Thursday’s survey of the Duck Pond, Randwick and Busby ponds in Centennial Park, Sydney confirmed that the water birds are still extremely scarce in the eastern suburbs. Counts of individual duck species of one or two were made where over one hundred is the norm for these ponds. Presumably they are still enjoying the rain and floods; reports from colleagues of thousands of waterbirds seen out west are reassuring. After the surveys we checked the regular residents and found one of the two Powerful Owls, the nesting Tawny Frogmouths and Common Koels.
Male Common Koel
Female Common Koel
The male Tawny Frogmouth sits on the nest while the female stands guard nearby and provides food. One of the two chicks can just be seen at the bottom of the male’s front on the left.
A moment later the chick has opened its mouth in hope of food. It is an impressive size for such a small bird!