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BACK TO ARTICLE INDEX | ABOUT THE HONEYEATER MIGRATION
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Migration diary 2006Notes relating to the incredible 2006 autumn honeyeater migration through Katoomba. As my home and office is directly under a migration path, I was able to keep a diary of the daily bird flow.
SEASON WRAP-UP I think it's now safe to say that the migration is more or less finished, with only a few stragglers still moving through. So it's a good opportunity to look back over the season and analyse what turned out to be the most impressive honeyeater migration in recent years through Katoomba. To recap. The migration proper began on 28th March when the first steady stream of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters was seen, and continued until 18th May — though smaller numbers were first noted on 26th March and have continued erratically into the last week of May. These dates were fairly typical of the usual timing of the autumn migration. What was unusual were the sheer numbers that continued, day in day out, throughout the duration. I don't recall there being a single clear-sky day during that seven week period when there were no honeyeaters streaming over, at least during the morning hours. (Cloudy or rainy days are a different matter and it's normal for the migration to stop in such conditions.) There were a few days when I wasn't at home to see them but there's no reason to believe the pattern was different then. The very first White-naped Honeyeaters joined the flocks on 5th April and numbers gradually increased until they made up the majority from around mid-May. Aside from the Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters, the usual little flocks of Spotted and Striated Pardalotes, Silvereyes, Red Wattlebirds, Noisy Friarbirds and other species moved through — nothing outstanding though — and no Fuscous Honeyeaters were seen as they are in some years. The really big migration days were April 22nd, 25th, 27th and May 2nd and 4th. On all those dates, the number of honeyeaters going over my street was in the order of 5000-8000 birds per hour (bph) for at least a 3-4 hour period. Having watched these birds every autumn since about 1986, the only time I've previously counted such high numbers was on 1st May 2002 with a count of 7500 bph. Going back through my diary, as a rough estimate I'd say at least 220,000 honeyeaters flew over my street this autumn! It might have been significantly more. All this of course raises some interesting questions. Why were there so many this year, compared to previous years? Were there also such huge numbers travelling along other routes, or was it only here in Katoomba? To try and gather more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle I spoke to and corresponded with a number of other birdwatchers. What others observed Within the Blue Mountains, the migrating honeyeaters usually travel along a number of different routes. On the days that I was driving along the Great Western Highway for one reason or another, I did certainly notice the migrating flocks flying over the highway at specific points though I wasn't able to stop and estimate numbers. Here's what I've gathered from others' observations:
Further afield Observers in Canberra have been monitoring the migration through their area for many years. They tell me this year numbers were way down, reflected in the disappointing results on their two official survey days. However one observer, Lindsay Hansch, reported to the COG* email list in early April that a constant stream of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters had been flooding over Jerrabomberra in Queanbeyan, going east: "The numbers are impossible to estimate as there is rarely a moment when there are no birds in the air. I would guess tens of thousands. They are coming from the direction of Mt Mugga and heading east." Other local observers were able to follow these same flocks as they came east in a compact line from the junction of the Monaro Highway and Lanyon Drive, but were unable to determine where they went after leaving Jerrabomberra. * COG = Canberra Ornithologists Group At Kanangra Walls in the southern Blue Mountains during the second week of May, large numbers of White-naped were also reported heading east. Heading east? Reading the above two reports got me thinking. Here at Katoomba the direction of flight seems to change a bit from one minute to the next and from one day to the next, perhaps as the wind changes or flocks set their sights on different trees along the way, but if you follow the birds they generally end up continuing northward as they are "supposed to". However on some days this year I was noticing, more than usual, a definite tendency for some of the flocks to travel eastwards. I now wonder if a proportion of the population I was seeing were actually undertaking a coastward migration, and I was witnessing a crossroads of two different movement paths! This makes sense, given the continuing drought conditions inland. On the coast, winter sees the flowering of Swamp Mahoganies (Eucalyptus robusta) and banksias. A recent report on Birding-Aus mentioned large numbers of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters at Warriewood Wetlands on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Seems like this could be shaping up as a largely "coastal year" for them. Time will tell. Read below for my diary notes covering the entire migration period. 23rd May 2006 A dusting of white still lies in shaded corners of my garden after last night's unexpected sleet and snow storm. The past few days have seen occasional big flocks of White-naped and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters still on the move though with less urgency than before. They sally out from the treetops, do an about-turn and dive back into the foliage before regrouping and tentatively continuing northwards, but this morning I've seen no flocks, only individuals which can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It feels like winter has come at last. But winter certainly doesn't equate to an absence of birds, and the most noticeable at the moment are the flocks of King-Parrots and Satin Bowerbirds roaming the streets and feeding on the fruits of the privet and cotoneaster (bushland weeds in abundance). 19th May 2006 There is a conspicuous silence in the air. Today was the first clear day since late March that had virtually no migrating honeyeaters going over, save for some flocks of Red Wattlebirds moving through early in the morning. Considering the large numbers on 17th and again yesterday, this is an extraordinarily abrupt halt (though I'm reluctant to state the migration has finished just yet). Like crumbs left over from a banquet, there were just a couple of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters hanging around in front of my house, catching small flying insects. A few mobs of Pied Currawongs came through, going west.
