My father lived near Mitiamo as a child. In the 1930 he was given sixpence from
the government for every 1,000 sparrow eggs he could find. He would collect
them from the thatched roof of his barn. He managed to buy his first 22 caliber
rifle with the earnings.
Malcolm Brown
> On 7 Feb 2019, at 4:00 am, wrote:
>
> Send Birding-Aus mailing list submissions to
>
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Australian Swiftlets in NSW (martin cachard)
> 2. FW: Natural Images - latest posts on the Red Goshawks
> trapping in Cape York (David Crawford)
> 3. Re: Birding-Aus Digest, Vol 64, Issue 5 (Michael Hunter)
> 4. Re: Birding-Aus Digest, Vol 64, Issue 5 (Dave Torr)
> 5. Melbourne sparrows (Michael Hunter)
> 6. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Bill Stent)
> 7. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Anthea Fleming)
> 8. Re: Melbourne sparrows
> 9. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Philip Veerman)
> 10. House Sparrows. (Michael Hunter)
> 11. Re: Melbourne sparrows (John Harris)
> 12. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Gordon Claridge)
> 13. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Philip Veerman)
> 14. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Tony Ashton)
> 15. Re: Melbourne sparrows (David Clark)
> 16. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Dave Torr)
> 17. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Stephen Ambrose)
> 18. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Tony Palliser)
> 19. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Peter Shute)
> 20. Re: Melbourne sparrows (Philip Veerman)
> 21. FW: Melbourne sparrows (Richard Nowotny)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 04:11:48 +0000
> From: martin cachard <>
> To: Sandy Gilmore <>,
> "" <>, "mike
> tarburton (SWIFT records)" <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Australian Swiftlets in NSW
> Message-ID:
>
> <>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> hi Sandy,
> that's a great record...
>
> whilst not unheard of, it still isn't a common occurence to have Aust
> Swiftlets that far south into NE NSW.
>
> I suspect it could have something to do with the record wet weather in NE Qld
> at the moment.
>
> interestingly, although I am seeing loads of this species up here around
> Cairns at the moment as we do all year, I haven't seen either Fork-tailed
> (Pacific) Swifts or any White-throated Needletails up here for weeks since
> the wetter cooler weather had set in.
> prior to that, I was seeing lots of both frequently.
>
> so I suspect the food supply has decreased here somewhat of late, at least
> for the migrant species...
>
> also, I hope you don't mind, but I've looped in Mike Tarburton in on this
> mail - he is THE Aussie expert on swifts and has an important ongoing
> longterm study underway, and he would be very interested to hear about your
> fantastic record!!
>
> cheers,
>
> martin cachard
>
> trinity beach, cairns, fnq
>
> ________________________________
> From: Birding-Aus <> on behalf of Sandy
> Gilmore <>
> Sent: Tuesday, 5 February 2019 1:47 PM
> To:
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Australian Swiftlets in NSW
>
> On Saturday 2nd February at 5.15 Eastern Summer Time between Goonengerry and
> Repentance Creek, north-eastern N.S.W., I looked vertically and saw about 100
> Australian Swiftlets fly overhead about 30 metres above the ground, on a
> ridge with a mixture of orchard and pasture and adjoining slopes and gullies
> with regrowth rainforest. This appears to have been the tail end of what
> could have been a bigger flock.
>
> At first glance I thought they were martins but their wing profiles and
> flight looked too swift like, and I then saw they were grey where martins
> would be blue. All were flying eastward with substantial gliding but
> occasionally one would spread its tail and slow rapidly as though catching an
> insect.
>
> Half an hour earlier I had seen greyish white flashes when looking
> horizontally about 250 metres to the east of the sighting location, but,
> without my binoculars I had no idea what bird species they could have been,
> although the subsequent closer sighting suggests they may have been swiftlets.
>
> It is tempting to speculate that the very wet conditions in north Queensland
> had driven them further south than usual.
>
> Sandy Gilmore
>
> Goonengerry, N.S.W. 2482
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 13:42:08 +1000
> From: "David Crawford" <>
> To: <>
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] FW: Natural Images - latest posts on the Red
> Goshawks trapping in Cape York
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> The promise of a report from DES { Department of Environmental Science }
> after their meeting in January has not yet been made public and I am not sure
> if it took place or has been delayed, they may think if we keep quite this
> might all go away. I can assure you that it will not.
>
>
>
> Here is the latest from Tony Neilson of Natural Images READ THE FULL STORY
>
>
>
> David Crawford
>
>
>
>
>
> Close-Up Birding Adventures
> www.closeupbirding.com.au
>
>
>
>
> From: Tony Neilson
> Sent: Monday, February 4, 2019 6:04 AM
> To: David
> Subject: Natural Images - latest posts
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42/images/ef098a89-d3f2-4d53-8aa9-2564b4636dec.jpg>
>
>
>
>
>
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=447d41bd7c&e=f3e9ef754a>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=5ad2acfa23&e=f3e9ef754a>
> Red goshawk nesting trees being 'pruned' for science. Photo: ?Tony Neilson
>
>
> Ethics behind red goshawk study being questioned
>
>
> The row over the integrity of mining company-funded research on Australia's
> critically endangered red goshawk in Far North Queensland is gathering pace.
> Fresh developments include allegations that researchers had large limbs
> removed from a tree containing an occupied nest ? to improve observation.
> A Birdlife Northern Queensland spokesman wants a full account from the
> state's Department of Environment and Science. Meanwhile, critics have been
> labelled "trolls" by one member of the research team.
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=d8481d34f8&e=f3e9ef754a>
> READ THE FULL STORY
>
> Please click the links below to read the latest posts:
>
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=2a8023dbba&e=f3e9ef754a>
> Why hermit crabs are well
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=6f81c0c26e&e=f3e9ef754a>
> 'built'
> Hot new research confirms link between being a home-owner and penis size.
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=5219696c4b&e=f3e9ef754a>
> A fighting chance
> Read about the bold, new rescue plan to save the helmeted hornbill from
> Chinese carvers.
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=ae2d6ee9b5&e=f3e9ef754a>
> Fresh allegations emerge from red goshawk fight
> Call for state environment department to 'explain' project research ethics.
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=371df82000&e=f3e9ef754a>
> The great sand 'cover-up'
> The presence of asbestos could be the real reason for sand-spreading on the
> Cairns Esplanade.
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=7b6acbb033&e=f3e9ef754a>
> The unsociable harlequins
> It seems a bit of an oxymoron that a solitary bird such as the kingfisher
> should have been allocated collective nouns. And that's not all ...
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=29541246e7&e=f3e9ef754a>
> Science suing Trump over Bears Ears
> The world's densest cache of fossils from the Triassic period are at stake.
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=6c1f21f043&e=f3e9ef754a>
> A remarkable coincidence
> Red shanks are uncommon on the Australian mainland, so how about five in one
> place?
>
> Later this month, I'm off to Sri Lanka (again) to do some wildlife
> photography. The oriental dwarf kingfisher will be on the shot list, and I
> live in hope that a sloth bear and a leopard will do battle ? right in front
> of me, and in perfect f/8 light. Yeah, right!
>
> Tony Neilson
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=2d5dfa38df&e=f3e9ef754a>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=a32a3f416b&e=f3e9ef754a>
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>
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=a6c89dcc8c&e=f3e9ef754a>
> Click here for our latest posts and images
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
> <https://naturalimages.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=50ef9e17fb8760bef60f02f42&id=18003df7df&e=f3e9ef754a>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 08:22:17 +1100
> From: Michael Hunter <>
> To: "" <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Birding-Aus Digest, Vol 64, Issue 5
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Unsolicited advertising should be almost immediately terminated by clicking
> on the usually very fine print saying "unsubscribe" or similar at the bottom
> of the email.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On 6 Feb 2019, at 4:00 am, wrote:
>>
>> Send Birding-Aus mailing list submissions to
>>
>>
>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>>
>>
>> You can reach the person managing the list at
>>
>>
>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of Birding-Aus digest..."
>>
>>
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>> 1. Re: Ponant Cruises (Stephen Ambrose)
>> 2. 2019 Sydney pelagic dates (Greg McLachlan)
>> 3. Re: Ponant Cruises (Anne Brophy)
>> 4. last seats on 2019 tours (Advertisement) (Peter Waanders)
>> 5. White-throated needletail (Kirri Hardy)
>> 6. Australian Swiftlets in NSW (Sandy Gilmore)
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2019 15:53:01 +1100
>> From: "Stephen Ambrose" <>
>> To: "'calyptorhynchus'" <>, "'Carl Clifford'"
>> <>
>> Cc: "'Chris Lloyd'" <>,
>> <>
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ponant Cruises
>> Message-ID: <>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> Hi John,
>>
>>
>>
>> I?ve not received anything from Ponant either. But a friend of mine (not a
>> birdwatcher) went on their Antarctic cruise about 3 years ago and there was
>> an ornithologist on board who gave lectures and identified the birds they
>> encountered, so they probably have a bird list for that cruise at least. I
>> don?t know about the other Ponant cruises, though.
>>
>>
>>
>> Stephen Ambrose
>>
>> Ryde, NSW
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of
>> calyptorhynchus
>> Sent: 4 February 2019 3:25 PM
>> To: Carl Clifford <>
>> Cc: Chris Lloyd <>;
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ponant Cruises
>>
>>
>>
>> If I got one of these emails i?d Reply and ask to see the bird list for each
>> of their cruises.
>>
>>
>>
>> John Leonard
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 at 14:33 Carl Clifford <
>> <> > wrote:
>>
>> Yes, I have received a few. I guess they bought your address as part of a
>> job lot from a dealer. It is a not uncommon practice in the world of
>> marketing. I find the Ponant emails rather unsettling, as I would never have
>> cash to go on one.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Monday, February 4, 2019, Chris Lloyd <
>> <> > wrote:
>>
>> I have recently started receiving unsolicited email from this cruise company
>> to an address I only use for private material. I am quite used to receiving
>> such email on a commercial email address including numerous generous offers
>> from various Nigerian agencies. I have asked the company where it got the
>> email address but have not been overwhelmed with the response. Have others
>> received such unsolicited material?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR> <>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>>
>> --
>>
>> John Leonard
>> Canberra
>> Australia
>> www.jleonard.net <http://www.jleonard.net>
>>
>> ?There is kinship between people and all animals. Such is the Law.?
>> Kimberley lawmen (from Yorro Yorro)
>>
>>
>>
>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 07:41:59 +1100
>> From: Greg McLachlan <>
>> To: Birding Aus <>
>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] 2019 Sydney pelagic dates
>> Message-ID:
>> <>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> The dates for pelagic trips running out of Sydney during 2019 are below.
>>
>> Saturday 9 February 2019
>> Saturday 9 March 2019
>> Saturday 13 April 2019
>> Saturday 11 May 2019
>> Saturday 8 June 2019
>> Saturday 13 July 2019
>> Saturday 10 August 2019
>> Saturday 14 September 2019
>> Saturday 12 October 2019
>> Saturday 9 November 2019
>> Saturday 14 December 2019
>>
>> Trip information, reports and booking details can be found on the web site.
>>
>> http://sydneypelagics.info
>> Cheers,
>> Greg McLachan
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> *Sydney Pelagics*
>> *W:* sydneypelagics.info *E:*
>> *M:* Greg 0405 578 967 <0405-578-967> or David 0408 905 666 <0408-905-666>
>> WEB SITE <http://sydneypelagics.info/> | BOOKINGS
>> <http://sydneypelagics.info/bookings.shtml> | PICK-UP
>> <http://sydneypelagics.info/pickup.shtml>
>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 3
>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 08:02:29 +1100
>> From: Anne Brophy <>
>> To: Stephen Ambrose <>
>> Cc: calyptorhynchus <>, Carl Clifford
>> <>, Chris Lloyd <>,
>>
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ponant Cruises
>> Message-ID: <>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> I receive emails from Ponant but I believe that?s my fault as I entered a
>> competition to travel to the Antarctic with them...
>>
>> They do advertise with glossy inserts in the SMH quite frequently!
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Anne
>>
>>> On 4 Feb 2019, at 15:53, Stephen Ambrose <> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi John,
>>>
>>> I?ve not received anything from Ponant either. But a friend of mine (not a
>>> birdwatcher) went on their Antarctic cruise about 3 years ago and there was
>>> an ornithologist on board who gave lectures and identified the birds they
>>> encountered, so they probably have a bird list for that cruise at least. I
>>> don?t know about the other Ponant cruises, though.
>>>
>>> Stephen Ambrose
>>> Ryde, NSW
>>>
>>>
>>> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of
>>> calyptorhynchus
>>> Sent: 4 February 2019 3:25 PM
>>> To: Carl Clifford <>
>>> Cc: Chris Lloyd <>;
>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ponant Cruises
>>>
>>> If I got one of these emails i?d Reply and ask to see the bird list for
>>> each of their cruises.
