ALL THIS AND A KOEL TOO!

What a lovely start I've had to 2025! My morning walk on the first of the month is always to Hay's Paddock. This is just a short walk and I usually see around 17-18 species of birds. The worst I did last year on this walk was 11 species in both February and May. The best I did was 23 in July, then 22 (just twice) in April and September. It is, as I say, usually more like 17 or 18. This morning I recorded 23 species: 20 I saw, and a further 3 I heard. Best were an Australian Reed Warbler and a Nankeen Night Heron. Night herons used to be seen around here more frequently than they are today. I believe I've seen them just 3 or 4 times on this walk in the last (almost) four years. I thought that was an auspicious start to the year, as I set off for my usual first of January birding spot: Banyule. Apart from the ridiculously large number of rabbits and the obscenely overgrown grass I had to wade through, it was a pretty good couple of hours. I was greeted by a mixed flock of ibis on the oval.

Australian White Ibis are reasonably common in Kew, but Straw-necked are not. I walked around to the grotty pond. Unfortunately, it is sadly overgrown. It would be extremely difficult to see any crakes or snipe that happened to be there. Nevertheless, I opened the gate as quietly as possible, and veered to the left to avoid a rabbit. I'd rather all rabbits were eradicated, but I didn't wish this particular animal any harm, and I'd rather not create alarm among wild creatures. So I approached the pond from the far left. I confirmed that I would be unable to see any bird present and was turning to leave, when a Latham's Snipe flushed from the edge of the vegetation. I noted that it did not zigzag in flight (a habit I thought they all possessed) and took a step towards where it had come from. Another bird flushed immediately. So while the grotty pond is tantamount to invisible, it's probably still worth a visit, to see if there's anything hanging around nearby. I was serenaded by several Common Bronzewings as I exited as quietly as possible. There was not a great deal on the lake. (I've heard people refer to this body of water as a 'billabong,' but it seems to me to be too far from the river to deserve this name.) There were Pink-eared Ducks, Australasian Grebes and all the usual suspects. I had 22 species on my list as I walked down to inspect the water more closely. I was delighted to see a pair of Masked Lapwings land near the water. If I hadn't seen them land, I would not have known they were there. These birds used to be common at Banyule, indeed I used to see them often in Kew, but nowadays I see them locally less and less frequently. At the water, I saw another Nankeen Night Heron and thought that on any other day, that would be a good sighting. Today, I'd already seen one at Hay's Paddock. I added Red-rumped Parrots and Dusky Moorhens to my list and set off for the river. The sun was not out; there were few insects and few passerines. I heard a Grey Fantail and saw several Brown Thornbills, but I was a little disappointed in the small number of small birds. I saw a fox and a Black-faced Cuckooshrike, but there were no Bell Miners. Until recently, this had been a reliable spot for them. I was quite pleased that they'd moved on to give the trees a chance to recover from their presence. I was sorry that I had not heard any orioles. In fact, I don't believe that I've heard one this summer at all. I looked in all the usual spots for frogmouths and owls, but had no luck. I saw a Long-billed Corella, not nearly as common here as our usual Little Corellas. And I saw a Kookaburra. Here's proof:

Then a Pacific Koel demanded my attention. He called constantly and he wasn't far away. I tracked him down. It wasn't too hard. He was sitting high in a gumtree, announcing his presence to the world. I wished him a Happy New Year, and returned home, quite satisfied with my first day's birding for 2025.