1 Dec bird survey

Although unseasonal weather suppressed bird activity during this survey, leading to a lower than usual species count, there were some interesting observations. The number of Welcome Swallows is significantly higher than all recent surveys since February 2024 with an estimated 80 counted. Moreover, half the male Superb Fairy-wrens counted were blue, most of which would be young males supporting a family group. This indicates favorable habitat conditions no doubt due to abundant food such as insects and other invertebrates. These young males rapidly revert to brown ‘eclipse’ plumage when conditions become harder with less food available.

Water levels in both main lakes are very high. From observations on the large freshwater lake both grebe species have indicated breeding intentions but cannot find anywhere suitable for nesting due to the rising water level covering almost all the protruding grass stumps and other semi submerged vegetation. The images below nicely capture the grebes and their behavior in response to these conditions.

The male Powerful Owl, first seen in the June survey and last seen on 21 November appears to be continuing its presence in the park. It is reassuring to have an image of a Common Ringtail Possum with two young in a drey, indicating that Westgate Park’s possum population is breeding thus providing a reliable supply of food for the Powerful Owl.

Clearing the HWT site next door has encouraged an increased number of Noisy Miners to move in, but they remain confined to the park’s boundary with that site. The planned data centre however, reportedly proposed to be eight stories high, could be detrimental for bird activity in the north-east corner of the park. Currently the site usually hosts a big population of Silver Gulls.