Tuesday, November 30, 2010

White-browed Crake stands out

High water levels mean fewer sightings of White-browed Crake (Amaurornis cinerea) because many of the birds quit the lagoon scleria for the surrounding flooded bladey grass.


But not all. Bird above ( and, top, on sedge) at lagoon's edge today squeaked and hissed in company with shyer partner for about 20 minutes, mostly, of course, half-hidden by sedge, grasses or other weeds.


Even showed off this small unidentified beetle? reward for all its foraging.


MISSING: Many birds. Species count of 93 for wet November almost 30 below average previous five years. And numbers low within many species.        
Click pix to enlarge

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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 1, 2010 at 10:10 AM

    Fantastic shots of the W-B Crake Tony - love that tail-flick!

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  2. Tyto TonyDecember 1, 2010 at 4:28 PM

    Thanks Barbara. How go bird numbers up your way? Good to see Shinings nesting: my pair lost eggs near hatch, possibly driven off nest by incessant rain, and/or tree snake victims.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 4, 2010 at 7:21 AM

    Bird numbers around our overflowing swamps are certainly much less - Egrets prefer the cane fields!

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