Today I spent several hours tidying up my garden (in Barden Ridge on the southern edge of Sydney) and taking the opportunity to see what birds were around. One lot has me stumped and I would appreciate any suggestions that may assist me in identifying them.
They are smallish honeyeater size, (10-15 cm?) and appear in groups of 2 to about 8 moving between the scattered eucalypts of various species around here. The flight is fast, I would estimate similar to Rainbow Lorikeets in top gear. The flight direction is predominantly South or Southwest. The only call I have heard is their contact call while in flight. It is a series of vey short calls, all the same pitch, which sound a bit like a cross between the short “wheep” of a Spotted Pardalote and the “zit”-like note of a Zebra Finch.
I hear them as they leave one tree and fly to the next, but they are silent when in the tree, or perhaps call so softly that I can not hear them at that distance. I can follow them for a few seconds in binoculars, but loose them once they fly into the tree. I tried photographing them but they are too small and fast. The best description of colour I can give is “brownish” with light under parts, seen from below or partly side-on.
For most of the day the groups appeared at the rate of 5 to 10 times an hour. When I finished my pruning etc. I settled down with a cup of coffee and watched, hoping to get a better look and record the call. Although I watched for an hour only one group appeared, at about 3:45, but the recording was drowned out by a car in the street outside. There was no movement for the next 45 minutes after that.
I did record a couple of other interesting fly-overs, a pair of White-bellied Sea-Eagles and a lone Straw-necked Ibis.
Regards
Roger.
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Thanks Andrew.
I also suspected Yellow-faced Honeyeaters but neglected to mention this when I composed my email near midnight! It was just that the direction seemed wrong, and I could not find a recording that matched the call, although that is not unusual. There are many birds with “calls for all occasions”.
Regards
Roger
Very likely Yellow-faced Honeyeaters – they tend to be moving north of course but divert to follow the topography & vegetation and probably for other reasons.
I see & hear them over Glebe in the inner west of Sydney for example one flock of 30 yesterday morning and a couple of small groups. Without topography to concentrate them I assume they over fly most of Sydney in diffuse small groups.
Andrew ===============================
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