BIGBY report for January 2008
At the beginning of the year I joined the BIGBY – the Big Green Big Year. Carbon neutral birding seems a good thing to do. I was planning on getting a lot fitter this year anyway and hopefully lose a few excess kilos from around the middle. Doing most of my serious birding in the garden and on walks from home seemed an ideal solution all round.
Limitations:
Alas – illness has prevented much serious birding in January. Coupled with the intense heat wave we have had – with many days in the 45C (113F) range – opportunities to go for birding walks have been limited. Most of what I have observed have been in the garden or from the house.
Good sightings
Despite these limitations the bird list for 2008 is coming along quite nicely. Top of the list would have to be the Australian Owlet-nightjar which has taken up residence in a hollow a few metres from my office window. This nocturnal species is more often heard than seen, so I was pleased when I got a photo a few days ago. (This will feature in an article here in the next few days.) It is a delight to hear this little bird calling during the day and night.
The second really great sighting was a lifer. We had a brief visit from a Barbary Dove. At first I called it a Collared Turtle-dove but it seems the “experts” think it is a Barbary Dove instead. No matter – it is still a new bird for my life list and my garden list.
The third great sighting for the month was an immature Collared Sparrowhawk which decided to pose beautifully for me no more than five metres away. Delightful.
Highlight
Another highlight for the month was an event, not a sighting. This was carbon neutral birding at its best. I took readers on a world birding trip without leaving home. I hosted the carnival I and the Bird for the very first time. While the preparation took quite a time, it received some good feedback from readers and participants. It also boosted the traffic to my site for a few days.
Other sighting this month:
So far I’ve recorded 38 species (including 2 breeding) for the garden and during my walks. This is not a fantastic total but given the circumstances it is quite good. Here is the full list:
- Brown Falcon
- Collared Sparrowhawk
- Black Kite
- Rock Dove
- Barbary Dove
- Spotted Turtle-dove
- Crested Pigeon
- Galah
- Rainbow Lorikeet
- Purple-crowned Lorikeet
- Mallee Ringneck
- Australian Owlet-nightjar
- Rainbow Bee-eater
- Spotted Pardalote
- Striated Pardalote
- Weebill
- Yellow-rumped Thornbill
- Red Wattlebird
- Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (breeding)
- Singing Honeyeater
- White-plumed Honeyeater
- Brown-headed Honeyeater
- New Holland Honeyeater
- White-browed Babbler
- Grey Shrike-thrush
- Australian Magpie Lark
- Willie Wagtail
- Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
- Grey Butcherbird
- Grey Currawong
- Australian Magpie
- Little Raven
- White-winged Chough
- House Sparrow
- Mistletoebird
- Silvereye
- Common Blackbird (breeding)
- Cammon Starling