>>>
>>> John Leonard
>>>
>>> On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 at 14:33 Carl Clifford <> wrote:
>>> Yes, I have received a few. I guess they bought your address as part of a
>>> job lot from a dealer. It is a not uncommon practice in the world of
>>> marketing. I find the Ponant emails rather unsettling, as I would never
>>> have cash to go on one.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Monday, February 4, 2019, Chris Lloyd <> wrote:
>>> I have recently started receiving unsolicited email from this cruise
>>> company to an address I only use for private material. I am quite used to
>>> receiving such email on a commercial email address including numerous
>>> generous offers from various Nigerian agencies. I have asked the company
>>> where it got the email address but have not been overwhelmed with the
>>> response. Have others received such unsolicited material?
>>>
>>>
>>> <HR>
>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>> <BR>
>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>> </HR>
>>> --
>>> John Leonard
>>> Canberra
>>> Australia
>>> www.jleonard.net
>>>
>>> ?There is kinship between people and all animals. Such is the Law.?
>>> Kimberley lawmen (from Yorro Yorro)
>>>
>>> <HR>
>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>> <BR>
>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>> </HR>
>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 4
>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 09:12:38 +1030
>> From: Peter Waanders <>
>> To: Birding Aus <>
>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] last seats on 2019 tours (Advertisement)
>> Message-ID:
>> <>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Feel like boosting your life list this year? Or just great birding in
>> out-of-the way places with like-minded people? We have only 1 or 2 seats
>> left on the following 2019 tours:
>>
>> - Malaysia, June
>> - 9 Grasswrens (standard), July
>> - 9 Grasswrens (comfortable), Aug
>> - Top End, Sep
>> - Grey Falcon/Letter-winged Kites, Sep
>> - Six Grasswrens, Oct
>> - Western SA splits, Nov.
>>
>> Check our website for details or feel free to contact me any time!
>>
>> cheers,
>> Peter
>> ---------
>> Bellbird Birding Tours / Bellbird Photography Tours / Australian Birding
>> Store
>>
>> t: 1800-BIRDING (free from landlines in Australia) or +61 402 738 855
>> w: bellbirdtours.com e:
>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 5
>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 00:17:27 +0000 (UTC)
>> From: Kirri Hardy <>
>> To: <>
>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] White-throated needletail
>> Message-ID: <>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>>
>> Hello
>>
>> This is a message more specifically for Mike Tarburton for his records
>>
>> About 8-10 WTNT's (not many) were seen this morning flying above the road
>> that leads towards Tyalgum/ out of Murwillumbah NSW
>>
>> About 1Km from the Hare Krishna Community turn off
>>
>> Kirri :D
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 6
>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 13:47:53 +1100
>> From: Sandy Gilmore <>
>> To:
>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Australian Swiftlets in NSW
>> Message-ID:
>> <>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> On Saturday 2nd February at 5.15 Eastern Summer Time between Goonengerry
>> and Repentance Creek, north-eastern N.S.W., I looked vertically and saw
>> about 100 Australian Swiftlets fly overhead about 30 metres above the
>> ground, on a ridge with a mixture of orchard and pasture and adjoining
>> slopes and gullies with regrowth rainforest. This appears to have been the
>> tail end of what could have been a bigger flock.
>>
>> At first glance I thought they were martins but their wing profiles and
>> flight looked too swift like, and I then saw they were grey where martins
>> would be blue. All were flying eastward with substantial gliding but
>> occasionally one would spread its tail and slow rapidly as though catching
>> an insect.
>>
>> Half an hour earlier I had seen greyish white flashes when looking
>> horizontally about 250 metres to the east of the sighting location, but,
>> without my binoculars I had no idea what bird species they could have been,
>> although the subsequent closer sighting suggests they may have been
>> swiftlets.
>>
>> It is tempting to speculate that the very wet conditions in north
>> Queensland had driven them further south than usual.
>>
>> Sandy Gilmore
>>
>> Goonengerry, N.S.W. 2482
>>
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
>> Virus-free.
>> www.avast.com
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
>> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
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>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Subject: Digest Footer
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>
>> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> End of Birding-Aus Digest, Vol 64, Issue 5
>> ******************************************
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 08:29:46 +1100
> From: Dave Torr <>
> To: Michael Hunter <>
> Cc: "" <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Birding-Aus Digest, Vol 64, Issue 5
> Message-ID:
> <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Even better is to report it as Spam. Clicking Unsubscribe confirms that
> your address is a valid address - whilst I am sure that Ponant are a
> legitimate business many less legitimate people sending out huge numbers of
> emails to addresses which may or may not exist - if you unsubscribe you
> immediately confirm that you exist and are thus a better target in future
> (and if they are not a legitimate business they are unlikely to take you
> off their mail list). Furthermore if you did not sign up for Ponant but
> they got your address by buying a mailing list then as far as I am
> concerned it is spam and to be discouraged - and if enough people report as
> spam then they may find their ISP reluctant to deal with them in future.
>
> On Wed, 6 Feb 2019 at 08:23, Michael Hunter <>
> wrote:
>
>> Unsolicited advertising should be almost immediately terminated by
>> clicking on the usually very fine print saying "unsubscribe" or similar at
>> the bottom of the email.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On 6 Feb 2019, at 4:00 am, wrote:
>>>
>>> Send Birding-Aus mailing list submissions to
>>>
>>>
>>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>>> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>>>
>>>
>>> You can reach the person managing the list at
>>>
>>>
>>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>>> than "Re: Contents of Birding-Aus digest..."
