August 2009

In August, 73 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observer in Hoskinstown, and other observers in Widgiewa Road.  The total has swung up, reflecting the return of some migrants – shown in italics below - probably a bit earlier than usual.  Breeding has also started: those species are underlined.

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

 2 Birds of Prey:  Black-shouldered Kite; Brown Goshawk; Wedge-tailed Eagle; Little Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Brown Falcon; Australian Hobby; 

3 Parrots and Relatives:  Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo; Galah; Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella

4 Kingfishers and other non-songbirds: Brown quail; Rock Dove; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo; Pallid Cuckoo; Laughing Kookaburra;

 5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; White-plumed Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; Red Wattlebird; 

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

 7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Western Gerygone; Striated Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Southern Whiteface; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Varied Sitella; Olive-backed Oriole; Dusky Woodswallow; Skylark; Silvereye; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Diamond Firetail; House Sparrow; Richards Pipit; European Goldfinch

 8  Other, larger birds: Grey Butcherbird; Australian Magpie; Pied Currawong; Grey Currawong; Australian Raven; Little Raven.

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

Australian Raven:   Corvus Coronoides

Appearance:.Large ‘crow’ (scientifically they are ravens  not crows), glossy black plumage, eye white. (Obvious ‘hackles’ extended on throat when calling.)

Voice: Strong deep “Aah-aah –aaaaah” late note long and descending.  (The closely related Little Raven – also common in this area - has a higher pitched call with more clipped syllables “aah, aah, aah”.)

Habits: Singly pairs or small groups.  Bold when used to humans, otherwise wary, especially around nest.  (The Little Raven  typically occurs in large flocks – sometimes several hundred.)

Food: Omnivorous – insects reptiles, carrion, fruit.

Nest: Large flattish bowl of sticks lined with bark, hair, in fork in tree or powerlines,  Usually over 10m high. (Old nest sometimes taken over by Australian Hobby.)

Occurrence in revegetation:  Found in 25% of sites, but often only seen once.  Most often found where mature remnant trees are present.

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as very common, recorded in 95% of sites.  It is recorded in all weeks of the year.)

July 2009

In July, 65 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observer in Hoskinstown, and other observers in the Molonglo Valley, Widgiewa, and Plains Roads.   This has ended up not a bad haul considering the time of year and the dryness.

1  Waterbirds:   Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Australian Shoveler; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Hardhead; Australasian Grebe; Darter; Little Pied Cormorant; Eurasian Coot; Masked Lapwing

2 Birds of Prey:  Wedge-tailed Eagle; Little Eagle; Nankeen Kestrel; Peregrine 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; Common Bronzewing; Crested Pigeon; Tawny Frogmouth; Laughing Kookaburra.

 5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; Fuscous 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; Welcome Swallow.

 7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Striated Thornbill; Yellow Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Varied Sitella; Silvereye; Common Starling; Red-browed Finch; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

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

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

White-browed Scrubwren:   Sericornis frontalis

Appearance:.Small  dark brown bird with strong white eyebrow and whisker, black shoulder with white markings and buff underparts. 

Voice: Loud harsh scolding, also clear penetrating calls (the latter are very variable).

Habits: Singly or pairs.  Associated strongly with scrubby habitat (hence the name).  Searches actively on the ground, amongst litter, around logs, in shrubbery.  Bold and Inquisitive, gives harsh scolding when disturbed and will often approach to check out the intruder.

Food: Insects and other invertebrates.

Nest: Untidy, domed of grasses, twigs , leaves, fine roots, well hidden in shrubbery or under grass tussock.  (The nest is always very low down – no more than 50cm from the ground.  This account of nesting is not quite correct: since it was presented many examples have come to light of nesting in items such as clothing and coils of rope hung on walls in sheds etc - sometimes up to 2m off the ground. )

Occurrence in revegetation: Found in 27% of sites.  More common in direct-seeded sites where dense gowth provides suitable habitat after 3 years if growth is rapid but more commonly after 5 years.  Found in narrow windrows and large sites.

