Because of Mr. Youngs' incident with the Fig parrots some years ago, there have been some who are sceptical of the photos legitimacy - I am undecided, although it seems damn convincing to me!!
Mr. Young will apparently be appearing on Wednesday to show more photographs. I have heard tell of HD video recordings of the parrot, and I hope these will also be shown to dispel all doubt!!
As expected, this sighting has set off other sightings, and I predict many more to pop up in the near future, as suddenly the "crazy stories" aren't so crazy!!!
Simon and I are now reconsidering our schoolies plans..... :P
Moving off the topic of mystical parrots in the desert moonlight and back to reality, it happens to be raining. Despite the miserable weather, a birding friend from Sydney who is in town at the moment, Nathan Ruser, and I set off to Mulligans Flat NR.
We set off along the track, noting a termite mound broken into by an Echidna. A few meters along we flushed a pair of Eastern Rosellas, and heard Noisy Miners around us. Sulphur Crested Cockatoos were flying over, along with Galahs.
Upon passing through the gate into the reserve, Pied Currawongs and Magpies were about. There was nothing on the first dam, so we headed through to the track behind the dam. An adult and juvenile Crimson Rosella were at a hollow, I'm unsure if they were nesting or just checking things out - it seems a strange time to be breeding.
Moving through the woodland, we came across a mixed feeding flock consisting of Weebill, Scarlet Robin, Brown Headed Honeyeater, Buff Rumped Thornbill, Striated Thornbill, Brown Thornbill, Spotted Pardalote, Golden and Rufous Whistlers. Laughing Kookaburras were briefly heard calling towards the fenceline, and a solitary Wood Duck flew past.
Brown Headed Honeyeaters
Scarlet Robin
A bush full of Butterbums! (Buff-rumped Thornbills)
Buff Rumped Thornbill
We moved back towards the path, stopping to admire the antics of a pair of hollow-investigating Galahs, and enjoying the strange behaviour of one of the birds as it rubbed its face over the bark of the tree, and attempted to walk up the near-vertical trunk. We has short but nice views of a Varied Sittella (bird 221 as far as I can make out) for my year list, and White Eared Honeyeater.
Galahs at the hollow and mucking around on the tree!
We crossed back to the Woolshed, seeing Superb Fairy Wren as we arrived, and mucked around with Macro photography of flowers and wood before it began to rain again. As we headed for the warm, dry, interior of the Woolshed, we saw a White Throated Treecreeper tree-creeping up a nearby eucalyptus.
Nathan's macro photography work of a wattle flower
After the rain had stopped, we walked around in the woodland to the left of the path leading to the shed. We tried the grassy understorey forSittellas, up to ten of them, accompanied by White Throated Treecreepers.
button quail (very optimistically) as Little and Red Chested are reported in Mulligans from time to time. We were interrupted in our search by a group of
Varied Sitellas
As we walked back to the carpark, we came across a pair of Grey Shrike Thrushes feeding in the company of another male scarlet robin, and more thornbills.
All in all a successful if damp and grey trip, 22 species all up.
Julian~
No comments:
Post a Comment