>>>
>>>
>>> Today's Topics:
>>>
>>> 1. Re: Ponant Cruises (Stephen Ambrose)
>>> 2. 2019 Sydney pelagic dates (Greg McLachlan)
>>> 3. Re: Ponant Cruises (Anne Brophy)
>>> 4. last seats on 2019 tours (Advertisement) (Peter Waanders)
>>> 5. White-throated needletail (Kirri Hardy)
>>> 6. Australian Swiftlets in NSW (Sandy Gilmore)
>>>
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> Message: 1
>>> Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2019 15:53:01 +1100
>>> From: "Stephen Ambrose" <>
>>> To: "'calyptorhynchus'" <>, "'Carl Clifford'"
>>> <>
>>> Cc: "'Chris Lloyd'" <>,
>>> <>
>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ponant Cruises
>>> Message-ID: <>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>>
>>> Hi John,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I?ve not received anything from Ponant either. But a friend of mine
>> (not a birdwatcher) went on their Antarctic cruise about 3 years ago and
>> there was an ornithologist on board who gave lectures and identified the
>> birds they encountered, so they probably have a bird list for that cruise
>> at least. I don?t know about the other Ponant cruises, though.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Stephen Ambrose
>>>
>>> Ryde, NSW
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of
>> calyptorhynchus
>>> Sent: 4 February 2019 3:25 PM
>>> To: Carl Clifford <>
>>> Cc: Chris Lloyd <>;
>>
>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ponant Cruises
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> If I got one of these emails i?d Reply and ask to see the bird list for
>> each of their cruises.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> John Leonard
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 at 14:33 Carl Clifford <
>> <> > wrote:
>>>
>>> Yes, I have received a few. I guess they bought your address as part of
>> a job lot from a dealer. It is a not uncommon practice in the world of
>> marketing. I find the Ponant emails rather unsettling, as I would never
>> have cash to go on one.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Monday, February 4, 2019, Chris Lloyd <
>> <> > wrote:
>>>
>>> I have recently started receiving unsolicited email from this cruise
>> company to an address I only use for private material. I am quite used to
>> receiving such email on a commercial email address including numerous
>> generous offers from various Nigerian agencies. I have asked the company
>> where it got the email address but have not been overwhelmed with the
>> response. Have others received such unsolicited material?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> <HR>
>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>> <BR> <>
>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>> </HR>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> John Leonard
>>> Canberra
>>> Australia
>>> www.jleonard.net <http://www.jleonard.net>
>>>
>>> ?There is kinship between people and all animals. Such is the Law.?
>> Kimberley lawmen (from Yorro Yorro)
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Message: 2
>>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 07:41:59 +1100
>>> From: Greg McLachlan <>
>>> To: Birding Aus <>
>>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] 2019 Sydney pelagic dates
>>> Message-ID:
>>> <>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>>
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> The dates for pelagic trips running out of Sydney during 2019 are below.
>>>
>>> Saturday 9 February 2019
>>> Saturday 9 March 2019
>>> Saturday 13 April 2019
>>> Saturday 11 May 2019
>>> Saturday 8 June 2019
>>> Saturday 13 July 2019
>>> Saturday 10 August 2019
>>> Saturday 14 September 2019
>>> Saturday 12 October 2019
>>> Saturday 9 November 2019
>>> Saturday 14 December 2019
>>>
>>> Trip information, reports and booking details can be found on the web
>> site.
>>>
>>> http://sydneypelagics.info
>>> Cheers,
>>> Greg McLachan
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> *Sydney Pelagics*
>>> *W:* sydneypelagics.info *E:*
>>> *M:* Greg 0405 578 967 <0405-578-967> or David 0408 905 666
>> <0408-905-666>
>>> WEB SITE <http://sydneypelagics.info/> | BOOKINGS
>>> <http://sydneypelagics.info/bookings.shtml> | PICK-UP
>>> <http://sydneypelagics.info/pickup.shtml>
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>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Message: 3
>>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 08:02:29 +1100
>>> From: Anne Brophy <>
>>> To: Stephen Ambrose <>
>>> Cc: calyptorhynchus <>, Carl Clifford
>>> <>, Chris Lloyd <>,
>>>
>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ponant Cruises
>>> Message-ID: <>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>>
>>> I receive emails from Ponant but I believe that?s my fault as I entered
>> a competition to travel to the Antarctic with them...
>>>
>>> They do advertise with glossy inserts in the SMH quite frequently!
>>>
>>> Kind regards,
>>> Anne
>>>
>>>> On 4 Feb 2019, at 15:53, Stephen Ambrose <>
>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi John,
>>>>
>>>> I?ve not received anything from Ponant either. But a friend of mine
>> (not a birdwatcher) went on their Antarctic cruise about 3 years ago and
>> there was an ornithologist on board who gave lectures and identified the
>> birds they encountered, so they probably have a bird list for that cruise
>> at least. I don?t know about the other Ponant cruises, though.
>>>>
>>>> Stephen Ambrose
>>>> Ryde, NSW
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of
>> calyptorhynchus
>>>> Sent: 4 February 2019 3:25 PM
>>>> To: Carl Clifford <>
>>>> Cc: Chris Lloyd <>;
>>
>>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Ponant Cruises
>>>>
>>>> If I got one of these emails i?d Reply and ask to see the bird list for
>> each of their cruises.
>>>>
>>>> John Leonard
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, 4 Feb 2019 at 14:33 Carl Clifford <>
>> wrote:
>>>> Yes, I have received a few. I guess they bought your address as part of
>> a job lot from a dealer. It is a not uncommon practice in the world of
>> marketing. I find the Ponant emails rather unsettling, as I would never
>> have cash to go on one.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Monday, February 4, 2019, Chris Lloyd <>
>> wrote:
>>>> I have recently started receiving unsolicited email from this cruise
>> company to an address I only use for private material. I am quite used to
>> receiving such email on a commercial email address including numerous
>> generous offers from various Nigerian agencies. I have asked the company
>> where it got the email address but have not been overwhelmed with the
>> response. Have others received such unsolicited material?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> <HR>
>>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>>> <BR>
>>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>>> <BR>
>> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>>> </HR>
>>>> --
>>>> John Leonard
>>>> Canberra
>>>> Australia
>>>> www.jleonard.net
>>>>
>>>> ?There is kinship between people and all animals. Such is the Law.?
>> Kimberley lawmen (from Yorro Yorro)
>>>>
>>>> <HR>
>>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>>> <BR>
>>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>>> <BR>
>> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>>> </HR>
>>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Message: 4
>>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 09:12:38 +1030
>>> From: Peter Waanders <>
>>> To: Birding Aus <>
>>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] last seats on 2019 tours (Advertisement)
>>> Message-ID:
>>> <>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> Feel like boosting your life list this year? Or just great birding in
>>> out-of-the way places with like-minded people? We have only 1 or 2 seats
>>> left on the following 2019 tours:
>>>
>>> - Malaysia, June
>>> - 9 Grasswrens (standard), July
>>> - 9 Grasswrens (comfortable), Aug
>>> - Top End, Sep
>>> - Grey Falcon/Letter-winged Kites, Sep
>>> - Six Grasswrens, Oct
>>> - Western SA splits, Nov.
>>>
>>> Check our website for details or feel free to contact me any time!
