The Rainbow Bird

Volume 7 Number 1 February 2018 (Issue 93)

Wedge-tailed Eagles: Photos by Lindsay Cupper, Allan Taylor and Finley Japp.

In this Issue

Wedge-tailed Eagle Page 2

Egrets Page 3

Nesting at Hattah Lakes Page 5

Aboriginal Place Names Page 7

Birdwatching in a Native Page 9

Garden

Hearing Loss Page 11

Nest Choices Page 12

Nestling Mortality Page 13

Birds in Flight Page 14

Bustards Page 15

Unusual Sightings Page 16

Calendar Page 17

The Rainbow Bird

Wedge-tailed Eagle

The Wedge-tailed Eagle or bunjil (Aquila audax) is truly a majestic bird of prey, soaring over the flat plains all around Australia. It’s wingspan of over 2 metres and weight of sometimes more than 5kg makes it one of the largest eagles in the world. As the birds age they become progressively darker, until at 10 years they are a very dark brown, almost black. Indeed the birds can live for up to 40 years, and mate for life, though if a mate dies they will seek a new partner.

The Wedge-tailed Eagle has long been a part of Aboriginal culture, particularly in the Kimberley and around the Murray-Darling river complex. The Eagle and Crow appear in a number of Aboriginal stories. The eagle was also hunted in some communities, and tribes would use smoke to attract raptors hopeful of catching vulnerable prey.

Early farmers took the bird as a pest because of its reputation of killing lambs. Up to 30,000 birds were killed in a single year, and the endangered Tasmanian subspecies has still not recovered.

Eagles are known for their excellent vision and there is a reason why. As well as binocular vision and good judgement of distance, Wedge-tailed Eagles’ eyes have bony rings which can squeeze and widen the eyeballs. This has the same effect as a camera with a telephoto lens: it enlarges the image seen by the bird.

The Wedge-tailed Eagle is a master of the sky and can go up to 2000m high. Incidentally, they are also quite aggressive in the air and have been known to swoop hang gliders and take down drones. Indeed, there has been an incident of a Wedgie attempting to fly off with a young boy at a bird show in central Australia.

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Egrets

The recent sightings of Intermediate Egrets and Little Egrets nesting at Lake Hattah have prompted comments about the relative scarcity of such sightings in Victoria in recent years. I have been searching for both species for many years and, each time I saw an Egret, it was, until a year or two ago, invariably a Great Egret.

The Intermediate Egret, in particular, is difficult to distinguish from a Great Egret unless the viewer takes the time to study the bird carefully. It has a shorter neck than the Great Egret but this is not always obvious on first sight. A camera is a great help in identifying the species. The closer inspection provided by a photo reveals the slight difference around the head area. The point of skin at the gape (the back end of the bill) stops directly below the eye – not behind it as in the Great Egret. The bill usually turns yellow and orange during breeding time but at other times it is yellow. This species, also, has plumes emanating from the breast and lower back area.

The Little Egret is smaller than the other two species but this isn’t always obvious when the bird is viewed from a distance. During breeding periods, the lower bill turns black from yellow, the upper bill remains dark, the legs are black and plumes flow from the shoulder area, the breast and scapulars, as in the Intermediate Egret and, also, the mantle. The most obvious aid to identification, if they can be seen, is the two plumes that flow back from the head of the bird. These plumes are reduced to small stubs (or, often, to nothing) when the bird isn’t in breeding plumage.

Allan Taylor

Great Egret (in Breeding Pumage)

Bare Skin behind Eye; Kinked Neck; Plumes from Scapulars

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Intermediate Egret (in Breeding Plumage)

Green Skin doesn’t extend behind Eye; Pill pale Red and Orange;

Plumes from Scapulars and Breast

Little Egret (in Breeding Plumage)

Two Plumes from Nape; Plumes (not visible on above photo) on Scapulars, Breast and Mantle; Black bill and legs Plumes from Scapulars and Breast

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Cattle Egret

Nesting at Hattah Lakes

The end of December, again, brings to us the spectacle of an explosion of waterbird breeding activity at Hattah lakes. This time, it is as the result of environmental watering feeding water into the lakes after a high river. In 2016, the reverse was the situation (a high river after environmental flows). In both cases, however, the result appears to be the same – birds breeding at above-average levels.

