G’day all,
Yesterday (Sunday 18th September) I saw large (200+) flocks of Woodswallows at several different locations in the Bellinger Valley, near Coffs Harbour in northern NSW. I have lived in the Bellinger for 6 years, but have never seen flocks of Woodswallows here before. The Woodswallows were either Dusky or Little. I am pretty sure they were Little (the wings weren’t much paler than the body; I saw some chestnut colouring underneath; and I couldn’t see any white leading edges to the wings, which would have indicated Dusky) but the viewing conditions weren’t ideal. They chirped continually in flight – a sound a bit like a House Sparrow.
I made sound recordings of their in-flight calls – can anybody tell me if the in-flight calls of Dusky and Little Woodswallows are much different? (I don’t have much experience of Woodswallows, as they’re pretty scarce round here). If indeed they were Little Woodswallows, they would be the first I have ever seen in the Bellinger or nearby.
A hot air mass came over the valley from the west yesterday – I imagine this is what the Woodswallows rode in on. There are still a few around this morning.
Brian Hawkins ===============================
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Turns out the Woodswallows I saw were White-browed, not Little or Dusky. Thanks to Carol Probets for ID-ing the calls.
Against the bright hazy sky the wings and bodies looked so dark, and the terminal white tail-band was so clearly defined against the darker tail, that at the time of the sightings I didn’t even consider White-browed (going on the pictures in Pizzey and Knight).
Brian ===============================
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