Fine food and owlet-nightjar magic at our December bird walk
Posted on 7 December, 2016 by Tanya Loos
Our last bird outing of 2016 was a little bit different – 17 of us met at Jane Rusden’s bush block at Campbells Creek. After a fairly humid walk, we returned to Jane’s home where she had prepared a incredibly delicious festive morning tea! But let’s talk about birds first – and, in particular, our thrilling sighting of a owlet-nightjar.
Jane and Martin’s property is 40 acres of heathy dry/ valley grassy forest that runs along a gully line. Their property was included in our 2016 Connecting Landscapes on ground works program, with weed and rabbit control, some planting and the erection of a number of exclosures to keep out hungry browsing wallabies. The property is a hotspot for woodland birds such as Australian Owlet-nightjar, Speckled Warbler and Painted Button-quail. In fact, on Monday Jane excitedly contacted us reporting an adult Painted Button-quail with three large chicks!
Our walk on the 4th December 2016 was rather quiet, with only 18 bird species observed over a couple of hours. We travelled up Hawkins Rd into the surrounding Castlemaine National Heritage Diggings Park, and then looped around to walk up the gully on Jane’s block. The highlight was when Greg Waddell called out to our group – an owlet-nightjar had been disturbed by our presence!
After being flushed-out, the owlet-nightjar returned to its cosy hollow in a broken off tree stag. Pic by Peter Turner.
The Australian Owlet-nightjar is a surprisingly small bird, and so special it is in a bird family all on its own! There is just the one species in Australia, and six species in Papua New Guinea. For many of us (including me!) it was the first time we had laid eyes on this enchanting bird.
The owlet-nightjar is considered to be a good indicator of ecosystem health – their penchant for using many small hollows tells us that there are plenty of hollows in that part of the bush.
Despite the forest being reasonably quiet we all had a chance to brush up on our bird calls – with many learning the calls of the Spotted Pardalote and the White-throated Treecreeper for the first time.
As we headed into the gully, some of us observed a Yellow-footed Antechinus – a quick glimpse of this small charismatic native mammal.
After our walk we returned to Jane’s. I was a little late as I had to get some feathered five maps from the car, and as I went up the stairs all I could hear was ecstatic ‘oohs and ahs’ at the food Jane had so kindly prepared!
The feast was our way to thank everyone for their participation on the monthly bird walks, and for sending in their bird sightings. The dairy-free Mango Celebration Cake, Lime Macadamia Balls and Fruit Cake were highlights and those who subscribe to the Bird Survey Enews will get the amazing cake recipe as requested!
Huge thanks to Jane for the feast and inviting us into her home, Greg Waddell for spotting the owlet-nightjar, and Peter Turner for photographing it! Thanks also to the Helen MacPherson Smith Trust who support our Stewards for Woodland Bird program.
Our monthly bird walks will continue in 2017 on the first Sunday of the month. Contact Tanya Loos for more information: tanya@connectingcountry.org.au or phone 5472 1594.
I concur with Saide’s comments. I haven’t had a good year healthwise (unfortunately with very little warning), which has kept me from many walks and now I’ve had a bad fall! Here’s hoping 2017 will bring more active bird watching and swatting up on my birdcalls too.
I’ve seen owlet-nightjars here at Muckleford Forest, one in my letterbox! I think it was one of the cutest things I have ever seen (barring my children of course).
Thanks carol, I hope you can join us again on bird walks too. Owlet-nightjars are indeed the cutest, what a treat to have one in your letterbox! Here’s to a happy and healthy 2017, Tanya
Well, what an inspiring account! I am so looking forward to these bird watching opportunities starting again in 2017 as I have missed most during 2016. There are so many birds calling at our place near Providence Gully that I do not recognise: How does one tell the difference between a striated pardalote, a spotted pardalote and a superb fairy wren birdcall is my key question of the moment. Have recently found six nests of various birds around our house, including some pardalotes who have been nesting in the walls of a neighbouring house for the past 10 years! I am yet to see an owlet nightjar. The Stewards for Woodland Birds is such a marvellous program thanks to the Helen McPherson Smith Philanthropic Trust.
Maybe the newly announced funding for citizen science projects can continue support for Connecting Country’s marvellous work engaging the community through building knowledge, experience and passion for our natural environment along with good monitoring and data collection! Congratulations to all involved in this project.
Thanks for that lovely feedback Saide! The Stewards program has a focus on the Sandon and Strangways area next year so I will be in touch : ).
Bird calls are like learning a language – not that hard if you are patient. The way I learned was by watching the bird actually make its call and then writing down what I thought the bird sounded like. And then I would compare recordings of the call, and descriptions in the field guides. If you don’t have the Morcombe or Pizzey bird apps, then Birds In Backyards website has easy-to-play bird calls. I do so look forward to talking birds with you in 2017!