A few days of cloud and much-needed rain meant that migration had stopped for the past few days. This morning was a beautiful though cool clear day, and like magic the sky was immediately full of migrating flocks once again. I could tell that numbers were fewer than they were a couple of weeks ago so I did a count between 9.45 and 10.00am. The rate has dropped to "only" 3000 birds per hour. In any other year this would be a good day! These were about 70-80 percent White-naped Honeyeaters (a rough estimate) with nearly all the rest Yellow-faced. During that 15 minute count I also had 7 Red Wattlebirds, 6 Spotted Pardalotes and at least one Striated Pardalote, a Welcome Swallow, Mistletoebird and an Olive-backed Oriole moving through, the latter stopping briefly to call a few times from the top of a tree. While I sat quietly counting, the two flowering banksias in my garden became full of Silvereyes and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters stopping in to re-fuel. They were so close I could have reached out to touch them. 13th May 2006 The numbers are starting to slow down and their sense of urgency starting to wane. Nevertheless, every few minutes the sky over my street fills with great swirling flocks of honeyeaters, a large proportion of which are now White-naped. Many Red Wattlebirds are still moving through too. Compared to the last few years, this morning's migration is still pretty amazing. 5th May 2006 A cloudless sky and again really big numbers flying over, only slightly fewer than yesterday. Yellow-faced are still in the big majority — perhaps 80 percent, with 20 percent White-naped, just a few Noisy Friarbirds, Red Wattlebirds and little groups of pardalotes from time to time, all flying north. Looking back over the last few days, I reckon something like 50,000 honeyeaters have flown over my little street this week — and that's a conservative estimate. It boggles the mind to imagine the total population of these little travellers. 4th May 2006 This morning they're flying low, going due north directly over my house. They started coming over between 8.30 and 9.00am, in HUGE numbers again and continued until around midday. Again I didn't have time to do a count but from the look of it I reckoned they would have been in the order of 5000-8000 birds per hour. The proportion of White-naped have increased, as is usual for May, though it's difficult to estimate the actual percentage as it seems to vary widely between the waves of birds. Some flocks are almost entirely Yellow-faced, while in other flocks White-naped are in the majority. I had to drive between Medlow Bath and Lawson during the time they were going over, and it was interesting to notice the various points where the honeyeaters cross the highway. Some of these points included the southern end of Medlow Bath, at Katoomba just west of the Albion St lights, Wentworth Falls near West St (top of Valley of the Waters), a point midway between Wentworth Falls and Bullaburra, and at Lawson near Ridge Street. Have a look at a map and you'll see that all of these spots correspond to bush corridors following creek lines on one or both sides of the highway. 2nd May 2006 As I sit at the computer, my attention keeps getting drawn outside by clouds of honeyeaters overhead. Every couple of minutes the sky fills with their restless flocks. As they come up the gully, they swirl around in a big loop as if they can't decide which way to fly from here. They follow the trees eastwards around the edge of the park, before the "northward impulse" kicks in again. Some fly around in a full circle while others just zig-zag their way through. Eventually they gather enough nerve to cross the strip of development alongside the highway and they continue on their journey. During the past few days I've also been seeing frequent flocks of 20 or more Red Wattlebirds going west and north. Today I also noticed the first big movement of Pied Currawongs with a mob of 100 or so suddenly appearing, all flying west, their ebullient calls filling the air. Over the winter months I expect to see more big flocks of currawongs travelling west. I always think living here in autumn has a similar feeling to being at a busy airport or railway station — you never know who's going to come past next and where they might be heading. 27th April 2006 Huge numbers of honeyeaters again today. I didn't have time to do a count. ANZAC Day, 25th April 2006 This morning the migration was only slightly less impressive than the huge numbers of last Saturday, with around 5850 birds per hour flying over my street. As soon as the sky became cloudy about 11am, migration stopped. 