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From: andrewt@cs.su.oz (Andrew Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Wonga Pigeons & Azure Kingfishers
Message-ID: <2121@cluster.cs.su.oz.au>
Date: 25 Feb 91 05:17:22 GMT
References: <3968.27c7d116@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu>
Sender: news@cluster.cs.su.oz.au
Reply-To: andrewt@cluster.cs.su.oz (Andrew Taylor)
Organization: Basser Dept of Computer Science, University of Sydney, Australia
Lines: 54

In article <3968.27c7d116@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu> jahayes@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu
writes:
> And cardinals ... (much of the color is, as we all know, dietary in origin).

I've never heard this, please tell more.

> Just trying to get some outdoor stuff going, here....

Jim Rising, a rec.birds regular, was in Sydney recently with his wife at the
end of an Australian holiday. We visited Royal National Park just south of
Sydney, on the morning before they flew out hoping to find some birds they
hadn't seen.

Before parking we saw a plump Wonga Pigeon waddling accoss the grass of the
Audley picnic area. Neither the flocks of shrieking Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos
nor the Crimson Rosellas dodging through the trees were exciting after
several weeks in Australia. Better was the nearby male Satin Bowerbird's bower,
which every Sydney birder must know of, had been knocked around little 
by recent storms but still had an impressive array of blue plastic
litter + parrot feathers. 

We followed Lady Carrington drive from Audley through wet forest and
rainforest fragments.  Superb Lyrebirds are always easy to see near Audley
but we did better than usual with excellent views of three scratching through
the leaf litter.  We heard one mimic about 10 birds in succession, which is
mediocre by Lyrebird standards.

Not a bird, but the highlight of the morining was an Echidna crossing the track.
I demonstrated that you can pick up an Echidna up with only minor injuries
(to me).  It demonstrated a that pissed-of Echidna, doesn't run away, it just
digs until it disappears out of sight.

After that I didn't so well, late summer combined with me forgetting 
bird calls made it hard to find birds. Little Wattlebirds,
Lewin's Honeyeater and Eastern Spinebills were abundant but I couldn't find
two honeyeaters that Jim hadn't seen.  A full set of scrubwrens for Sydney
were present (White-Browed, Yellow-Throated and Large-Billed). A handsome
Variegated Fairy-Wren exhibited male breeding plumage. Black-Faced Monarch
were everywhere.

One bird was where I expected - at the end of the walk an Azure Kingfisher
obligingly called then landed on a dead branch in the river. Every detail 
down to the tiny orange feet in clear view. No snakes to see but a few
skinks and a male Eastern Water Dragon sat to be photographed with his
red tummy showing.

A 10km drive to a coastal heath location failed to bring the Emu-Wrens
I was sure would be there but numbers of Tawny-Crowned Honeyeaters
and some flowering Banksia were a consolation. 

We missed a few birds I hoped to find but still an interesting morning
in the 2nd oldest national park in the world.

Andrew Taylor


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