November 2010

In  November 2010 a very good score of  97 species of birds were recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette with 19 species recorded as breeding.  Thanks to several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley, Primrose Valley, Radcliffe,  Wanna Wanna and Widgiewa Road.   

As well as the relatively unusual (for this area) species of Little Corella, Superb Parrot and Channel-billed Cuckoo (and the Common Myna unfortunately seen in Hoskinstown), three new species have been added to the list this month.  The Scarlet Honeyeater is unusual away from the Coast, while Latham’s Snipe and Whistling Kite are both quite common in the ACT.  These reports from the Hoskinstown Plain are the first made to me for this area.

Migrants are shown in italics below and species for which breeding (broadly defined) has been observed this month are underlined.

1  Waterbirds:  Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Grey Teal; Chestnut Teal; Pacific Black  Duck; Australasian Grebe; Little Black Cormorant; Little Pied Cormorant; White‑faced Heron; Eurasian Coot; Masked Lapwing; Latham’s Snipe.

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

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

4 Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Stubble Quail; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Channel-billed Cuckoo; Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo;Shining Bronze-cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Brush Cuckoo; Southern Boobook;; Laughing Kookaburra; Sacred Kingfisher; Rainbow Bee‑eater; Dollarbird;

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

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

7 Thornbills, Finches and similar species:  Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Speckled warbler; Weebill; White-throated Gerygone; Striated Thornbill; Yellow‑rumped Thornbill; Buff‑rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Southern Whiteface; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Silvereye; Double-barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; Diamond Firetail; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

8 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Olive-backed Oriole; Dusky Woodswallow; Skylark; Australian Reed-warbler; Rufous Songlark; Common Blackbird; Common Myna; Common Starling; Mistletoebird; Australasian  Pipit;

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

Birding Locations    

Rather than going out and about this month, I will draw attention to two internet sites that I think are of value to people in this community.  They are both quite new and will get bigger and better as people and organisations submit records to them.

The first is the Atlas of NSWWildlife which is rather focussed on the flora and fauna of official reserves in NSW.  It is run by an element of the NSW Government.  However it is possible for individuals to add data from their own sightings to this database.  As well as birds the site also collects data on plants and other types of animals.  It can also be sarched so that people can find what has been recorded in an area.

The second site is very new in that it was only launched in the last month.  This is the Atlas of Living Australia which is managed through  CSIRO.  The site includes a facility to access all records within the Atlas within a 5km radius of your home.  Again, it is possible for individuals to provide data.

October 2010

In  October  2010 a very good score of 97 species of birds were recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette with 16 species recorded as breeding.  Thanks to several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley, Primrose Valley, Radcliffe, Wanna Wanna and Widgiewa Road.   

Migrants are shown in italics below and species for which breeding (broadly defined) has been observed this month are underlined.

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

2 Birds of Prey:  Brown Goshawk; Collared Sparrowhawk; Wedge-tailed Eagle; Little Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Brown Falcon; Peregrine Falcon.

3 Parrots and Relatives:  Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo; Gang‑gang Cockatoo; Galah;  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; Black-eared Cuckoo; Shining Bronze-cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Brush Cuckoo; Southern Boobook; Laughing Kookaburra; Sacred Kingfisher

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

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

7 Thornbills, Finches and similar species:  Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Western Gerygone; White-throated Gerygone; Striated Thornbill; Yellow‑rumped Thornbill; Buff‑rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Silvereye; Double‑barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; Diamond Firetail; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

8 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Spotted Quail-thrush; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Olive-backed Oriole; Dusky Woodswallow; Skylark; Australian Reed-warbler; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Mistletoebird; Australasian  Pipit;

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

Birding Locations    

This month the location is the part of Cuumbeun Nature Reserve which hosted the Annual Wildflower Walk.  The flowers were great, the hospitality was great but as reported in the Bulletin the birds were mostly hiding from the wind.  Here follows the list that I compiled, with the help of others in the party.

