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News

BirdLife Castlemaine District eNews November 2020

Tuesday, 27 October 2020

  • Estimated reading time 10 minutes

Welcome to Castlemaine District eNews!

Dear Supporter,

Welcome to the November 2020 eNews. We hope you are all staying safe and well and looking forward to more freedoms as we navigate a safe path out of COVID.

The Committee is excited to be working on ideas for a program of walks and events for 2021, hopeful that restrictions will ease. We are really looking forward to seeing you all back out there when we are able to do so.

Read on for the latest news and updates, test your bird knowledge with our quiz, and meet our Bird of the Month!

Birdwatching for Beginners a Huge Success!

Connecting Country’s ‘Birdwatching for Beginners’ event on Saturday 17 October was fully booked. It is great to see the level of enthusiasm from people wanting to learn more about the wonderful bird life we are so lucky to have here in central Victoria.

You can access the presentation from local author and bird enthusiast Damian Kelly by clicking here. On the same page, you will also find links to the presentations from the previous ‘Tricky Birds of Central Victoria’ event.

Wanted: Experienced Bird Watchers!

Connecting Country’s bird monitoring program allows us to see if all our hard work restoring habitat is actually making a difference, and to assess the status of our woodland birds in the Mount Alexander region.

Back in 2010, a bird monitoring program was set up at selected locations across the region. Every year we go back to survey theses sites, providing valuable information to guide future decisions. The surveys are done entirely by volunteers – our community champions.

Connecting Country is now looking for more people local to the Mount Alexander region to be part of this program and assist with bird surveys, particularly in and around Harcourt, Sedgwick, Sutton Grange and Taradale areas.

For more details about what is involved, click here.

Inspiring Aussies to Support Bird Conservation

National Bird Week each October is run by BirdLife Australia with the aim of “Inspiring Australians to take action and get involved in bird conservation efforts”.  A major activity during Bird Week is the annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count (ABBC).

Tanya Loos, BirdLife’s Communication Coordinator, spoke about Bird Week and the ABBC to Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club and BirdLife Castlemaine District members, at the annual joint meeting on 14 November.

Bird Week has a long history, originating in 1901. The annual ABBC aims to involve as many of the general community as possible, including especially school children. So, compared to BirdLife’s regular programs and survey protocols, the emphasis is on simplicity – 20 minutes observation of birds by an individual or group in the backyard or another favourite outdoor space, using a simple smartphone app to identify and record species and numbers.

Tanya discussed a few of the trends that have been seen in recent ABBC data, probably affected by the drought. For example, the White Ibis displaced Rainbow Lorikeets as the most frequently reported bird in 2019, and some unusual sightings included Crimson Chats, Trillers and Pied Honeyeaters well south of their normal ranges.

This year’s Aussie Backyard Bird Count was the biggest ever – with nearly 5,000,000 birds counted!

Know Your Birds Quiz

Test your bird knowledge in this month’s quiz with the four questions below, then check the answers at the end of this eNews. Big thanks as always to quizmaster Ash Vigus.

Question 1 (Beginner): Multiple Choice

Australia is blessed with a multitude of Cockatoo species, many of whom are resident in the Castlemaine district. Of the four species of Black-Cockatoo listed below, which species is not resident in the state of Victoria?

1. Yellow Tailed Black-Cockatoo
2. Glossy Black-Cockatoo
3. Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo
4. Red Tailed Black-Cockatoo

Question 2 (Intermediate): Who am I?

• I’m a year-round resident of the Castlemaine district.

• I’m a small bird with greyish upperparts, pale underparts and with a white streaked black crown. I also have a prominent pale-yellow rump.

• I’m a member of family of species that can often be hard for bird watchers to tell apart.

• Often seen on nature strips and roadside verges, I like to spend my day foraging on the ground in short grasses and leaf litter.

• I’m a gregarious bird often seen in groups ranging from 2 to 30 birds.

• I’m approximately 11 to 13cm in length.

• My nickname in Birding circles is “Butter-bum”.

Question 3 (Advanced): Spot the Feathers

All four species in the cropped images below are full time residents in the Castlemaine district. What species do you think these four birds are?

Bonus Question 4 (Super-obscure)

The Guardian Australia recently reported on a migratory shorebird that broke a world record for non-stop flight, flying more than 12,000 kilometres from Alaska to New Zealand in just 11 days. Of the four species of migratory shorebird listed below, which species was recorded making the journey?

1. Great Knot
2. Bar-tailed Godwit
3. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
4. Black-tailed Godwit

CORRECTION – October Know Your Birds Quiz

Unfortunately, there was an error in the Know Your Birds Quiz in the October newsletter, in Question 3 – the Australasian Pipit image puzzle. It was brought to our attention by a keen-eyed reader that what was thought to be an Australasian Pipit was actually a Horsfield’s Bushlark.  We apologise for any confusion caused.

Observations

In September’s eNews we asked you to let us know how you have been enjoying birds in lockdown. Juliette Riddall got in touch with the following story and photo:

I’m currently staying locally since April with my mother Christine who gets your emails. I haven’t really been that interested in birds in Melbourne apart from the usual culprits. 

Christine has tons of birdlife and so I have been gradually getting to know the different species around the house and further afield.  It all started with the calendar photo competition!  I’ve attached the photo I managed to take of some White-browed Babblers who have moved in.

I had thought that the White-winged Choughs were Currawongs until I spied their nest, and I think it was one of your newsletters described the mud nest. They provide endless amounts of amusement watching them bumble around in family groups.

Having attended a couple of webinars I identified a sea eagle and also some thornbills!

Thanks Juliette; we loved hearing about this.

Photo: Juliette Riddall

Bird of the Month – Southern Whiteface

This month we have one of our favourites, though not often seen, the Southern Whiteface. Damian Kelly took this amazing photo a few weeks ago, out at Muckleford Station.

Everything is cute about these birds; they are tiny, kinda round, a bit fluffy and called ‘Squeakers’ because even their call is cute. A local landholder has managed to lure these not very common birds to her property by planting tube stock of shrubby and prickly, indigenous natives, with advice from Frances Cincotta at Newstead Natives.

Click here to read more.

Photo: Damian Kelly

Follow us on Facebook

We have a BirdLife Castlemaine District Facebook page. Follow us for all the latest bird news and events.

Become a Member

Membership of BirdLife Australia is a great way to support a bright future for Australia’s birds. Learn more about membership or other ways to get involved here.

Kind regards,

The BirdLife Castlemaine Committee

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Quiz Answers

Question 1: Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo – native only to Western Australia.

Question 2: Yellow-rumped Thornbill.

Question 3: Clockwise from top left – Eastern Spinebill, Fuscous Honeyeater, Nankeen Kestrel, Mistletoebird (male).

Question 4: Bar-tailed Godwit. A male Bar-tailed Godwit, known as 4BBRW, being studied by the Global Flyway Network, with a 5gm satellite tag harnessed on its lower back, was recorded flying from Alaska USA to Auckland New Zealand in 11 days.

BirdLife Australia, BirdLife Victoria Group, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton, VIC 3053  | castlemaine@birdlife.org.au