This is a bit of a different post as I wanted to write about a course I undertook through The Australian National University’s Centre for Continuing Education. The course had a simple title that summed it up well, it was called Understanding Birds. The lecturing occurred over six nights from late November and there were also two field trips on Saturday mornings. The first field trip went to Campbell, Molonglo Gorge and Jerrabomberra Wetlands while the second one was conducted at Mulligans Flat Woodland Reserve. The second field trip will be described in more detail later in the post, with accompanying bird photographs.
Ian Fraser, who is a well-known local author, commentator and naturalist ran the course personally. He is a fantastic person with a wealth of knowledge on natural history. He made the point of saying on the first night that he was more than just interested in birds, although birds were what he most focussed on. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge on natural history as well as birds. He was able to answer all our questions in a very detailed way. His lectures were also fact-filled while he was able to give easy to understand explanations about complex subjects. He also elaborated on much of the current scientific research into the understanding birds so the course always felt fresh. You can get a taste for his style through his blog; Ian Fraser, talking naturally. He has also written three books that are available through CSIRO publishing:
Birds in their habitats - From the website “Everywhere we go there are birds, and they all have mysteries to be unravelled. These mysteries include the way they look, from bizarre to apparently mundane, why they live where they live, and the things they do, many of which are far too incredible ever to be imagined as fiction.” I am reading this book at present. I am enjoying his anecdotes while also learning a lot about birds through the stories as well as the information boxes throughout the book.
A bush capital year - From the website “The Australian Capital Territory is a treasure trove for naturalists, despite being without a coastline, without rainforest or without deserts. A wealth of biodiversity is found there, due to the close proximity of three major habitat types: the great western woodland grassy plains bump up against the inland edge of the coastal hinterland mountain forests, while the whole south-eastern Australian Alps system reaches its northern limit in the Brindabella Ranges. Each of these habitats has its own rich suite of plants and animals, so a great diversity of life can be found within an hour’s drive of Parliament House.” I have not started reading this book, which I bough second-hand as it is no longer in print. It is divided into seasons with summer first. I love the evocative illustrations by Peter Marsack, which really help capture the spirit of the book.
Australian Bird Names - From the website “Australian Bird Names is aimed at anyone with an interest in birds, words, or the history of Australian biology and bird-watching. It discusses common and scientific names of every Australian bird, to tease out the meanings, which may be useful, useless or downright misleading!” I often find myself searching in this book to understand how a bird was given its name. I understand from Ian a new edition will be out shortly, so keep your eye open for it.
He also writes regular reviews of natural history books with the reviews posted at ANBG’s Botanical Bookshop.
Turning to the course itself, it covered the evolution of birds, their physical appearance and behaviour before diving into a comprehensive review of all Australian bird families. All the lectures were fascinating, we left each night wanting more. His lectures were illustrated by his own comprehensive photographs taken throughout Australia and the world, particularly the Southern Hemisphere. The sessions lasted for two hours with a 15 minute break after the first hour, meaning we went from 6 PM to 8:15 PM. It was really the highpoint of my week to be able to devout two solid hours to do nothing except learn about birds.
As I said, the course involved two field trips with this post now looking at the second one, the one I was able to attend on Saturday, 8 December 2018.
Ian was cautious about choosing Mullgans Flat, as he was aware it was dry, meaning the wetlands part was not worth visiting. As we started the walk he was picking birds out by their song while also explaining the environment we were walking through. He also mentioned the buffer zone had somehow become inside the reserve whereas it had originally been conceived to be outside the reserve as a true buffer zone.
The first bird I was able to photograph was a Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles). I am very confident this is the same family I photographed on my first visit in November 2018. They were on the far side of the much reduced ponds and their chicks were still small. Once we appeared on the dam wall the adults made the warning cry while the chicks ran for the reeds.
The Masked Lapwing adult
From on top of the dam wall we could hear the calls of a Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis). We were fortunate in that it flew almost right over the top of us. A second one also flew nearby. Unfortunately, they both managed to land on the far side of the trees we were behind. I was able to shoot some photos between tree branches but they were not great pictures.
The Dollarbird through the trees
Continuing along the track one of the group noticed a White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos) nest. We thought the chicks must have fledged as there were no birds on the nest. Just as somebody made that comment, first one, then another bird, then another arrived until there were about five. Ian wondered if they returned as they saw we were near the nest. If they were worried by our presence they made no effort to swoop us or otherwise drive us off. They did make a soft, single note, wood-wind like noise I had never heard from a chough. The Morcombe and Stewart eGuide to Australian Birds termed a recording of the noise a wail. The first bird sat on the nest while the remaining birds perched on the branches around it.
Two adult choughs at the nest, possibly responding to our presence
We heard the calls of an Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus), then we saw one in a tree, followed by another one. Some Noisy Friarbirds were not happy with their presence.
Olive-backed Oriole
One of the members of the group called our attention to a Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila-audax) circling above. It was making soaring circles almost directly above Mulligans Flat. It was high in the sky against a very light background so it was a challenge to obtain a good photo.
A Wedge-tailed Eagle soaring above Mulligans Flat
We then saw two Australian King-parrots (Alisterus scapularis), a male with its red plumage and a female with a green head, sitting quietly on a branch. They were not too close together and not making a noise, although they did appear to be looking around. After a moment the female flew to a tree hollow, which we all thought must be their nest. To our surprise, and possibly theirs, a Crimson Rosella emerged from the hollow (please see below for a picture). We postulated these two King-parrots were actually looking for a hollow, but were beaten to this one by the rosellas.
On our way back out of the reserve, we saw a pair of King-parrots, unsure if it was the same pair as above, feeding in an acacia shrub.
Australian King-parrots, male on the right with the red head and female on the left with the green head
A female Australian King-parrot enjoying an acacia plant
We only saw one Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) exit the tree hollow mentioned above. The bird stayed perched on top of the tree hollow as if it was proving it had occupation of that nesting site.
A Crimson Rosella establishing occupation of a tree hollow
There was a Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus) on a nest very near the track in a low tree. The bird, probably a female as they incubate the eggs, was staying very quiet. We did not hear the mate around. Despite our close proximity to the nest there was no swooping, something I had experienced the day before riding my back near a friarbird nest in Curtin, then going back to find out what bird had swooped me. From the low position of this bird I suspect it was roosting on unhatched eggs.
A Noisy Friarbird sitting on its nest
One of the group noticed a strikingly textured head peering over a branch. The head belonged to a male Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera), pictured at the top of this blog post. The bird seemed to be aware of the attention so started moving away from us. We followed it, managing to see the female as well. They were probably a couple but they did not give any clear indications of if they were nesting and if it was nearby.
The Common Bronzewing pair with the female in the front and the male at the rear
We saw a Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) very early on our walk. It was eating from a shrub and was not going to be moved from that shrub by our presence. It stood watching us while holding the plant. Swamp Wallabies seem to be more used to humans at Mulligans Flat, as it is much easier approaching them in the reserve than in most other places around Canberra.
The Swamp Wallaby staying committed to eating
Almost back at the entrance we saw an Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) presumably burrowing into some ants at the base of a tree. It did not seem to care about our presence although it probably knew we were there.
The Echidna obtaining a meal among the tree roots