No birds here this morning, even the captive rehab birds were quiet.
At Sydney Park (St Peters, NSW) this afternoon at about 3.30 the birds were
still behaving unusually. It was very windy and still dusty but visibility
was good.
There were lots & lots of very active swallows. There were was a large
number of ibis all sheltering in the reeds. Normally they don't turn up in
large numbers until an hour or so before dusk.
There was a bird I did not recognise and would like any help people could
offer. I watched it for about 5 min but no camera or bins.
It was white all over with a possible grey wash underneath the wings. No
obvious marks or colouration around the bill or feet. No obvious fork in
tail.
It had a wing span of about 50mm - about twice the size of a swallow and
half the size of a silver gull (both seen near the bird while it was in
flight). The wings had a very narrow profile.
It hunted at the edge of the reeds, hovering above the water, diving in and
getting out without stopping. The bird was chased off the dam by smaller
birds. It spent most of the time flying high about the dams.
I looked at the terns and ternlets because they to fit the profile even
though it seems unlikely one would turn up in Sydney Park given it is at
least 10 - 15 km from the coast and the wind is all going east in any event.
Even the grey ternlet which (if you ignore the above factors) seemed like a
possibility has grey wash on the top of the wings as well as underneath. I
ruled out the Fairy tern because of the black cap. The white tern seemed ok
but too large.
Anyone able to put me out of my misery?
cheers
storm
-----Original Message-----
From:
Behalf Of Stephen Ambrose
Sent: Wednesday, 23 September 2009 3:16 PM
To: 'Greg Little'; 'Nathan Ruser';
Subject: How the Dust Storm effects bird?
My observations are similar to Greg's. There was no dawn chorus around our
place this morning. Most of the dust clouds have cleared from the skies
above Ryde in the last 30 minutes and the sun has begun to shine. It's still
extremely windy though. I heard my first Noisy Miner call for the day about
10 minutes ago, but there's still very little bird activity, probably
because of the strong winds.
Although birds and mammals have different respiratory systems, the upper
part of the respiratory system of both animal groups are similar. So dust
and other debris are usually trapped by mucous in the nasal passages, mouth
and lungs of birds. They also sneeze and have nasal discharges to clear the
nostrils. Rhinitis (inflammation of the linings of the nasal passages) can
occur in birds when these linings have been irritated by airborne dust,
especially if the dust carries pathogens such as fungi & bacteria.
Stephen Ambrose
Ryde, NSW
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Greg Little
Sent: Wednesday, 23 September 2009 2:27 PM
To: 'Nathan Ruser';
Subject: How the Dust Storm effects bird?
Nathan & all
Around my house, in the Newcastle area, all the birds seem quiet. The
Turtle Doves seem to be just sitting about not knowing what to make of
the red sky, dust and strong wind. Maybe birds are always quiet or
subdued on windy days but bird activity around here just seems to be
very quiet today.
Greg Little
Greg Little - Principal Consultant
General Flora and Fauna
PO Box 526
Wallsend, NSW, 2287, Australia
Ph 02 49 556609
Fx 02 49 556671
www.gff.com.au
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Nathan Ruser
Sent: Wednesday, 23 September 2009 11:54 AM
To:
Subject: How the Dust Storm effects bird?
Hey Everyone, I was wondering how the recent dust storm has been
effecting
the local birds. I have seen some birds flying almost sideways, but I
was
wondering if the winds & the Dust has had any added effects to the
Birds,
Eg, the dust geting into the birds lungs effecting their health?
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