November 2009

In November 2009 an astonishing 106 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, the highest monthly total since I started recording.  Thanks to several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley, Widgiewa Road and Wanna Wanna Road.  This includes 5 new species for the project: Great Cormorant; Australian Reed-Warbler; Brown Songlark; Grey Goshawk and most excitingly Superb Parrot (this represents a extension to the known range of this species).   More Common Mynas and a Spotted Dove have been seen  in Hoskinstown: I would really like to hear if anyone else spots either of these rats with wings!

Migrants are shown in italics below and species for which breeding has been observed (a very good list this month) are underlined.

1  Waterbirds:  Black Swan;  Australian Wood Duck; Australian Shoveler; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Hardhead; Australasian Grebe; Darter; Little Pied Cormorant; Great Cormorant; White‑necked Heron; White-faced Heron; Nankeen Night Heron; Australian White Ibis; Straw-necked Ibis; Eurasian Coot; Black-winged Stilt; Black-fronted Dotterel; Masked Lapwing

2 Birds of Prey:  Black-shouldered Kite; Grey Goshawk; Wedge-tailed Eagle; Little Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Australian Hobby; Peregrine falcon.

3 Parrots and Relatives:  Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo; Gang-gang  Cockatoo; Galah; Sulphur^‑crested Cockatoo; Australian King-parrot; Superb Parrot; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella; Red‑rumped parrot

4  Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Rock Dove; Spotted Dove; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo; Shining Bronze-cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Fan‑tailed Cuckoo; Brush Cuckoo; Southern boobook; Laughing Kookaburra;Sacred Kingfisher; Rainbow Bee-eater;

5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; Red Wattlebird; New Holland Honeyeater; Brown‑headed Honeyeater; Noisy Friarbird

6 Flycatchers and similar species: Rufous Whistler; Grey Shrike-thrush; Grey Fantail; Willie Wagtail; Leaden Flycatcher; Magpie-lark; Scarlet Robin; Flame Robin; Welcome Swallow; Fairy Martin; Tree Martin

7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Western Gerygone; White-throated Gerygone; Striated Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Southern Whiteface; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Spotted  Quail-thrush; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; White-winged Triller; Olive-backed Oriole; Dusky Woodswallow; Skylark; Australian Reed-Warbler; Rufous Songlark; Brown Songlark; Silvereye; Common Blackbird; Common Myna; Common Starling; Mistletoebird; Double-barred Finch; Red‑browed Finch; Diamond Firetail; House Sparrow; Richards Pipit; European Goldfinch

8  Other, larger birds: Satin Bowerbird; Grey Butcherbird; Australian Magpie; Pied Currawong; Grey Currawong; Australian Raven; Little Raven; White-winged Chough

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

Pied Currawong: Strepera graculina

(In the Gazette area there is also Grey Currawong: much greyer in colour, no white on the tail and a more ‘chiming’ call.)

Appearance:.Large mostly black bird with robust black bill and yellow eyes.  White base to the tail and white square on wings, most prominent in flight.

Voice: Loud ‘curra-cura-curra’.  Various whistles and other notes.

Habits: Singles and pairs or flocks (up to hundreds if food is abundant)  in autumn –winter.  Noisy bold, tame around settlements (except when young are present when they can be very aggressive).  Feeds on ground on tree trunks, branches and amongst the leaves.

Food: Small mammals, birds, eggs and young, reptiles insects fruits, berries.  (The species coughs up pellets which show what they are eating.  If you wish to keep them away from your area a good tip is to make sure there is no old dog food around.).

Nest: Flattish bowl of sticks in fork of tree, 5 – 15 metres high.

Occurrence in revegetation:  Found in 22% of sites, small and large, but mostly older sites from 8 years of age onwards.  Mostly one-off sightings, regular at only a few sites.

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as very common, recorded in all sites..  It is recorded in nearly all weeks of the year.  It has become much more common in the City in recent years.)

October 2009

In October 2009, 91 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observer in Hoskinstown, and other observers in Widgiewa Road.  This is the highest monthly total since I started recording!   

The major  news was the sighting of a flock of Masked and White-browed Woodswallows in Whiskers Creek Road.  These were the first report of what has turned out to be a widespread irruption of this species in the Southern Tablelands.   The Common Myna sighting was – fortunately-  a once-off, but I would really like to hear if anyone else spots one of these rats with wings!

Migrants are shown in italics below and species for which breeding has been observed are underlined.

1  Waterbirds:  Australian Wood Duck; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Hardhead; Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant; White‑necked Heron; White-faced Heron; Australian White Ibis; Straw-necked Ibis; Royal Spoonbill; Purple Swamphen; Eurasian Coot; Masked Lapwing.

