chowchilla
Well-known member
I work on a mental health unit and was one-to-one specialling a 16 year old (because of his age) yesterday for the morning shift.
As luck would have it, he was low-maintenance; I just had to keep him in sight. As luck would further have it, his room opens onto a courtyard from where you can see quite a bit of sky. I can also see out on to the street through the railings and can readily hear birds in the surrounding street trees. Seeing as we are located right on the 'Nade, I decided to keep a 'shift list' as I wasn't rushing around indoors as per a typical shift. Managed 34 species by shift's end:
1) Figbird (heard these all shift from surrounding trees; also flying
over).
2) Common Mynah (ditto).
3) Rainbow Lorikeet (frequently heard and seen flying over).
4) Brown Honeyeater (several males on territories singing loudly from
street trees).
5) Spangled Drongo (heard across the road).
6) House Sparrow (a single female hopped about the courtyard).
7) Feral Pigeon (a little flock resides around our courtyards where the
patients feed them).
8) Magpie Lark (their tinny screeches heard several times from the
street).
9) Pied Imperial Pigeon (flyovers of ones and twos all morning).
10) Peaceful Dove (calling from a streetside tree).
11) Welcome Swallow (one overhead around breakfast time).
12) Willie Wagtail (heard singing and alarming from the street).
13) Silver Gull (one over).
14) Olive-backed Sunbird (male singing from a roadside tree).
15) Buff-banded Rail (our resident rail was calling loudly from under
the unit (which is raised on stilts) and put in a brief appearance in the
courtyard before losing its nerve and running back under the building:
our resident Red-necked Crake alas didn't put in an appearance or call...)
16) White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike (one calling from the street).
17) Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (a handful over; greatly outnumbered by
Rainbows as always).
18) Yellow Honeyeater (one singing from a fair way off but it's loud
call was just audible from my position).
19) Sacred Kingfisher (one over, flying towards the 'Nade).
20) Spotted Turtle Dove (only one heard, from somewhere in the
street).
21) Spice Finch (a little group making their way through the shrubbery
outside the unit).
22) Double-eyed Fig Parrot (one heard going over; couldn't see it).
23) White-breasted Woodswallow (several heard but surprisingly none
seen).
Then I broke for lunch and headed for the 'Nade for ten minutes, where I had:
24) Masked Lapwing.
25) Red-necked Stint.
26) Terek Sandpiper.
27) Grey-tailed Tattler.
28) Gull-billed Tern.
29) Caspian Tern.
30) Eastern Great Egret.
31) Whimbrel.
32) Varied Honeyeater.
33) Pacific Golden Plover.
34) Metallic Starling.
Most distant stuff remained unidentifiable as I had no bins on me; saw what were probably Great Knot and Far Eastern Curlew but couldn't be absolutely sure.
Does anybody else keep work lists?:t:
As luck would have it, he was low-maintenance; I just had to keep him in sight. As luck would further have it, his room opens onto a courtyard from where you can see quite a bit of sky. I can also see out on to the street through the railings and can readily hear birds in the surrounding street trees. Seeing as we are located right on the 'Nade, I decided to keep a 'shift list' as I wasn't rushing around indoors as per a typical shift. Managed 34 species by shift's end:
1) Figbird (heard these all shift from surrounding trees; also flying
over).
2) Common Mynah (ditto).
3) Rainbow Lorikeet (frequently heard and seen flying over).
4) Brown Honeyeater (several males on territories singing loudly from
street trees).
5) Spangled Drongo (heard across the road).
6) House Sparrow (a single female hopped about the courtyard).
7) Feral Pigeon (a little flock resides around our courtyards where the
patients feed them).
8) Magpie Lark (their tinny screeches heard several times from the
street).
9) Pied Imperial Pigeon (flyovers of ones and twos all morning).
10) Peaceful Dove (calling from a streetside tree).
11) Welcome Swallow (one overhead around breakfast time).
12) Willie Wagtail (heard singing and alarming from the street).
13) Silver Gull (one over).
14) Olive-backed Sunbird (male singing from a roadside tree).
15) Buff-banded Rail (our resident rail was calling loudly from under
the unit (which is raised on stilts) and put in a brief appearance in the
courtyard before losing its nerve and running back under the building:
our resident Red-necked Crake alas didn't put in an appearance or call...)
16) White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike (one calling from the street).
17) Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (a handful over; greatly outnumbered by
Rainbows as always).
18) Yellow Honeyeater (one singing from a fair way off but it's loud
call was just audible from my position).
19) Sacred Kingfisher (one over, flying towards the 'Nade).
20) Spotted Turtle Dove (only one heard, from somewhere in the
street).
21) Spice Finch (a little group making their way through the shrubbery
outside the unit).
22) Double-eyed Fig Parrot (one heard going over; couldn't see it).
23) White-breasted Woodswallow (several heard but surprisingly none
seen).
Then I broke for lunch and headed for the 'Nade for ten minutes, where I had:
24) Masked Lapwing.
25) Red-necked Stint.
26) Terek Sandpiper.
27) Grey-tailed Tattler.
28) Gull-billed Tern.
29) Caspian Tern.
30) Eastern Great Egret.
31) Whimbrel.
32) Varied Honeyeater.
33) Pacific Golden Plover.
34) Metallic Starling.
Most distant stuff remained unidentifiable as I had no bins on me; saw what were probably Great Knot and Far Eastern Curlew but couldn't be absolutely sure.
Does anybody else keep work lists?:t:
