While those who arrived early waited around for the rest of the group to arrive, leader Anthony Overs told us of his successful trip (with several others) the previous evening to Tallaganda, where they found and photographed a Powerful Owl (this followed an unsuccessful COG trip a couple of weeks earlier). The less adventurous among us decided this was one bird we’d never see – dark forests on cold nights weren’t exactly an enticing thought.
Five minutes later, Anthony was frantically texting and phoning local birders while we stood in awe only a few feet below the first Powerful Owl sighted in Canberra itself for many years. spectacular start to the beginners’ bird walk!
It was a little difficult for our leader to get his mind back on to the job of finding bush birds, but on a great morning we managed to see: Striated Thornbills, Brown Thornbills, an Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Spinebills, White-throated Treecreepers, White-eared Honeyeaters, New Holland Honeyeaters, White-browed Scrubwrens, Australian Ravens, Magpies, Superb Fairy-wrens, Blackbirds, Satin Bowerbirds, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos as well as a group of Crimson Rosellas and Red Wattlebirds enjoying the water near the Tom Green memorial seat. A pair of Galahs provided some great photo opportunities – no surprise that Mum Galah (on Mothers’ Day) was busy cleaning out a tree hollow, while Dad dozed a couple of metres away.
In the Sydney Gully a swamp wallaby was foraging near the water.
A bonus was that Anthony also ID’d for the beginners’ group quite a number of local birders as they quickly converged on the ANBG to see the owl!
Sandra Henderson