ONE RED-RUMPED SWALLOW with+/-20 Barn Swallows at Lower Daintree FNQ yesteday

Hello all,

the lone Red-rumped Swallow is still here on the very same wires where I first found it on Thurs 21/12/17.

I was checking out the site from 5:15pm-6pm yesterday, and it was nice to see it still there – I was beginning to think that it had moved on elsewhere having not seen it for about a week.

Evidently, it’s been there the whole time, and I had just missed it, and it was most likely on the wing nearby at the other times this past week that I had checked for it.

it seems very settled, and I would expect/hope it to stay there with the other swallows and martins for about another month.
well, hopefully anyway!

from memory, last season the 30+ Barn Swallows departed the Newell Beach site sometime mid-late Feb, so hopefully a similar departure date may occur again this season with the Barns, and the Red-rump follows suite.

well, hopefully…??!!

I think it’s pretty likely these Barns would be the same individuals as last season, as regular checks of the 2017 Newell Beach site have still revealed no Barns at all.

but having said that, now is about the time of January that we got the Barns arriving at Newell Beach last season, so who knows, maybe there is still more Barns (& hopefully, more Red-rumps too!!) to arrive in the coming days…

last evening’s total swallow count perched on the wires at the site was:
1 Red-rump, adult;
14 Barn, adults, & imms/juvs;
4 Welcome, adults;
2 Tree Martin, adults;
19 Fairy Martin, adults, & juvs.

cheers for now,

martin cachard,

solar whisper wildlife cruises,
daintree river,

& trinity beach, cairns