Just squeezed in a couple of frantic but highly successful days of birding in
Perth before some work. The only 'dip' was the western (possibly
soon-to-be-split) subspecies of crested shrike tit despite putting in about 7
hours at Dryandra State Forest. Consolation however, by way of another 15 birds
for the Aussie list including every to-be-expected bird within a relatively
short drive of Perth and a plethora of unique western subspecies.
Highlights (i.e ticks) in order of appearance
BLUE-BREASTED FAIRY-WREN
RUFOUS TREECREEPER
WESTERN SPINEBILL
ELEGANT PARROT
WESTERN THORNBILL
WESTERN YELLOW ROBIN
RED-WINGED FAIRY-WREN
LONG-BILLED BLACK COCKATOO
SHORT-BILLED BLACK COCKATOO
LITTLE WATTLEBIRD
WHITE-BREASTED ROBIN
RED-EARED FIRETAIL
WESTERN ROSELLA
MUTE SWAN
WESTERN CORELLA
11 July - South of Perth
Stayed the night of the 10th at Narrigen in the Duke of York and left pre-dawn
for the Ochre Trail in Dryandra State Forest. The dawn chorus was spectacular
and I had already heard ELEGANT PARROT, BLUE-BREASTED FAIRY-WREN and RUFOUS
TREECREEPER well before it was light enough to see them. I returned to this
site before midday on the 12th for another three hours and the species list was
similar. If this was anything to go by, you couldn't really miss the main
species. BLUE-BREASTED FAIRY-WREN is pretty common once you get used to the
call, as is the treecreeper, though good 'deck' views can be tricky - the area
around the Mill Dam seems to be good. WESTERN SPINEBILLS were common in the
Dryandra at the top of the rocky slope and also on Weirah Road near the
Arboretum where they shared space with other honeyeaters (TAWNY-CROWNED (a
few), YELLOW PLUMED (abundant), WHITE-NAPED (chloropsis subsp.)). I didn't come
across little wattlebird here, although it is recorded. PAINTED BUTTONQUAIL
were common, calling throughout dawn and I flushed six without any effort in
about four hours of walking. Also commonly present were GREY SHRIKE-THRUSH
(rufiventris subsp.), GOLDEN WHISTLER (fuliginosa subsp.), the spectacular
(never thought I would say it about a scrubwren) maculatus subspecies of
WHITE-BROWED SCRUBWREN and variant type Australian Ringnecks, half way between
the subspecies zonarius and semitorquata.
At the Old Mill I picked up WESTERN THORNBILL, which I saw again the next day
at the Ochre Trail. This bird is like a large and plain version of the
buff-rumped thornbill. At the Old Mill they were cavorting with INLAND
THORNBILLS, WESTERN GERYGONE, WEEBILLS, YELLOW-RUMPED THORNBILLS and RED-CAPPED
ROBINS.
I then headed just north along Dryandra Road from its junction with Tomingley
Road and headed west into the Wandoo, quickly finding a good mixed flock
comprising various species already seen and also VARIED SITELLA (pileata
subsp.). To my surprise, a WESTERN YELLOW ROBIN appeared and I saw one,
possibly two more once I had left the feeding flock whilst returning to the
car. I followed sitella flocks three times over the two days hoping that a
crested shrike tit might have tagged along, but sadly to no avail.
At about 1pm, I headed off to Gleneagle Rest Area, on advice from Frank
O'Connor but by now the wind had picked up and it was raining intermittently.
On arrival I quickly found RED-WINGED FAIRY-WREN, which I also saw the next day
in the orchard at Wungong Dam. The birds are at the logged-area on the southern
side of the loop-road. They were by a burnt tree trunk half way to the small
creek. The area has been planted with conifers so I am not sure how long it
will be suitable but for now, the birds are easily observed. They are easily
separated from blue-breasted not only by habitat, but also by the very pale
colour of the blue head in males, which also have a striking pale blue saddle.
Other plumages also have all-black beaks and the pale around the eye of
non-breeding males is not as bold as in blue-breasted. Apparently
white-breasted robin also occurs here but I did not stop to look, preferring to
use the rest of the afternoon at Wungong Gorge.
