Birdwatching
and dawn are oxymoronic for some, however
8
people including two new comers, proved we are all different and met at
the
usual place in Wulguru ready for a morning at the Lagoons. The weather
was
ideal for a long morning walk. As usual, it took a good half hour for
us to get
away from the cars as we caught up with many bush birds at the
roadside. Unlike
previous visits in April, we had the luxury of short grass and no
oozing mud to
contend with. The lagoons have not dried out and are supporting a large
number
of birds in and beside the water. Unlike previous visits we didn't have
much Finch
activity, which is the down side of the meagre grass cover, providing
very
little food for them.
We did see that the spring
breeding season was well under way,
with a number of juveniles such as Black Swans, Black-necked Storks
(Jabiru),
Pallid Cuckoo and Lemon-bellied Flycatcher. It was good to see a few
Green and
Cotton Pygmy-Goose and Wandering Whistling-Duck together with thousands
of
Plumed Whistling-Duck. Eventually we sauntered beck to the cars for a
late "smoko" and as usual, even more species came to us as we rested,
with a final
fly past of a Brown Goshawk to end a delightful morning, adding 77
species to
the Atlas data base. Thanks go to those people who came along and to Jo
Wieneke
for organising the event. Report by Ivor Preston
|
Black-necked
Stork
courtesy Ian
Montgomery, Birdway».
|
