Hi all, My how Birding-aus has changed…we are getting a few updates from Chris, and a few congrats from others, but I haven’t seen any suggestion of how or why the bird is where it is. When “the lapwing” was at Burren Junction, this list was alive with theories, ranging from over-shooting, reverse migration to conspiracies of jumping out of cargo boxes! I think the story with the Forest Wag might be similar. At this time of year, one would expect the bird to be flying north to their breeding grounds in North-east China, Korea, Japan etc from their wintering grounds in SE Asia….GENERALLY similar to a Grey-headed Lapwing. Perhaps this bird has simply gone south instead of north and presumably flew over the only suitable habitat along the way in the suitably-vegetated Top End and then struck gold in the comfy confines of an un-natural, but quite acceptable piece of habitat in suburban Alice Springs? Why would a bird like this over-shoot on a southerly trajectory at this time of year? Yes we know that Wagtails are long-distance migrants capable of long ‘over-shoots’ (noting that this is not a Motacilla Wagtail mind you), but the time of year suggests to me that it’s a reverse migrant. If this is the case, then the bird might remain site-faithful (or at least in the area) for a while to come? The lapwing was first reported on the 19th June (2006), but it could have been there since May and was there as far as I can tell until at least the 19th Sept. Just a theory…or rather, a series of theories / questions….something to get a good discussion going anyway. Cheers, Mick p.s. cracking bird…it was always my #1 target when searching for vagrants on Christmas Island but Lisa Preston beat me to it! p.p.s to the Albany pelagic to Alice twitcher mentioned on Chris’ blog – I remind you again John, 2012 has ended!! 😉 ===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au
http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Many vagrants to Australia can reasonably be explained as ship- or storm-‘assisted’. Those aside, I’ve often wondered whether every day there are birds streaming off land masses in all directions – 99.99% of which drop into the ocean before reaching landfall, the occasional Hoopoe or Wagtail or Pond Heron arriving ‘safely’ (and, even more occasionaly, colonising). I have read about sailors encountering terrestrial birds flying past their ships when miles out at sea, perhaps resting for a while on the mast or deck, and then continuing on with no goal apparent.
Birds are, of course, capable of amazing migrations and peregrinations – thanks to highly evolved and sophisticated brains. We are surely only just beginning to appreciate how intelligent birds are? We’re acheiving this, in part, by removing our own blinkers as to how intelligence might be made manifest. That said, just as we humans – with our highly evolved and sophisticated brains – do all sorts of stupid things, why not birds? Some of these birds may have mental defects, some may just have made a strange (wrong?) decision. We have to be careful we don’t just regard birds as either perfect logicians or else victims of storms / inadvertant stowaways.
Anyway, after years of voyeurism, that’s my virign sortie into birding-aus.
Cheers, Glen
Not sure about intelligence involvement in migration.
It has been shown that at least some bird migrations are probably genetically controlled (1). One example is the European Blackcap where different populations migrate from central Europe in different directions. Crosses between individuals give progeny which migrate in an intermediate direction. Plus there are many shorebirds where juveniles migrate successfully on their first long distance flight in the absence of adults. I don’t see how this latter would work in the absence of a large genetically controlled component.
So it wouldnt surprise me if such migration vagrants have some sort of mutation in the genes of the inbuilt migration navigation system causing them to migrate incorrectly. In general the migration to a benign enviroment is likely to be rare but it would be interesting to know if such vagrants return to the same area in future.
1. Control of Bird Migration by P. Berthold. *Chapman and Hall, 1996. *
*Cheers *
*Andrew *
Many vagrants to Australia can reasonably be explained as ship- or storm-‘assisted’. Those aside, I’ve often wondered whether every day there are birds streaming off land masses in all directions – 99.99% of which drop into the ocean before reaching landfall, the occasional Hoopoe or Wagtail or Pond Heron arriving ‘safely’ (and, even more occasionally, colonising). I have read about sailors encountering terrestrial birds flying past their ships when miles out at sea, perhaps resting for a while on the mast or deck, and then continuing on with no goal apparent.
Birds are, of course, capable of amazing migrations and peregrinations – thanks to highly evolved and sophisticated brains. We are surely only just beginning to appreciate how intelligent birds are? We’re achieving this, in part, by removing our own blinkers as to how intelligence might be made manifest. That said, just as we humans – with our highly evolved and sophisticated brains – do all sorts of stupid things, why not birds? Some of these birds may have mental defects, some may just have made a strange (wrong?) decision. We have to be careful we don’t just regard birds as either perfect logicians or else victims of storms / inadvertent stowaways.
Anyway, after years of voyeurism, that’s my virgin sortie into birding-aus.
Cheers, Glen
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
http://birding-aus.org ===============================
I was thinking camel, as Alice is in the desert….
Yours in all things “green”
John Harris Croydon, Vic Owner – Wildlife Experiences Ecologist/Zoologist Nature Photographer Wildlife Guide wildlifeexperiences@gmail.com 0409090955
President, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (www.fncv.org.au)
Perhaps ship and then the train down from Darwin?
Rob Morris
Brisbane, Australia
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
http://birding-aus.org ===============================
G’day Mick *et al.*
I recall that there was a huge depression over the Top End and Kimberley in late March. This was the time the ‘edible-nest’ type swiftlets were being seen at Broome sewerage ponds (4th April).
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/late-in-season-but-the-rain-still-counts-for-top-end/24165
http://weather.ninemsn.com.au/news/monsoon-returning-to-top-end-with-heavy-rain/24094
Cheers Steve
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
http://birding-aus.org ===============================