>>>
>>> cheers,
>>> Peter
>>> ---------
>>> Bellbird Birding Tours / Bellbird Photography Tours / Australian Birding
>>> Store
>>>
>>> t: 1800-BIRDING (free from landlines in Australia) or +61 402 738 855
>>> w: bellbirdtours.com e:
>>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Message: 5
>>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 00:17:27 +0000 (UTC)
>>> From: Kirri Hardy <>
>>> To: <>
>>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] White-throated needletail
>>> Message-ID: <>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>>>
>>> Hello
>>>
>>> This is a message more specifically for Mike Tarburton for his records
>>>
>>> About 8-10 WTNT's (not many) were seen this morning flying above the
>> road that leads towards Tyalgum/ out of Murwillumbah NSW
>>>
>>> About 1Km from the Hare Krishna Community turn off
>>>
>>> Kirri :D
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Message: 6
>>> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 13:47:53 +1100
>>> From: Sandy Gilmore <>
>>> To:
>>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Australian Swiftlets in NSW
>>> Message-ID:
>>> <>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>>
>>> On Saturday 2nd February at 5.15 Eastern Summer Time between Goonengerry
>>> and Repentance Creek, north-eastern N.S.W., I looked vertically and saw
>>> about 100 Australian Swiftlets fly overhead about 30 metres above the
>>> ground, on a ridge with a mixture of orchard and pasture and adjoining
>>> slopes and gullies with regrowth rainforest. This appears to have been
>> the
>>> tail end of what could have been a bigger flock.
>>>
>>> At first glance I thought they were martins but their wing profiles and
>>> flight looked too swift like, and I then saw they were grey where martins
>>> would be blue. All were flying eastward with substantial gliding but
>>> occasionally one would spread its tail and slow rapidly as though
>> catching
>>> an insect.
>>>
>>> Half an hour earlier I had seen greyish white flashes when looking
>>> horizontally about 250 metres to the east of the sighting location, but,
>>> without my binoculars I had no idea what bird species they could have
>> been,
>>> although the subsequent closer sighting suggests they may have been
>>> swiftlets.
>>>
>>> It is tempting to speculate that the very wet conditions in north
>>> Queensland had driven them further south than usual.
>>>
>>> Sandy Gilmore
>>>
>>> Goonengerry, N.S.W. 2482
>>>
>>> <
>> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail
>>>
>>> Virus-free.
>>> www.avast.com
>>> <
>> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail
>>>
>>> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
>>> -------------- next part --------------
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>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Subject: Digest Footer
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>>
>>> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> End of Birding-Aus Digest, Vol 64, Issue 5
>>> ******************************************
>>
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>>
> -------------- next part --------------
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 09:37:46 +1100
> From: Michael Hunter <>
> To: "<>" <>
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
> number of House Sparrows.
>
> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>
> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>
> Cheers. Michael
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 09:40:32 +1100
> From: Bill Stent <>
> To: "Michael Hunter" <>,
> <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> I've no idea, probably something to do with climate. The challenge is to
> find Tree Sparrows.
>
> Welcome to Melbourne anyway.
>
> Bill
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Hunter
> Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2019 9:37 AM
> To: <>
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
>
> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
> number of House Sparrows.
>
> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>
> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>
> Cheers. Michael
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR>
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2019 10:15:55 +1100
> From: Anthea Fleming <>
> To:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> In Melbourne, there are plenty of House Sparrows in the CBD and around
> shopping centres. Lots of food there. But they have largely disappeared
> from parks and house gardens.
> Anthea Fleming
>
>
>
> On 6/02/2019 9:37 AM, Michael Hunter wrote:
>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
>> number of House Sparrows.
>>
>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>>
>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>>
>> Cheers. Michael
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 10:19:59 +1100
> From: <>
> To: "'Anthea Fleming'" <>,
> <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Dear All, I did see a small group of 5 or so Tree sparrows in June last year
> in Johnson Street, Collingwood, near the Nicholson St corner.
>
> Cheers
>
> Greg Hunt
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of Anthea
> Fleming
> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February 2019 10:16 AM
> To:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
> In Melbourne, there are plenty of House Sparrows in the CBD and around
> shopping centres. Lots of food there. But they have largely disappeared
> from parks and house gardens.
> Anthea Fleming
>
>
>
> On 6/02/2019 9:37 AM, Michael Hunter wrote:
>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
> number of House Sparrows.
>>
>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>>
>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>>
>> Cheers. Michael
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR>
>> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>
>
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR>
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 9
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 10:31:23 +1100
> From: "Philip Veerman" <>
> To: "'Michael Hunter'" <>,
> <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> It is now 42 years since I did my honours thesis at La Trobe uni (in
> Melbourne, for those who don't know) comparing the social behaviour of the 2
> sparrow species. Back then both were common there, although the Tree Sparrow
> not as widespread (other than at La Trobe, another hot spot was the
> Melbourne Zoo). After that I had 4 years in Brisbane. Funny, I can't recall
> them not being in Brisbane or Sydney. It is notable that the House Sparrow
> population has declined drastically in Canberra (as it has in Europe). Maybe
> it is the ibis in Sydney or Brisbane that eat everything of the human mess.
>
> Philip
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
> Michael Hunter
> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February, 2019 9:38 AM
> To: <>
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
>
> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
> number of House Sparrows.
>
> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>
> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>
> Cheers. Michael
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 11:53:38 +1100
> From: Michael Hunter <>
> To: "<>" <>
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] House Sparrows.
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> Until recently we were domiciled in Mulgoa Valley, semi-rural with House
> Sparrows resident and thriving.
> Until the horse people next door departed, about five years ago, in
> retrospect it was over the ensuing months that the sparrows disappeared,
> only one or two briefly passing through.
>
> The decline has been worldwide.
>
> The most appealing explanation is that although graniverous, Passer
> domesticus needs insects to feed their chicks. The overwhelming use of
> insecticides throughout the developed world (House Sparrows have colonised
> dwellings worldwide outside the polar regions) has killed off the insects.
>
> The horses next door supported plenty of flies and presumably sparrows too.
>
> Although we Sydneysiders are aware that horse-drawn trams probably
> disappeared from Melbourne, years ago, there must be some explanation other
> than horses, although they are in the news. Jiggers in that context are not
> insects,
>
> Some towns and cities spray their entire area for Mosquitos and flies. We now
> live at Avoca Beach on the NSW. Central. Coast in our onetime holiday house.
> Until this year night lights attracted insects galore, and some interesting
> geckos feeding on them, but this year almost none. No Dollarbirds, ( yet
> anyway but usually here at Christmas) occasional Welcome Swallows, no Wrens
> except on the littoral vegetation between houses and the beach. Not sure if
> the Council is spraying or possibly just the accumulation of domestic
> sprayers.
>
> House Sparrows are behaviourally very interesting and their loss is
> sad.