The sequence of species’ breeding appears to be similar. The earlier breeders appear to be the Little Pied Cormorants and White Ibis. This year, Intermediate and Little and Great Egrets, Great Crested Grebes and Nankeen Night-herons have also bred. Last year those latter three species had young that continued to fledge after the White-necked Herons, in particular, had finished.

Some Little Black Cormorant and Darter nests have been seen but, if last years’ pattern repeats itself, those species will be amongst the later breeders. A White-faced Heron nest is also present. I fancy that the odd Pied and Great Cormorant nest might exist but it is very hard to identify the nesting birds that are situated back in the dense rows of gum saplings in the shallow water that most of the birds prefer.

At this date (early January) no White-necked heron or Yellow-billed Spoonbill nests have been seen but breeding may be occurring in lakes other than those I have visited. Those visited to date have been Lakes Hattah, Little Hattah and Mournpall.

Allan Taylor

Photo collage on next page by Allan Taylor

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Aboriginal Place Names

I guess that we all wonder about the source of the place names that occur in our District. I have been doing a bit of research and have ascertained the following information about the aboriginal meaning of some of our regions’ towns:

Boinka Flat Black Beetle Bitterang (lake) Red Boolungal Pelican Brokie (lake) She-oak Carwarp Possibly “Crow” or the sound a Raven makes Colignan The name of an aboriginal chief Coomealla Meeting Place Curlwaa Home of the wild peach (the quondong) Irymple Waterhole? Konardin (lake) Daughter Koorlong Lightwood Tree Kulkyne “kulk” – tree or wood; “kaalk” – forest or stick Merbein Originally Merebin – thought to mean “White Cliffs” Mildura “mill” meant either red or water; “dura” meant earth or rock Mournpall (lake) Sky Nandaly Fire Nip Nip (lake) Aboriginal lady’s name Ouyen Pink-eared Duck? Or Ghost Waterhole? Patchewollock “putje” – plenty; “wallah” – porcupine grass Pooncarie was originally Pooncaira but I don’t know what it means Linga A play on the Aboriginal word “lar-gni” meaning – camp of… anglicised to linger Werrimul Eagle? Or Emu? Yelta This was an aboriginal name for a small lagoon across the river from Wentworth Yelwell (lake) Echidna Millewa This was the Wiradjuri (Murrumbidgee Area) aboriginal name for the Murray River

There are numerous other place names in our area which the white settlers adopted from the aboriginals here and, most probably, their exact meanings weren’t known at that time. To interpret the name, an understanding of the local aboriginal dialect might be necessary. This leads me to discuss the location of the various tribes that existed in the extended Mildura area. I have compiled a list below.

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N.S.W.

From Menindee down the Darling to Avoca Station (north Parkintji/Barkinji/Bar:kendji of Wentworth) South- west of them from Popiltah in the north, Mirauira Wentworth in the south and Ral Ral (Renmark, SA) in the west (this area known by the southern mallee natives as Tar-ra) West of both Danggali/Danga:li East of Wentworth on the Murray to Euston (this area Kureinji/Keramin/Kemendoc/Yaako known as - or, possibly, the natives there were known by Yaako the southern mallee natives as - Yaako Yaako) East of Euston Mutti Mutti East of the Darling, including Mungo Barindji

Victoria

From SA border to near Mildura with a Ngintait very small area around the south- western corner of NSW Merbein area the explorer Blandowski called it Nyerinyeri (Nyeri Nyeri) which is confusing, because the tribe by that name existed around the Kulkyne area (see below) and other literature states that Merbein was in Ngintait territory Mildura to Chalka Creek, possibly Latje Latje / Darty Darty / Laitchi Laitchi / Walkanwani / extending across the northern Sunset Baluk-Mernen area to close to the SA border (though The Lail – Buil sub-tribe of the Wotjobaluk tribe knew the in one map this Murray Sunset area is Latje Latje people as “Baluk-Mernen” (people of the the province of the Lail-Buil sub-tribe of sandhills). The tribes west of Mildura knew the tribe Latje the Wotjobaluk tribe). Latje as Walkandwani. Around the early times of “Mildura Station” the area was known as Yerre Yerre country – again very confusing! Chalka Creek (Colignan) to Robinvale Jarri Jarri/Yerre Yerre/Yarre Yarre Around Robinvale Tati Tati/Dadi Dadi Swan Hill Area Wadi Wadi/Wati Wati From the northern Sunset Country or, Lail-Buil and the other tribes of the Wotjobalu (known as perhaps, only from Pine Plains the Malicundidj by the river tribes to their north-east) southwards. This area across to Latje Latje , Yerre Yerre, Tati Tati and Wadi Wadi

