Spotted Pardalotes nesting - Includes rare views of fledging and stunning Capertee Valley scenes
72BIBY TV is delighted to present this amazing sequel to Vicki Powys’ Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) nesting footage of spring 2021 (see https://youtu.be/DkXIMJ2pEN8). This time the same Spotted Pardalote pair raise a summer brood. Not only are we treated to rare and intimate scenes of pardalotes fledging, we also get a glimpse of the stunning Capertee Valley and summer’s wild weather. It’s a brilliant video package by this renowned wildlife sound recordist, citizen scientist and conservationist. (All rights to the video are owned by Vicki.) For more information about this adorable Spotted Pardalote family please read Vicki’s description below.
“This video follows on from previous footage of nesting Spotted Pardalotes in Capertee Valley, NSW. The pair had successfully raised three fledglings in the Spring of 2021. They then re-nested in the same burrow to produce another five fledglings in January 2022!
Just one week after the first three fledglings had left the nest on 8th November, the male began singing again, and the female was seen refurbishing the burrow – removing soiled debris and bringing in fresh nesting material, assisted by the male. She laid her eggs at the end of November, and both parents then shared incubation of eggs and feeding of nestlings for the next 5-6 weeks. It was a rainy and stormy summer, and with cicadas roaring in December and January, but the pardalotes thrived. Five young ones left the second nest over two days – on 8th and 9th January 2022.
All five fledglings were seen roosting together on the evening of 9th January, with parents and older siblings heard nearby.
This video and observations were made by Vicki Powys in Capertee Valley, NSW, in dry woodland habitat on private property that has been covenanted to protect nature. Filming was done with a Lumix pocket camera (DMC-TZ80), edited in QuickTime Player and iMovie on an iMac computer. Supplementary audio was recorded using an Olympus LS10 recorder and a small lavalier microphone on a long lead, placed near the nest entrance. The birds were remarkably tolerant of my presence near the nest.”