>
> Michael
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 11
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 09:01:53 +1000
> From: John Harris <>
> To: Bill Stent <>
> Cc: Michael Hunter <>, Birding Aus
> <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID:
> <CAAQ8HpnE859Qw4hCXnhmsexiuuG=Bq=>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Michael,
> That's a very open question, where does one start as to why Melbourne is
> different to Sydney, or Brisbane....
>
> Have fun in our great city ;-)
>
> Cheers
>
> John
>
> Yours in all things "Green"
>
> John Harris
> 0409 090 955
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 12
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 10:01:06 +1000
> From: Gordon Claridge <>
> To: Philip Veerman <>
> Cc: Michael Hunter <>,
>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> House sparrows were common in Brisbane and its suburbs 40 years ago.
>
> Gordon
>
>> On 6 Feb 2019, at 9:31 AM, Philip Veerman <> wrote:
>>
>> It is now 42 years since I did my honours thesis at La Trobe uni (in
>> Melbourne, for those who don't know) comparing the social behaviour of the 2
>> sparrow species. Back then both were common there, although the Tree Sparrow
>> not as widespread (other than at La Trobe, another hot spot was the
>> Melbourne Zoo). After that I had 4 years in Brisbane. Funny, I can't recall
>> them not being in Brisbane or Sydney. It is notable that the House Sparrow
>> population has declined drastically in Canberra (as it has in Europe). Maybe
>> it is the ibis in Sydney or Brisbane that eat everything of the human mess.
>>
>> Philip
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
>> Michael Hunter
>> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February, 2019 9:38 AM
>> To: <>
>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>>
>>
>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
>> number of House Sparrows.
>>
>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>>
>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>>
>> Cheers. Michael
>>
>>
>>
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 13
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 10:59:16 +1100
> From: "Philip Veerman" <>
> To: <>, "'Anthea Fleming'"
> <>, <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> For what it is worth, in 1978 I suspect the population size of Tree Sparrows
> at La Trobe Uni campus alone, would have been in the vicinity of 200. I
> spent a lot of time following flocks to observe individual distance and
> flock cohesion, and typical flock size of Tree Sparrows was 20 to 40 (of
> course some mixed flocks). At any time there would be several flocks
> occupying different sections of the campus and these were fairly stable.
> Over a week or two, I trapped about 15 Tree Sparrows and about twice as many
> House Sparrows. Sorry amazingly I don't see these numbers in my thesis, nor
> a lot of other stuff, (I paid my typist by the page and for now I can't even
> remember where I got the funds from). It should be somewhere in my notebook,
> which I might still have somewhere.
>
> Philip
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
>
> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February, 2019 10:20 AM
> To: 'Anthea Fleming';
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
> Dear All, I did see a small group of 5 or so Tree sparrows in June last year
> in Johnson Street, Collingwood, near the Nicholson St corner.
>
> Cheers
>
> Greg Hunt
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of Anthea
> Fleming
> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February 2019 10:16 AM
> To:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
> In Melbourne, there are plenty of House Sparrows in the CBD and around
> shopping centres. Lots of food there. But they have largely disappeared
> from parks and house gardens.
> Anthea Fleming
>
>
>
> On 6/02/2019 9:37 AM, Michael Hunter wrote:
>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
> number of House Sparrows.
>>
>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>>
>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>>
>> Cheers. Michael
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 14
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 10:01:08 +1000
> From: Tony Ashton <>
> To: Philip Veerman <>
> Cc: Michael Hunter <>, Birding-Aus
> <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID:
> <CAJ381=8A2XG-nWQFAZCEka2kUq-bgc=>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Sparrows in Nundah, Brisbane; Rowes Bay, Townsville; Ingham. Generally many
> people= some House Sparrows.
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 9:32 AM Philip Veerman <> wrote:
>
>> It is now 42 years since I did my honours thesis at La Trobe uni (in
>> Melbourne, for those who don't know) comparing the social behaviour of the
>> 2
>> sparrow species. Back then both were common there, although the Tree
>> Sparrow
>> not as widespread (other than at La Trobe, another hot spot was the
>> Melbourne Zoo). After that I had 4 years in Brisbane. Funny, I can't recall
>> them not being in Brisbane or Sydney. It is notable that the House Sparrow
>> population has declined drastically in Canberra (as it has in Europe).
>> Maybe
>> it is the ibis in Sydney or Brisbane that eat everything of the human
>> mess.
>>
>> Philip
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Birding-Aus On Behalf
>> Of
>> Michael Hunter
>> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February, 2019 9:38 AM
>> To: <>
>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>>
>>
>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
>> number of House Sparrows.
>>
>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>>
>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>>
>> Cheers. Michael
>>
>>
>>
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 15
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 11:01:49 +1100
> From: David Clark <>
> To: birding-aus <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> They were pretty common when we first moved to Box Hill 30 odd years ago but
> had completely disappeared by the turn of the century (probably around the
> time the Noisy Miners turned up).
>
> They are in plague proportions on our home on the Bellarine Peninsula and
> I?ll have to find a way to stop them eating the chook food.
>
> Cheers
>
> David
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On 6 Feb 2019, at 10:15 am, Anthea Fleming <> wrote:
>>
>> In Melbourne, there are plenty of House Sparrows in the CBD and around
>> shopping centres. Lots of food there. But they have largely disappeared
>> from parks and house gardens.
>> Anthea Fleming
>>
>>
>>
>>> On 6/02/2019 9:37 AM, Michael Hunter wrote:
>>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
>>> number of House Sparrows.
>>>
>>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>>>
>>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>>>
>>> Cheers. Michael
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> <HR>
>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>> <BR>
>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>> </HR>
>>
>>
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 16
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 12:27:13 +1100
> From: Dave Torr <>
> To: David Clark <>
> Cc: birding-aus <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID:
> <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> My friends in the eastern suburbs report they are now pretty scarce in that
> area - I live in the west (Werribee) and they are still common, and Tree
> Sparrows are not hard to find either
>
> On Wed, 6 Feb 2019 at 12:19, David Clark <> wrote:
>
>> They were pretty common when we first moved to Box Hill 30 odd years ago
>> but had completely disappeared by the turn of the century (probably around
>> the time the Noisy Miners turned up).
>>
>> They are in plague proportions on our home on the Bellarine Peninsula and
>> I?ll have to find a way to stop them eating the chook food.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> David
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>>> On 6 Feb 2019, at 10:15 am, Anthea Fleming <>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> In Melbourne, there are plenty of House Sparrows in the CBD and around
>> shopping centres. Lots of food there. But they have largely disappeared
>> from parks and house gardens.
>>> Anthea Fleming
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> On 6/02/2019 9:37 AM, Michael Hunter wrote:
>>>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at
>> the number of House Sparrows.
