Celebrating Winter – Captivating collection of cool birds in the Capertee Valley
46Winter 2019 has come and gone, too quickly for our liking. What a glorious time of year in the magnificent Capertee Valley (NSW). Although winter is generally quieter bird-wise (i.e. fewer species around and mostly less vocal), the weather allows lots of walking and comfortable waits in a cosy portable bird hide. Hence we can present footage of 38 bird species, which is more than half the total species we noted for the season (albeit across a handful of days). Admittedly the often frosty mornings require a few layers of clothing, however by mid afternoon we are sometimes down to short sleeves. The birds behave similarly by fluffing out their feathers when it’s cold (creating a layer of air warmed by their bodies), but are back to their usual appearance and activities (including enthusiastic bathing) on sunny afternoons. While winter has been particularly dry, the birds have several watering points due to dams filling with summer rain and lower evaporation in the cooler months.
As with our previous videos Celebrating Autumn... https://youtu.be/J2IsHtWljZA, Celebrating Summer... https://youtu.be/T5LI5HpVRTc and Celebrating Spring... https://youtu.be/rSthqFL2IUg, the birds (and our furry guest stars) were filmed across a few visits to the valley in the traditional months of a season. So in this case, it was June, July and August 2019. As we hinted in the autumn instalment, the three months can be very different beasts. For instance, birds that migrate to warmer climes (e.g. White-winged Triller, Sacred Kingfisher, Fairy Martin, cuckoo and woodswallow species) were absent in June/July, but some were reappearing in the valley during August, such as the Dusky Woodswallow in this video. (Note that Rufous Songlarks are also on the migratory list, but occasionally one might linger. The Rufous Songlark shown here was possibly the very same bird seen across our winter visits.) Despite our last filming day occurring in early August, the vibe was definitely spring-like. Some birds were becoming more vocal (e.g. Grey Shrike-thrush, heard during the Dusky Woodswallow footage) and interactive with a partner, or seen collecting nesting material (e.g. Varied Sitella). Flowering wattles also add colour and life to late winter; one fine specimen was covered in bees!
If winter has any unifying theme it’s eucalypt blossoms (e.g. Ironbark) and honeyeaters galore. Because they are fast-moving when feeding, our honeyeater footage was largely obtained at water sources (e.g. an in-ground bath-tub with branches and stones for easy access). Several species of honeyeater were seen and some in large numbers. If we had to nominate a “bird of the season” it’s hard to go past the Fuscous Honeyeater. Although fewer bird species were spotted in winter compared to spring and summer at least, the sheer number of Fuscous Honeyeaters and their level of activity and vocalisation made for a vibrant action-packed season. (They can be particularly heard during the opening landscape and Laughing Kookaburra footage. See Celebrating Autumn... for feeding on eucalypt blossoms in May.) Finch species were also seen quite regularly, but the less common Plum-headed Finch was elusive this time. While we didn’t observe finch nesting behaviour in autumn, we suspected it could happening somewhere at the filming location, given the abundance of seeding grasses. (By contrast, most bird species were taking a break from breeding in autumn and early to mid winter.) Our June footage indeed shows a young Zebra Finch bathing and preening, and Diamond Firetail courtship (male holding grass stem). Finches generally have multiple broods if conditions are right. For further information on any of the species shown here go to http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder using the names as labelled.
As we did for the autumn (2019), summer (2018/19) and spring (2018) chapters, all footage was collected at a special habitat restoration property in the heart of the Capertee Valley. All four videos are testament to what can be achieved at a 140 acre site that was once mostly bare paddocks. How inspiring! More about this transformation can be gleaned from the text below previous instalments. Note too that several of the bird species presented in the “Celebrating...” series are listed as “Vulnerable” or are declining in numbers and range.