It appears that this season has been a good one for local birds in my area. Lapwing Plover at work laid four eggs in September, three hatched, last egg failed, the chicks beak was sticking through the shell but it didn't make it, three out of four not too bad. My pair of Ravens, who I feed at work everyday for last few years brought three very active and noisy young ones for me to see on Saturday (30th Oct).
Today I done the Ibis survey and spotted a female high in a palm trying to feed three half grown young. The local school magpie pair have four, yes, four young ones this year, must have been a tight squeeze in the nest and a never ending food shuttle for the parents. So lots of triples and even some quads this year, anyone else notice similar in their areas? I am in north western Sydney, around 12kms from the city...Raven.
It certainly is a bumper year as far as I can see. I have found in the past two months nesting:
Peaceful Dove
Spotted Dove
Crested Pigeon
White-winged Chough (2 nests, one now has the second lot of chicks)
Australian Kestrel
Pacific Baza
Square-tailed Kite
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Swamp Harrier
Little Falcon (x2 nests, one reused by Raven pair)
Peregrine Falcon
Brown Goshawk (x2 nests)
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin (at least 3 nests)
Dusky Woodswallow (x2 nests)
White-plumed Honeyeater (x 2 nests)
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Spotted Pardalote
Magpie Lark (x3 nests)
Great Crested Grebe
Australian Grebe
Pacific Black Duck
Wood Duck
White-throated Gerygone
Weebill
Red Wattlebird
Noisy Miner
Galah
Rainbow Lorikeet
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Red-rumped Parrot
Laughing Kookaburra (hollow)
Sacred Kingfisher (x6 nests)
Azure Kingfisher (x1 nest)
Eastern Rosella
I think that's it for now.... :) A great spring indeed.
Should have added, all in the Castlereagh region. Ah, and forgot:
3x nesting Willy Wagtail
1x nest with Restless Flycatcher at Richmond, 4 beautiful chicks fledged late last week .