September 2007

During the month of September 2007 I have recorded an excellent haul of 69 species of birds in a 3 hectare area around our house on Whiskers Creek Road (or, for those in brackets, other parts of the area).  I have annotated the birds only seen in Yanunbeenan Conservation Park, during a Canberra Ornithologists Group field trip, with a Y.  A Southern boobook posed in the open very nicely for those on the Wildflower Walk in Cuumbeun Nature Reserve.

The month has been notable for warmer weather and the return of most of the migrant species.   Again, some birds are getting down to breeding: I have put an asterisk in the list below for those species which I have noticed undertaking such activities.

Water birds:  White-faced heron, Australian wood duck*, Little pied cormorant, Masked Lapwing, (Australasian grebe, Pacific black duck, Grey teal)

Birds of prey: Collared sparrowhawk (Brown goshawk, Nankeen kestrel, Black‑shouldered kite)

Parrots and relatives:, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Galah*, Crimson rosella, Eastern rosella, Gang-gang cockatoo (Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo).

Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Laughing kookaburra, Pallid Cuckoo*, (Sacred kingfisher, Crested pigeon (Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Southern boobook, Spotted Quail-thrush^(Y))

Honeyeaters: Eastern spinebill, White-eared honeyeater, Yellow faced honeyeater, Red wattlebird, Noisy Miner (Brown-headed honeyeater).

Flycatchers and similar species: Golden whistler, Magpie-lark Welcome swallow, Willie wagtail, Grey fantail (Scarlet robin, White-winged Triller, Eastern Yellow Robin^(Y)

Other, smaller, birds: Western gerygone, White-throated Gerygone, European goldfinch, White-browed scrubwren, Weebill, Striated thornbill, Yellow-rumped thornbill, Buff-rumped thornbill, Brown thornbill, Superb fairy-wren, White-throated treecreeper, Silvereye, Spotted pardalote, Striated pardalote, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Olive-backed Oriole, (Common starling, Skylark, House sparrow, Richard’s Pipit, Southern Whiteface^(Y))

Other, larger, birds: Pied Currawong*, Grey currawong, Grey butcherbird, Australian Magpie*, Australian Raven, Little Raven (White-winged chough)

Bird of the Month

This is based upon material in the very good book “bringing birds back” published by Greening Australia.  Comments in brackets are by this author.

This month’s bird is the first of the parrots to be covered.  Many authors regard Australia’s parrots as the most colourful in the world, and I have seen European visitors stop in their tracks when first meeting this species.

Crimson Rosella: Platycercus elegans

Appearance: Bright and conspicuous.  Adults brilliant crimson and blue, immature birds olive green with patches of blue and red.

Voice: Double note bell-like call, harsher and more prolonged when in flight.

Habits: Pairs or flocks.  Feeds in trees or on the ground at the edge of clearings.  Flight fast and swooping.    

Food: Plant matter including seeds, gumnuts and leaves. 

Nest:  Nests in hollows in mature or dead eucalypts, 5-20 metres above ground.  

Occurrence in Revegation:  Recorded at least once in 85% of sites.  Found in revegetation from 3 years onwards (possibly because attracted by the seeds).  Able to utilise the smallest and narrowest of sites as well as the largest.  In summer and autumn takes advantage of the abundance of wattle seed produced in many direct seeded sites.

August 2007

During the month of August 2007 I have recorded 57 species of birds in a 3 hectare area around our house on Whiskers Creek Road (or, for those in brackets, other parts of the area). 

The month has been notable for warmer weather and the return of the migrant species.   As I noted last month some birds are getting down to breeding: I have put an asterisk in the list below for those species which I have noticed undertaking such activities (mainly nest building thus far).

Water birds:  White-faced heron, Australian wood duck, Pacific black duck, (Little pied cormorant  Masked Lapwing, Australasian grebe, Purple Swamphen, Musk duck)

Birds of prey: Wedge-tailed eagle, Brown goshawk, (Nankeen kestrel, Black‑shouldered kite)

Parrots and relatives:, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Galah*, Crimson rosella, Eastern rosella, Gang-gang cockatoo (Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo).

Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Laughing kookaburra, Common bronzewing, Pallid Cuckoo*, Crested pigeon (Horsfield’s bronze-cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo)

Honeyeaters: Eastern spinebill, White-eared honeyeater, Yellow faced honeyeater, Red wattlebird, Noisy Miner.

Flycatchers and similar species: Golden whistler, Magpie-lark Welcome swallow (Willie wagtail, Flame robin,)

Other, smaller, birds: White-browed scrubwren, Weebill, Striated thornbill, Yellow-rumped thornbill, Buff-rumped thornbill, Superb fairy-wren, White-throated treecreeper, Silvereye, Spotted pardalote, Varied sittella, (Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Olive-backed Oriole, Common starling, , Skylark, , House sparrow, Richard’s Pipit)

Other, larger, birds: Pied Currawong*, Grey currawong, Grey butcherbird, Australian Magpie*, Australian Raven, Little Raven (White-winged chough)

Bird of the Month

This is based upon material in the very good book “bringing birds back” published by Greening Australia.  Comments in brackets are by this author.

(This month sees the first appearance in this column of a member of the thornbill family: often regarded as the typical ‘small brown birds’.   Clues to identifying the various members of the family are given by the details of appearance and the habits (especially the level at which they feed).)

Yellow-rumped thornbill: Acanthiza chrysorrhoa

Appearance: Small but distinctive with butter-yellow rump (very obvious when flying away), black crown with delicate white spots and white eyebrow.

Voice: Bright tinkling song.

Habits:  In small flocks, sometimes with other small insectivores including other thornbill species.  Feeds mostly on the ground (more so than other thornbills), bobbing and jerking as it hops along.  Frequently seen feeding in open paddocks, flying for shelter when disturbed.

Food: Mostly insects and small invertebrates.

Nest:  Domed with a hidden side-entrance.  And with an open cup like ‘decoy nest on top; made of grass bound with spider web.  In shrubbery or low foliage of trees

Occurrence in Revegation:  Found at least once in 91% of revegetation sites, of all shapes and sizes from 3 years of age onwards.  

July 2007

During the month of July 2007 I have recorded 54 species of birds in a 3 hectare area around our house on Whiskers Creek Road (or, for those in brackets, other parts of the area). 

Water birds:  Little pied cormorant, Australian wood duck, (Pacific black duck, Masked Lapwing White-faced heron, Australasian grebe, Purple Swamphen, Australasian Shelduck, Black-fronted plover,)

Birds of prey: (Wedge-tailed eagle, Nankeen kestrel, Collared sparrowhawk, Black‑shouldered kite)

Parrots and relatives: Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Galah, Crimson rosella, Eastern rosella, Gang-gang cockatoo (Red-rumped parrot).

Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Laughing kookaburra, (Common bronzewing, Crested pigeon)

Honeyeaters: Eastern spinebill, White-eared honeyeater, Yellow-tufted honeyeater, Red wattlebird, Noisy Miner

Flycatchers and similar species: Scarlet robin, Golden whistler (Welcome swallow, Willie wagtail, Flame robin, Magpie-lark)

Other, smaller, birds: Weebill, Striated thornbill, Yellow-rumped thornbill, Superb fairy-wren, White-throated treecreeper, Silvereye, Spotted pardalote, Varied sittella, (Common starling,  Buff-rumped thornbill, Skylark, European goldfinch, House sparrow)

Other, larger, birds: White-winged chough, Pied Currawong, Grey currawong, Grey butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Australian Raven, Little Raven

Following the heavy rain in mid-late June water birds, including up to 20 Australian shelduck, have remained on Hoskintown Plain.   The flock of up to 150 Australian magpies reported last month at Plains Road and Briars-Sharrow Road was still around.

There have been many reports of unusual honeyeaters from Canberra recently and the appearance of a yellow-tufted honeyeater at our house suggests they may be spreading here.  Some species of birds seem to be getting down to nest building (and other preparations for breeding).  This seems to be a little earlier than usual.

Bird of the Month

This is based upon material in the very good book “bringing birds back” published by Greening Australia.  Comments in brackets are by this author.

Superb fairy-wren: Malurus cyaneus

Appearance: Small bold bird with long tail held erect.  Breeding males metallic blue and navy (unmistakeable in this area).  Females and immatures brown: non-breeding males also brown but with blue tail.

