Corellas decamp to wait for grain

I DROVE through Winchelsea last week, and noted how quiet the town had become since earlier in the year.

No, not quiet from a commercial or traffic perspective, nor were there fewer travellers on the highway.

The corellas have gone, those wonderfully animated but awfully noisy birds have left town.

No doubt it is a mid-year lull, for as soon as the grain starts to arrive at the storage facility on the western edge of town, the corellas will be back.

There are two species of corellas that come to Winchelsea in their hundreds each summer and autumn, one an “old-timer”, the other a relative newcomer.

Historically, long-billed corellas have had a small population in the Geelong district — one near Anakie, the other in the Western Districts.

Writing about long-billed corellas in the early years of the last century, Charles Belcher noted, “I have never met with the bird in a state of nature in this district, but Mr Mulder assures me that he has seen large flocks of them at Bambra”.

By contrast, little corellas are recent arrivals, for it seems likely they arrived in the Geelong region in the 1990s.

In an article in the March 2019 issue of Australian Birdlife, John Peter outlined the “rise and rise” of the little corella.

At the time of European settlement, little corellas were birds of Central Australia, frequenting the areas where usually dry creeks crossed the landscape.

As with other fauna of this region, they had a “boom-andbust” life-cycle, building large populations in the rare good years, then declining as the dry times returned.

Then we started to clear the country, planting grain crops and making dams for sheep and cattle.

The “boom” times arrived, but no “bust”.

With their population increasing quickly they had no option but to expand their distribution.

They reached the Murray River by the 1960s, then dry years pushed them towards the coast.

They invaded the Adelaide plains by the 1970s, and started reaching other coastal areas in the following years.

So now to Winchelsea — in recent years a grain and seed reception and storage facility has been built on the western edge of town.

The corellas of both species found a good source of food in spilt grain, as they have in similar towns across the country.

Winchelsea has the added attraction of the Barwon River that has water and towering red gums much favoured by the birds.

When the grain harvest ends and the food supply dries up, the corellas move out on to farmland in smaller flocks to forage.

Are they welcome in town? To quote John Peter: “It’s fair to say little corellas aren’t likely to be voted Australia’s favourite bird any time soon.” Wildlife information and questions can be sent to ppescott@gmail.com