I live on the Georges River on the south side of Sydney and have been bird
watching the sandstone headlands along the river for a few decades. Over the
last five years I have coordinated a group volunteers to watch Powerful Owls
along the river leading to extensive observation on any of the 25+
territories from Campbelltown to Tom Ugly’s. All this has meant walking the
suburbs and river sides for a couple days of each week. What both my partner
and I have noticed this year is the dramatic increase in the number of Musk
Lorikeets which APPEAR to be present. Not only do their numbers seem
significantly higher but they are coming much lower in the foliage to feed.
In previous years this species could frequently be heard high flying or in
the tops of eucalypts. This year, and on more than one occasion, we have
been able to literally walk up to eye level and about an arms length away
for one or a number of birds. Are we imagining this or are others seeing
Mush Lorikeet numbers increase?
Arguments about species numbers seem to have a long history and I vaguely
recollect Darwin suggesting a number above 30k. Cracraft and others of the
PSC bent came up with similar figures in there endless polemic with Meyer
and BSC crowd and, of course, there are “ultrataxon” sleights of hand.
Having spent a fair bit of life playing with seabirds I have often wondered
about the shearwaters in general and the Wedgetail in particular. I think
these may be the second most common species but in the hand birds from one
part of the Pacific seem different to others. One of the seabirder’s party
tricks is calling up birds and I note that what works on the Cap-Bunker
islands is not effective on the NSW south coast. Just sayin’
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Storm, if there’s a general food shortage at the moment, that would also be affecting trees previously in cleared areas if they were still there, wouldn’t it? Ie we’d have more flying foxes, but they’d still be starving?
Peter Shute
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On 19 Dec. 2016, at 1:47 pm, storm <storm.stanford@gmail.com<mailto:storm.stanford@gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi All
The flying-foxes moved to Lachlan Swamp, CPT following the dispersal in RBGS.
The camp in Kareela started after the desal plant was constructed on the same block as the camp as Kurnell. Animals are slowly starting to use the camp at Kurnell again but it’s not clear they will ever leave Kareela completely, despite the ongoing (though presently suspended because of the food shortage) dispersal action.
There is a significant food shortage effecting the grey-headed flying-fox though the range from Melbourne to SEQ. Where there is flowering, nectar flow is poor. This food shortage has seen numbers into care in excess of 5 x the normal numbers coming into care over the last 6 weeks. Animals are in parts of the range associated with food shortage (western NSW/ Victoria/ SA) Thousands of young have died. Hundreds of adults have died.
Bringing this back to topic, the lack of flowering / poor quality flowering may also be driving the movement of the musk loris this season.
Dr Peggy Eby discusses the food shortage in this article:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-22/baby-bat-deaths-due-to-loss-of-habitat-and-food/8044720
She discusses the development of camps here
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-31/sydney-flying-fox-camp-numbers-increasing/7462746
Storm
On 19 December 2016 at 05:53, Peter Shute <pshute@nuw.org.au<mailto:pshute@nuw.org.au>> wrote:
In the case of the flying foxes, it’s a pity we don’t know enough about their movements to pinpoint the lost habitat. People’s anger at their presence could then be redirected to those involved in the clearing.
I don’t think many people are annoyed by lorikeets like they are by flying foxes. Provided they aren’t right by their house, they’re welcomed, and even then many are prepared to put up with the noise.
Peter Shute
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In the case of the flying foxes, it’s a pity we don’t know enough about their movements to pinpoint the lost habitat. People’s anger at their presence could then be redirected to those involved in the clearing.
I don’t think many people are annoyed by lorikeets like they are by flying foxes. Provided they aren’t right by their house, they’re welcomed, and even then many are prepared to put up with the noise.
Peter Shute
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I haven’t come across the term “Bassian” before, except in the species Bassian Thrush. Google tells me it’s the name of an ecoregion. Can anyone tell me where its boundaries are?
Peter Shute
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