Hi people,
You must be used to getting this kind of inquiry, because the Internet
is full of people from the US and inevitably all of them will want to
come to Australia. So yes, we (two of us) are coming. Three weeks in
the Southeast in December followed by three weeks in New Zealand.
Now three weeks is not enough, of course, but actually it makes things
easier. As we can't possibly chase all the available birds, we chase
none of them. We will wander from place to place and identify birds as
we see them.
I am not going to put the question to this list "what is the best place
to see birds." I have Thomas&Thomas and a number of trip reports and
I am sure we have enough spots to take us three weeks.
This RFI has a number of specific questions and maybe some of you will
be able to provide an answer.
One thing to take into account is that although I used to be a good
observer, things have happened and I can no longer easily see small
birds in trees. And I understand that trees in Australia can be very
tall. And full of small birds. So there are several hundred species
of Australian passerines that I don't have to try. Which is good
because I don't have to tell them apart. And there will be plenty
of other species left.
So, I will be concentrating on birds of open spaces: water, marshes, dry
areas. And I'll try the shrubbery birds like in the mallee.
We will be in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and points in between.
Now for the specific questions.
1, Species that are particularly desirable, so much that I would make a special
effort, and I am unsure of the probability. I expect that the answer will
vary from "no chance at all " to "you'll see plenty of those."
Cape Barren Goose (other than those introduced in Tasmania)
Black-necked Stork
Australian Brush-Turkey
Brolga
Australian Bustard
Australian [Common] Koel
Channel-billed Cuckoo
2. Marshy areas can be very good for birds, and therefore always turn up
in the guides. But they are unreliable. So, can someone give me an
idea of what the water level will be like in December in (in the order
in which we will visit them):
Cronulla
Lake Bathurst
Lake George
Jerrabomberra
Leeton
Avalon Road (Deniliquin)
Bool Lagoon
-Is Lake Bathurst still basically inaccessible, as T&T suggests?
-I just read on this list that access to Werribee is very difficult for
strangers, and I wasn't thinking of trying, but if anyone is thinking
of going on 12, 13, or 14 December we'd be glad to come along.
-Any other areas would be great - someone posted here about Banded Stilts
at a lake in Victoria that I've never heard of.
3. I know about the wildfires in 1994 or thereabouts. Which areas have
been hit? I know both Royal NP and Dharug were hit, but is there
anything left?
4. Any staked-out owls (by day, unless someone wants to take us along
for spotlighting.)
5. Any pelagic. This is not likely, as I already know the dates for the
Sydney and Wollongong ones and we won't make it.
6. Any local birding trip that we could join. Here in the Boston area, we
have the most active birding club in the country with over a hundred
trips per year, and I average about one per weekend.
Suitable weekends would be
Dec 5 Riverina
Dec 12 Melbourne
Dec 19 Tasmania
7. Finally, how do you pronounce
koel
cisticola (no, really)
hylicola
gerygone
Dharug
Deniliquin
not to mention a lot of other placenames.
Time is getting to be a factor - I leave here on Nov 19. (As I sit typing
this, it is still October, but it is already November in Australia.) I
should have written earlier, of course.
Many thanks,
Daan Sandee
Burlington, MA
USA
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