This afternoon I was listening to a
group of Red-crowned Toadlets calling beside the
track that leads out of Blue Gum Swamp, Winmalee ( 80km west of Sydney) when a
male Satin Flycatcher flew down ,splashed in a pool and then flew up to a
branch and began preening. The bird was basically black with a bluish sheen through
its feathers particularly noticeable on the crown which had a prominent crest.
In less than a minute the bird was chased away by a New Holland Honeyeater. The
Flycatcher must have been passing through to higher altitudes as I have never
recorded them as resident breeders in spring and summer in Blue Gum Swamp.
I have been watching a pair of
nesting Tawny Frogmouths in the valley for the past fortnight. The flimsy nest
contains three large nestlings that must be ready to fledge any day now.
Also this morning I saw a pair of
Glossy Black-Cockatoos feeding in one of the many Allocasuarina torulosa in the Springwood Cemetery.
Neil Kirby
