Wednesday Walk to Watson

The June Wednesday Walk will be to Watson Woodland and Wetland. Meet at 9am on 20 June at the end of the houses on Antill St. We’ll explore the Woodlands and then walk to the wetlands hoping to encounter the lonely Apostlebird.

23 members and guests gathered on Anthill street to explore Justice Robert Hope Park. While gathering, a good range of parrots and cockatoos were observed although the hoped-for Superb Parrots didn’t appear. The first of several pairs of Rainbow Lorikeets flew over indicating how this species is expanding its footprint in theACT.

As we headed off we soon encountered a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike which was thought to be a little late (although reference to the Annual Bird Report indicates some birds do over-Winter). Jumping in time, a second bird of this species was encountered later in the outing at the Mary Kitson Playground. Small birds were few in number with a group of Weebills and another of Yellow-rumped Thornbills being the exceptions. While the Park has good tree cover there was very little shrub layer.

In total we recorded 22 species in this part of the walk (see list at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46671309)

We emerged from the park on to the open area under the powerlines and headed for the wetlands hoping to find the Apostlebird and the Buff-banded Rail. The former was not located during the walk but as soon as we arrived at the pond a Buff-banded Rail was seen grazing on the side of the pond away from the street. Very soon after a second of this species was seen on the street side of the pond. A few other common waterbirds were on the pond and a Grey Currawong was perched in a nearby tree.

We decided to tour a part of the suburb in a hunt for the Apostlebird but in remained elusive. The second Cuckoo-shrike was found in this area, together with 2 Eastern Spinebills – as with several honeyeater species these are more common in the urban area in the colder seasons.

20 species were seen in this part of the outing, https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46671310, giving a modest overall list of 29 species for the day.