Greetings,
During Cyclone Larry the birds and flying foxes around here went to ground.
This is some of what I wrote afterwards, "During the storm birds went to
ground. As the winds eased I went out to survey the damage and disturbed the
following birds from the ground in dense vegetation; 5 White Headed Pigeons,
a Barking Owl, 2 Macleay's Honeyeaters, 3 Dusky Honeyeaters and a Bush
Thicknee which was in ferns and covered by fallen leafy branches.
At about 10.30 when the winds had dropped to gale force we saw two birds fly
along our patio. They were a Lewins Honeyeater and an immature Metallic
Starling. They stopped in a little bush with berries where they fed for some
time, no more than a metre above the ground and mostly out of the wind.
By 11.45 the winds were light and birds and butterflies were everywhere.
From huge female Cairns Birdwings to Orchard Swallowtails to tiny Blues,
Darts and Skippers, the butterflies lightened our spirits as we looked at a
couple on months work cleaning up the garden. A few flocks of Topknot
Pigeons flew over heading west towards the storm.
"The birds in the garden were very hungry and confiding. Around
mid-afternoon I was clearing a fallen Grevillea with my chain saw while a
Dusky Honeyeater fed about two metres away on the branch I was cutting.
Later I was working in amongst fallen wattle leaves to about knee depth when
I was surrounded by a flock of gleaning Fairy Gerygones. Scarlet Honeyeaters
fed to within a metre of three enthralled children and myself. I was able to
approach one of the preening Barking Owls until there was less than three
metres between us. Even the black tree-ants were not biting. They only
animal showing aggression was a male Blue-banded Eggfly. These are the most
agro of all butterflies; I once saw one chase off a Willy Wagtail!"
As a post script the clean up has almost finished, just some logs to be
removed. It took a bit more than a few months. The mulch heaps of debris
have shrunken from three metres high to half that.
Regards,
Alan
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