Crested Pigeon; Little Pied Cormorant; Crimson Rosella; White-throated Treecreeper, Superb Fairy‑wren; Striated Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Spotted Pardalote; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; Red Wattlebird; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Rufous Whistler; Olive-backed Oriole; Australian Magpie; Grey Fantail; Australian Raven; Leaden Flycatcher.

September 2010

In  September 2010 86 species of birds were recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette with 15species recorded as breeding.  Thanks to several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley, Primrose Valley, Radcliffe and Widgiewa Road.   The return of birds mentioned last month has continued: most migrants are back and the waterbirds continue to be well reported.

Migrants are shown in italics below and species for which breeding (broadly defined) has been observed this month are underlined.

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

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

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

 4 Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Rock Dove; Tawny Frogmouth; Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo; Shining Bronze-cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Southern Boobook; Powerful Owl; Laughing Kookaburra;

 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: Golden Whistler; Rufous Whistler; Grey Shrike-thrush; Grey Fantail; Willie Wagtail; Magpie-lark; Scarlet Robin;, Flame Robin; Eastern Yellow Robin; Welcome Swallow; Fairy Martin.

7 Thornbills, Finches and similar species:  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; Silvereye; Double-barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

8 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Olive-backed Oriole; Dusky Woodswallow; Skylark; Rufous Songlark; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Mistletoebird; Australasian  Pipit;

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

Birding Locations

The location this month is the Stony Creek Nature Reserve adjacent to Captains Flat Road, with the entrance opposite Clydesdale Rd.  This has been described by a prominent local naturalist as a “gem” and it certainly has the potential to be a great area for birding with a good range of old trees providing sites for hollow nesters such as Parrots, Cockatoos and Kingfishers.  

However, neither my personal list of birds seen in the area, nor that in the NSW Wildlife Atlas are extensive.  One possible reason for this is my bad luck with weather (either wet and windy or very hot) during my visits! Whatever, a first point is to ask if anyone else who visits the Reserve could send me a list of the birds which they see!  

There is little surface water in the Reserve which makes the dam just inside the entrance an attractive site for birds during the warmer months.  However the dam is not big enough to support any water birds and these are mainly those feeding on insects in the water.  This includes Grey fantail, Willie Wagtail and Honeyeaters (which despite their name also eat a lot of insects).

The shrub layer is also not extensive, with most ground cover being low grasses or herbs.  This restricts the number of thornbills and similar species recorded, as they like the shrubs to provide shelter.  Hopefully the excellent Winter rains this year will encourage the shrubs that are present to ‘kick on’ and provide a mid storey. 

August 2010

Due to my absence overseas in late June the birding column for June was compiled by other observers.   I thank them for filling in for me.

In  August 80 species of birds were recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette.  Thanks to several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley and Widgiewa Road.   Highlights for the month have been the return of several migrant species (including 3 of the 6 likely cuckoo species) and waterbirds returning to the (well-filled) dams and swamps of the area.

Migrants are shown in italics below and species for which breeding (broadly defined) has been observed this month are underlined.

1  Waterbirds:  Musk Duck; Black Swan;  Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Australian Shoveler; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant; White-faced Heron; Purple Swamphen; Dusky Moorhen;  Eurasian Coot; Masked Lapwing

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

3 Parrots and Relatives: Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo; Gang‑gang Cockatoo; Galah;  Sulphur‑crested Cockatoo; 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; Pallid Cuckoo; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Brush Cuckoo; Laughing Kookaburra;

5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared 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; Hooded Robin; Welcome Swallow;

7 Thornbills, Finches and similar species:  Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Speckled warbler; Weebill; Striated Thornbill; Yellow Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Southern Whiteface; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Silvereye; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

8 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Varied Sitella; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike;; Olive‑backed Oriole; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Mistletoebird; Australasian Pipit;

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

Birding Locations

The location this month is the road South from Hoskinstown to the Foxlow Bridge.  The land through which the road passes is private property and must not be entered but the roadsides and area visible from the road are very good for birding (taking care to leave the road clear).  Several species regarded as at risk in the area can often be seen along here.

