Birdline Victoria Weekly Update

Birdline Victoria

Published sightings for the week ending 25 Mar 2012.

Sun 25 Mar	Beautiful Firetail, Southern Emu-wren Button Grass Walk, Bunyip State Forest Other good sightings. Approx. 300 White-throated Needletails, some flying only meters above our heads. Rufous Whistler, Mistletoebird, Dusky Woodswallow, Scarlet Robin, Rose Robin & Bassian Thrush. Noel, Lynne, Asha & Brenna Billing. Alex Maisy & Clive Kaplan
	Flame Robin, Jacky Winter, Scarlet Robin, Labertouche Nth. Wonderful autumn spectacle mid-afternoon in farmland at the very edge of Bunyip SP on Labertouche Nth Rd with at least 25 Flame Robin, 8 Jacky Winter, a pair of Scarlet Robin, Yellow-rumped Thornbill flocks and countless Grey Fantail all feeding in paddocks and along fencelines. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Australasian Gannet, Arctic Jaeger Corio Bay Australasian Gannet (2) sweeping back and forth from outer Corio bay to inner harbour Arctic Jaeger (4) Birds circled the boat several times before an adult landed to catch a small salmon just near our boat Hedley Earl
	Hooded Plover Lake Victoria (Lonsdale Lakes Reserve) 9 Hooded Plovers near Quarry, 4 immature. Three groups within 50 M of eachother. One family of 2 adults and 3 imms. No tags oobserved, possibly too far away and only binoculars. Angus Hartshorn
	Freckled Duck, Banded Lapwing, Marsh Sandpiper Burramine South Some great observations at an ephemeral swamp along Lawless Road which has filled after recent floods. Two Freckled Duck seen loafing on some logs over the wetland, a great find. A pair of Banded Lapwing, heard first from a bare paddock to the south then seen overhead. Also two Marsh Sandpipers flushed from grassy shallows as I arrived, surprised to see as it is somewhat late in the season and waders are very rare in this part of Victoria. The wetland in its current condition was a great habitat though, perhaps they were on their way migrating north. Michael Ramsey
Sat 24 Mar	White-throated Needletail Anglesea Heath 5 White-throated Needletail seen low over Coalmine Rd in Anglesea Heath late this morning. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
Fri 23 Mar	Flame Robin (Immature Male) Front yard of large residential block in Hoppers Crossing 3029. At 0945 hours, observed an immature male Flame Robin (faint orange tint on breast) in Eucalypts and native shrubbery in my front garden. This is the first I have observed for the season. Peter Gibbons.
Thu 22 Mar	Cape Barren Goose Clyde Nth Seen near waterway at new estate on Clyde Rd both Wednesday & Thursday. First sighting in 15 years travelling that Rd. Denise Carew
	Powerful Owl Near the corner of Dorset and Lincoln Rds, Croydon I heard a Powerful Owl calling approx 3am this morning, near my house in Croydon. It was calling for a couple of minutes before it stopped (presumably moved away from area). I had the presence of mind to try and record it calling, but not the presence of spirit to get out of bed. The recording failed also. Why don't I hear them when I am up at that hour? John Harris - Wildlife Experiences
Wed 21 Mar	Blue-faced Honeyeater Castlemaine, Lyttleton Street About 5-6 birds noisily feeding in flowering eucalypts and hopping around on shop front verandahs in the heart of the downtown area of Castlemaine. Lawrie Conole
	Sooty Oystercatcher Ricketts Point After seeing 1 possibly 2 birds at Half Moon bay last week, early this morning there were 3 Sooty Oystercatchers on the rocks at low tide at Ricketts Point. Sean Dooley
	Song Thrush. Hoppers Crossing A 1849 hours, observed a single Song Thrush in company with a male and a female Common Blackbird in my front garden. An uncommon sighting in my area. Peter Gibbons.
	Black Kite, Scarlet Robin Seymour Bushland Park A Black Kite was seen flying overhead & to west of Goulburn Valley Highway. Three Scarlet Robin as well, two males and female together. (Moderators note: a number of recent Birdline Reports and sightings on recently submitted lists indicate there is a minor influx of Black Kites into Victoria at present so keep a lookout for them). Val La May
Tue 20 Mar	Swift Parrot Spring Hill Track, Muckleford State Forest A lone Swift Parrot spotted feeding on flowering Grey Box. This is my first sighting for the season at a known 'swiftie' hotspot. Have been looking out for them for the last week or two without success until now. Good numbers of Little, Purple-crowned and Musk Lorikeets at the same site. Geoff Park
