Bioblitiz!

Yesterday I returned from the fabulous location of Korrelocking in the West Australian Wheatbelt. I spent the weekend volunteering to do bird walks with community members and track down as many species of birds as possible as part of the 2012 Korrelocking Bioblitz (click this link to have a look at the group’s Facebook page. There were lots of other wildlife specialists and enthusiasts there who all focussed on different interest groups - with the result being more than 200 species of plants, invertebrates, birds, mammals, reptiles and frogs being detected. Not a bad result for 24 hours work!

One of the highlights for me was finding a pair of Spotted Harriers (Circus assimilis) breeding in the remnant bushland. Local Phil Lewis has reported this pair breeding in the past but it was the first encounter of this species in the wheatbelt for me, so I was very excited! Here’s a picture of this beautiful raptor species, and below, their fresh nest, which is still under construction, being recently lined with fresh gumleaves:

Another highlight for me was observing may White-fronted Honeyeaters (Prunella albifrons), and hearing them call away merrily from the bush near our camp. I was lucky enough to find one pair nesting, another first for me. The nest, as you can see below, was beautifully built and carefully lined with plant down, being hidden deep in the fork of a sheoak shrub. After mounting my (camouflaged) miniature HD video camera on the nest I was thrilled to capture this photo of the pair returning to their nest:

What a fabulous way to spend a weekend! It was so encouraging to see the number of people who were keen to be out camping, socialising, and learing more about their natural environment!

To view more photos from the weekend, click here.