September 2007

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.