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as moderately  common.  It is recorded in about  40% of sites. It is recorded in all weeks. )

June 2009

In June, 64 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observer in Hoskinstown, and other observers in the Molonglo Valley, Widgiewa, and Plains Roads.  

1  Waterbirds:  Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Pacific Black Duck; Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant; White-faced HeronMasked 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; Australian King-parrot; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella.

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

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

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

7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Striated Thornbill; Yellow Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Varied Sitella; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Silvereye; Common Blackbird; Common Starling; Double-barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch

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

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

Striated Thornbill:   Acanthiza lineata

Appearance:.Small grey-brown bird, greenish back, pale face, breast and underparts with fine black streaks.  (Easily confused with related Brown Thornbill.  Distinguish most easily by voice.)

Voice: High pitched, insect-like ‘tzit, tzit. (Brown thornbill is more ‘mellow, bubbly.) .

Habits: Small groups, feeds in tops of trees searching amongst leaves and bark or hovering around the foliage. Often with other small birds such as the Yelow Thornbill.  (Brown Thornbill tends to be in smaller groups and usually lower in the vegetation.)

Food: Insects or other invertebrates.

Nest: Neat rounded with side-entrance, of grass and bark bound with spider web; hung from outer small branches among the leaves, from 1 – 20 metres above the ground..

Occurrence in revegetation: Found in 27% of sites from very small narrow windbreaks to large sites, from 5 years of age onwards, but more common in older sites as the trees gain height..

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as not common.  It is recorded in about  30% of sites, possibly reflecting the difficulty of identifying a small brown bird high in trees. It is recorded in  nearly all weeks.  )

May 2009

In May2009, 83 species of birds have been recorded in the catchment area of the Gazette, including the species reported by an observer in Hoskinstown, and other observers in the Molonglo Valley, Wanna Wanna, Widgiewa, and Plains Roads.  

1  Waterbirds:  Australian Shelduck; Australian Wood Duck; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant; White‑necked Heron; Australian White Ibis; Purple Swamphen; Masked Lapwing

2 Birds of Prey:  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; Crimson Rosella; Eastern Rosella; Red-rumped parrot

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

5 Honeyeaters: Eastern Spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater; White-eared Honeyeater; Fuscous Honeyeater; White-plumed 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; Rufous Fantail; Willie Wagtail; Magpie-lark; Scarlet Robin; Flame Robin; Eastern Yellow Robin; Welcome Swallow;

7 Other, smaller birds:  White-throated Treecreeper; Superb Fairy-wren; White-browed Scrubwren; Weebill; Striated Thornbill; Yellow Thornbill; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; Buff-rumped Thornbill; Brown Thornbill; Southern Whiteface; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Spotted  Quail-thrush; Varied Sitella; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike; Dusky Woodswallow; Silvereye; Common Blackbird ; Common Starling; Zebra Finch; Double-barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; Diamond Firetail; House Sparrow; Richards Pipit; European Goldfinch

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

Bird of the Month

From the Greening Australia book “Bringing Birds Back”.   Comments in brackets are by this author.  

Common Starling: Sturnus vulgaris

(This species is introduced to Australia, and is sometimes referred to as a “rat with wings”.)

Appearance: Shiny black plumage with bronze-green and purple sheen.  In Autumn-Winter feathers are tipped buff-white giving a finely spotted appearance.  (Juveniles are much plainer brown).

Voice: Variety of rates, whistles, wheezes clicks.  Harsh alarm call.  Good mimic.

Habits: Flocks large (often hundreds of birds) in Autumn.  Bold, jaunty walks or runs with rapid jabs of bills into ground.

Food: Omnivorous: insects, fruit, carrion.

Nest: In hollow of tree, also holes or cavities in buildings .

Occurrence in revegetation: Found in 27% of sites but nearly always observedin mature remnant trees incorporated within the revegatation.

(Garden Bird Survey: Undertaken by COG in the gardens of members of that Group records this species as very common.  It is now usually recorded in about 80% of sites.  However both abundance and frequency have dropped recently, possibly due to competition from the Common Myna – which has fortunately not appeared in this area.)