Just got back from a day out birding in the Newcastle area (about 170 km
north of Sydney) seeing some fantastic birds, including some of my
favourites.
ASH ISLAND (about 10 km west of Newcastle city) - Here there were
still plenty of waterbirds about, but the variety of ducks was no the same as 2
weeks ago. However Ash Island did produce the following:
- a magnificent female Black-necked Stork (this female Stork with
yellow eyes, stayed for over an hour and then took flight and landed over a line
of mangroves to a inaccessible area. Always a beautiful bird to see but hard to
get on to.
- one (possible two) Yellow Wagtail(s). One (in full breeding plumage
of race simillima) was very cooperative and I heard it calling very close by
while standing beside the railway line on the northern end of Ash Island, and
then realised it was only a few metres from where I was standing quietly
preening itself and moving about with a constant wagging of its tail up and
down. I watched it for about 10 minutes then it flew off and disappeared out of
sight, on the approach of other bird watchers. However it then returned again
beside the railway line in front of me, staying for another 10-15 minutes then
took off on the approach of a coal train.
- Other birds present included a Brown Goshawk, a small covey of about
6 Brown Quail, 200-300 Pied Stilts, Red-capped plover, a
few Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Eastern Curlew and
Greenshanks, a Caspian Tern, a few Australasian Shovelers,
several White-fronted Chats and some White-breasted
Woodswallows.
KOORAGANG ISLAND (about 5 km north-west of Newcastle city) -Here I saw a
Swamp Harrier, some White-f ronted Chats and Zebra Finches
near the big pond.
STOCKTON BRIDGE (within 10 km north of Newcastle city) - At one of
the oyster leases, I observed atleast 66 Terek Sandpipers roosting aswell
as about 10-15 Grey-tailed Tattlers nearby (many of the later in breeding
plumage). A few waders were coming in with the falling tide but I did not stay
long to see the majority of birds coming in. I did see about 20 Pacific
Golden Plovers, 2-3 among many Bar-tailed Godwits in breeding
plumage, several Eastern Curlews and a few Whimbrel, 1-2
Gull-billed Terns and 4 Pied Oystercatchers. Two Mangrove
Gerygones were also present in the mangroves.
STOCKTON SEWRAGE TREATMENT WORKS (about 5 km north of Newcastle city)
- Here I saw a female Musk Duck in one of the sewerage ponds. Nearby
along Stockton Beach, and very close to shore, were very large rafts of
Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and lesser numbers of both Short-tailed
and Hutton’s Shearwaters. A few Common and a single
White-winged Black Tern was also flying amongst them. While observing
these shearwaters, I felt something crawling on my face and upon pulling it off,
notice it was a bee and it gave me a very nasty sting "Ouch". I felt like I had
a big head ache for half an hour.
NOBBY’S HEAD, NEWCASTLE (about a km east of Newcastle city on the
southern end of the Harbour and opposite Stockton) - Here is saw 2 Arctic
Jaegers (one of each dark and light morph) flying up the river. There were
atleast 38 White-winged Black Terns here either fishing or roosting on
the rocks in front of us among over 100 Common Tern and 2-3 Little
Terns. The White-wings and Common Terns were in various stages of plumage
from full non-breeding to almost complete breeding plumage (both quite
impressive). On the rock amongst the Terns and Silver Gulls were atleast 4
Ruddy Turnstone and south of Nobby’s head I also saw 2 Sooty
Oystercatchers feeding.
Briefly today, I bumped into Alan Stuart and a few other members of the
Hunter Bird Observers Club who were surveying the waders. Three members surveyed
the main roosting spot and saw about 27 Great Knots, a single Little Curlew and
many other waders I missed.
Edwin Vella
