Monday 16 March 2009

Report for 15th March


A relatively dry week with only 13.5mm of drizzle which was just enough to keep the grounds boggy. Species recorded for the week were 63 birds seen plus another 10 heard as well as 9 reptile/mammal species.
Highlights for the week were a sub-adult male Victoria’s Riflebird foraging in the orchard area which maybe the same one seen in late January. There have only been 3 other records for this time of year. A Rufous Owl was heard calling one night; previously they have passed through the lodge grounds and do not stay long, usually a few days to a couple of weeks, but they knock back our population of Striped Possum which are hard to find once an owl has been on the scene. The three Papuan Frogmouth (Male, Female and Juvenile) were together roosting for a day, which is something they are doing every few weeks.

Papuan Frogmouth

Further afield there were reports of 30+ Blue-faced Parrot-Finch on Mt. Lewis. A day in Cairns recorded the Laughing Gull still present along the Cairns Esplanade as well as many waders colouring up into their breeding plumage. These included Bar-tailed Godwit, Pacific Golden Plover, Lesser and Greater Sandplover, Red-necked Stint, Great Knot and Grey-tailed tattler. Others present were Australian Pied Oystercatcher, Masked Lapwing, Whimbrel,

Whimbrel

Eastern Curlew, Terek Sandpiper and Curlew Sandpiper. At the northern end of the esplanade in the mangroves were Mangrove Robin who was calling incessantly, Collared Kingfisher and the first sighting (according to Andy Anderson who is doing regular surveys of the area) of the returning Sacred Kingfisher.


No comments: