Fantails and Button-quails on the Metcalfe Bird Walk
Posted on 23 November, 2016 by Tanya Loos
On the 6th of November 2016, Connecting Country’s monthly bird walk was at Metcalfe Nature Conservation Reserve, or “the Common”. We met at the Metcalfe Hall, and some twenty of us were delighted to hear that locals, Brian and Kate Hamond, had something special they wished to share.
Safe and sound, photo by secondary school student Maeve Boyle
A large roll of wire in the Hamond’s open shed proved an excellent nesting spot for a pair of Grey Fantails. As we all gathered around, binoculars in hand, we were delighted to observe the pair swap over egg brooding duties. They seemed unconcerned by our presence, and Brian said he has been able to go about his usual business in the shed without disturbing the fantails. Many thanks to Brian and Kate for this exciting start to the morning.
We set off to the Common and the excitement continued – for the moment Greg Waddell opened the car door, we were stunned to get very good views of a small quail-like species as it walked and then flew away into the woodland. A rather technical discussion of Button-quail identification followed using a couple of bird books. We decided that the Pizzey and Knight field guide is most useful in these situations, as it has the key identifying feature in italics. It was agreed that the bird was a Little Button-quail, rather than the more common Painted Button-quail. Little Button-quails are being seen increasingly in Eastern Australia after these record-breaking rains and – although rarely seen – they are on our local bird-checklist-for-the-mount-alexander-region.
The highlight birds seen along the Ridge Track were probably the Rufous Whistlers, calling incessantly from the canopy. A quiet spot that morning, we saw just 13 species along the track. The wildflowers were stunning however – thick masses of flowering Chocolate Lilies and Yam Daisies.
We traveled around the Goldfields Rd to the more lush areas on the lower slopes of the Reserve, and did a Twenty Minute 2 Hectare count as we walked up the slope and we saw 9 species. The birds were a bit hard to see due to the lush and abundant growth on the Yellow Box and Grey Box. Again, the wildflowers were a treat- with Chocolate Lilies and Bulbine Lilies in huge drifts. Thanks to Maeve for being our scribe.
We also saw a white form of Chocolate lily! This is not an albino – just a colour variation. You may have noticed some white forms yourself – such as Wax-lip Orchids, and also more recently, Bluebells (Wahlenbergia).
Our Bird Walks usually finish up at about 11:30am, but this time we travelled back to the Metcalfe Hall and I gave a short Powerpoint presentation on the birds of the Metcalfe area.
It was a very enjoyable morning, and I would like to thank Debbie Farmer, Secretary of Metcalfe Landcare, for organising the Hall and publicising the event locally. It was fantastic to have some beginner birdwatchers there!
Smiles in the woodland, photo by Tanya Loos
What a great day this was and so varied with birds, wildflowers and the short presentation by Tanya at the hall.
A big thank you to Tanya and Debbie.