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A mighty effort in the Gowrie Junction area (Sector N1)

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:01 am
by Mick Atzeni
Esther Townsend and Gloria Glass saw and/or heard 87 species in sector N1 on Tuesday 1 November 2011 for the TBO Annual Species Census. It was the most exciting census they have conducted in that area over many years. It is unfortunate this species list was inadvertently overlooked in the report in the January newsletter, so it will be reported separately here and in the February newsletter.

To quote Gloria:
We think this is our highest number so far, though we missed on some common birds that Diana and I see almost every day, eg Brown Quail. However we were very pleased to see and hear both the Rufous Songlark [3] and Brown Songlark [1] at Gowrie Little Plain. The pair of Black-fronted Dotterels were still in the exactly same spot in the Meringandan Nature Reserve, in the northern edge of N1, that we have recorded them in for two previous Censuses! Also into that spot flew, dislodging the
Dotterels, a White Ibis and a Royal Spoonbill, who seemed to be ‘good mates’ as they stood close together, then flew together to the bare branches of a high tree, then later to another set of high bare branches before leaving the site together! A Double-barred Finch was gathering nesting material and flying to a partially built nest in which its mate was placing the material. A Red-browed Finch was gathering seeds to eat from the same place; Esther saw it with a second bird before we moved
on. Clamorous Reed-Warblers were at three sites, so we didn’t need to look at Beal’s farm dam where there are usually situated. The White-winged Chough seemed to be a single bird, though our attention had been drawn by their usual wondrous melodious piping, so there may have been others; that was south of the Meringandan-Boodua Road. It really was a Pied Cormorant on the edge of the water under the Gowrie Creek bridge. It had caught and we watched it swallow what seemed a fairly large fish. It had a small yellow patch in front of its eye.
Species list
Australian Brush-turkey
Plumed Whistling-Duck
Australian Wood Duck
Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
Hardhead
Australasian Grebe
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Australian Pelican
White-faced Heron
Great Egret
Australian White Ibis
Straw-necked Ibis
Royal Spoonbill
Black-shouldered Kite
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Australian Hobby
Nankeen Kestrel
Dusky Moorhen
Eurasian Coot
Black-fronted Dotterel
Masked Lapwing
Rock Dove
Spotted Turtle-Dove
Crested Pigeon
Peaceful Dove
Bar-shouldered Dove
Galah
Little Corella
Rainbow Lorikeet
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Pale-headed Rosella
Red-rumped Parrot
Channel-billed Cuckoo
Pheasant Coucal
Laughing Kookaburra
Sacred Kingfisher
Dollarbird
Superb Fairy-wren
Variegated Fairy-wren
Striated Pardalote
White-browed Scrubwren
Weebill
White-throated Gerygone
Brown Thornbill
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Yellow Thornbill
Striped Honeyeater
Little Friarbird
Spiny-cheeked Honyeeater
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Noisy Miner
Lewin's Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
Grey-crowned Babbler
Rufous Whistler
Grey Shrike-thrush
Magpie-lark
Willie Wagtail
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
White-winged Triller
Olive-backed Oriole
Figbird
Grey Butcherbird
Pied Butcherbird
Australian Magpie
Pied Currawong
Torresian Crow
White-winged Chough
Apostlebird
House Sparrow
Double-barred Finch
Red-browed Finch
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin
Mistletoebird
Welcome Swallow
Fairy Martin
Clamorous Reed-Warbler
Tawny Grassbird
Rufous Songlark
Brown Songlark
Golden-headed Cisticola
Silvereye
Common Starling
Common Myna