Yes, I agree, isn't it great. Upon entering the backyard in inner city
Northcote (Melb) I might see or hear up to 5 "native" species before seeing an
introduced one.
(It's actually a little game I play... I know... )
For example take your pick from anyone of the following species, all of which
are common in and around my backyard: Noisy Minor, White-plumed Honeyeater, Red
or Little Wattlebird, Rainbow or Musk Lorikeet, Magpie, Magpie-lark, Pied
Currawong recently, Crested Pigeon, and resident in the pool next door Silver
Gull, Masked Lapwing, Welcome Swallow, and Galah. Depending on the season I
might also get range of uncommon species in the yard, such as Eastern
Spinebill, Spotted Pardalote, Brown Thornbill and Little Lorikeet. The
introduced species that get in the way are Blackbird (a 'nice' bird), Indian
Myna, Spotted Turtle Dove, Rock Dove, House Sparrow, Starling and Song Thrush.
My anecdotal feeling is that Brown Thornbill are starting to like the central
area of inner suburban blocks, particularly those that have a dominance of
natives (such as acacias). This is the bordering area down the back of the
backyard, often with shrubs and vines growing over a number of fence, and tends
to the place spot that people plant larger natives such as Yellow Gum.
Of course one bird missing from Peter list is of course the proverbial Rainbow
Lorikeet, and to a lesser extent Noisy Minor, Welcome Swallow and Red-rumped
Parrot, and possibly Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (plus a few other parrots).
Also for the record a Black-shouldered Kite flew over today, a new species for
my local backyard list.
Tim
-----Original Message-----
From: on behalf of Peter Menkhorst
Sent: Mon 28/07/2008 17:07
To:
Subject: Brown Thornbills in Melbourne
The Brown Thornbill is certainly one of the more spectacular colonisers of the
Melbourne suburbs in recent years. When I was young [1960s and 70s] it was not
a garden bird in Melbourne, at least in the south-eastern and north-eastern
suburbs where I spent most time. Since about the late 1990s it has occupied
most of the suburbs, often in gardens with little native veg. so that it is now
a characteristic native species, even in the inner city e.g. Fitzroy Gardens
and St Patricks Cathedral. Other species that have similarly expanded across
the Melbourne suburbs in the last 2 decades include Little Wattlebird, Pied
Currawong, Crested Pigeon, both corellas and Musk Lorikeet. Yellow-tailed
Black-Cockatoo and Powerful Owl have also colonised but are more restricted in
their habitat needs to the Yarra River corridor.
The soundscape of Melbourne's suburbs has changed dramatically, isn't it great!
==========www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
==========
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
=============================
|
