Hi all,
I spent the weekend camping on my block in the Capertee Valley,
enjoying the peace and catching up with friends.
How dramatically the landscape changes. Last year I was writing about
the drought, the dusty, parched paddocks and the dams drying up. Now,
my kilometre-long driveway has almost disappeared amid a flourish of
green thigh-high grass and the dams are nearly overflowing, the
highest I've seen them in the 15 months since I've had the place.
Numerous large branches and a couple of trees have come down in the
recent storms.
As for birds, after a few quiet weeks the place has come alive again
with the constant calling of Noisy Friarbirds and Little Lorikeets
feeding in the flowering mistletoe. There are also plenty of
Black-chinned & Striped Honeyeaters and Dusky Woodswallows, and a few
Rainbow Bee-eaters moving through. I found Turquoise Parrots and
Painted Button-quails near the back dam. Also up in the back section
were some wonderful mixed flocks which included a new species for the
property, Brown Thornbills. An immature Superb Lyrebird had crossed
the fire trail and was singing loudly, much lower down the hill than
usual.
Not all the migrants have left. A Sacred Kingfisher only came to my
attention when it suddenly swooped at a large Lace Monitor which was
watching me watching it climb a nearby tree.
Best of all were the raptors, with no less than 6 species moving
through during the short hours I was on the property. These included
a Whistling Kite (another new one for the property), Collared
Sparrowhawk, Black-shouldered Kite, the resident Brown Falcon,
Nankeen Kestrel and the highlight, a beautiful SPOTTED HARRIER
quartering my neighbour's paddock, flushing Stubble Quail as it
slowly hovered low over the grass.
Cheers,
Carol
Carol Probets
Blue Mountains NSW
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