am not the expert on Needletails (I will leave that to Mike), I
do
think that Craig Williams might be being a bit pessemistic about Swift
and
large flocks. He talks as if 15 years ago was the last time that large
flocks were reported,  but set out below are the  largest groups
reported in
the NSW Bird Reports 1998-2002 for the last 5 years of published
reports:

1998
5000 Burrewarra Point, South Coast Region  27/1

1999
500+ Wollemi NP (Central Tablelands) 21/2 , 150+ Arrowfield (Hunter)
2/3,
200+ Munmorah Dunes (Central Coast) 13/12

2000
350+ West Head, Ku-ringai Chase NP (Sydney)12/2, 400+ Bateau Bay
(Central
Coast) 27/12

2001
1000 Ocean Shores (North Coast) 17/1, 500 Burrewarra Point (South Coast)
Feb

2002
300+ Awabakal NR (Hunter Region) Jan, 500+ Broulee (South Coast) Dec

The key thing is for people to keep regular and accurate reports of
their
sightings and to pass them onto to people who are interested and keep
records of such matters.

Now had he mentione the decline in Fork-tailed Swifts, that I think is a
more obvious scenerio

Alan Morris
Editor, NSW Bird Report

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