Exploring Pigeon Valley: The Grey Waxbill
The riches of Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve explained by Glenwood resident and chair of the Friends of Pigeon Valley.
This is the 16th article in an ongoing series that highlights the riches of Pigeon Valley, the urban nature reserve in the heart of Glenwood. The focus of this article will be on the Grey Waxbill.
Some birds have beautiful colours, some are colourful but a bit over the top (like Crested Barbets), and some a bit muted in their colours. However, if I were to give a prize for elegance, I might well hand it to the Grey Waxbills. The combination of smooth grey, crimson and black, with the striking eyeline, gives what the chattering classes could call ‘a stunning fashion statement’. Indeed, I wonder if anyone has replicated their combination on the cat walks.
Some years back, seeing them in Pigeon Valley was a notable event. Although they are generally uncommon birds, they have since thrived in the reserve and are breeding regularly. A casual walker is very likely to encounter the rather plaintive, piping call and to see a couple flit from a low shrub to the grasses on which they feed.
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Grasses in the reserve are doing well, partly because there seem to be more sunny areas opening in the thickets, partly because of requests to the management not to cut grasses like Setaria megaphylla.
The nest is placed hidden in the canopy of what may be a large shrub or small tree and is seldom seen unless you can watch carefully as the birds fly to it with grass stems and inflorescences.
Crispin Hemson chairs the Friends of Pigeon Valley, a group that undertakes clearing of alien plants, keeps records of bird and mammal sightings and alerts management to any problems.
The Friends have a monthly walk at 7.30am on the second Saturday of each month. Email: friendsofpigeonvalley1@gmail.com.
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