Gungahlin Cemetery

Gungahlin Cemetery is off Sandford St. Mitchell. Meet at 8.00 am in the carpark of the Norwood Park Crematorium on the opposite side of the roundabout. The cemetery has a large pond at the entrance which supports a variety of waterbirds. It is an excellent site with a lot of trees, shrubs and understorey. It has a good mix of birds including Superb Fairy-wrens, Red-browed Finches, White -plumed Honeyeaters and White winged Choughs. The highlight is a population of Dusky Woodswallows which breed here each year.

Nine members met at 8 am in the carpark at the Crematorium in Gungahlin, where the parking is easier, then walked over to the cemetery. We had a leisurely stroll in an anti-clockwise direction around the cemetery, starting at the dam. Dusky Woodswallows flitted about overhead and briefly settled in the trees. There were juveniles amongst them, as evidenced by their mottled plumage. White-plumed Honeyeaters and Red-rumped Parrots were prolific and demanded a lot of attention. On the edge alongside Hoskins St, Mitchell, we were elated to have good views of a Crested Shrike-tit. Nearby there were also several Superb Fairy-wrens, which included five blue males, in an area no more than 25 square metres. In the north-east corner we saw three Tawny Frogmouth, including one very cute fluffy youngster. The only raptors seen were two Wedge-tailed Eagles, way up high.
We crossed back over to the crematorium and took a short break for morning tea, then did a short loop around the very peaceful and attractive grounds, with little nooks and crannies at every turn. Sacred Kingfisher were heard nearby, whilst we saw Dollarbird and Rufous Songlark amongst other things.
Breeding records included Common Starling carrying food, Galah and Common Myna entering hollows, Magpie Lark and Red Wattlebird with dependent young, Crested Pigeon, Welcome Swallow visiting nests with young, Red-browed Finch carrying nesting material and Pied Currawong and White-faced Heron on nest. The latter was a surprise to some of us, who had never seen a White-faced Heron on a nest.
A total of 47 species was observed. Thank you to Bill Graham and Angela for arranging and leading this outing.