Description: This outing has again been timed for the autumn honeyeater migration season, with the northern and western boundaries of the reserve having known local migration routes. We will walk along these two boundaries, depending on conditions and the species seen, and we will either return by the same or a different path. This will be around 4 km on relatively flat ground. We will also look for other autumn birds such as Scarlet Robin and mixed feeding flocks, or late departing summer migrants such as gerygones.
Meeting time: While daylight savings will have ended that morning the walk will start at 8:30 am to maximise the opportunity to see the honeyeaters which generally come through late in the morning in early April (we saw over 2500 birds there at a similar timing in 2019).
Meeting place: Meet at the parking area and stile at the northeast end of the reserve, at the corner of Warragamba Avenue and Eucumbene Drive, Duffy. Please note that the entry to this parking area is a little tricky and is in fact about 25 metres past (on the Mount Stromlo side) the T-junction with Warragamba Avenue and, for those driving along Eucumbene Drive from Duffy, involves a quite tricky 180 degrees turn, so please take care. Please take water and morning tea to have on the track.
Name of leader and contact details: To participate, please contact Jack Holland by email on jandaholland@bigpond.com – please include your mobile and emergency contact name and number.
Twenty-four members and guests joined me on this annual outing. We walked for about 2.0 km along the northern and over half of the western boundaries of this reserve, returning by the same route. The aim was to observe any honeyeater migration, as well as to find any mixed feeding flocks (MFF), autumn altitudinal migrants and any late departing summer migrants.
Given the near zero minimum overnight and the clear, calm conditions forecast, I had expected a significant number of honeyeaters to come through. However, at the start the northwesterly wind picked up and the clouds rolled in. We did see a conservative total of around 90 Yellow-faced Honeyeaters (YFHE), mostly in flocks moving through in loose groups of no more than about 20. These were mainly along the northern boundary, flying high and very rapidly towards the east so that by the time participants had been alerted to them they had largely moved on. The remainder consisted of small numbers in the many loose MFFs, feeding in the trees and shrubs with the other birds and, like those that had been in my garden for the past 3 weeks, showing little sign of moving on. A few White-naped Honeyeaters were seen or heard only by some of the group.
The major species in the MFFs included Spotted and Striated Pardalotes and, while they were often typically very active, enough birds spent some time on dead branches or in open view to allow all the group to have very good views. Estimating numbers of these two active species moving among the foliage is always very difficult; very conservative estimates were 25 and 15 birds, respectively. Grey Fantails were very conspicuous and seemed to be everywhere, again conservatively estimated as at least 25. Silvereyes, often the buff-flanked Tasmanian form, were also feeding in the blackberries or foliage, or in groups flying overhead, with a conservative estimate of 75 birds. Red-browed Finches were also feeding in the blackberries but also proved to be surprisingly hard to view. Other species in the MFFs included Weebills and Superb Fairy-wrens and, on a couple of occasions, Striated Thornbills, which are not seen that often in the reserve.
Of the autumn altitudinal migrants, at least one White-eared Honeyeater showed itself very well, and quite a few others could be heard calling. However, one of the undoubted highlights was a male Golden Whistler, which stayed still in the open, giving great views to all. A couple of females/immatures were also seen but only by a few participants, as was the male Scarlet Robin, the only robin recorded. Few summer migrants were seen; these included a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike sitting on a fence which allowed good views for all, including its wing shuffling, but only a few saw the male Rufous Whistler.
A loose flock of 23 Little Ravens flew north, unusually giving only the occasional call to confirm the identification which was mainly by jizz. A Brown Goshawk circling around high was also seen briefly, but better views were obtained of a very dark Wedge-tailed Eagle being pursued by a group of Australian Magpies. However, the undoubted highlight was at the end of the morning when an Australian Hobby was seen plucking a small bird (probably a Yellow-faced Honeyeater as they are known to hunt them there as they are coming through) while perched in open view in a dead tree. Everyone was able to have long clear views of the male (by its small size) including of its half-collar and smallish black hood. Slightly earlier some of us had seen a larger female identified mainly by the very pointed wings, slim body and long tail of its dark silhouette as it lazily flew high over.
At 33 species, this was the third lowest number in the now 11 trips I have led at this time (the lowest was 31 species in 2021, and second lowest 32 in 2024, with the usual total being between 42 and 50). The reason for this very low count wasn’t clear, but possibly because the conditions (cool, cloudy and windy) weren’t ideal. Nevertheless, participants enjoyed the morning, and I was reminded again of how important COG outings can be as social occasions.
Many thanks again for Sue Lashko for helping me lead the walk when numbers doubled in the last few days. Many thanks also to Sandra Henderson for doing the eBird list; this is always a very difficult task when a large number of people are seeing and calling out names of the different birds they are seeing.
Jack Holland
