December 2014

This report will cover the month of December 2014.  I will compile the usual annual report over the month of January - this will be expedited if we get a decent rainy day (or more likely, if it is too stinking hot to go outside).

The least common bird seen in the month was a tie between:

• Nankeen Night Heron seen at Molonglo River Park

The image was taken a few days later: I'm pretty sure the bird is just roosting in the shade (it was ~30C at the time) rather than nesting.  I have put a report of my visit to the area in a separate post and a second ad-hoc jobbie covering what I have been able to glean about Night Herons in this area.

• Banded Lapwing seen beside a driveway on Wanna Wanna Rd.  These have rarely been sighted in the area other than the irruption onto the Plain in 2012/13

Another sighting, relatively unusual in recent years, has been the appearance of a flock of up to 150 Straw-necked Ibis grazing on the Hoskinstown plain.  Presumably they are finding grasshoppers, although this was not apparent to the observer when the birds first appeared.

The total number of species observed has remained pretty much constant over the past three months, although the 103 species in December was 10 less than for the same month in 2013.

10 species have been reported undertaking some form of breeding activity in the month and are indicated in red in the list below.  The Tawny Frogmouths at Whiskers Creek have completed their cycle, with the parents being observed without chicks just after Christmas.

A family of Willie Wagtails which caused angst in the lack of motion of the brooding parent over 4 or 5 days.  She (?sex) then moved leading to an hypothesis that she had just been keeping the chicks warm through a cool spell. (I also compiled an ad-hoc report on Willie Wagtails during the month.)  Willie Wagtails also featured in a post on my general blog, mainly covering Brown-headed Honeyeaters feeding a fledgling Pallid Cuckoo.

For December I thank observers in Forbes Creek, Widgiewa Rd, Knox Close, the Plain, Pony Place, Captains Flat Rd Radcliffe, and Wanna Wanna Rd.for their efforts in reporting.   I'm always happy to hear of other sightings of interest to you, in the current season especially of breeding actvities or first sightings of migrants, by email to martinflab@gmail.com. 

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

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

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

4 Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Stubble Quail; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Painted Button-quail; Common Koel; Shining Bronze‑cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Fan‑tailed Cuckoo; Brush Cuckoo; Laughing Kookaburra; 

5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; White‑plumed 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; WillieWagtail; Leaden Flycatcher; Magpie-lark; 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; 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; White‑-winged Triller; Olive‑backed Oriole;  Dusky Woodswallow; Skylark;  Australian Reed-warbler; Rufous Songlark; Brown Songlark; 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