Resending because the paragraphs haven't come up when it came back to me
through birding-aus. Sorry for the inconvenience if its come out alright for
you.
Returned from holiday in Esperance a couple of days ago, where, amongst other
things, I had the opportunity to check out some of the local birding sites. I
also visited a couple of places near Hyden on the way back. The water level in
all of the lakes near Esperance was fairly high, which meant there were few
migratory waders overall and Hooded Plovers had not yet arrived at any I went
to, but a wide variety of other waterbirds were present. Yellow-throated Miners
were numerous, particularly when driving through farmland and Western
Wattlebirds were also very common (comfortably outnumbering Red Wattlebirds).
Cape Barren Geese were fairly easy to find in farmland around Esperance while
Woody Island had nesting Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Brown Quail with young and a
Spotless Crake, amongst other things. White-winged Triller were also recorded
at several sites, suggesting that the large numbers around Perth this year may
be a wider phenomenon (although I'm not sure of their usual abundance in the
area). All up for the trip, 116 species were recorded, including 5 lifers (Cape
Barren Goose, Short-tailed Shearwater (? see Woody Island report below), Shy
Heathwren, Purple-gaped Honeyeater & Black-faced Cormorant). Below is a brief
summary of the major sites I visited and birds seen. I used the Birds WA
pamphlet on the area and sites listed in John Bransbury's book for site
information. I also requested info on both Esperance and Hyden on birding-aus,
so thanks also to Steve Davidson, Cliff Dent, Laurie Knight, David Secomb, Noel
Luff, Peter West and Sue Proust for their helpful suggestions.
ESPERANCE
Lake Monjinup: The area near the carpark was alive with birdwatchers(!), as I
appeared to have stumbled on an outing of the Esperance Bird Group. There were
birds about too, with a pair of Sacred Kingfishers and a number of Elegant
Parrots (shown to me by the bird group) being most notable. There was very
little on the lake, a lone Musk Duck being about the sum of the birds present,
however the surrounding bushland held large numbers of New Holland Honeyeaters
and Western Wattlebirds along with Red-capped Parrot, Red-eared Firetail,
Common Bronzewing and White-winged Triller amongst others. I revisited the site
almost two weeks later and briefly checked some of the bush area, a Western
Spinebill and good views of a male White-winged Triller being the highlights.
Lake Warden: The lake was very full and few birds were found. Several Musk
Ducks were displaying and some Australian Shelducks could be seen on the lake.
A drive along Stearne Road also yielded an Australian White Ibis, White-faced
Heron, White-winged Triller, Yellow-throated Miners and a pair of Cape Barren
Geese in a field.
Lake Wheatfield: Despite the high water level, a wader (probably a Wood
Sandpiper) was observed flying across the lake. Also present were Chestnut
Teal, Australian White & Straw-necked Ibis, Great Egret, White-faced Heron,
Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Australian Shelduck, while the banksia woodland had
large numbers of Western Wattlebird, New Holland Honeyeater and Red Wattlebird
along with other bush birds such as Shining Bronze-Cuckoo and Red-capped Parrot.
Woody Island & boat cruise: We stayed for one night on Woody Island. On the
cruise out, Cape Barren Geese, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Black-faced Cormorant
and close views of White-bellied Sea-Eagle were notable highlights, while on
the island, several Brown Quail with young, Red-eared Firetails, Brush
Bronzewing, Rock Parrot, Sacred Kingfisher, Spotted Pardalote, Golden Whistler
and a single Spotless Crake were among the species recorded. A particular
highlight was observing a number of Flesh-footed Shearwaters returning to their
burrows just after dark. On the boat back to Esperance, a flock of (~500)
Short-tailed Shearwaters (I have been told that this may be an unusual record,
but I'm fairly confident in my identification. If anyone has info about the
abundance of ST Shearwaters near Esperance, I'd be interested to know) and
several Australasian Gannets were the best sightings.
Mullet Lakes Nature Reserve: One of the few lakes with any real areas suitable
for waders, however there were still only a few about, namely a couple of
Greenshank, about 15 Red-necked Stint and a lone Sharp-tailed Sandpiper along
with a number of Red-capped Plovers, some with young. Other waterbirds seen
included Chestnut Teal, Great Egret, Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Australasian
Shoveller, while a Swamp Harrier soared overhead.
Cape Le Grande National Park: Relatively few species were recorded in the park,
although this was probably in part because much of our time there was through
the middle of the day. Among those species recorded were Great Cormorant,
Pacific Gull, Brown Falcon, Nankeen Kestrel and White-browed Scrubwren. In
farmland along the road into Cape Le Grande, Emu, White-necked and White-faced
Herons and Yellow-throated Miner were recorded.
Peak Charles National Park: Despite a long drive from Esperance meaning we
didn't arrive until almost midday, a number of birds were still about. It's
worthwhile driving slowly along the road in and stopping where you see birds.
Species seen included Shy Heathwren, Blue-breasted Fairy-wren, Golden Whistler,
Rainbow Bee-eater, Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, Brown-headed Honeyeater,
Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater, Brown-headed Honeyeater,
Purple-gaped Honeyeater, Southern Scrub Robin, Inland Thornbill and
Wedge-tailed Eagle.
For the first week, we stayed at Esperance Chalet Village, which was set in
park/bushland along Bandy Creek and had some good birds, including Brown
Goshawks (??nesting), Spotted Pardalote, Golden Whistler, White-winged Triller,
White-naped Honeyeater, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo and Black-fronted Dotterel along
the creek. After a night on Woody Island, we spent the second week at
Beachfront Holiday Apartments along the ocean front. The place was quite
spacious, with lovely views across to Cape Le Grande, but little in the way of
birds.
HYDEN
Around town, Yellow-throated Miners, Galahs and Australian Magpies were
numerous.Wave Rock: Few birds about, probably because we were there in the
early afternoon and it was fairly warm. Weebills were conspicuous and
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater and Rainbow Bee-eater were also about. T
he Humps area: Only three species recorded here; Striated Pardalote, Grey
Butcherbird and Australian Raven, probably quiet for the same reasons as Wave
Rock
Highlights from the drive between Perth and Esperance included a Regent Parrot
north of Hammismith, an Australian Bustard west of Lake Grace and several
Tawny-crowned and White-cheeked Honeyeaters plus what looked like a Pied or
Black Honeyeater east of Lake King. On the return drive, a pair of bustards on
Cascades Road north of Cascades and several Wedge-tailed Eagles spread
throughout.
All in all, an enjoyable trip. I've typed up my bird list, so if anyone would
like a copy, let me know (off list is probably better)
Cheers
John Graff
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