Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos in Collingwood/Greater Melbourne

Thanks, Tim, for getting all those records off the computer.

With my Councillor duties I am struggling to keep up the Bayside Friends of Native Wildlife database – let alone forward them to the Atlas etc. (I know, I know, I should). Maybe that’s why there are none from here in your list.

Anyhow I’ve had a look at the records and, excluding YTBCs flying over (some more in 2003):

– there was one record in 2003 – 32 records in 2009 from 10 of the 18 areas into which we have divided Bayside (with a maximum count of 40) – 19 records in 2010 from 9 areas (max 28) – 4 so far in 2011 from 3 areas (max 30)

I think these generally support what you and Peter Menkhorst wrote with perhaps a lessening of numbers as conditions improve post-fire.

June was by far the peak month (18 out of 57 records) with Jan and Feb the only months without records. The Reader’s Digest book gives the breeding season in the south as being from July to Jan and the species might have been breeding here/nearby (I had no clue that there were two pairs of Long-billed Corellas nesting 400m away in Canary Island Palms until I heard they were disturbed by tree work!).

Pines were associated with 4 of the 22 records of feeding association with trees, the rest relating mainly to gums and wattles, with one on hakeas.

But, as you say, there is observer bias. 7 of the 57 records are from my Hampton home (in a Major Activity Centre near the station) and they have probably been to the nearby Sugar Gums and certainly to a big wattle (from the Otways I am told) over our drive on 6 occasions.

One got a huge grub 3 weeks ago. Small branches falling ever since.

Michael Norris Bayside Friends of Native Wildlife http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bayfonw/ and on Facebook