Chifley Chronicle #10

Tidbinbilla again!
To start with I am going to add a map showing the results of our Superb Lyrebird survey at Tidbinbilla last weekend. In fact, more than that, I have included results from the last two years of these 'walk surveys', as we call them. These are done with the assistance of an intrepid band of Canberra Ornithologists Group members. The ellipses figured on the map are only notional concepts of actual territory configuration. At this stage we have little data on which to base either a realistic shape or a sensible size for territory. All the same, these representations are probably about right for size going on what has been written on these matters for the lyrebirds of the area. The yellow ellipses (13 territories) represent this years observations whilst the blue ellipses (14 territories) represent observations last winter and finally the red ellipses (6 territories) represent results from our first survey in 2004. This first walk survey occurred 18 months after the horrendous wildfire that swept through the valley, and vast areas of the surrounding Brindabella ranges, in January 2003.

Superb Lyrebird territories, Tidbinbilla valley 2004-6

Now to add some pictures of the general area where we are studying these lyrebirds. The intensive study area is in the middle of the cluster of territories in the top left of the map. Here we have our sound recording equipment and the following picture will give some idea of what it is like to walk in to the site this winter. Incidentally, these pictures were all taken using a Sony DSCN1 compact digital.

The Camel Back trail climbing up the eastern slopes of Tidbinbilla Mountain

Dense vegetation within our study area

Waterproof box containing the automatic sound recording equipment

Omnidirectional microphone under its 'lampshade' rain deflector!

The following pictures, also taken with the Sony compact, show views of the artificial ponds set up to hold and attract waterbirds in the centre of the valley that is now the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

Views along and beside the boardwalk

Boardwalk leading up to the sound recording site

Recording setup with minidisc. Well back from the edge and any chance to fall into the water!

Finally, some additional birds seen this week at Tidbinbilla. It seems that the Hardhead have returned with a small but nervous group present on the pond most favoured by the shoveler, who, incidentally, were spending some time on Friday on the lower of the two ponds I tend to concentrate upon. I have not seen them here before. The other species not seen for some time on any of the ponds was White Ibis. At least 11 birds maybe a few more were conspicuous today. They spent their time perched in the bare tops of trees, occasionally flying from one area to another, when they called loudly with their deep resonant honks. Otherwise much as normal with a little less obvious interaction between the Austalasian Shoveler despite the same situation of a pair and a seemingly unattached drake. All of the following pictures were taken with my trusty Canon Rebel using the lightweight EF 75-300 zoom IS USM autofocus lens.

Small party of Hardhead; three drakes and four ducks


Drake musk Duck

Australasian Shoveler

The light was not good on Friday with rain in the offing. It was dull and overcast making photography of white birds against the white sky almost impossible with so little margin for a sensible shutter speed.

White Ibis in the tree tops. Note the blood red underwing areas showing in the two lower pictures


White Ibis overhead

Driving home Friday - Bastille day - had the advantage of me being able to tune in to a full 10 minute long version of the Marseillaise broadcast on FM radio! Surely, no National Anthem come close to being as rousing as that of the French! Perhaps, on second thoughts only that of Germany. However, that tune was composed by none other than Joseph Haydn as the Emperor's hymn in 1797. In fact Haydn was specially commissioned to come up with something approaching in merit that of the English God save the King! It turns out that his composition was base on a Croatian tune he was familiar with in his childhood. I base this information on Scholes, Percy A. 1955 The Oxford Companion to Music - 9th Edition (OUP:London), 1195pp, just in case you should think I carry this sort of information in my head.

This last picture was taken with the Sony DSCN1.

Sheep paddock on the road to Tidbinbilla