During the month of September 2007 I have recorded an excellent
haul of 69 species of birds in a 3 hectare area around our house on Whiskers
Creek Road (or, for those in brackets, other parts of the area). I have annotated the birds only seen in
Yanunbeenan Conservation Park, during a Canberra Ornithologists Group field
trip, with a Y. A Southern boobook posed
in the open very nicely for those on the Wildflower Walk in Cuumbeun Nature
Reserve.
The month has been notable for warmer weather and the return
of most of the migrant species. Again,
some birds are getting down to breeding: I have put an asterisk in the list
below for those species which I have noticed undertaking such activities.
Water birds: White-faced heron, Australian wood duck*,
Little pied cormorant, Masked Lapwing, (Australasian grebe, Pacific black duck,
Grey teal)
Birds of prey: Collared sparrowhawk
(Brown goshawk, Nankeen kestrel, Black‑shouldered kite)
Parrots and
relatives:,
Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Galah*, Crimson rosella, Eastern rosella, Gang-gang
cockatoo (Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo).
Kingfishers and other
non-songbirds:
Laughing kookaburra, Pallid Cuckoo*, (Sacred kingfisher, Crested pigeon
(Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Southern
boobook, Spotted Quail-thrush(Y))
Honeyeaters: Eastern spinebill,
White-eared honeyeater, Yellow faced honeyeater, Red wattlebird, Noisy Miner
(Brown-headed honeyeater).
Flycatchers and
similar species:
Golden whistler, Magpie-lark Welcome swallow, Willie wagtail, Grey fantail
(Scarlet robin, White-winged Triller, Eastern Yellow Robin(Y)
Other, smaller,
birds: Western
gerygone, White-throated Gerygone, European goldfinch, White-browed scrubwren,
Weebill, Striated thornbill, Yellow-rumped thornbill, Buff-rumped thornbill,
Brown thornbill, Superb fairy-wren, White-throated treecreeper, Silvereye,
Spotted pardalote, Striated pardalote, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Olive-backed
Oriole, (Common starling, Skylark, House sparrow, Richard’s Pipit, Southern
Whiteface(Y))
Other, larger, birds: Pied Currawong*,
Grey currawong, Grey butcherbird, Australian Magpie*, Australian Raven, Little
Raven (White-winged chough)
Bird of the Month
This is based upon material in the
very good book “bringing birds back” published by Greening Australia. Comments in brackets are by this author.
This month’s bird is the first of
the parrots to be covered. Many authors
regard Australia’s parrots as the most colourful in the world, and I have seen
European visitors stop in their tracks when first meeting this species.
Crimson Rosella: Platycercus elegans
Appearance: Bright and conspicuous. Adults brilliant crimson and blue, immature
birds olive green with patches of blue and red.
Voice: Double note bell-like call, harsher and more
prolonged when in flight.
Habits: Pairs or flocks. Feeds in trees or on the ground at the edge
of clearings. Flight fast and
swooping.
Food: Plant matter including seeds, gumnuts and
leaves.
Nest: Nests in
hollows in mature or dead eucalypts, 5-20 metres above ground.
Occurrence in Revegation: Recorded at least once in 85% of sites. Found in revegetation from 3 years onwards
(possibly because attracted by the seeds).
Able to utilise the smallest and narrowest of sites as well as the largest. In summer and autumn takes advantage of the
abundance of wattle seed produced in many direct seeded sites.