I turned left on Admiral Road and immediately heard cockatoos calling. There
were about 300 black-cockatoos in gardens, all of which appeared initially to
be LONG-BILLED BLACK COCKATOOS. I had just moved on up the hill and most of the
birds took off. A SQUARE-TAILED KITE appeared over the treetops and instantly,
I heard SHORT-BILLED BLACK COCKATOOS calling. Several were gathered in the top
of conifers affording scope-views. Note, the bills may be diagnostic, but are
not that easy to see as feathers obscure the feature, plus the difference
between a male short-billed and a female long-billed is not as distinct to the
untrained eye as it may seem, especially as the birds may not give easy head-on
views. A combination of close observation and call seems desirable for a first
view! I then proceeded to look for LITTLE WATTLEBIRD following instructions on
Frank O'Connor's website but failed.or at least I thought as I stumbled across
one ceremoniously barking from the top of an acacia in a garden on Admiral Road
as I continued towards the gorge. I only saw / heard three on the trip and they
seemed most likely to occur in wattles in gardens.
An afternoon visit to the gorge was disappointing and I picked up no new birds
though there were many SPLENDID FAIRY-WRENS (splendens subsp.but sadly no
males) and RED-TAILED BLACK COCKATOOS at the top of the hill on my way out. I
found out later that there is a drinking pool at the top of the hill leaving
the gorge on the right hand side and that all three species often gather there
to drink at dusk.
12 July
Having not seen the main birds of interest at Wungong Gorge, I stayed the night
in Armidale and returned at dawn the next day. Again, a walk to the orchard and
back along the gorge produced nothing until right at the end I managed to call
up a pair of WHITE-BREASTED ROBINS. At this point, about 200 long-billed black
cockatoos appeared to feed in the gorge so I gave up being able to hear
RED-EARED FIRETAIL and I was on my way back to the car when one literally flew
over my head and landed in a eucalypt. I ran up slope and got great views of
what is a most spectacular bird. It surprised me that this individual was right
out in the open. In fact, it flew off and landed in the top of a eucalypt on
the roadside. I have a feeling that mid-winter, the birds disperse more as
there is little in the way of grass seeding. The traditional locations may be
more prevalent in the spring and summer. Finally, I also picked up WESTERN
ROSELLA on the way back to the car. This was to be my only view of this species
in two days!
I was in two minds now but decided that the one hour drive to Dryandra was
worth one last shot at the shrike tit (and numbat). Neither appeared but it was
worth it for better views of ELEGANT PARROT. For anyone familiar with turquoise
parrot, these birds are most often in the tree tops. If you hear them calling
(classic neophema with a rasping trill), look for a stag and they will almost
certainly land on it. I also saw the novaenorciae subspecies of WHITE-EARED
HONEYEATER which, along with a few singing honeyeaters, I missed the day before.
Finally, I drove the 120 kilometres north to Northam. There were two MUTE SWANS
on river, and a number at the weir. These are all fenced in so I wonder if
their status as 'wild' and self-sustaining will shortly be called into
question. From here I drove north towards Toolyay and came across a flock of
about 300 little corellas. I am not sure how lucky I was as an initial scan
revealed none and I began to wonder whether the difference between this and the
western was that obvious. The birds started to fly off then a scan of a tree
next to the road and a pair of WESTERN CORELLAS were evident. They are more
like long-billed in that (a) the bill is long; and (b) they have scarlet
markings including a very prominent patch on the throat. A only had a minute to
admire them before I had to head back to Perth.
Thanks very much to Frank O'Connor particularly, and his website for providing
locations. A great way to spend a couple of days but again it would be nice to
take a more leisurely approach.perhaps when I retire in about 30 years or at
least when the kids have left home in just over half that period.
Regards,
Simon Mustoe.
AES Applied Ecology Solutions Pty. Ltd
39 The Crescent
Belgrave Heights
Melbourne
Victoria 3160
AUSTRALIA
Tel +61 (0)3 9752 6398
Fax +61 (0)3 9754 6083
Mob 0405 220830
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