Chifley Chronicle #5

Chipping operations

First week of June 2006

For me the week has been dominated by the removal of a dead wattle from the front garden. At the same time I have had a massive creeper cleared from a Callitris pine at the corner of the house. This creeper was entwined in the branches of the native pine and it was drooping across the corner of the roof. Chipping most of the material has given me a large pile of mulch for distribution!
Red Wattlebird have been noisy in the garden and I have started to make spot recordings of their main repertoire using my minidisc and the shotgun Sennheiser. I will try to add sound to a future posting. At least 4 birds have been present most of the day recently but there is still a large gathering of them at the flowering gum mentioned last week. In my garden 2 pairs of Crimson Rosella and 3 mottled green younger birds are regularly at my feeders. Incidentally, I have moved both bird feeders lately and the parrots find them in their new positions within minutes! There has been comment on the local COG chatline that Gang-gang Cockatoo are less common in Canberra in recent years which is certainly true of my garden of late. Two years ago they came in regularly to the feeders and sometimes up to 20 birds were present. I now have none visiting and only occasionally hear or see one fly by.
We had some rain on Friday with most areas getting more than an inch (not much for me with only 22mm recorded). This wet period interrupted the tree felling job and I decided to postpone going up to Tidbinbilla until Saturday.
I collected the gear from the Tidbinbilla sound recording station Saturday morning and checked out that the Black Swan brood was still thriving. A few shots of other waterfowl have been added below.

Drake Pacific Black Duck in the act of 'Hostile-Wing-Flapping'.

The Pacific Black Duck are now in fresh alternate plumages and courting parties manoeuvre now and then to form displaying groups. In the picture above the fresh contour feathering on the wing of this drake is evident and the flight feathers are new even though their tips are faded. The complete wing moult of the flight feathers in this individual, as with most others, probably would have occurred in February.

Pair of Grey Teal (larger drake behind) with a drake Pacific Black Duck

Pair of Grey Teal (drake to the left) and a solitary drake

Dusky Moorhen with primaries that are not rounded enough
for it to be an adult greater than a year old

I couldn't resist adding a picture of an Emu ! On Friday there were five Eastern Grey Kangaroo quietly grazing in the morning at the edge of the reserve west my garden. I have, therefore, added a couple of pictures of this species also taken at Tidbinbilla on Saturday!

Emu


Eastern Grey Kangaroo