Illawarra Birding 2017-06

PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The cold winds of winter are now upon us, but that is no excuse
to sit at home in front of a warm fire. Birding in the winter can
be just as rewarding as in the summer months, sometimes even better
as there is less of a threat of bushfires, flies, stinging insects and
leeches. A good reason then to explore your local patch of bushland
or to wander further afield. In winter some different birds will
be visiting our region, such as the Rose Robin and the Spangled
Drongo. With the flowering of local Banksias and Eucalypts, hundreds
of Honeyeaters of many different species can be observed as
they pass through the Illawarra – you can often find them flying
along the escarpment on their northward journey. Look out for lyrebirds at this time of year as they can be
heard calling from fern covered gullies, the male displaying on his display mound trying to attract a female.
At our May meeting Beth Mott gave a talk on Powerful Owls and the Powerful Owl Project. Since then a
number of observations of the bird have been reported by members with one person recording a Powerful
Owl on his way home from the meeting! Don’t forget to keep sending in your bird lists to Dave Rower or
alternatively record them on eBird and share them with Illawarra Birders. It is important to keep recording
during the winter months as this gives us a better idea of local bird movements and populations. You can
check the progress of our club list and species for the year on our webpage. Our newly-revamped webpage
is still a work in progress but continues to receive increasing numbers of hits. I encourage you to log on
regularly to keep yourself updated with the club’s activities plus local and even international news. We now
have a members’ page, specifically added for your use. Please feel free to add anything that you feel is interesting
be it pictures of you birding with your family, a short story or even a poem – whatever you want!
Simply email your items to our webmaster Dave Rower and he will post them online.
At our June meeting David Winterbottom will be giving a talk on Iguazu Falls and the Pantanal. I hope you
can all make it to the meeting – I am sure the talk will be fascinating as this is a spectacular part of the
world which is full of some wonderful birds. I hope to see you there!
Happy birding,
Terrill.
Cover Photo: The Powerful Owl that turned up in Wollongong Botanic Garden on 9th May - see page 13
for full story. MP
As part of its KBA (Key Biodiversity Areas) program, Birdlife Australia is presenting a series of workshops
to provide training for people interested in getting involved with their local KBAs. For more information
see http://birdlife.org.au/documents/KBAs-Shoalhaven-Workshop-program.pdf
Illawarra Birding June 2017 - 2