>>>>
>>>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>>>>
>>>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>>>>
>>>> Cheers. Michael
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>> <HR>
>>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>>> <BR>
>>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>>> <BR>
>> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>>> </HR>
>>>
>>>
>>> <HR>
>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>> <BR>
>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>> </HR>
>>
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 17
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 12:41:05 +1100
> From: "Stephen Ambrose" <>
> To: "'birding-aus'" <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Hi All,
>
> I suspect the House Sparrow hit the perfect storm in Sydney in the very early
> 1990s.
>
> 1. Increased abundance and presence of predators, especially the Pied
> Currawong, but also cats and, in the city centre, Peregrine Falcons. I
> remember House Sparrows (adults and chicks) in nests in my house roof gutters
> (in Gladesville, about 10 NW of the Sydney CBD) being easy pickings for local
> Pied Currawongs in the early 1990s. In fact, a pair of Pied Currawongs
> nesting in a eucalypt about 200 m up the street from my home regularly
> ambushed sparrow nestlings and tending adult birds at nests and fed them to
> their own chicks. The last Blackbird I saw in the Sydney CBD landed briefly
> on the window ledge of the then RAOU Office in Bathurst Street in 1993, I say
> briefly because within seconds it was taken by a Peregrine Falcon which
> swooped from above. I just happened to look up at the window at the right
> time to see it all happen. So, I?m sure that Peregrines also took city
> sparrows regularly, too.
>
> 2. Increased competition for food scraps and competitive exclusion by
> Indian Mynas and possibly the Australian White Ibis, but I do recall that
> sparrows really did decline in abundance before ibises became extremely
> abundant in Sydney. Possibly also excluded from areas by the build-up in
> abundance of Noisy Miners?
>
> 3. Extensive use of herbicides, especially Roundup, in peoples? gardens
> from the late 1980s onwards. Possibly reducing food supply (weed seeds), but
> also from secondary poisoning by ingesting contaminated seeds. The reason I
> say this is that Red-browed Firetails used to be relatively abundant in my
> local urban park until the council started spraying herbicides, then they
> disappeared. It took me three years to convince the council to stop spraying
> weeds and exotic grasses, and within 12 months, the Red-browed Firetails
> began to occur there again, though in lower numbers.
>
> 4. Increased urban density in inner Sydney metro areas ? fewer and smaller
> residential gardens and more monstrous-sized high-rise apartment blocks.
>
> 5. Disease epidemics? The House Sparrow is a colonial bird, so you might
> expect infections to spread quickly.
>
> As I said earlier, all these factors combined probably created the perfect
> storm.
>
> Cheers,
> Stephen Ambrose
> Ryde NSW
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of David
> Clark
> Sent: 6 February 2019 11:02 AM
> To: birding-aus <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
> They were pretty common when we first moved to Box Hill 30 odd years ago but
> had completely disappeared by the turn of the century (probably around the
> time the Noisy Miners turned up).
>
> They are in plague proportions on our home on the Bellarine Peninsula and
> I?ll have to find a way to stop them eating the chook food.
>
> Cheers
>
> David
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On 6 Feb 2019, at 10:15 am, Anthea Fleming <
>> <> > wrote:
>>
>> In Melbourne, there are plenty of House Sparrows in the CBD and around
>> shopping centres. Lots of food there. But they have largely disappeared
>> from parks and house gardens.
>> Anthea Fleming
>>
>>
>>
>>> On 6/02/2019 9:37 AM, Michael Hunter wrote:
>>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
>>> number of House Sparrows.
>>>
>>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>>>
>>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>>>
>>> Cheers. Michael
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> <HR>
>>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>>> <BR> <>
>>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>>> </HR>
>>
>>
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR> <>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR> <>
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 18
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 12:43:24 +1100
> From: "Tony Palliser" <>
> To: "'Dave Torr'" <>, "'David Clark'"
> <>
> Cc: "'birding-aus'" <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> A friend of mine from the UK told me that a study in the UK revealed that
> there may be a link with the use of unleaded petrel and the reduction in
> sparrow populations. As it has been noted that the introduction of unleaded
> petrel has coincided with the decline and furthermore it was also noted that
> roadside sparrows are the first to go.
>
>
>
> Not sure how much truth there is to this but certainly high traffic areas
> appear to be hit hard.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Tony
>
>
>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 19
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 12:58:53 +1100
> From: Peter Shute <>
> To: Tony Palliser <>
> Cc: birding-aus <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID:
> <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> The use of unleaded petrol wouldn't explain the big difference in
> populations between the eastern and western suburbs of Melbourne.
>
> Peter Shute
>
> On Wed, 6 Feb 2019 at 12:54, Tony Palliser <> wrote:
>
>> A friend of mine from the UK told me that a study in the UK revealed that
>> there may be a link with the use of unleaded petrel and the reduction in
>> sparrow populations. As it has been noted that the introduction of
>> unleaded petrel has coincided with the decline and furthermore it was also
>> noted that roadside sparrows are the first to go.
>>
>>
>>
>> Not sure how much truth there is to this but certainly high traffic areas
>> appear to be hit hard.
>>
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Tony
>>
>>
>> <HR>
>> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>> <BR>
>> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>> </HR>
>>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 20
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 16:22:08 +1100
> From: "Philip Veerman" <>
> To: "'birding-aus'" <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> I have some other ideas, though less from Australia. This suggests that
> sparrows survive very well with high density humanity. I think this is
> largely correlated with the extent of messiness of the human activity. They
> don?t go at all well without presence of people. I visited China in 2009 and
> Philippines in 2014, 2015 & 2018 (combined with Singapore in 2014, these
> being the only times I have been out of Australia). I have no idea of changes
> over time, I only comment on the times I was there (leaving out Singapore
> because I don?t remember). There the House Sparrow does not occur but the
> Tree Sparrow is surely the most common urban bird and is much more common
> than the House Sparrow is here. There aren?t many other birds to compete with
> sparrows, the local bulbul and perhaps some mynas. That the Tree Sparrow is
> so common means it behaves in some ways differently from how it does here, I
> perceived them as more vocal and with a bigger vocal repertoire. I wish I
> could describe t
> hat better and I wish I had that opportunity 42 years ago. There are vast
> numbers of people and cars in the cities there, much more than here. So I
> don?t see how unleaded petrol or other direct human activities is an issue
> although decline in urban horses probably is, though that is surely an old
> issue. Predation is surely an issue, though probably not so much by birds.
