Birds in the garden were worth two in the bush
IF there was any benefit for active birdwatchers from the coronavirus lockdown, it was that it encouraged us to look closer to home than usual.
So on one sunny morning in early May I decided it was time to refill the several birdbaths in our little Belmont garden.
As I did so I saw a flicker of movement in the shadows — and to my astonishment I realised it was a rose robin, the first I’ve seen here in Belmont.
It was a “brown bird”, a juvenile possibly on its first jaunt away from the dense Otways forest where it was born last spring.
As I watched it, I caught sight of another stranger, this time a young grey shrikethrush.
I waited to see who else was in visitor mode. A grey fantail first. Well, it had been in the garden off and on for several weeks.
Similarly, a juvenile golden whistler who had also been around for a little while.
Next a small flock of silvereyes, running late perhaps for their rendezvous with others in Queensland.
The tall “lookout” tree had its use too, for a red wattlebird then a restless group of rainbow lorikeets.
What, then, was that hour’s tally? Robin, shrike-thrush, whistler, fantail, wattlebird and lorikeet.
Should I add the resident New Holland honeyeaters, and the eastern spinebill that I glimpsed earlier in the week?
I would not suggest for one moment that this was a oneoff, rather that it does suggest just how extremely valuable suburban gardens are.
And a consistent supply of freshwater, not just in the heat of summer but throughout the year, is vital.
(Footnote: This article marks 60 years since I began my By Field and Lane column on May 26, 1960 — more about that later).
Wildlife information and questions can be sent to ppescott@gmail.com curlew is an endangered species in Victoria, largely due to foxes and feral cats.
A ground-dwelling and nesting bird that feeds at night on insects, molluscs, small lizards and seeds, the curlew has been impacted by landclearing practices, including the removal of logs and fallen branches, which provide cover and camouflage from predators.