22nd April 2006 Phenomenal! I did a count from 0945 to 1000 and in those 15 minutes, 1815 honeyeaters flew over my street, amounting to a rate of 7260 birds per hour (bph). Only once before have I counted a migration rate greater than this (7500 bph over my house on 1st May 2002). These were nearly all Yellow-faced and White-naped but interestingly, a few Eastern Spinebills appeared to be flying with them. They'd been flying over at a similar rate since about 8.00am and have only just started slowing down a little, around 10.30am. Altogether I estimate around 20,000 honeyeaters to have flown over my street this morning. 20th April 2006 There was some honeyeater movement over Easter, but I wasn't here much of the time. Today I had a Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike moving through. 11th April 2006 This morning, lots of pardalotes, and a few more White-naped Honeyeaters along with the more abundant Yellow-faced. I posted the following on Birding-Aus: I have a feeling this season will be a good one for the honeyeater migration through the Blue Mountains. Already good numbers have been moving through on every fine weather day since 28th March. In the last few days the throngs of Yellow-faced have been joined by smaller numbers of White-naped... 8th April 2006 A group from Follow That Bird came up from Sydney for a one day tour to watch the migrating honeyeaters. I was their guide and among other places I took them to Narrow Neck, where we were lucky to strike a very good migration day. Below is an excerpt from the trip report I wrote for their website. We then headed out onto Narrow Neck, one of the best honeyeater migration hotspots in the mountains. On arriving at a place where the peninsula narrows considerably between the Jamison and Megalong Valleys, we positioned ourselves on a rock platform to watch flock after flock of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters streaming along the clifftops and at times whooshing just over our heads. As each flock perched briefly in a nearby tree they provided challenging binocular practice for the less experienced members of the group. We also saw a few Noisy Friarbirds moving through, Spotted & Striated Pardalotes were calling constantly nearby, a Golden Whistler tantalised us with glimpses and we got great views of the resident New Holland Honeyeaters. 5th April 2006 The first White-naped Honeyeaters have joined the flocks of Yellow-faced. I did a count around 8.30am which revealed the following hourly rates. (Note: bph = birds per hour)
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The tiny Spotted Pardalote. Photo Nevil Lazarus. | |||||
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2nd April 2006
I sometimes get a few Willie Wagtails moving through with the autumn and spring honeyeater migration, usually only one at a time. Being a largely forested area, Willie Wagtails aren't the norm here so when one does appear it stands out. Today I had one fly in, perch briefly in a tall dead tree, then fly off towards the north. On the same morning, migrating flocks of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Spotted Pardalotes, Noisy Friarbirds and Welcome Swallows were flying through. Grey Fantails have been super-abundant for the past week or so and today the tree opposite my office was full of them, as if they were crazy animated fruit sprouting from the end of every branch. 28th March 2006 This morning there are considerably more going over and for the first time since last autumn the air is filled with the "chip chip..." flight calls of the Yellow-faced, mixed with the constant contact calls of pardalotes and Silvereyes. I wrote in my diary: "quite good numbers, bodes well for the coming season". Yesterday (27th) I wasn't at home to watch for honeyeaters but driving between Hazelbrook and Katoomba I noticed a very large and extended flock of White-throated Needletails, at least 100 and probably many, many more, generally flying low over the townships and ridges. They were flying over from 8.50am to 2pm at the very least. (As it turns out these were my last needletails for the year, though smaller numbers were seen by other Blue Mountains observers up until the 31st and perhaps later.) 26th March 2006 The first migrating Yellow-faced Honeyeaters seen — just a few travelling through in the late morning. Other species moving through on the same day included:
All observations at Katoomba (33° 42' 40"S; 150° 18' 20"E). |
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Website written and designed by Carol Probets. A NOTE ABOUT THE SITE This page can be found at: http://www.bmbirding.com.au/diary06.html © 2006 C. Probets. All rights reserved. Copyright of the photos and illustrations remains with the individual photographer or artist. 
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