Gunning & District Historical Society

Eastern Spinebill at work.  Image: I Am birdsaspoetry.com https://www.flickr.com/photos/birdsaspoetry/41576558371/ December Bird of the Month:  The Eastern Spinebill This is the final story in a 12 part series in which we look at a bird recorded in Gladstone Weatherstone's notebook between 1962 and 1981, see if anything is different today and, if so, try to explain why. Gladstone was an expert amateur naturalist who lived on Lyndfield Park near Gunning from 1941 until 1996.   Image of Gladstone Weatherstone courtesy Wayne Weatherstone Just Because I Like Them On 20 December 1975, Gladstone wrote “Eastern Spinebill Honey-eater noted near sheds today for a short period "  He saw them again later - twice in 1979, twice in 1980 and once 1981.  In 1979 he observed "These are rare visitors here ”. Sometimes Gladstone exclaims about the beauty of birds he sees or birdsongs in which he delighted, but the Eastern Spinebill's undoubted attractions go unremarked.  I a...

 November Bird of the Month Latham's Snipe:  Image courtesy Mark Lethlean    Image courtesy Wayne Weatherstone This is number eleven in a 12 part series in which we take a bird recorded in Gladstone Weatherstone's notebook between 1962 and 1981, see if anything is different today and, if so, try to explain why.   Gladstone was an expert amateur naturalist who lived on Lyndfield Park near Gunning from 1941 until 1996.             The Visitor from Japan On 11 November 1971 Gladstone wrote, “Japanese Snipe flushed today from reeds in creek.  First recording here” .  His words show no emotion, but he must have been excited.  This small wetland bird, weighing only around 200 grams, had just fetched up on his farm after flying some 8000 or more kilometres from Japan and south-east Siberia!     Snipe have been making their annual journey to Australia for perhaps thousands of years.  Their...

"Crimson Chat."   by  Laurie R B  is licensed under  CC BY-SA 2.0   October Bird of the Month:  the Crimson Chat Image courtesy Wayne Weatherstone  This is number 10 of a 12 part series in which we take a bird recorded in Gladstone Weatherstone's notebook between 1962 and 1981, see if anything is different today and, if so, try to explain why.   Gladstone was an expert amateur naturalist who lived on Lyndfield Park near Gunning from 1941 until 1996.   1969:  A Unusual Year   Image:  Brett Donald, Own Work CC BY- SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Gladstone's notebook tells us " 1969 was the mildest Winter since coming here in 1941 " and, as a result, "many of the normal migratory species remained throughout; viz Blue Jays, Honey-eaters, Kestrels, Gill-birds and one or two others ".  His "Blue Jays" we know as Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes [pictured at right] and "Gill-birds" are our very familiar Red Wattle-birds. The ...

From Gladstone’s Notebook Image:  Wikimedia Commons Why did Grey Butcherbirds like the pair above shun Lyndfield Park for over 30 years?  Are these birds like Puccini’s Baron Scarpia and Mozart’s Queen of the Night – entrancing and exhilarating singers but inherently evil?  Is there an inverse relationship between population densities of Methodists and Grey Butcherbirds?    We explore these questions below.  July Bird of the Month  Image courtesy Wayne Weatherstone  This is number 7 in a twelve part series inspired by Gladstone Weatherstone, a dedicated and knowledgeable amateur naturalist who lived on Lyndfield Park near Gunning from 1941 until his death in 1996.  Each month we look at one of the birds Gladstone recorded in his notebook between 1962 and 1981 to see if it tells us anything about the recent history of our district. On 4 July 1972 Gladstone wrote “First Grey Butcherbird since coming here in 1941 was ...