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.
