August 2022 has been rather quiet on the birding front at least in terms of diversity I have been able to detect for reports to eBird and Birdata. The total number of species reported was 118: the lowest of the 4 Augusts since we purchased our property here. My feeling is that there were relatively few birding visitors in town this month, and we were away for 10 days. As always, it is possible that there will be later reports apparent when the full eBird database becomes available.
Here is a summary situation over time.
Looking at the number of species classified to broad category is always interesting.
- Striated Heron - now seen every month; Lewin's Rail - seen in several sites recently; and Pied Cormorant - not usually seen but has been in several sites this month
and other expected (but not common) species being missing:
- White-fronted Tern and Nankeen Night Heron.
The other outperforming categories are Honeyeaters and Flycatchers, possibly reflecting the resumption of a La Nina weather pattern.
The two most notable species are Brown Cuckoo-Dove which returned to the garden in Gipsy Point towards the end of the month and Lewin's Rail seen regularly near the town end of the Lagoon Boardwalk (and one crossing the road near Genoa). As the latter is rated as threatened in Victoria this is an important development. Another good bird was the Square-tailed Kite hunting over Stingray Point on the 31st.
In terms of seasonal matters:
- Breeding season is beginning with several species demonstrating a range of behaviours applicable to this category. They are indicated in the linked Google Sheet.
- Migrants have begun to appear, most notably Fan-tailed Cuckoos, Olive-backed Orioles and Scarlet Honeyeaters. While a few Yellow-faced Honeyeaters overwinter they have returned in numbers with their song very evident through the bush.
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