Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Striated Fieldwren

Made a flying visit to Pipeclay Lagoon this morning, I'm just about over jet lag, well nearly! Well worth the effort as there was plenty of Springtime activity about. Highlight for me was the Striated Fieldwren pictured here. I had just about given up on ever seeing this species here again, as there's about an eight year gap since I last recorded them. About 20 years or so ago, I recall regularly seeing them here in some numbers , usually first thing of a morning and mainly in the Spring (often, as this bird, while calling from a vantage point). Development in the area, together with feral cats and increased human activity, is almost certainly the cause of the decline in numbers. Although it must be said that it's a difficult bird to find at the best of times, often prefering to run along the ground between 'sags', rather than flying. This individual was the only Fieldwren I saw, but it shared its' wire perch with Chats, Striated Pardalotes and Yellow-rumped Thornbills, and called incessantly.

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