October 2022 Bird Report

 I seem to be very busy recently, a situation which looks likely to continue for a few days at least, so this will be  a rather brief report.

We had quite a few visiting birders this month which gave us quite a good list of species.  One party made a visit to Howe Flat (before it was closed for deer shooting) which added a few less common species to the list (including of course Eastern Bristlebird).  The total number of species recorded at 144 was quite a bit lower than the 176 recorded in 2021.  That was very high due to:

• BLEG holding a week-long campout in the area; and
• The Spectacled Monarch sighting attracting a number of other experts to the area.

For trend-line enthusiasts I tried fitting a polynomial to the monthly data for 2022 and depending on the order of the function it suggested that we were going to have either bonanzas for the rest of the year (4th order) or barely see a bird in  the next 2 months (3rd order).  As this blog is NOT bought to you by the Murdoch press I will merely say that is what happens when you get too fancy with a small number of observations.

Looking at the number of species x category in comparison to all Octobers, we appear to have over-achieved for most passerine groups but done less well for seabirds and parrots.  The low result for night-birds merely indicates bad luck and possibly limited after-dark outings.  We had a few days with a very good roll up of waders so I anoint them as bird-of-the-month, rather than tapping a single species on the shoulder.

I have also done a little exploration of the migration status of species recorded in Mallacota as detailed  here.  We recorded 25 Summer migrants in October 2022 (42 of the species seen in any October are Summer migrants) while 1 Winter migrant species was 'hanging on' (3 in all Octobers).

10 species were recorded exhibiting at least one type of breeding behaviour.  Possibly the most interesting breeding performance is that of White-faced Heron and Whistling Kite which have swapped copses on Angophora Drive.  The Herons have raised chicks (at time of writing close to where the Kites nested last year and vice versa.  I have attached snap of one of the three Heron chicks.

And here is a better view showing all three  chicks!