A first “hotspot” is the sharp left hand bend about 2.5km South of Hoskinstown.  The hawthorns here provide good shelter for finches (Red-browed and Double-barred) and Diamond Firetails.  Going up the hill after the bend often produces sightings of Southern Whiteface and coming down towards the Rossi turnoff the sky is often graced with Nankeen Kestrel.

Taking the right fork, and climbing up the hill (steep if on a push bike) gives a chance to look down onto Foxlow Lagoon.  This can be particularly rewarding when other dams in the area are low: it is the only site in the area where I have seen Black Swans, Black‑winged Stilts and Musk Ducks.  At times up to 4 White‑necked Herons have been seen here.  Continuing southwards other dams can produce less common waterfowl including Australian Shoveler and Australian Shelduck.  

Approaching the Foxlow Bridge the paddocks have some fallen timber in them.  These areas may produce Brown Treecreeper (not known elsewhere in the area); Hooded Robin and Southern Whiteface.  The surrounds of the bridge have held high numbers of Flame Robins on occasion.

July 2010

In  July 77 species of birds were recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette.  Thanks to several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley and Widgiewa Road.   Highlights for the month have been the first report (since I moved to the area) of a Barking Owl from the Hoskinstown Plain and a Yellow‑tufted Honeyeater in Hoskinstown.  An Emu continues to be spotted in the general vicinity of Hoskinstown and Australian Shelduck are appearing throughout the area.

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

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

2 Birds of Prey:  Brown Goshawk; Collared Sparrowhawk; Wedge-tailed Eagle; Little Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Brown Falcon.

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

4  Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Emu; Rock Dove; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Fan-tailed Cuckoo; Barking Owl; Eastern  Barn Owl; Laughing Kookaburra.

5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; Yellow-tufted 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; Hooded Robin; Welcome Swallow; Tree Martin.

7 Thornbills, Finches and similar species:  Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Speckled warbler; Weebill; Striated Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Southern Whiteface; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Silvereye; Red-browed Finch; House Sparrow.

8 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Skylark; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Mistletoebird; Australasian Pipit;

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

Seasonal issues

Although it is still cold as I write this there have been a number of indications that birds believe the season is changing.  The most obvious of these are the onset of breeding activity by a number of species and the arrival of some species regarded as migrants.

There are many definitions of what is meant by breeding.  The ‘purest’ definition is when a nest is found and the young birds are known to have achieved independence.  However most species take care to conceal their nests and it can be disturbing to them to search for the nest.  So other indicators are used (in these reports and more generally). These range from males displaying to females, bird carrying nesting material, carrying food to the nest to feeding young birds out of the nest.  7 species have been observed undertaking some form of breeding activity this month.  I’d welcome any observations of breeding activity from readers.

In this area most migrants are those which arrive in the warmer months to feed upon the insects and nectar.  

The two largest groups are in the flycatchers and similar birds and the cuckoos.  The first cuckoos (Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Tree Martin) have already appeared.  However there are a few species (Golden Whistler and the ‘red’ robins) which find our Winter weather more amenable than that of their breeding areas up in the mountains: they will head back up as the weather warms, but are currently still being reported in this area.

June 2010

As I was absent OS when this report was compiled I will add a birdlist later.

May 2010

In  May 80 species of birds were recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette.  Thanks to several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley, Widgiewa Road,   An Emu was seen near Hoskinstown: is anyone aware of any farmed emus in the area?  Two other species were added to the list: Red-capped Robin and Dusky Moorhen.

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

1  Waterbirds:  Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Australasian Grebe; DarterLittle Pied Cormorant; White-faced Heron; Dusky Moorhen;  Eurasian Coot; Masked Lapwing

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

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

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

5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared 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; Red-capped Robin, Flame Robin; Eastern Yellow Robin; Welcome Swallow; Tree Martin

7 Thornbills, Finches and similar species:  Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Speckled warbler; Weebill; Striated Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Southern Whiteface; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Silvereye; Double‑barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; Diamond Firetail; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

8 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Spotted  Quail-thrush; Varied Sitella; Black‑faced Cuckoo-shrike; Dusky Woodswallow; Skylark; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Mistletoebird; Australasian Pipit;

