If anyone is desperate to add Tree Sparrows to the life-list, there is quite
a large
flock, plus about twice as many House Sparrows, at Serendip (near Lara, between
Little
River and Geelong). I found them helping themselves to free seed in an aviary
with
Crested Pigeons and Frogmouths. The sparrows flew through the wire as they
pleased. I
got some photos too.
Even the young Tree Sparrows have the adult pattern plumage, which is common
to both
sexes - so a group looks much browner than the House Sparrows, in which only
adult
males are fully coloured with females and young much plainer and greyer.
Serendip was rather dull and dusty. The Lake is dry, but a large number of
Cape
Barren Geese were foraging on it, and there were plenty of free-flying Magpie
Geese on
a pond. White Ibis were breeding at another larger pond. A solitary
Black-tailed
Native-hen was patrolling the far bank with Dusky Moorhens and Chestnut Teal.
The
captive Brolgas and Bustards were interesting - two male Bustards were sitting
down in
their separate pens, keeping an eye on each other - apparently immobile for
over two
hours, and remarkably hard to see if you didn't really look. The females
pottered
about, paying no attention to male rivalry.
A walk on a bush track produced New Holland Honeyeaters pursuing a Horsfield
Bronze-cuckoo, a White-eared Honeyeater, Superb Blue Wrens in a huge flowering
Kunzea
bush, some Red-rumped Parrots, Whistling Kites overhead and a brief appearance
by a
Brown Goshawk, a straggle of Emus, and one Kangaroo. White-winged Choughs were
everywhere. As I wandered out to the car-park, I scored a reasonable photo of a
Shining
Bronze-cuckoo too. Still quite a good place for a bit of photography.
Anthea Fleming
===============================
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:
===============================
|
