The lovely Chestnut Teal was scarce today.
We had six observers for the survey last Friday, 31 May. Conditions were good with a high water level.
Count
Black Swan 1
Chestnut Teal 4
Pacific Black Duck 2
Great Egret 1
Australian White Ibis 7
Australasian Swamphen 1
Eurasian Coot 14
Dusky Moorhen 8
Cattle Egret 3
Total 41
The total count of 41 birds was very low - amongst the lowest since surveys began over 7 years ago. Also very low compared with recent surveys with the average for the last 3 months at 121. Chestnut Teals and Pacific Black Ducks had virtually disappeared and coot numbers were low. Something strange is going on, and I have a theory - a week prior to the survey, the lagoon remained empty for an unusually long period, about 5 days by my observation. My theory is that the Ducks and Coots got fed up with the lack of good swimming water and decided to look for better opportunities. We know that over 150 Coots had been counted on Dee Why lagoon - perhaps our birds went to Dee Why. Only time will tell.
Russell Beardmore
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