Hi all
I'm very interested in any records of Gouldian Finch in or close to Darwin,
so if anyone knows of any reports, new or old, published or unpublished,
I'd love to hear.
John McKean didn't record them there, and HB Gill's observation of 20+ at
Fogg Dam in September 1967 was the closest record to Darwin that Crawford
was able to find (Emu 72:146).
There was a report of one carrying nesting material in Darwin, but no
locality is available, and the only reference to a date was ?1969. Breeding
of wild Gouldians in Darwin seems unlikely, given the specific requirements
of tree cavities of a certain size and location, in appropriate habitat,
with a nearby food supply.
Another report mentions adults and juveniles in Fannie Bay in 1976. It
seems an extraordinary place for them, given that it's a near-city coastal
suburb. If there had been an irruption that year, the record may feasibly
be of wild birds, but given no other records for the years either side, it
seems more likely that the birds were aviary stock.
I had a record at Leanyer in 1998, likely an aviary bird. There were at
least a couple not far from Humpty Doo in May 2006.
And that's about it. So, clearly any records closer than Marrakai/Coomalie
are significant, and I'm keen to hear of any.
Cheers
Niven
On 10 September 2012 15:42, Denise Goodfellow <>wrote:
> Hi Kirri
> That is an interesting record. Gouldian Finches were found in Darwin until
> about 1976 then appeared to retreat inland. I didn't find them in a
> biological survey of the Manton Dam region north of Coomalie Creek in the
> mid-1980s although they were present in low numbers to the east around the
> same time. Perhaps one day we'll find them again in the Darwin area!
>
> Kind regards
>
> Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
> 1/7 Songlark Street,
> Bakewell, NT 0832
> 043 8650 835
>
> PhD candidate, SCU
> Vice-chair, Wildlife Tourism Australia
> Nominated for the Condé Nast international ecotourism award, 2004 by the
> renowned American website, Earthfoot.
> Wildlife Adviser, BBC¹s ŒDeadly 60¹
>
> Birds of Australia's Top End and Quiet Snake Dreaming available on
> amazon.com
> A second edition of Fauna of Australia¹s Top End used by the University of
> NSW as a text for 12 years is now under preparation.
>
> www.denisegoodfellow.com
>
>
>
>
> On 10/9/12 2:51 PM, "Savannah Hardy" <> wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> > Just a quick message to let you know that i saw a flock of 40 - 50
> Gouldian
> > Finches/and many immatures part of that number, sitting in a small
> leafless
> > tree at
> > Coomalie Creek area near Litchfield N.P Northern Territory . They were
> seen
> > at 7am on Sunday 9th September. They were unfortunately scared away by a
> > passing freight train which sent them into the air. The morning before,
> i saw
> > long tailed finches and no gouldians, so not sure if gouldians frequent
> the
> > area near this creek regularly each day/week?? I havn't seen
> Gouldians
> > since Lake Argyle W.A about 4 years ago...so this was a very welcome
> thing to
> > see.
> > Another thing worthy of note, was a lone budgie, sitting in the tree
> next to
> > the gouldians like it was getting around with the group, and took off
> when the
> > gouldians did....interesting i thought...
> >
> > If your in the area and would like further details please email me at:
> >
> >
> > Other birds of interest at Coomalie creek were: Rainbow Pitta, Great
> > Bowerbird (very nice bower of all snailshells, probably care of the
> Rainbow
> > pitta's efforts no doubt :D ),
> > Arafura Fantail(very vocal), white throated honeyeater, brown
> > honeyeater, dusky honeyeater, Dollarbird, lemon bellied flycatcher,
> > Yellow Oriole, azure kingfisher, Australasian figbird, mistletoe bird,
> > Spangled Drongo (very vocal), rufous whistler, Blue winged
>
> > kookaburra,
> Northern
> > Rosella, Torresian Crow, White gaped honeyeater, Varied Lorikeet (flying
> over
> > often), Rainbow Lorikeet, Red tailed black cockatoo, Red Winged
> parrot,
> > Sulphur crested cockatoo, Shining Flycatcher (male/female- vocal)...
> > a lovely selection of birds in a small little area, have a look if your
> in the
> > area of Coomalie Creek next time
> > Kirri
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