> There are various species of magpies and shrikes there that are sort of like
> small currawongs and butcherbirds, but doesn?t appear to be enough of them to
> impact greatly on sparrows. Predation by cats and people is likely to be much
> greater. There are enormous numbers of cats and dogs in the cities and parks,
> mostly untended, and I watched cats hunting sparrows. I also saw street
> stalls of people selling ?barbequed sparrows? on sticks, ready to eat, in
> China. Probably these were mostly sparrows but likely included other small
> birds, (as they were well roasted my ability to identify them was limited).
> Likely a
> lso happens in Philippines too, I did see boys with sling shots pursuing
> birds.
>
>
>
> Philip
>
>
>
> From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
> Stephen Ambrose
> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February, 2019 12:41 PM
> To: 'birding-aus'
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
>
>
> Hi All,
>
> I suspect the House Sparrow hit the perfect storm in Sydney in the very early
> 1990s.
>
> 1. Increased abundance and presence of predators, especially the Pied
> Currawong, but also cats and, in the city centre, Peregrine Falcons. I
> remember House Sparrows (adults and chicks) in nests in my house roof gutters
> (in Gladesville, about 10 NW of the Sydney CBD) being easy pickings for local
> Pied Currawongs in the early 1990s. In fact, a pair of Pied Currawongs
> nesting in a eucalypt about 200 m up the street from my home regularly
> ambushed sparrow nestlings and tending adult birds at nests and fed them to
> their own chicks. The last Blackbird I saw in the Sydney CBD landed briefly
> on the window ledge of the then RAOU Office in Bathurst Street in 1993, I say
> briefly because within seconds it was taken by a Peregrine Falcon which
> swooped from above. I just happened to look up at the window at the right
> time to see it all happen. So, I?m sure that Peregrines also took city
> sparrows regularly, too.
>
> 2. Increased competition for food scraps and competitive exclusion by
> Indian Mynas and possibly the Australian White Ibis, but I do recall that
> sparrows really did decline in abundance before ibises became extremely
> abundant in Sydney. Possibly also excluded from areas by the build-up in
> abundance of Noisy Miners?
>
> 3. Extensive use of herbicides, especially Roundup, in peoples? gardens
> from the late 1980s onwards. Possibly reducing food supply (weed seeds), but
> also from secondary poisoning by ingesting contaminated seeds. The reason I
> say this is that Red-browed Firetails used to be relatively abundant in my
> local urban park until the council started spraying herbicides, then they
> disappeared. It took me three years to convince the council to stop spraying
> weeds and exotic grasses, and within 12 months, the Red-browed Firetails
> began to occur there again, though in lower numbers.
>
> 4. Increased urban density in inner Sydney metro areas ? fewer and
> smaller residential gardens and more monstrous-sized high-rise apartment
> blocks.
>
> 5. Disease epidemics? The House Sparrow is a colonial bird, so you
> might expect infections to spread quickly.
>
> As I said earlier, all these factors combined probably created the perfect
> storm.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Stephen Ambrose
>
> Ryde NSW
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of David
> Clark
> Sent: 6 February 2019 11:02 AM
> To: birding-aus <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
> They were pretty common when we first moved to Box Hill 30 odd years ago but
> had completely disappeared by the turn of the century (probably around the
> time the Noisy Miners turned up).
>
> They are in plague proportions on our home on the Bellarine Peninsula and
> I?ll have to find a way to stop them eating the chook food.
>
> Cheers
>
> David
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On 6 Feb 2019, at 10:15 am, Anthea Fleming <
>> <> > wrote:
>
>>
>
>> In Melbourne, there are plenty of House Sparrows in the CBD and around
>> shopping centres. Lots of food there. But they have largely disappeared
>> from parks and house gardens.
>
>> Anthea Fleming
>
>>
>
>>> On 6/02/2019 9:37 AM, Michael Hunter wrote:
>
>>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
>>> number of House Sparrows.
>
>>>
>
>>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>
>>>
>
>>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>
>>>
>
>>> Cheers. Michael
>
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
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> <http://birding-aus.org/mailman/private/birding-aus_birding-aus.org/attachments/20190206/e9018375/attachment.html>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 21
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2019 16:29:25 +1100
> From: "Richard Nowotny" <>
> To: <>
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] FW: Melbourne sparrows
> Message-ID: <@bigpond.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> In the 1990s I lived in the inner Melbourne suburb of Armadale. We had both
> House and Tree Sparrows more or less resident in our front garden.
>
> The interesting thing about them was that the smaller Tree Sparrows were
> clearly higher in the pecking order than their larger cousins.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
> Philip Veerman
> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February 2019 10:59 AM
> To: ; 'Anthea Fleming';
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
>
>
> For what it is worth, in 1978 I suspect the population size of Tree Sparrows
>
> at La Trobe Uni campus alone, would have been in the vicinity of 200. I
>
> spent a lot of time following flocks to observe individual distance and
>
> flock cohesion, and typical flock size of Tree Sparrows was 20 to 40 (of
>
> course some mixed flocks). At any time there would be several flocks
>
> occupying different sections of the campus and these were fairly stable.
>
> Over a week or two, I trapped about 15 Tree Sparrows and about twice as many
>
> House Sparrows. Sorry amazingly I don't see these numbers in my thesis, nor
>
> a lot of other stuff, (I paid my typist by the page and for now I can't even
>
> remember where I got the funds from). It should be somewhere in my notebook,
>
> which I might still have somewhere.
>
>
>
> Philip
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
>
>
>
> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February, 2019 10:20 AM
>
> To: 'Anthea Fleming';
>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
>
>
> Dear All, I did see a small group of 5 or so Tree sparrows in June last year
>
> in Johnson Street, Collingwood, near the Nicholson St corner.
>
>
>
> Cheers
>
>
>
> Greg Hunt
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of Anthea
>
> Fleming
>
> Sent: Wednesday, 6 February 2019 10:16 AM
>
> To:
>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Melbourne sparrows
>
>
>
> In Melbourne, there are plenty of House Sparrows in the CBD and around
>
> shopping centres. Lots of food there. But they have largely disappeared
>
> from parks and house gardens.
>
> Anthea Fleming
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 6/02/2019 9:37 AM, Michael Hunter wrote:
>
>> Am briefly in downtown Melbourne, outside the Town Hall, and amazed at the
>
> number of House Sparrows.
>
>>
>
>> None in Sydney or Brisbane .
>
>>
>
>> What has Melbourne got that they don't ?
>
>>
>
>> Cheers. Michael
>
>
>
>
>
> <HR>
>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
>
> <BR>
>
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
>
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
>
> </HR>
>
>
>
> _____
>
>
>
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>
> Subject: Digest Footer
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