January 2008

In January 2008 I have recorded 69 species of birds in the catchment area of the Gazette.  (I have decided not to differentiate between those in our patch and elsewhere: this allows me to present the birds in a more standardised order!)  An * in the list below shows those species which I have noticed undertaking breeding activities.  For this month that usually means seeing an adult feeding a dependent young bird: there has been a lot going on.

Last month I referred to currawongs as possible predators.  Perhaps coincidentally but this month I trapped a feral kitten (passed to the RSPCA) and have had small birds everywhere.  Not only has the number of species been high, but so has the number of birds, as the young fledge and start moving around, scrounging food off their parents.

Water birds:  Australasian Grebe*; Masked Lapwing; Australian white ibis; White-faced heron; Australian Wood duck; Pacific Black Duck; Grey teal

Birds of prey: Brown Goshawk,  Nankeen kestrel

Parrots and relatives: Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo: Gang-gang cockatoo; Sulphur-crested cockatoo; Galah; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella; Red-rumped parrot

Kingfishers and other non-songbirds:, Common bronzewing; crested pigeon; Laughing Kookaburra; Sacred Kingfisher; Pallid Cuckoo; Brush Cuckoo; Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo

Honeyeaters:, Brown-headed honeyeater; Eastern spinebill; Yellow-faced honeyeater*; White-eared Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; Red wattlebird*; Noisy friarbird*

Flycatchers and similar species:  Welcome swallow; Tree Martin; Dusky woodswallow; Grey fantail*; Willie wagtail; Leaden flycatcher”; Scarlet robin; Golden whistler; Rufous whistler; Grey shrike‑thrush; Magpie-lark,

Other, smaller, birds:  Black-faced cuckoo-shrike; White-throated gerygone; Western gerygone; Weebill; Striated thornbill; Brown thornbill; Buff-rumped thornbill*; Yellow-rumped thornbill; White-browed scrubwren; Rufous songlark; Superb Fairy-wren; Dusky woodswallow; Varied Sitella; White-throated treecreeper; Spotted pardalote; Striated pardalote; Silvereye; Red-browed finch*; Olive-backed oriole; Skylark; House sparrow; European goldfinch; Common starling

Other, larger, birds: White-winged chough; Pied Currawong; Grey butcherbird; Australian Magpie*; Australian Raven; Little Raven

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. 

Eastern Rosella: Platycercus eximius. (The bird from the soup can!)

Appearance:  Bright, colourful, unmistakeable. Head and shoulders red with white cheeks; yellow-green underparts. blue shoulders, greenish tail.

Voice: Three note bell-like call.  Also soft chitterings and, in flight, ‘chink-chink’.

Habits:.Pairs or (more in Winter) flocks.  Feeds largely on ground, fleeing noisily for cover when disturbed.

Food:  Various plant matter, seeds, nuts etc.  (A feeding party of these is a good indicator that something has seeded.)

Nest:  Hollows in mature eucalypts, 2 – 15m above the ground.

Occurrence in Revegetation:   Found in 58% of sites.  More common in sites 5 years or more old.  Small windbreaks as well as large blocks.

(Garden Bird Survey: This Survey, run in the gardens of members of the Canberra Ornithologists Group, records this bird as common, being observed in more than 90% of sites each year and recorded in at least 1 site every week of the year.)