Voice: Often detected first by its brisk “prip-prip call; also a merry trilling song.

Habits: Family groups (often large – up to 16 birds at our patch, with non-breeding males ‘helping out’ the females).  Found wherever there is some dense cover.  Often perches on fences and feeds in the open outside revegetation plantings, fleeing for cover. 

Food: Mostly insects and other invertebrates, occasionally seeds and other plant matter.

Nest:  Domed, made of fine twigs, grass and moss, bound with spider web.  Usually in grass tussocks or dense shrubbery close to the ground.  (Because of the position of the nest they are rarely seen.  Most breeding records are of dependent young.)

Occurrence in Revegation:  The most commonly occurring bird in the Greening Australia survey of revegetation sites, recorded at 91% of sites.  (This is a higher frequency than recorded in the COG Garden Bird Survey, probably reflecting the bird’s preference for habitat with some dense cover.)

June 2007

During the month of June 2007 I have recorded the following birds in a 3 hectare area around our house on Whiskers Creek Road (or, for those in brackets, other parts of the area).  This totals to 51 species! 

Water birds:  Little pied cormorant, Australian wood duck, Pacific black duck, (Masked Lapwing (White-faced heron, Australasian grebe, Grey teal, Australasian Shelduck,)

Birds of prey: Wedge-tailed eagle, (Nankeen kestrel)

Parrots and relatives: Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Galah, Crimson rosella, Eastern rosella (Gang-gang cockatoo).

Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Laughing kookaburra, Common bronzewing (Crested pigeon, Superb lyrebird)

Honeyeaters: Eastern spinebill, White-eared honeyeater, Red wattlebird, Noisy Miner Flycatchers and similar species: Golden whistler (Welcome swallow, Willie wagtail, Flame robin, Magpie-lark)

Other, smaller, birds: Weebill, Striated thornbill, Brown thornbill, Buff-rumped thornbill, Yellow-rumped thornbill, White-browed scrubwren, Superb fairy-wren, White-throated treecreeper, Spotted pardalote, Striated pardalote, Varied sittella, Common starling, (Skylark, European goldfinch, House sparrow)

Other, larger, birds: White-winged chough, Pied Currawong, Grey currawong, Grey butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Australian Raven, Little Raven

Following the heavy rain in mid-June waterbirds, including up to 25 Australian Shelduck, appeared in good numbers on Hoskintown Plain.   The rains must also have forced worms or insect larvae to the surface, as something attracted, for several days, a flock of over 100 Australian magpies to the corner of Plains Road and Briars-Sharrow Road.

Having mentioned magpies provides a nice segue into the first “Bird of the Month” feature, covering that species.  While this section will include comments by this author (usually in brackets) it will be based upon the material in the very good book “bringing birds back” published by GreeningAustralia, who are to be praised for producing the book and to be thanked for giving permission to quote from it.

Australian Magpie: Gymnorhina tibicen

Appearance: Conspicuous, black and white with a strong pointed bill.  Males are glossy black with white on the back and wings.  Females are similar but the white areas are greyish.  Immatures are duller and mottled.

Voice: Rich carolling song (and rather harsh squawks when defending a territory).

Habits: Pairs, families or large flocks (see above) particularly in autumn-winter.  Spends much time feeding on the ground.  Flight strong and direct.  (This is evident especially when the birds area defending a territory.  Many areas in Canberra become posted with warnings of swooping magpies in Spring: it will be interesting to see how the local birds behave in the more rural environment.  The birds at our place are very assertive in

controlling the white-winged choughs in our garden, but pretty much ignore us!)

Food: Insects and larvae; other invertebrates (worms are popular); small reptiles, small birds, eggs and young.

Nest: Bowl shaped; of twigs and sticks lined with soft grass hair or wool, in a fork 5 – 16 metres above the ground. (In the COG Garden Bird Survey most reports of nest building are in mid-July to mid-August, and of birds on the nest August to early October.)

Occurrence in Revegation: Found in 75% of the Greening Australia survey sites at least once.  (A ‘gang of three” patrol our lawn at least once each day.)

May 2007

During the month of May 2007 I have recorded these birds in a 3 hectare area around our house on Whiskers Creek Road (or, for those in brackets, other parts of the Shire).  This totals to 61 species!  