By Allan Taylor

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Delightful birdwatching in a Native Garden

15th 16th 17th January 2018

Nestled at the foot of the granitic hills of Warby-Ovens National Park in North East Victoria is a three-acre property with a lovely view across the valley to mountain ranges. It is close to Taminick Gap Road and 15 minutes’ drive to Glenrowan.

Most of it is a native garden designed and planted by the late Jill Rossiter, a local field naturalist, botanist and bird observer. Some of the garden’s plants were propagated from rare seed collected in Western Australia in 1969. The native plants now provide a haven for many birds.

At 6pm, my sister Jenny and I arrived at Kurringal Cottage in the three acre garden and she filled six birdbaths with tap water which attracted a great variety of birds every evening and morning.

The most spectacular and consistent visitors were a pair of Turquoise Parrots. They are a small (20cm) slim bird bright emerald green above and canary yellow underneath. The adult male has bright turquoise face and wings and scarlet red shoulder patches.

When alighting on a perch and when taking off the male parrots flares its brilliant yellow tail feathers and flashes its blue and green wings.

This group of ‘grass parrots’ was almost extinct a century ago. In Birdlife September 2016, Chris Tzaros explains why these birds became endangered and describes projects around Warby Ranges which are focused on protecting and restoring breeding habitats. Most of the wooden nest boxes, specifically designed and built for Turquoise Parrots, have been placed at key breeding sites on private properties and are being occupied.

Birds at Kurringal Cottage:

The first arrival for a drink that we saw was a W Wagtail. Then came a Common Blackbird accompanied by impatient House Sparrows. Superb Blue Wrens popped up from surrounding foliage. Azure Kingfishers carefully approached one at a time.

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Many White browed Babblers were bouncing left & right continually babbling. Also Red-rumped Parrots, Eastern Rosellas, New Holland Honeyeaters, Yellow Thornbills, Magpie, White-plumed Honeyeaters. Some birds bathed, then quickly shook themselves dry.

There was Grey Shrike-thrush’s nest in Banksia elderans at head height with 2 chicks. Welcome Swallow, Raven and others passed overhead. Boobook Owl at night, Zebra Finches, Peaceful Dove and Kookaburra were heard. Crested Shrike-tit was wearing a black crest crewcut-style.

My sister Jenny used technical phone equipment to help identify some unknown birds by picture and song while we stared in amazement out of various windows.

As we drove along Maroondah Highway over a narrow stretch of the Eildon Reservoir, a truly awesome Sea-Eagle swung upwards and away. The whole three days of bird-watching and travel were a wonderful experience.

Helen Devilee

Great places for a bit of indoor birdwatching!

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Hearing Loss

Some two years’ ago Finley asked me several times “what bird belongs to that call?” in relation a distant call. It was embarrassing to have to inform him that I couldn’t hear the calls at all or at the very best couldn’t separate the distant call from some more obvious calls nearby.

More recently I have followed Pauline (Follett) on a chase of some Mallee Emu-wrens that she could hear not far away. I was, initially, forced to rely on her until I made visual contact with the birds as, in my opinion, the birds were totally silent.

The late Ken Rix’s birding abilities were infinitely better than mine (he had encyclopaedic knowledge, fast bird identification skills, 20/20 vision, etc.) except, in his latter years, for one aspect – he couldn’t hear the high-pitched calls of White-browed Treecreepers in the distance. But now I realise that his abilities, even in that regard, were as good as mine are now. During the last couple of years I have surmised that that species is declining in numbers in the Kelso Block because I seldom hear their calls anymore. Just recently, however, it has dawned on me that the birds might still be there but that I can no longer hear them.

