Lyrebird Tales Volume 29 Number 3 September 2020 BirdLife Yarra Valley Newsletter A Birdwatching Highlight by John Barkla Like most Melburnians, my current reality is I am living with restrictions imposed by a tiresome virus. To raise your spirits, I would like to relay two experiences which occurred before the current lockdown. The first was in May, when, in my role as Chair of BCAC (the Biodiversity Conservation Advisory Committee for Melbourne Water’s Western Treatment Plant), I was inspecting the conservation areas in the plant. The plant was closed and access could only be gained by completing a detailed TRA (Task Risk Assessment) and observing strict biosecurity measures for COVID. For security, I was requested to take someone with me and had no trouble convincing my partner Alison to come too. Driving around the Plant, I spotted a group of four Orange- Orange-bellied Parrot photo © John Barkla bellied Parrots on a roadside about 100 metres away. Exercising extreme care not to flush them, I stopped the car After the photos were processed, all four birds could be and climbed down onto the road to try to establish whether identified by reference to the colour of their leg bands and they were carrying leg bands which might identify them. the letter visible on each one. The photos and band details With the four birds under observation, I did not move for were forwarded to the OBP Recovery team. They later over an hour as the birds quietly fed. To suggest it was cool, reported back to me that one bird had not been seen since would be an understatement! During the entire time, the August 2019. It was not known to be on the Plant over birds were together, either stationary, or slowly walking summer and was not seen on the Tasmanian breeding towards me. With the light failing around 5pm, they had all grounds. Where it was is a mystery. Continued on page 2 moved to about 2.5 metres from me. Something I did not see caused them to flush and they flew back to roughly where they were first seen. With over 400 photos taken and past my intended departure time, I climbed back in the car Contents and we drove home. 1 - 2. A Birdwatching Highlight by John Barkla 2. Committee. Whose Footprints and What Bird is That? Perils of a Pigeon Fancier by Dick Wellington. 3. A stoush between Magpies by Dace Fitton A Sad Tale by Dick Wellington. Interesting Sightings. 4 - 6. Lake Mountain Surveys. 6. Mistletoebird spreading seeds by Manfred Hennig 7 – 9. Nest Boxes for birds and Wildlife by Valerie Fowler 9. Vale Maureen Bond. 10.Outing to Pound Bend Reserve by Michael Feller and photos by Peter Birtles 11. Walk from Wandin by Warren Cousins Orange-bellied Parrot photo © John Barkla 12. Changes to our routine. Lyrebird Tales Whose footprint? What bird is that? Orange-bellied Parrots photo © John Barkla The second experience was a month later. When trying to relocate them, we found four parrots in the same general area as before and naturally assumed that they were the same birds, given their rarity. After processing the new photos I found: Photos © Manfred Hennig. Answers on page 9 • I had only managed to get leg band details for two of the birds, not all four as last time; and • Of the two I got band details for, one was in the first group, but the other was not. BirdLife Australia Yarra Valley Branch So, a new bird! Once again, the Orange-bellied Recovery P.O. Box 1172, Healesville Vic. 3777 Team was notified and copies of my photos forwarded. email: [email protected] Committee Convener: Warren Cousins Deputy-Convener: Manfred Hennig Secretary: Alma Mitchell Treasurer: Michael Feller Conservation Officer: Michael Feller Orange-bellied Parrot photo © John Barkla Other Members: Jan Llewelyn. Doug Pocock A final observation. I have seen many OBPs (certainly hundreds) over my lifetime, but I have rarely seen them drinking (perhaps a few times only). I have always assumed this was because they get all of the water they need from the Perils of the Pigeon Fancier by Dick Wellington samphire plants they eat. When we had the second group The pigeon fancier who we see, usually about every second under observation, two of the four birds left the group and or third day when we go that way, has been losing a bird or flew to the edge of a sewage treatment lagoon. Suspicious, I two every time we talk to him although his flock never seems crawled to the edge and peered over the vegetation to see to go down much. At present he lets the birds fly in two one bird was drinking. The other may have been too, but it separate events, divided by their sex as the males only want was obscured. I fired off some photos which I added to my to mate with the females if they can get together. He showed website. If you would like to see them, you can find them us a damaged bird, last time we were there, that had been here - attacked around its belly but was able to escape. He knows https://www.thewonderfulworldofbirds.com/Countries/Austr Margaret and I are bird lovers but apparently doesn't hold alia/i-m3ZPhQf/A that against us. His loft is on Mt Dandenong road, Kilsyth and All terribly exciting for this critically endangered bird. Recent he is there most mornings exercising and feeding the birds reports suggest that with the help of captive breeding, they which takes a couple of hours to do. may be making something of a comeback. I hope so. I also We were talking to Paul, the pigeon fancier, yesterday hope the Western Treatment Plant will be re-opened soon. morning and he said he had lost about 28 pigeons over the John Barkla last couple of months, and he attributes all to the Peregrines. 2 Lyrebird Tales Lyrebird Tales Interesting sightings 25/5/20 & 16/6/20 Brown Falcon (light morph) – Yarra Glen, Jim McMinn 12/6/20 and 23/6/20 Barking Owl calling (first time in 8 years) – Chum Creek, Michael Feller 14/6/20 Australian Shelduck (2) – Yarra Glen, P & V Fowler 14/6/20 Black Swans (2) – Yarra Glen, P & V Fowler 14/6/20 Australian Hobby – Yarra Glen/Yering, P & V Fowler 15/6/20 Black-shouldered Kite – Yering, Jim McMinn 15/6/20 Grey Goshawk (white morph) – Yarra Glenn, Jim McMinn 16/6/20 Brown Falcon (light morph) – Yering, Jim McMinn 20/6/20 Brown Falcons (pair) seen regularly – Yarra Glen, V & P Fowler Brown Falcon, Steels Creek photo © Sharyne Doensen 20/6/20 Whistling Kite (last seen at site 12 months before) – Lillydale Lake, Warren Cousins A ‘stoush’ between some Magpies 21/7/20 Masked Lapwing chick first day from nest – by Dace Fitton Mooroolbark, V & P Fowler We were packing up the van, getting ready to leave Mildura 24/7/20 Pied Currawongs (flock of 50+) – Mooroolbark, V & P when about five Magpies and one young Pied Butcherbird Fowler landed. One Magpie swiftly picked up a bread crust. Immediately one of the other Magpies sat heavily on its legs, 30/7/20 Brown Falcon - at Yering, Manfred Hennig pinning it firmly to the ground, while another Magpie began 4/8/20 Wedge-tailed Eagle – Mooroolbark, V & P Fowler tugging at the bread crust; a real team effort! The other Magpies and the Pied Butcherbird looked on. A struggle Early August, Cattle Egrets, Salvation Army Centre, Sheffield ensued and eventually the bread was extracted. To add insult Road, The Basin. Peter Mitchell. to injury, the bird on the ground was pecked and feathers 8/8/20 Blue-billed Ducks (2) amongst other waterfowl - flew, until finally the pinned Magpie made an undignified and Purple Swamphen (approximately 33 ), Wood Ducks (40+), ungainly escape. Black Ducks (10), Masked Lapwings (4), Australasian Grebe I could see that the attack was immediate and well planned – (1), Hoary-headed Grebe (1). The Purple Swamphens were very clever. I was glad that the Magpie who found the crust picking up fallen spikey chestnuts and taking them to the got away with the loss of only a few feathers and the attack dam to eat, away from the trees - at a farm dam in Toolangi, did not last long. Manfred Hennig White-faced Herons (4) seemed to have made themselves at A Sad Tale by Dick Wellington home on our property – Toolangi, Manfred Hennig The day before yesterday (Aug 7, 2020), from our kitchen Out of the Yarra Valley window, we were able to watch a pair of Masked Lapwings protecting their newborn chick. One bird was squatting over 10/6/20 White-bellied Sea Eagle (2), Whistling Kite, Pelican the chick on the concrete verandah of our nursing hostel and Little Pied Cormorant – Colier Arm of Lake Eildon, while the other hovered overhead. I worried that the birds Michael Feller were in a precarious position but couldn't access them because of our lockdown conditions so left them hoping to try and sort something yesterday morning. Of course, Friday night’s weather was absolutely atrocious with constant rain and wind and by yesterday it seemed obvious that the chick had not survived the night as the two adult birds reverted to their normal activities of grazing out on our lawns in the village and it's very obvious there's no chick now. Another exhibition of nature at its worst. We started monitoring a newborn Masked Lapwing chick on 1/7/20.