Merri Birdwatch report - May 2024


26th July 2024
By Ann McGregor

Our bird surveys along the Merri and at Edwardes Lake are popular activities: sixty-seven people joined the purposeful strolls in natural or restored habitats in May. A total of 74 species were recorded across the ten locations. Sixty-four of these are indigenous (native) species.

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About to set off, Merri Birdwatch, May, photograph, Peter Mollison

Noisy Miners sounded the alert for a Collared Sparrowhawk in Merri Park, Northcote. Otherwise, the raptors were all in the native grasslands. A Black-shouldered Kite and a Brown Goshawk were having a territorial dispute at galgi ngarrk/Craigieburn Grasslands, while a Nankeen Kestrel and a Brown Falcon were at bababi marning/ Cooper St Grasslands. At galada tamboore, there were two Brown Falcons. Winter is the season for robins along the Merri. At bababi marning, there were three Scarlet Robins and two Flame Robins. Two Flame Robins were also recorded at galgi ngarrk.

Scarlet Robins are rarely seen in our surveys.  There are only five recorded: all since 2015 and all in May. Three of these sightings were at bababi djinanang. They spend most of their time in forests and woodlands with open understorey, but, in autumn and winter, some disperse into grasslands, or occasionally urban parks.

Golden Whistlers are also around in cooler weather. Three are at bababi djinanang and two recorded on the East Coburg - Thornbury survey. A tree-full of White-plumed Honeyeaters (17 in total) was an unusually large seasonal flock at galgi ngarrk. It appears to have been a bumper season for Yellow-rumped Thornbills (23) and Superb Fairy-wrens (25+) at galgi ngarrk.

Those appealing, but hard-to-spot species, Tawny Frogmouths, were only recorded on one survey this time: on the circuit between East Coburg and Thornbury.

More White Ibis were recorded at bababi djinanang (48), than at Coburg Lake (45) – probably for the first time. Smaller numbers were seen at five other sites. There must be plenty of fish for Little Pied Cormorants along the Merri, as they were recorded at nine of our ten sites.

 

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Little pied cormorant, Magpie lark, photographs by Peter Mollison

A single Grey-headed Flying Fox was roosting in a tree on the edge of Northcote Golf Course, instead of returning to the colony in Yarra Bend Park. The usual mobs of kangaroos were seen at bababi marning (120) and galgi ngarrk (60), and two Swamp Wallabies were spotted at galgi ngarrk.

    

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Merri Birdwatchers, photograph by Peter Mollison

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