	Superb Lyrebird Jackson's Hill Road, Menzies Creek This evening (6pm) just in front if me a male lyrebird crossed Grantulla Road from Hermon's Corner bushland reserve and wondered up Jackson's Hill Road. A car came up slowly behind him which hurried him a little, but he didn't cross to the nature strip until he was past our driveway and could enter our garden at a place of his previous choosing. This is the third time we or others have seen similar behaviour and assume he is the same lyrebird heard calling in our garden and along Menzies Creek and seen foraging on the mown grass in Hermans Corner reserve in the mornings over the last month or so. In the last two years we have sporadically heard Lyrebirds in Winter but never for long, previous to this there is no recent local knowledge in the Menzies Creek catchment. Is this the reward for the improvements to the local native habitat over the last ten years? Will Ashburner
	Little Eagle Epping Plaza Car Park Little Eagle (1) Dark phase eagle loving the strong winds, fairly low over V.R. Michael Reserve. (In the middle of suburbia.) Bernie McRitchie
Mon 19 Mar	Blue-winged Parrot, Elegant Parrot Corner of the Nhill-Harrow Rd and Northern Break track 100+ flock of Blue-winged Parrots including some Elegant Parrots feeding in heathland and roosting in a small patch of Stringybark woodland located on unsignposted track opposite Dahlenbergs Mill track. Nicole Spillane & Paul Jacobson
	White-throated Gerygone, Rose Robin, Painted Button-quail Newport Lakes Park Plenty of activity this morning with a brilliant autumn mixed-species flock in bushland up on west hill overlooking the Amphitheatre consisting of a rather wayward WT Gerygone, Rose Robin, Rufous Fantail, several Spotted & Striated Pardalote, Golden Whistler, parties of Silvereye and many Grey Fantail. The Painted Button-Quail was in dry leaf-litter in the shallow depression alongside path down to main lakes. Steve Davidson
Sun 18 Mar	Swift Parrot Brisbane Ranges National Park Single bird heard calling in flight at Durdidwarrah Rd near Koala Track at 0850. Single bird called briefly at 0940 (unseen but seemed to be stationary) at Waterhole Track approx 500m from Durdidwarrah Rd at; adjacent to Barwon Water land. Calls all came from the same spot, and there were lots of flowering eucalypts in the area (mostly Manna Gum I think). Both records may have been of the same bird. Grace Lewis
	Mallefowl Little Desert Mallefowl present at Little Desert NP at the weekend. Also seen amongst Malllee regulars were several species which must be at the southern edge of their ranges - Spotted Nightjar, Aus. Ringneck, Budgerigar, Bluebonnet, Splendid Fairy-Wren, Variegated Fairy-Wren. Gilbert's Whistler common. Brian Johnston
	Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover & Common Tern Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Single Black-tailed Godwit with Glossy Ibis in third pond east of Little River ford, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit and 6 Grey Plover in the Spit Nature Conservation Reserve. 52 Common Tern at Kirk Point. John Barkla & BirdLife Yarra Valley members
Sat 17 Mar	4 Brolgas Kytanga Farm & Wetlands - private property Widespread and common in the N. & N.E Australia, uncommon in the South. We were taken by a member of the Timboon Field Naturalists Inc during a 3-day camp out for S.E.A.N.A . The birds were seen on a tour around the privately-owned farm, house and property classified by the National Trust. The tour was around sites in the Camperdown area, Derrinallum and Lake Toolirook. It was discuused during the tour that Brolgas were getting hard to see now in the South. Cecily Falkingham
	Procellaria sp, Pomarine Jaeger, Australasian Gannet etc Cape Nelson 1 Procellaria sp seen flying westward about 900 hours. Dark with whitish bulbous bill, large and chunky bird, with short tail. Almost certainly White-chinned Petrel, but I defy anyone to see the tiny white chin or lack of dark tip to bill from shore. 1 adult Pomarine Jaeger in breeding plumage. Also a stream of Fluttering & Short-tailed Shearwaters going westward in equal numbers, about 300 each. 12 Shy Albatross, 4 Black-browed. 3 Kelp Gulls, 2 Sooty Oystercatchers. Australasian Gannets coming extremely close, too close to photograph sometimes! Hundreds going west. Also Forest Ravens stooging around cliffs, 1 Australian Hobby were other highlights. Kevin Bartram
	Brown Quail Lilydale Railway Station Female Brown Quail walking around on the station platform at 4.30am. David Spicer
Fri 16 Mar	White-throated Needletail, Glossy Ibis Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Approximately 20 Needletails on 29 Mile Road, Glossy Ibis just east of Little River ford John Barkla, Keith & Lindsay Fisher

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