SIX MONTHS IN KEW

 It is now six months since I returned to live in Kew - actually I now live in Kew East, a little closer to Hay's Paddock, Willsmere Billabong and Burke Road Billabong.  With the addition of a Silver Gull last week, my house list is now 24 species.  Perhaps the most remarkable bird on it is a Whistling Kite, that visited my back yard one afternoon this month.  Another contender might be the pair of Maned Duck that sat on a neighbour's chimney for about twenty minutes one morning in September.

I walk every day - either north, south, east or west.  The north walk is the best as that incorporates Hay's Paddock.  Needless to say, the birds are not as numerous as they once were.  It is hard to believe that Regent Honeyeaters were seen in Hay's Paddock in my life time.  There are no honeyeaters there today, apart from the ubiquitous Red Wattlebirds and Noisy Miners.  I reckon I had New Hollands there in the 90's, but that's just my (often faulty) memory - I have not checked my records.  My walk list now numbers 41 species.

Perhaps most interesting in my bird sightings are the comings and goings and the differences between living in Kew and living in Kew East.  My new home is roughly 2 kilometres from where I used to live and I did not expect the birds to be any different.  But they are.  When I arrived in late April, I often saw Crimson Rosellas.  I haven't seen one here for months, and I look forward to their return.  Eastern Rosellas remain however, and I see them more often than I did at my former home in Kew.  In April, May and June I saw black cockies, but I haven't seen one since.  Welcome Swallows, which were here when I arrived, soon disappeared and re-appeared in September.  Musk Lorikeets were here in big numbers when I arrived.  When the eucalypts finished flowering profusely, the Musk Lorikeets disappeared.  I hope they come back.

Crested Pigeons are present, but not common here.  When I lived in Kew, Crested Pigeons arrived in the 1990's and I saw them every day.  I have not seen an Eastern Spinebill since I've returned.  They were never common, but, with effort, could be seen.  Little Wattlebirds are more common here than in Kew; I could see them there, but I never had them at home.  Here they are in my yard every day.  I'm sorry to say that Common Starlings live up to their name here.  They were not common at my previous address.  Silvereyes are not present here.  They used to be common in Kew, but were becoming rarer when I left.

This beautiful photo of a Spotted Pardalote was taken by my mate Ken Haines.  I missed them when I moved here, and first heard them in August.  With effort, I've seen them a few times, but they are rare.  When I used to live in Kew, I saw them often.

Surprisingly, neither corellas nor white cockies are as common here as they used to be in Kew.  Even more surprisingly, Galahs are much more common here.  I regularly see ducks, swamphens and moorhens on my north walk and irregularly Australian White Ibis and sometimes Eurasian Coots.

I found a Tawny Frogmouth in a street tree in September and he was present when I checked again in October.  I was surprised and delighted to see a Great Cormorant flying overhead in June, but I've seen them a few times since.  It was not as rare a sighting as I thought at the time.

If I want to add House Sparrow to my list (why would I?) I walk to the Kew Junction, where they like to hang around in the supermarket carpark.

The lack of small birds is the most disappointing thing.  No honeyeaters (apart from the aforementioned wattlebirds and Noisy Miners), no Silvereyes, no Willie Wagtails.  The only common small bird we have is the Brown Thornbill. If everyone would plant more dense undergrowth and we could have a concerted culling of Noisy Miners, and make sure cats were always indoors, some small birds might be able to return.

I can't pretend I don't miss the birds of North Warrandyte.  I particularly miss the fairywrens and the Grey Shrikethrush - now I must walk to Burke Road Billabong for these birds instead of enjoying them in my own yard. But at least I know they are there, within walking distance, and at home I have my own Brown Thornbills and Little Wattlebirds.  I am thankful for that.