2 Birds of Prey:  Black-shouldered Kite; Brown Goshawk; Wedge-tailed Eagle; Little Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Brown Falcon; Australian Hobby;.

3 Parrots and Relatives:  Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo; Galah; Little Corella; Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Australian King-parrot; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella; Red-rumped parrot.

4 Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Rock Dove; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth;  Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo; Shining Bronze-cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Southern boobook; Laughing Kookaburra; Sacred Kingfisher; Rainbow Bee-eater;

5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; Red Wattlebird; Brown‑headed Honeyeater; Noisy Friarbird

6 Flycatchers and similar species: Golden Whistler; Rufous Whistler; Grey Shrike-thrush; Grey Fantail; Willie Wagtail; Leaden Flycatcher; Magpie-lark; Flame Robin; Eastern Yellow Robin; Welcome Swallow; Tree Martin

7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Speckled warbler; Weebill; Western Gerygone; White-throated Gerygone; Striated Thornbill; Yellow‑rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Olive-backed Oriole; Masked Woodswallow, White-browed Woodswallow; Dusky Woodswallow; Silvereye; Common Blackbird; Common Myna; Common Starling;  Red‑browed Finch; Diamond Firetail; House Sparrow; Richards Pipit; European Goldfinch

8  Other, larger birds: Grey Butcherbird; Australian Magpie; Pied Currawong; Grey Currawong; Australian Raven; Little Raven; White-winged Chough

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

Red-browed Finch (previously Red-browed Firetail): Neochima temporalis

Appearance:.Small grey-olive finch, bright red bill, eyebrow and rump.

Voice: Very high-piched squeak, almost inaudible.

Habits: Pairs to flocks (up to 20 not uncommon) feeds on the ground but darts to nearby cover when disturbed.  Often associates with waterways especially where grass is long (this also applies to vegie gardens!).

Food: Seeds, insects.

Nest: Large bottle-shaped, made of grass, 1-2 metres above the ground in dense often prickly shrub.

Occurrence in revegetation:  Found in 22% of sites, both small and narrow, and large, sites fro 5 years of age onwards.

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as less common, recorded in less than  30% of sites but varying quite a lot between years..  It is recorded in nearly all weeks of the year.)

September 2009

Alas original report lost.  Birdlist to be added soon

August 2009

In August, 73 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observer in Hoskinstown, and other observers in Widgiewa Road.  The total has swung up, reflecting the return of some migrants – shown in italics below - probably a bit earlier than usual.  Breeding has also started: those species are underlined.

1  Waterbirds:   Australian Wood Duck; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Hardhead; Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant; White-faced Heron;  Purple Swamphen; Eurasian Coot; Masked Lapwing

 2 Birds of Prey:  Black-shouldered Kite; Brown Goshawk; Wedge-tailed Eagle; Little Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Brown Falcon; Australian Hobby; 

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

4 Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Brown quail; Rock Dove; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Laughing Kookaburra;

 5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; White-plumed Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; Red Wattlebird; 

6 Flycatchers and similar species: Golden Whistler; Grey Shrike-thrush; Grey Fantail; Willie Wagtail; Magpie-lark; Scarlet Robin; Flame Robin; Welcome Swallow; Tree Martin

 7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Western Gerygone; Striated Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Southern Whiteface; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Varied Sitella; Olive-backed Oriole; Dusky Woodswallow; Skylark; Silvereye; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Diamond Firetail; House Sparrow; Richards Pipit; European Goldfinch

 8  Other, larger birds: Grey Butcherbird; Australian Magpie; Pied Currawong; Grey Currawong; Australian Raven; Little Raven.

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

Australian Raven:   Corvus Coronoides

Appearance:.Large ‘crow’ (scientifically they are ravens  not crows), glossy black plumage, eye white. (Obvious ‘hackles’ extended on throat when calling.)

Voice: Strong deep “Aah-aah –aaaaah” late note long and descending.  (The closely related Little Raven – also common in this area - has a higher pitched call with more clipped syllables “aah, aah, aah”.)

Habits: Singly pairs or small groups.  Bold when used to humans, otherwise wary, especially around nest.  (The Little Raven  typically occurs in large flocks – sometimes several hundred.)

Food: Omnivorous – insects reptiles, carrion, fruit.

Nest: Large flattish bowl of sticks lined with bark, hair, in fork in tree or powerlines,  Usually over 10m high. (Old nest sometimes taken over by Australian Hobby.)

Occurrence in revegetation:  Found in 25% of sites, but often only seen once.  Most often found where mature remnant trees are present.

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as very common, recorded in 95% of sites.  It is recorded in all weeks of the year.)

