In March we continued to get some welcome rain 79 species of birds were recorded in the
catchment area of the Gazette. Thanks to
several observers in: Hoskinstown; the Molonglo Valley, Widgiewa Road, The list includes 1 new species for the project:
Fork-tailed Swift at Hoskinstown. The
other species of swift possible in the area (White-throated Needletail) was
reported several times. The migrations
associated with cooler weather have started with some honeyeaters moving through;
many insectivorous species not observed ; and Scarlet Robins and Golden
Whistlers moving down from the mountains.
Migrants are shown in italics below and the species for which breeding has been observed this
month (only White-browed Scrubwren) is underlined.
1 Waterbirds: Australian Wood Duck; Grey Teal; Pacific
Black Duck; Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant; White-faced Heron;
Australian White Ibis; Purple Swamphen; 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;
4 Kingfishers
and other non-songbirds: Rock Dove; Spotted Dove; Common
Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; White-throated Needletail; Fork‑tailed Swift; Barn Owl; 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: Golden
Whistler; Rufous Whistler; Grey Shrike-thrush; Grey Fantail; Willie Wagtail;
Leaden Flycatcher; 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;
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; Dusky Woodswallow;
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’s location is
Plains Road which runs from Briars-Sharrow Road to Hoskinstown. It is about 7km long and more or less
parallels the Molonglo River.
Much of the area is frosty
and thus grassland rather than wooded country.
As a result it is not surprising to find grassland specialists are commonly
seen and heard here. This area is one of
the best I know in the region to hear the song of the Eurasian Skylark as it it
ascends well out of sight, especially in Spring. The similar looking but more terrestrial
Australasian Pipit is commonly seen in the paddocks and sitting on fences
beside the road. The Rufous and Brown
Songlarks can also be seen in this area.
When there is heavier rain,
filling the dams and watercourses beside the road, this can be a good site to
find many of the local waterbirds including Australian Shelduck grazing in the
paddocks and Black-fronted Dotterel fossicking in the ditches and dams.
The hawthorns along the road
are popular food, roost and nest resources for many species including Gang-gang
Cockatoos, Common Starlings and Rosellas.