Over the last few weeks I have been commenting on the fact that the young Collared Sparrowhawks in the park at Dareton have calls that are softer than those of a few years’ ago. The park is a little over a block away from my house and, in the past, I could hear the young birds’ squeaking from my home. A few days ago Pauline (Follett) said that she could hear the birds from outside of my house. This has forced me to admit to myself that the sparrowhawks are just as noisy as they were in days of yore – I just can’t hear them now.

None of this is of great importance but, if you are worried about the loss of hearing and the loss of the ability to recall bird species’ names (and, more to the point, peoples’ names), you aren’t alone. It happens to everyone at a certain age – even me. Just remember, though – only “horses heat eh”!

By Allan Taylor

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Nest Choices

It is not unusual for one bird species to take advantage of the nesting work done by another. Falcons, for example, never construct their own nests and either nest directly onto features such as rock ledges and tree hollows or use the old nest of, say, an Australian Magpie or Raven. Following are a few photos of birds taking advantage of another species’ nests.

Nankeen Kestrel in Magpies’ nest House Sparrow in Fairy Martins’ nest

White-breasted Woodswallow in Magpie-larks’ nest; Brown Falcon and 2 chicks in Ravens’(? )nest

Striated Pardalote in Fairy Martins’ nest Allan Taylor

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Nestling Mortality

Several species of raptors nest annually within walking distance of my home in Dareton. The most visible to us in town is a Collared Sparrowhawk pair that nest in one of the two large parks in the town centre.

The average number of nestlings raised by the pair each year seems to be about two. A Peregrine Falcon pair might raise, on average, two nestlings annually while two pairs of Whistling Kites that nest quite close together on the Cowanna Bend side of the Murray River would raise more than twice that number each year. Nankeen Kestrels raised five young ones in the old Mildura Co-op building some three years ago but the average number raised by them would be two to three chicks.

This has prompted me to wonder what has happened to all those young birds since they have left the nest.

Taking the Collared Sparrowhawk family as an example, there have been dozens of extra adults raised that are not reflected in the number of birds sighted at any one time in this District. If it can be presumed that the breeding life of the pair in the Dareton park is five years and that they raise two nestlings per year, they would have raised 10 additional adults over their breeding life. However, sightings each year haven’t increased by a factor of ten. In fact, there are long periods in each year when no sightings at all occur.

After nesting, most raptors are known to disperse away from their breeding territories for various reasons and this would account for reduced sightings in a particular area but, when such dispersal occurs, one would think that sightings in neighbouring territories would increase.

But they don’t.

The reason, obviously, has to be the result of mortality. Young birds are forced off the parents’ breeding territories when they are old enough to fend for themselves but the young birds’ hunting abilities are aren’t initially of a high standard and many must die soon after leaving the nest due to starvation. This situation would be exacerbated if the young birds aren’t lucky enough to disperse into an area that isn’t part of a neighbouring Collared Sparrowhawk pairs’ territory. In the event of a young bird entering such a territory, I guess that the established pair would aggressively hunt the new arrivals away.

Again, the food sources in those dispersal areas might be poor or even non-existent because of drought or other factors. The winter period is known to be the most difficult season for most birds and large numbers of raptors die from starvation during this time.

Significant numbers of nestlings are killed by other bird species – other raptors and owls, for example, and it could be assumed that these kills would extend to older birds at times. The Dareton Sparrowhawks, for example, nest within a few hundred meters of the Peregrine Falcon nest and I have often wondered how the two species co-exist. During nesting time the falcon does a daily sweep of the town area and, I’m sure, wouldn’t hesitate to prey on an unwary sparrowhawk.

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From this, it would be thought that Peregrine Falcons would have a much better chance of survival than, say, the sparrowhawks but this appears not to be the case as mortality in young Peregrines is thought to be around 55% in the first year after fledging.

Allan Taylor

Birds in Flight

Whistling Kite in Dive; Little Eagle in Stoop; Peregrine Falcon hunting.

