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hi All,
Visited the quail site in the paddock at the corner
of Cuppitts lane and Cornwallis Rd along with Dave Hair and Alastair Poore on
Saturday 18th feb. Spent about an hour walking through the
paddock in grass that was up to chest height at times (but frequently much
less). Saw a single Brown Quail which was flushed from the roadside by
cyclists passing by. After a while we flushed several King Quail in
shorter grass on the rise towards the tree line marking the end of the property
(opposite to Cornwallis Rd edge). Between us I'm sure there were at least
six birds, and this included one definite male (not seen by me). Also a
single Stubble Quail flushed from the same general area (not seen clearly by all
of us). King Quail appeared to be the most numerous of all, in keeping
with Edwin et al's sightings on the following day. Also, didn't see any
button-quail of either sort.
Incidentally, for those who are interested, the
tall grass in the paddock with the sticky seeds is actually Johnson Grass
(Sorghum halopense), and much of the lower grass in the area where we
flushed the King Quail was largely Sporobolus creber, but also
some African Love Grass (Eragrostis curvula).
Also visited Pitt Town Lagoon, with many
interesting birds. My highlights were: most finches which could be
expected (Zebra Finch, Double-barred Finch, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin,
Nutmeg Mannikin & Goldfinch); large numbers of Shovelers; a small flock of
Red-necked Avocets; 7 Red-kneed Dotterels.
Also checked out the pond closest to the road at
the off-limits McGraths Hill treatment plant. Couldn't see the hoped for
Wood Sandpiper, but saw a few other birds including an Australian Spotted
Crake.
And finally, whilst driving home on Old Windsor Rd
with dense newish suburbia on one side of the road (Parklea?), a flock of
White-winged Choughs flew up from the other, yet-to-be-developed side of the
road (before the traffic lights at Miami Rd).
Cheers.
Frank
Frank Hemmings
Curator
John T. Waterhouse
Herbarium
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental
Sciences
University of New South Wales
UNSW SYDNEY
2052
AUSTRALIA
Tel +61 2 9385 3274
Fax +61 2 9385
1558
CRICOS Provider
Code:00098G
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