Hi Claire,
Yes, they certainly do still migrate in these sort of numbers (and at
times even higher) through the NSW Blue Mountains, though there is
huge day-to-day variation according to weather and also, much
year-to-year variation. This autumn for the first time we had a team
of volunteers from Blue Mountains Bird Observers counting at key
sites for the six week period of the migration, and we plan to
continue this every autumn. However the migration was very small this
year through the mountains with the numbers nowhere near what they
are in many years.
2006 was a massive year with numbers as great as I'd ever seen
(having lived in a house in Katoomba which is directly under a major
autumn migration route for about 25 years). I kept a diary that
autumn which can be read at: http://www.bmbirding.com.au/diary06.html
It gives some idea of the enormous numbers of these birds that stream
through on some mornings.
In addition, general information on the honeyeater migration which I
put together at the same time is at:
http://www.bmbirding.com.au/hemig.html
One of the key factors for the Blue Mountains' listing as an IBA was
being a migration bottleneck for Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. It is
hoped the formal programme of counting which Blue Mtns Bird Observers
have now embarked on will, over time, help to reveal any long-term
changes in numbers of these birds. Up to this point there have really
only been opportunistic counts on good days (in the Blue Mountains at
least, though the Canberra Ornithologists Group have done counts in
the past).
It is an absolutely amazing thing to experience if you're lucky
enough to see them on a good day.
Cheers,
Carol
Carol Probets
Blue Mountains, NSW
At 10:55 AM +1000 30/5/11, Claire Runge wrote:
Howdy birders,
I had the pleasure recently of reading issues of Emu from the 1950s
and was particularly interested to read about the migration of
White-naped and Yellow-faced honeyeaters. According to several
reports from the period, these birds could be found migrating
northward at Mallacoota Vic, and Blackheath and Bundanoon NSW in
numbers that were reportedly 'not less than 3000 birds an hour'.
(Vol 56 1956, pp 421, vol 58 1958 pp 370)
Can anyone confirm these numbers? And is this mass migration a thing
of the past or can they still be seen in these numbers?
I'm asking predominantly to satiate my curiosity though I'm
currently studying Australian migrant bush-birds with a view to
getting a handle on how their patterns are changing with habitat
loss and climate changes, and identifying bottlenecks that may
affect persistence of these species. I'd love to hear any other
interesting tales or titbits of knowledge you have regarding our
migrants/nomadics.
Claire Runge
PhD Student
The Ecology Centre
School of Biological Sciences
University of Queensland
St Lucia QLD 4072
Email:
Website: http://www.fullerlab.org/category/people/
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