Winter migrants brighten bush and paddock
Posted on 20 June, 2015 by Tanya Loos
Connecting Country surveys birds in two distinct seasons – the winter non-breeding period from May to July, and the spring breeding period from September to November. Each season has its characteristic bird species, as well as quite a bit of overlap.
The 2015 winter bird surveys began in mid-May. In the Box Ironbark forests, such as occurs at the Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve pictured here, Golden Whistlers are present in good numbers. The magnificent golden male looks like a sunrise in his yellow, black and white plumage. The greyish brown females and juveniles can be hard to identify at first, but once you get your eye in they can be identified with confidence. Geoff Park has some great photos here and ID tips here.
When this photo was taken at Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve it was below zero degrees! The bush birds didn’t seem to mind – with plenty of weebills and thornbills bustling about.
Also bringing a blaze of colour to the region are Flame Robins – very aptly named little robins which may be seen mainly on grazed paddocks, often in groups of ten or more. Like the Golden Whistlers, the Flame Robins have a very brightly coloured male, and brownish females and young birds, known as “brown birds”.
A stunning male Flame Robin, photo by Geoff Park.
Both of these species have raised their young at higher altitudes of the Great Dividing Range, and are now spending winter in the lowlands. Lucky for us!
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