Allan Taylor

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Bustards

Bustards have been seen in the grazing country north of Mildura during the early to late spring period of 2107. Sightings have occurred at Wamberra Station and, further north, at Top Hut, Chibnalwood and Cavan Stations.

The accompanying photo was supplied by Patty Byrnes of Wamberra and was taken by her around their harvest time.

Thanks Patty – it’s great to hear news of birdlife in the districts surrounding Mildura. Undoubtedly, many interesting immigrants arrive there and depart without Sunraysia people being aware of them. Marg Whyte, of Willow Point Station on the Anabranch, has told me of northern birds such as Red- winged Parrots and Bourke Parrots visiting the various lakes up there in the past. Barb Arnold, from Bindara Station (north of Pooncarie), had a Spotted Bowerbird visit her home some time ago and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos have been known to visit that area from the north occasionally.

Grey-fronted Honeyeaters move in from the north to around the Scotia area quite regularly while Purple-gaped, Fuscous and Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters drift north into the southern Sunset Country from the south when conditions favour such movements.

Allan Taylor

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Interesting Sightings

Date Species Notes Observers November 2017 Banded Lapwing, Eastern All at Port Lincoln Ken Job Curlew, Elegant Parrot, Grey Plover, Grey-tailed Tattler November Azure Kingfisher Kerang Ken Job November Shy Heathwren Pheeney’s Track Ken Job November Nankeen Kestrel Nest box at Irymple: 80th A & S Hawtin fledgling since 1992 26th November Malleefowl A pair north of Ouyen F Japp 30th November Blue-faced Honeyeater Irymple: talking in garden for J Surman quite a while 30th November Blue-faced Honeyeater In garden M Rix 18th December Glossy Ibis 2 at wetlands in Birchip Alasdair 14th January 2018 Turquoise Parrots Glenrowan, 4 birds Helen 16th January Buff-banded Rail Etiwanda Wetlands – adult and Pauline Follett one juvenile 21st January Black-faced Cuckoo- 1 bird in lemon-scented Gum at Roger shrike home 22nd January Fork-tailed Swifts 20 in Irymple Alec & Sharon 25th January Peregrine Falcon Lemon-scented Gum Roger 26th January Fork-tailed Swifts 6 at Bowling Club, Wentorth Col & Di 26th January Little Button-quail 1 at Trentham Cliffs Station Pauline Follett 31st January Rainbow Bee-eater 1 at Johnsons Bend Bev 2nd February Australian Hobby Irymple Alec & Sharon 2nd February Zebra Finches 5, Backyard in Irymple Alec & Sharon 2nd February Pink-eared Ducks 2, Thegoa Lagoon, Wentworth Col & Di 2nd February Black-winged Stilts Thegoa Lagoon, Wentworth Col & Di 2nd February Black-shouldered Kite Wentworth Golf Course Col & Di 4th February Marsh Sandpiper 1 in flooded paddock, Pomona Col & Di & Des 4th February Black-fronted Dotterel Pomona Col & Di & Des 6th February Crested Pigeon 7 at home – on clothes line Judy

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Calendar

 These are all scheduled for Saturdays  Dates and venues are all just suggestions and can be varied at club meetings  All outings to commence at the Bike Hub, Pine Ave., at 8.00 am – again, subject to alteration at a preceding meeting

Date Event 10th February Hattah Lakes Tuesday 6th March Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 10th March Wingillie Station Tuesday 3rd April Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 7th April Garston Station/Ron Gol Tuesday 1st May Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 5th - Sunday 6th May Calperum Station – camp-out over 2 days Tuesday 5th June Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 9th June Mungo National Park Tuesday 3rd July Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 7th July Merbein Common/Brickworks Lagoon/Cowanna Lagoon Tuesday 7th August Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 11th August Pink Lakes/Wymlet Tank Tuesday 4th September Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre 8th September Popiltah or Windamingle Lakes – subject to them having water Tuesday 2nd October Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 6th October Mildura Sewage Farm Tuesday 6th November Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 10th November Mourquong/Buronga Tuesday 4th December Club Meeting – 7:30pm Carnegie Centre Saturday 8th December Christmas Break-up

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