In March 2009,
75 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, Radcliffe and the Molonglo valley. The one new species is a worrying one:
Spotted Turtle Dove (or Spotted Dove as it is now to be known). This is a very invasive species which takes
over from other pigeons and doves. It
has been seen in Radcliffe Estate and (possibly) near the Community Hall. If anyone else sees it, please let me know.
Waterbirds: Australasian Grebe; Little Pied
Cormorant; Masked Lapwing; White-faced heron; White-necked Heron; Australian
Wood Duck; Pacific Black Duck; Grey Teal,.
Birds
of Prey:
Brown Goshawk; Collared Sparrowhawk, Wedge-tailed Eagle; Brown Falcon;
Black-shouldered Kite; 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; Feral pigeon; Southern Boobook; Laughing Kookaburra; Pallid Cuckoo; Shining
Bronze-Cuckoo; Painted Button-quail.
Honeyeaters:
Brown-headed honeyeater; Eastern spinebill; Yellow‑faced
honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; Red wattlebird; Noisy
friarbird.
Flycatchers
and similar species: Welcome swallow; Grey fantail; Willie wagtail; Leaden flycatcher;
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; Superb Fairy-wren; Dusky woodswallow;
White-throated treecreeper; Spotted pardalote; Striated pardalote; Silvereye;
Common blackbird; House sparrow: Red-browed Finch; European goldfinch; Common
starling.
Other, larger birds: White-winged chough: Pied Currawong; Grey currawong: Grey butcherbird:
Australian Magpie; Australian Raven; Little Raven
Bird of the Month
From the Greening Australia book
“Bringing Birds Back”. This species is
becoming particularly noticeable at this
season as they feed on the fallen wattle seeds.
Comments in brackets are by this author.
Common
Bronzewing: Phaps chalcoptera
Appearance: Large plump pigeon.
Chest and underparts pinkish
buff. Wings iridescent (bronze!)
changing colours (as the light strikes) at different angles.
Voice:
Deep
penetrating ‘ooom- ooom.
Habits: Singly, pairs or loose
groups. Feeds on the ground under
wattles and other shrubs and around grass tussocks. Usually detected when it bursts from the
ground with a loud clapping of wings.
Flies some distance up into a tree where it sits motionless apart from
head-bobbing
Food: Seeds, berries, also invertebrates.
Nest: Flimsy saucer of few twigs on horizontal branch or
fork in shrub or tree from 1 – 12m high.
(It is often possible to see through the nest and count the eggs!)
Occurrence
in Revegetation: Recorded in 28% of sites but most common in direct
seeded sites where the higher proportion of wattles provides an abidant seed
source. Not found in the smallest or
narrowest sites, but occurs in broader, less dense windbreaks where it can feed
on the ground between the rows.
(Garden
Bird Survey: This Survey, run in the gardens of members of COG, now records
this bird as very variable in occurrence.
In some years there is an average of
0.01 birds per site week, in others 0.12 birds per site week. It is appearing in a greater proportion of
sites (rising from less than 1% of sites in 1981 to about 20% of sites in
recent years. This almost certainly
relates to gardens maturing to provide suitable food sources .)
