Hi all
reckoned that the White Throated Nightjars should have arrived by now, so I
spent from 6:30-8pm at the previously reported (2007/9/10) stake out in the
car park next to the Sphinx Memorial in Ku-rin-gai NP. After wandering the
bush tracks around the car park for a while (lots of Swamp Wallabies about;
evidence that the casuarinas in the area had been visited by Glossy Black
Cockatoos, but not that recently; plenty of small bush birds), I stood in
the car park from sunset (7:15pm). It was about 25 minutes after sunset
that I heard a couple of distant bubbling calls. About 5 minutes after that
a single bird flew over my position, circled once, called (in flight - I
always thought they called from the ground) and then headed off along the
ridge top (ie following the Sphinx Fire Trail, not the Sphinx Track which
heads down to Warimoo Creek). It called from a distance once or twice more
but did not return.
At 8pm, the mossies had staked me out so I baled and came home.
Note - the timing of calls starting and the bird appearing is consistent
with my other visits to this site for nightjars - birds call from no earlier
that 20 mins after sunset and appear shortly after. If you are planning a
visit, sunset time is a critical element of planning. (Also, remember to
park outside the gates down to the Sphinx, as they are locked at dusk or
earlier.)
Cheers
Tom Wilson
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