July 2009

In July, 65 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observer in Hoskinstown, and other observers in the Molonglo Valley, Widgiewa, and Plains Roads.   This has ended up not a bad haul considering the time of year and the dryness.

1  Waterbirds:   Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Australian Shoveler; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Hardhead; Australasian Grebe; Darter; Little Pied Cormorant; Eurasian Coot; Masked Lapwing

2 Birds of Prey:  Wedge-tailed Eagle; Little Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Peregrine falcon.

3 Parrots and Relatives:  Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo; Gang-gang  Cockatoo; Galah; Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella;

4 Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Rock Dove; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Laughing Kookaburra.

 5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; Fuscous Honeyeater; White-plumed Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; Red Wattlebird; Brown‑headed Honeyeater; White-naped Honeyeater.

 6 Flycatchers and similar species: Golden Whistler; Grey Shrike-thrush; Grey Fantail; Willie Wagtail; Magpie-lark; Scarlet Robin; Flame Robin; Welcome Swallow.

 7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Striated Thornbill; Yellow Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Varied Sitella; Silvereye; Common Starling; Red-browed Finch; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

 8  Other, larger birds: Satin Bowerbird; Grey Butcherbird; Australian Magpie; Pied Currawong; Grey Currawong; Australian Raven; Little Raven; White-winged Chough

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

White-browed Scrubwren:   Sericornis frontalis

Appearance:.Small  dark brown bird with strong white eyebrow and whisker, black shoulder with white markings and buff underparts. 

Voice: Loud harsh scolding, also clear penetrating calls (the latter are very variable).

Habits: Singly or pairs.  Associated strongly with scrubby habitat (hence the name).  Searches actively on the ground, amongst litter, around logs, in shrubbery.  Bold and Inquisitive, gives harsh scolding when disturbed and will often approach to check out the intruder.

Food: Insects and other invertebrates.

Nest: Untidy, domed of grasses, twigs , leaves, fine roots, well hidden in shrubbery or under grass tussock.  (The nest is always very low down – no more than 50cm from the ground.  This account of nesting is not quite correct: since it was presented many examples have come to light of nesting in items such as clothing and coils of rope hung on walls in sheds etc - sometimes up to 2m off the ground. )

Occurrence in revegetation: Found in 27% of sites.  More common in direct-seeded sites where dense gowth provides suitable habitat after 3 years if growth is rapid but more commonly after 5 years.  Found in narrow windrows and large sites.

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as moderately  common.  It is recorded in about  40% of sites. It is recorded in all weeks. )

June 2009

In June, 64 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observer in Hoskinstown, and other observers in the Molonglo Valley, Widgiewa, and Plains Roads.  

1  Waterbirds:  Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Pacific Black Duck; Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant; White-faced HeronMasked Lapwing

2 Birds of Prey:  Wedge-tailed Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Brown Falcon.

3 Parrots and Relatives:  Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo; Gang-gang Cockatoo; Galah;

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Australian King-parrot; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella.

4  Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Rock Dove; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Laughing Kookaburra.

 5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; White‑plumed Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; New Holland Honeyeater; Brown‑headed Honeyeater.

 6 Flycatchers and similar species: Golden Whistler; Rufous Whistler; Grey Shrike-thrush; Rufous Fantail; Willie Wagtail; Magpie-lark; Scarlet Robin; Flame Robin; Hooded Robin; Welcome Swallow;

7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Striated Thornbill; Yellow Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Varied Sitella; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Silvereye; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Double-barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

8  Other, larger birds: Grey Butcherbird; Australian Magpie; Pied Currawong; Grey Currawong; Australian Raven; Little Raven; White-winged Chough

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

Striated Thornbill:   Acanthiza lineata

Appearance:.Small grey-brown bird, greenish back, pale face, breast and underparts with fine black streaks.  (Easily confused with related Brown Thornbill.  Distinguish most easily by voice.)

Voice: High pitched, insect-like ‘tzit, tzit. (Brown thornbill is more ‘mellow, bubbly.) .

Habits: Small groups, feeds in tops of trees searching amongst leaves and bark or hovering around the foliage. Often with other small birds such as the Yelow Thornbill.  (Brown Thornbill tends to be in smaller groups and usually lower in the vegetation.)

Food: Insects or other invertebrates.

Nest: Neat rounded with side-entrance, of grass and bark bound with spider web; hung from outer small branches among the leaves, from 1 – 20 metres above the ground..

Occurrence in revegetation: Found in 27% of sites from very small narrow windbreaks to large sites, from 5 years of age onwards, but more common in older sites as the trees gain height..

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as not common.  It is recorded in about  30% of sites, possibly reflecting the difficulty of identifying a small brown bird high in trees. It is recorded in  nearly all weeks.  )