Hello everyone,
I would like to thank everyone who has replyed to my enquiry about birding
locations and local birds near Orange, NSW. I've received a lot of good
information, which I will use to my best ability during our stay in and
around Blayney. I am dumbfound by your hospitality and kindness. I've even
had several people to offer to guide us if our schedules match, which is
absolutely fantastic. I hope I can return the favor at least to someone who
will visit Finland in the future.
By the way, the second Sunday that was tentatively reserved for Capertee
Valley, might instead be spent in the Wollongong pelagic, at least if my
colleague can decide. He is _very_ interested in adjoining the 7:00 cruise
regardless of the 4-5 hour drive. We'll see what happens.
And finally, I have one more question that has risen to my mind:
Can you think of a list of species that are difficult or very difficult to
detect without familiarizing their call/song? You know, species that are
more easily heard than seen? And I don't mean the rainforest fauna, as I am
not visiting any such place, but the fauna found near Orange-Blayney-Forbes
area. The reason why I am asking this is that I will try to download some
bird sounds to my mobile phone, and I would like to be able to memorize
them. It's absolutely certain that I'm way over my head if I will try to
learn them all. I would like to narrow it down a bit.
Best Regards,
-Harry
2012/8/3 Harry Nyström <>
> Hello everyone,
>
> My name is Harry Nyström and I am from Finland. This is the first time I
> write to this e-mail list and I actually haven't even been a member but
> only for a couple of days.
>
> The reason I am approaching you is that I will be coming to Australia on a
> business trip during next weekend. We will be staying in the Orange region,
> and our "headquarters" is in Blayney. And when I say we, I mean me and my
> colleague, who is also a birder - although nowadays mostly focusing on bird
> photography. Unfortunately, due to the nature of our work, we only have a
> couple of days free, although we will stay there for 2 weeks. At the day of
> our arrival (Sat), we will visit some places in/near Orange (probably some
> or all of the latter: the Botanic Gardens, Lake Conobolas, Spring Creek
> Reserve and Gosling Creek Reserve). The day after it (Sun) we will head out
> to Gum Swamp, Forbes and maybe some other places, which we don't have a
> clue yet. The Sunday next week is still open for ideas, but my initial
> thoughts were to make a trip to Capertee Valley. And that's it; our free
> time during daylight. Naturally, we have a car in our use, but birding
> equipment is restricted to binoculars and a camera, so no telescope this
> time. It is also highly likely that this won't be my last trip to the area,
> so everything I learn will be probably put to good use afterwards.
>
> This is my first ever trip outside of Europe and naturally the first to
> Australia. This means I will be seeing all kinds of new things, mainly
> birds but hopefully also mammals, lizards(?) and insects. I am an
> enthusiastic birder here in Finland (for about 20 years now), but coming to
> Australia is like starting all over again, as I don't know the birds - and
> foremost their sounds. I have been reading Simpson&Day for some time now,
> and I just got my hands on a Pizzey&Knight. I also managed to loan The
> Complete Guide to Finding Birds in Australia without forgetting a copy of
> The Big Twitch. They probably won't help me a lot regarding the Orange
> area, but they will still be fun to read. Unfortunately I don't have any
> CDs or MP3s of Australian bird sounds, which is a shame. At least here in
> Finland, most birds are found by their calls and songs.
>
> Having said that, I have a few questions regarding my trip and the
> aforementioned places:
>
> 1. Could you give any hints on birding hotspots near Orange, Blayney and
> Forbes? Maybe special places for some specific species?
> 2. Any hints on maximizing the amount of birds to see in just a couple of
> days at that area?
> 3. Are there any restrictions regarding movement in the Orange-Forbes area
> (at least for the places I wrote down) that I should be aware of?
> 4. Is this a good time of the year to visit Capertee Valley? Has someone
> been there recently? What could we expect species-wise? Any Regents?
> Plum-headed Finches?
> 5. I have come to an understanding that Capertee Valley is just a road
> with as many stops as you like. Any tips on hotspots? Are there any
> blooming trees/plants that attract birds within the next 3 weeks?
> 6. Are there any Emus or Kangaroos to be expected in the aforementioned
> areas at this time of year? Any Black Cockatoos?
> 7. Any chance for nocturnal species at this time of year? Singing owls,
> frogmouths, nightjars etc? We do have some limited free time before/after
> work, but it is in the dark.
> 8. At the end of my trip, upon my departure from Sydney, I will probably
> have a couple of hours to go birding in Sydney. Any ideas where to go to
> for new species of birds? Royal Botanic Gardens? Centennial Park? Penrhyn?
> 9. Are bird sightings collected in a database in Australia in any way?
> Here in Finland we have a national database for sightings, which is a very
> handy way to check what is available and to make sure all data is saved and
> backed up.
> 10. And finally, a question from my wife (she is unfortunately not
> attending this trip): As it is still Winter(ish) down there, do we have to
> be careful for poisonous snakes/spiders?
>
> I know it's a lot of questions and our plane leaves in a week, but I will
> try to absorb as much information as I can get. I will appreciate any help
> you can give me. And let me know if I can return the favor regarding
> birding tips in Finland. I will naturally also write a small trip report of
> my journey for you to read once I return to Finland.
>
> Best Regards,
> -Harry
>
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