Cooby Dam (Groomsville end)

Our sharp-eyed group of nine observers enjoyed a visit to the far north-east part of the Cooby Dam reserve, on a very warm Saturday 26 November. With filling of the dam over the past year or so, interesting waterways and reedy swamps were a feature of this location, as well as the perennial eucalypt-dominated woodland and patchy grassland.

Starting near the Cooby Creek bridge and eventually working on both sides, we accumulated 54 bird species within a 500 metre radius.

All our survey data can be seen here on Birdata.

On this occasion we tried the ‘embedded survey’ method, including a 2-hectare, 20-minute site at a shared centrepoint, which yielded nine species.

The full list of species seen is as follows

Australasian Darter	Anhinga novaehollandiae
Australian Magpie	Gymnorhina tibicen
Australian Pelican	Pelecanus conspicillatus
Australian Reed-Warbler	Acrocephalus australis
Australian White Ibis	Threskiornis moluccus
Bar-shouldered Dove	Geopelia humeralis
Black Swan	Cygnus atratus
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike	Coracina novaehollandiae
Brown Goshawk	Accipiter fasciatus
Brown Quail	Synoicus ypsilophora
Brown Thornbill	Acanthiza pusilla
Dollarbird	Eurystomus orientalis
Double-barred Finch	Taeniopygia bichenovii
Dusky Moorhen	Gallinula tenebrosa
Eastern Koel	Eudynamys orientalis
Galah	Eolophus roseicapilla
Golden-headed Cisticola	Cisticola exilis
Great Cormorant	Phalacrocorax carbo
Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus
Great Egret	Ardea alba
Grey Butcherbird	Cracticus torquatus
Grey Teal	Anas gracilis
Grey-crowned Babbler	Pomatostomus temporalis
Hardhead	Aythya australis
Laughing Kookaburra	Dacelo novaeguineae
Leaden Flycatcher	Myiagra rubecula
Little Black Cormorant	Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Little Friarbird	Philemon citreogularis
Mistletoebird	Dicaeum hirundinaceum
Noisy Friarbird	Philemon corniculatus
Noisy Miner	Manorina melanocephala
Olive-backed Oriole	Oriolus sagittatus
Pacific Black Duck	Anas superciliosa
Pale-headed Rosella	Platycercus adscitus
Pheasant Coucal	Centropus phasianinus
Pied Currawong	Strepera graculina
Red-browed Finch	Neochmia temporalis
Rufous Whistler	Pachycephala rufiventris
Sacred Kingfisher	Todiramphus sanctus
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet	Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus
Silvereye	Zosterops lateralis
Spangled Drongo	Dicrurus bracteatus
Spotted Dove	Streptopelia chinensis
Striated Pardalote	Pardalotus striatus
Striped Honeyeater	Plectorhyncha lanceolata
Superb Fairy-wren	Malurus cyaneus
Tawny Grassbird	Cincloramphus timoriensis
Variegated Fairy-wren	Malurus lamberti
Weebill	Smicrornis brevirostris
Welcome Swallow	Hirundo neoxena
White-throated Gerygone	Gerygone olivacea
White-throated Honeyeater	Melithreptus albogularis
Willie Wagtail	Rhipidura leucophrys
Yellow-faced Honeyeater	Caligavis chrysops

A highlight today was breeding activity by seven species. In the drowned creek waterway, Great Crested Grebes were seen with one small young and Grey Teal with a brood of seven.

Bush-birds with nests or young were Superb Fairy-wren, Noisy Friarbird, Willie Wagtail, Red-browed Finch and White-throated Gerygone. We were surprised that the tiny gerygones were building their nest so high in a large, rough-barked Angophora tree but perhaps that would keep it safe from predatory goanas?

Other birds of interest were several Great Cormorants—very much a reservoir species in our region—three Dollarbirds and a group of Grey-crowned Babblers. The relatively scarcity of waterbirds was thought to be explainable by the abundance of wetland habitat both in our region at present and across inland eastern Australia (other local wetlands also have few waterbirds). It seems that waterbirds, like humans, enjoy a change of scenery even when the grass is green at home.

The area also featured many turtle nests where the young had long since hatched, and two koalas!