birding-aus

RFI: Birding around Hobart

To: Ashwin Rudder <>
Subject: RFI: Birding around Hobart
From: "Jeremy O'Wheel" <>
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:08:40 +1100
Hi Ashwin,

Fern Tree is excellent for pink robins and scrubtits (and also Tassie
thornbills, despite mainlanders apparently seeing them almost everywhere).
 I haven't seen flycatchers or olive whistlers there, but I guess it's
possible.

I would try Waterworks Reserve for satin flycatchers.  I was there today
and saw one.  The tracks at the top of Mt Nelson (behind the Mt. Nelson
Shop) are also good for satin flycatchers, and I've seen them in the
Truganini Reserve.

You can see brush bronzewing around Hobart, without having to go as far as
the Meehan range, but that might be a good spot for blue-winged parrots
(I'm not aware of any very reliable spots for blue-winged parrots, but they
have been seen there).

When I lived just down the road, I would hear brush bronzewings nearly
every time I visited Bicentennial Park, off Churchill Ave in Sandy Bay, and
would see them fairly often too.   You could probably see them at any of
the other places I've mentioned too, but Bicentennial Park is the only
place I've noticed where you mainly get them and not common bronzewings, so
it would be more worth your effort to track them down when you here them
calling there, perhaps.

Peter Murrell Reserve is the place to go to see 40 spotted pardalotes, and
olive whistlers, blue-winged parrots and brush bronzewings have also been
seen here.  However in recent years the numbers have been quite low.  I was
there yesterday and saw one 40 spot, but the last few times I'd been before
that I hadn't seen any.  Maria Island and Bruny Island both apparently have
bigger populations, so if you get the chance might be worth a look.  Both
are possible to visit during a day trip.

There have been Swift Parrots at Bruny Island this season, but the main
eucalypts that they feed from don't flower around Hobart until December, so
I don't really know where will be good to look for them.  In other years
I've seen them almost in the middle of Hobart, on Sandy Bay Rd near the
university, and nearly every reserve around Hobart has signs up saying to
look out for them - although I haven't seen any in most of those reserves.
 So I don't know where is the best place to look, but they've been recorded
at many of the places I've mentioned, so you might see them anywhere :)

Probably the best place near Hobart for waders is Orielton Lagoon which is
on the West side of Sorell.  You could also try Ralph's Bay in Lauderdale,
and there are a few other little lagoons further down past there too.

I'm not sure where the best place for little terns is, but fairy terns are
often seen along the East Coast, especially around Orford, which is about
an hour and half to two hours drive from Hobart.

I'm not really sure where the best place for short-tailed shearwaters
around Hobart is.  There is a rookery on Bruny Island, but I vaguely recall
that there is another one nearer - perhaps somebody else knows what I'm
talking about.  Last summer I sailed from Sydney to Hobart (not in the
race) and saw hundreds of thousands of them all down the East Coast,
including in the Derwent estuary, but I don't know if they come close
enough to see from shore in a reliable manner, except at nesting sites, so
that's probably the way to go.

Hope this helps :)

Jeremy O'Wheel

On Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 6:34 PM, Ashwin Rudder <> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I will be in Hobart in the first week of December, and am hoping to chase
> down a number of species, both endemic and others. I am especially hoping
> to see Scrubtit, Pink Robin, Olive Whistler, Satin Flycatcher (is Mt
> Wellington, specifically Fern Tree, the best spot for these four?); Brush
> Bronzewing, Blue-winged Parrot (Meehan Range?); and also (especially)
> Forty-spotted Pardalote and Swift Parrot. Finally, where near Hobart is the
> best spot for waders, and is there anywhere good for either Little or Fairy
> Tern; and is there a good spot to see Short-tailed Shearwaters?
>
> One important note: I cannot get out to Bruny Island, so please do not
> recommend it to me!
>
> Thanks in advance
> Ashwin Rudder
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