October 2008

In Octber 2008, 84 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observers in Hoskintown and Widgiewa and those seen on a COG excursion to Wanna Wanna Road.).  This is the highest number recorded in the 20 months I have been recording here.   We have also added 2 species to the list: White-necked Heron and Glossy Black-Cockatoo. I have underlined breeding birds (where I have seen evidence of this).

Waterbirds: Purple swamphen; Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant; Masked Lapwing; White-faced heron; White-necked Heron; Australian Wood Duck; Australian shelduck; Pacific Black Duck; Grey teal.

Birds of Prey: Collared sparrowhawk; Wedge-tailed Eagle; Brown Falcon; Nankeen kestrel.

Parrots and Relatives: Glossy Black-Cockatoo; Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Galah; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella.

Kingfishers and other non-songbirds:   Common bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Feral pigeon;  Southern Boobook;  Tawny Frogmouth; Dollarbird; Laughing Kookaburra; Sacred Kingfisher; Pallid Cuckoo; Fan‑tailed Cuckoo; Brush Cuckoo; Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo; Shining Bronze‑Cuckoo.

Honeyeaters:  White-naped honeyeater; Brown-headed honeyeater; Eastern spinebill; Yellow‑faced honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; New Holland Honeyeater: Noisy Miner; Red wattlebird; Noisy friarbird.

Flycatchers and similar species: Welcome swallow; Tree Martin; Grey fantail; Willie wagtail; Leaden flycatcher; Scarlet robin; Eastern Yellow Robin; Rufous whistler; Grey shrike thrush; Magpie-lark

Other, smaller birds: Black-faced cuckoo-shrike; White-throated gerygone; Western gerygone; Weebill; Southern whiteface; Striated thornbill; Brown thornbill; Buff-rumped thornbill; Yellow‑rumped thornbill; White-browed scrubwren; Superb Fairy-wren; Dusky woodswallow; White-throated treecreeper; Spotted pardalote; Striated pardalote; Silvereye; Richards pipit; Diamond Firetail; Red‑browed finch; Olive-backed oriole; Common blackbird; House sparrow: European goldfinch;  Common starling.

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

Bird of the Month

From Greening Australia.  Comments in brackets are by this author.  

Buff-rumped thornbill:  Acanthiza reguloides

Appearance:  (Archetypal small brown bird!)  Small, fairly non-descript bird.  Olive grey above, yellowish below; the yellow-buff rump most visible when flying.

Voice: Musical tinkling call, rapidly repeated.  (Some observers say it is like two coins clinked together.).

Habits: Pairs or groups.  Feeds on the ground or amongst shrubs and lower parts of trees. Constantly active, hopping quickly over ground or around branches.  Often with other small ground feeding birds.

Food:  Insects, and other invertebrates.

Nest:  Untidy, domed; of grass, bark and spider web.  On the ground or in tree fork.

Occurrence in Revegetation:  Found in 40% of sites.  More often in tubestock sites than direct seeded and in oolder sites where ground layer developed.