Howdy birders,
I had the pleasure recently of reading issues of Emu from the 1950s and was particularly interested to read about the migration of White-naped and Yellow-faced honeyeaters. According to several reports from the period, these birds could be found migrating northward at Mallacoota Vic, and Blackheath and Bundanoon NSW in numbers that were reportedly ‘not less than 3000 birds an hour’. (Vol 56 1956, pp 421, vol 58 1958 pp 370) Can anyone confirm these numbers? And is this mass migration a thing of the past or can they still be seen in these numbers? I’m asking predominantly to satiate my curiosity though I’m currently studying Australian migrant bush-birds with a view to getting a handle on how their patterns are changing with habitat loss and climate changes, and identifying bottlenecks that may affect persistence of these species. I’d love to hear any other interesting tales or titbits of knowledge you have regarding our migrants/nomadics.
Claire Runge PhD Student The Ecology Centre School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Email: c.runge1@uq.edu.au Website: http://www.fullerlab.org/category/people/
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Comments
7 responses to “Honeyeater migration”
Dear All, Counting migrating honeyeaters has got to be one of the most enjoyable birding experiences I can think of, especially when all you have to do is look up in your own backyard! The fact that it occurs in arguably the nicest season helps (especially in the beautiful Blue Mountains). In my opinion it is a hugely addictive activity and if one’s own backyard doesn’t get huge numbers then one finds oneself wanting to take off to the hot spots at the drop of a hat. Being involved in a formal monitoring program just makes the whole thing that more rewarding. I enjoy the unpredictable nature of counting – you start a count with 20 birds flying over and then nothing for 10 minutes and then suddenly another rush – or you might just get 3 birds, or more desirably a pretty constant stream. On Saturday morning I was packing the car at 8am and loads were constantly flying over, but my count was not due to start until 9am, by which time they had slowed to a trickle and I only got 35 in the 20 mins!
And Carol is doing an exceptional job organising the count (and the 19 counters)!! And as Carol says there is a mix of species with the Yellow-faced being the most abundant and the White-naped coming in a close second, depending on what stage of the migration season, however on any given count I usually hear and/or see the Silvereyes and Spotted Pardalotes, often Striated Pardalotes and sometimes see large flocks of Red Wattlebirds moving through too. So you never know what’s coming next, another factor adding to HCAS – honeyeater counting addiction syndrome!
Wow! I have only seen roughly half that figure in 20 mins (last year), it’s a question of being in the right place at the right time, but anyone who wants to see the migration should come to the mountains on a clear day and experience it for themselves – try Narrow Neck at Katoomba or even just Wentworth Falls lookout, or do the track between Govett’s Leap and Evan’s Lookout and watch them streaming along from tree to tree at the top of the cliffs. If you would like to join me on one of my counts please contact me off list (I count at Narrow Neck and another site in Katoomba). The migration reaches its peak around now and counting finishes in mid May.
Cheers,
Arwen
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Hi Mike, Barbara and all,
Yes, the Yellow-faced Honeyeater migration has started in the NSW Blue Mountains too. I was away for the last week in March when the first flocks usually start coming through, but I received reports of a few moving then. However it’s often the first cold snap in April which really triggers them to start moving in much larger numbers. That cold snap happened this week and sure enough, the birds are following.
In fact, the counting of migrating honeyeaters has entered a new era in the Blue Mountains. Members of Blue Mountains Bird Observers are now doing regular counts each autumn for the IBA project. This year we have 19 volunteers counting on a weekly basis and as a result it looks like we’ll have someone counting on every morning between now and the middle of May. Counts are performed for 20 minutes at 5 key sites across the mountains. We do already know that there is enormous variation from day to day which seems to be associated with the weather, as well as great variation from one year to another. Last autumn (the first year of this project) was a very slow year with particularly low numbers of birds observed. Already this year we’ve seen greater numbers, with one volunteer at Shipley (Blackheath) counting 1090 birds in 20 minutes on Wednesday this week.
To answer the question regarding the species, the vast majority of our birds are Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, with a few White-naped which generally increase as the season progresses until they make up a significant proportion in May. In addition we see quite a few flocks of pardalotes (Spotted and Striated), Silvereyes, Red Wattlebirds and Noisy Friarbirds moving through. Occasionally other species such as Fuscous Honeyeaters, Mistletoebirds etc, join in.
As the season progresses I’ll be able to report more.
The Blue Mountains are about 80 km west of Sydney.
Cheers,
Carol
At 4:42 PM +1000 12/4/12, Michael Tarburton wrote:
At 1:24 PM +1000 12/4/12, Barbara Jones wrote:
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YFHE migration is underway further north too. We camped in Shoalhaven Gorge and kayaked out today and from about 9am there were sporadic flocks of 20-30 moving along the edge of the river. As we passed the wall of Tallowa Dam there was a larger flock swirling around – collectively indecisive about crossing several hundred metres of open space.
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G’day Barbara
Yesterday I had a total of 37 Yellow-faced Honeyeaters in small groups all heading your way over 8 hours. Well I had to count these I did not get any swifts!
This was at the Thurra River rest area Princes Highway, Vic at 37 33 59s 149 16 33e.
I guess they will be reaching another intrepid Honeyeater counter in the Blue Mtns soon (Carol Probets).
Cheers & Happy birdwatching
Mike =================== Michael Tarburton tarburton.m@optusnet.com.au ===================
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Merrilyn et al,
I recognise most as Yellow-faced from the call and ‘assume’ others that size will be White-naped. There are a few larger ones amongst them, (not Little Wattlebird size, they come in a few weeks,) and small groups of much smaller birds which again I ‘assume’ will be Silvereyes. I cannot get a fix with binoculars, even if the odd one turns back to wait a moment it is off again in a flash as others come up the valley and they join forces. Maybe I have Spotted Pardalotes amongst them and not Silvereyes as the latter have been passing through in flocks for a few weeks in separate flocks.
Any help appreciated!
Barbara
Hi Barbara, Just wondering what species you are seeing. Cheers, Merrilyn
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Hi Claire,
Yes, they certainly do still migrate in these sort of numbers (and at times even higher) through the NSW Blue Mountains, though there is huge day-to-day variation according to weather and also, much year-to-year variation. This autumn for the first time we had a team of volunteers from Blue Mountains Bird Observers counting at key sites for the six week period of the migration, and we plan to continue this every autumn. However the migration was very small this year through the mountains with the numbers nowhere near what they are in many years.
2006 was a massive year with numbers as great as I’d ever seen (having lived in a house in Katoomba which is directly under a major autumn migration route for about 25 years). I kept a diary that autumn which can be read at: http://www.bmbirding.com.au/diary06.html It gives some idea of the enormous numbers of these birds that stream through on some mornings.
In addition, general information on the honeyeater migration which I put together at the same time is at: http://www.bmbirding.com.au/hemig.html
One of the key factors for the Blue Mountains’ listing as an IBA was being a migration bottleneck for Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. It is hoped the formal programme of counting which Blue Mtns Bird Observers have now embarked on will, over time, help to reveal any long-term changes in numbers of these birds. Up to this point there have really only been opportunistic counts on good days (in the Blue Mountains at least, though the Canberra Ornithologists Group have done counts in the past).
It is an absolutely amazing thing to experience if you’re lucky enough to see them on a good day.
Cheers,
Carol
Carol Probets Blue Mountains, NSW
At 10:55 AM +1000 30/5/11, Claire Runge wrote:
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