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

Birds of Cuumbeun Nature Reserve

This Reserve is at the start of the Captains Flat Road with components on both sides of the road.  In compiling this commentary I have been assisted by information from the NSW Wildlife Atlas, run by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

In total 55 species of birds are recorded for this area, suggesting that there has not been a great deal of time put in to birding in the area.  If anyone else goes there are builds up a bird list I’d welcome their information.  17 of the species are migrants suggesting that the warmer months may give a good range of species.  This includes the 5 commonest species of cuckoo (Fan-tailed, Pallid, and Brush Cuckoos plus Shining and Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoos) together with the commoner migrant flycatchers.  

Scarlet Robins have been seen in the bush generally and Eastern Yellow Robins (less common in the area) have been seen in the damper gullies on both sides of Captains Flat Road.  The only species of diurnal (ie daylight hunting) raptor seen has been Wedge‑tailed Eagle but both Southern Boobook Owl and Tawny Frogmouth have been recorded.

All the common bush Parrots and Cockatoos have been recorded, with the exception of the Gang^‑gang Cockatoo, probably reflecting absence of their favourite seed foodstuffs.  A similar situation is evident with Honeyeaters: Yellow-faced, White-eared, Brown-headed and White-naped Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebird and Noisy Miner have all been recorded in the Reserve.

As theer is limited open water in the Reserve no ducks or other waterbirds have been recorded.  The absence of grassland has also led to the absence of species found in that habitat such as most finches (Red-browed have been recorded) Skylarks and Pipits.

April 2010

In  April 79 species of birds were recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette.  Thanks to several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley, Widgiewa Road,   A Scaly-breasted Lorikeet was photographed in the Hoskinstown Plain!!  In addition I have heard of a Spotted Harrier being seen near the intersection of Captains Flat Rd and Woolcara lane in January this year: one to keep an eye out for!!  Bad news was a flight of 5 Common Myna in Douglas Close.

Migrants are shown in italics below and species for which breeding has been observed this month (only Australian Wood Duck) is underlined.

1  Waterbirds:  Black Swan;  Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Australasian Grebe; Darter; Little Pied Cormorant; White-faced Heron; Masked 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; Scaly-breasted Cockatoo;Australian King-parrot; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella

4 Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Rock Dove; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Australian Owlet-nightjar; Barn Owl; Laughing Kookaburra;

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

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

7 Thornbills, Finches and similar species:  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; Silvereye; Double-barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

8 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Spotted  Quail-thrush; Varied Sitella; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Olive-backed Oriole; Dusky Woodswallow; Common Myna; Common Starling; Mistletoebird;

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

Night Birds

This term refers to Owls, Frogmouths and Nightjars which are primarily active at night.  In the Gazette area 8 species are known to occur although only 4 have been reported since we moved to the area.  They are generally recorded through being heard rather than seen and I’d welcome reports of any of the species.

Southern Boobook (17 records): A small and common species.  Small with a familiar call – ‘boo‑book’ or ‘more-pork’ commonly heard in Spring.

Barn Owl (2): Recently recorded at Hoskinstown and Carwoola.  Voice is a thin reedy screech ‘sk-air’ or ‘skee-air’.

Tawny Frogmouth(20):  Nests in our yard!  Camouflaged in daytime, but roosts in the open. Typical call is a repeated ‘oom oom oom’ faster and higher than a Bronzewing.

Australian Owlet-nightjar(7):  Small bird often seen sitting in/at entrance to roost hollow. A high pitched grating call ‘chirr-chirr-chirr’.

Barking Owl; Like a larger Boobook.  Has been heard in the area before recording started. Distinctive call is the ‘murdered-woman’s scream’ in breeding season.

Powerful Owl: Huge owl.  Lives in mountainous forests of Tallaganda – and perhaps Yanunbeenan?  Call is a slow and low ‘whoo-hoo’ with second note lower.  I have - on one occasion - heard one at our property.

The other two ‘possible’ species – Masked Owl and White throated Nightjar – are very uncommon in the Tablelands area.  The nightjar is a summer migrant.