J C Trotter
R drove us to part of the Daisy Hill Koala reserve that borders Tingalpa Resevoir and is called the J C Trotter Memorial Park. It is mainly dry eucalpyt forest with an interesting understorey of Banksias in sandy soil and there are also some open parts of the forest with thick clumping native grasses. Along with the resevoir providing water and a large number of older trees it has the appearance of a potentially exciting and bird-filled location. Alas, this is not so. For reasons we cannot fathom, the bird life is thin on the ground and variety lacking. R had had an Oriental Cuckoo last weekend - a bird I have yet to see - and so we made the pilgrimage again hoping to latch onto this uncommon migrant.
The resevoir is full to overflowing, water levels higher than we had seen them before. A few years ago prior to present conditions, the water level dropped to extreme levels and the bird life increased dramatically - ducks, waders, raptors, terns all appeared to take advantage of the shallow water and exposed food stocks. However, with the lake filling again the birds disappeared. I think that maybe the lake is too deep to support shallow water ducks and terns, there is no mud for waders, of course, and it's possible that it will need time to replenish food stocks of fish and vegetation?
The forest suffered a fire several years ago, although now there aren't many signs left, but it just doesn't seem to have recovered. RAINBOW LORIKEETS and PIED and GREY BUTCHERBIRDS, MAGPIES and MAGPIE LARKS are easy to find. We saw a few RUFOUS WHISTLERS, a couple of FOREST KINGFISHERS, STRIATED PARDALOTES (heard more than seen), 2 WHITE-THROATED, several YELLOW-FACED and (heard) 2 STRIPED HONEYEATERS, BAR-SHOULDERED DOVES, BLACK-FACED CUCKOO-SHRIKES and NOISY FRIARBIRDS. 5 WHITE-BREASTED WOOD-SWALLOWS hawked from the overhead high voltage lines as we looked for, as we always do, signs of buttonquail, but there were no circles in the leaf litter, although it looks perfect. Several small wallabies bounced around and we found a single Koala sitting quietly above the track. A largish raptor being mobbed by a Willie Wagtail turned out to be a WHISTLING KITE and perched handsomely on a bare tree for distant views, but there was no cuckoo.
As usual we wondered aloud at the paucity of bird life - maybe some day we'll find an answer.
The resevoir is full to overflowing, water levels higher than we had seen them before. A few years ago prior to present conditions, the water level dropped to extreme levels and the bird life increased dramatically - ducks, waders, raptors, terns all appeared to take advantage of the shallow water and exposed food stocks. However, with the lake filling again the birds disappeared. I think that maybe the lake is too deep to support shallow water ducks and terns, there is no mud for waders, of course, and it's possible that it will need time to replenish food stocks of fish and vegetation?
The forest suffered a fire several years ago, although now there aren't many signs left, but it just doesn't seem to have recovered. RAINBOW LORIKEETS and PIED and GREY BUTCHERBIRDS, MAGPIES and MAGPIE LARKS are easy to find. We saw a few RUFOUS WHISTLERS, a couple of FOREST KINGFISHERS, STRIATED PARDALOTES (heard more than seen), 2 WHITE-THROATED, several YELLOW-FACED and (heard) 2 STRIPED HONEYEATERS, BAR-SHOULDERED DOVES, BLACK-FACED CUCKOO-SHRIKES and NOISY FRIARBIRDS. 5 WHITE-BREASTED WOOD-SWALLOWS hawked from the overhead high voltage lines as we looked for, as we always do, signs of buttonquail, but there were no circles in the leaf litter, although it looks perfect. Several small wallabies bounced around and we found a single Koala sitting quietly above the track. A largish raptor being mobbed by a Willie Wagtail turned out to be a WHISTLING KITE and perched handsomely on a bare tree for distant views, but there was no cuckoo.
As usual we wondered aloud at the paucity of bird life - maybe some day we'll find an answer.