Water birds:  Little pied cormorant, Masked Lapwing (White-faced heron, Australasian grebe, Australian wood duck, Pacific black duck, Grey teal, Australasian Shoveler,)

Birds of prey: Wedge-tailed eagle, (Nankeen kestrel)

Parrots and relatives: Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Gang-gang cockatoo, Galah, Crimson rosella, Eastern rosella.

Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Laughing kookaburra, Common bronzewing (Crested pigeon, Superb lyrebird)

Honeyeaters: Eastern spinebill, Yellow-faced honeyeater, White-eared honeyeater, Red wattlebird, White-naped honeyeater, Noisy Miner (Fuscous honeyeater, Noisy friarbird, Brown-headed honeyeater)

Flycatchers and similar species: Welcome swallow, Grey fantail, Willie wagtail, Scarlet robin, Golden whistler, Magpie-lark, (Dusky woodswallow, flame robin)

Other, smaller, birds: Weebill, Striated thornbill, Brown thornbill, Buff-rumped thornbill, Yellow-rumped thornbill, White-browed scrubwren, Superb fairy-wren, White-throated treecreeper, Red-browed finch, Spotted pardalote, Striated pardalote, (Varied sitella, Richard’s pipit, Skylark, European goldfinch, Double-barred finch, House sparrow, Common starling)

Other, larger, birds: White-winged chough, Pied Currawong, Grey currawong, Grey butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Australian Raven, Little Raven

The range of species has dropped quite a lot over the last month: nearly all of the insect eating species have gone (not totally bad news since it means less bities).  This appears to have included the robins, which seem to have passed through on their way to the plains and urban parts of Canberra. 

March - April 2007

During the Months of March and April 2007 I have recorded these birds in a 3 hectare area around our house on Whiskers Creek Road (or, for those in brackets, other parts of the Shire).  This totals to a very impressive 70 species!

Water birds:  White-faced heron, Straw-necked ibis, (Australasian grebe, Little pied cormorant, Australian wood duck, Pacific black duck, Grey teal, Australian white ibis)

Birds of prey: Wedge-tailed eagle, Little eagle (Nankeen kestrel)

Parrots and relatives: Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, Gang-gang cockatoo, Galah, Crimson rosella, Eastern rosella.

Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Laughing kookaburra, Sacred kingfisher, White-throated needletail (Common bronzewing, Crested pigeon)

Honeyeaters: Eastern spinebill, Yellow-faced honeyeater, Fuscous honeyeater, White-eared honeyeater, Red wattlebird, Noisy friarbird, White-naped honeyeater, Brown-headed honeyeater, (Noisy Miner)

Flycatchers and similar species: Welcome swallow, Tree martin, Grey fantail, Willie wagtail, Scarlet robin, Rufous whistler, Golden whistler, Magpie-lark, Black-faced cuckoo-shrike, Dusky woodswallow, (Leaden flycatcher, flame robin)

Other, smaller, birds: White-throated gerygone, Weebill, Striated thornbill, Brown thornbill, Buff-rumped thornbill, Yellow-rumped thornbill, White-browed scrubwren, Superb fairy-wren, White-throated treecreeper, Silvereye, Red-browed finch, Spotted pardalote, Striated pardalote, Common blackbird, (Richard’s pipit, Skylark, European goldfinch, House sparrow, Common starling)

Other, larger, birds: Olive-backed Oriole, White-winged chough, Pied Currawong, Grey currawong, Grey butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Australian Raven, Little Raven

The white-throated needletails (spectacular members of the swift family) are only seen in summer, often travelling just in front of storms.   Some of the other observations are indications of the cooler months coming with Golden whistlers joining their Rufous relatives in March and replacing them in April, and Scarlet robins becoming more common.  Also, Eastern Rosellas and Black-faced cuckoo shrikes gathered into larger flocks.

There was a migration of honeyeaters (especially the yellow faced species) in April from the mountains towards the North.  Some of the other migratory species, such as the dusky woodswallows appear to have remained in the area up to the time of writing.  Perhaps as a result of the rain in February/March later than usual breeding has been noticed for some species: we had a noisy nestfull of red-browed finches until mid-April and I saw some young Australian wood-ducks South of Hoskintown in late April.