Well Twitchathon time is never dull and this year was no different. One
scratching a few days before the race as our scribe, Annette Harrison, became
ill and a bushfire in the Gibraltar Range were the only apparent negative
issues. Everything else looked good. There were birds everywhere and the
weather was predicted to be cool, a relief from the sometimes oppressive dry
heat typical of Sunday afternoons on Twitch weekends. The team comprised
Russell Jago, Gary Eggins and myself. Gary took over the role as scribe but
was a participating scribe, meaning he could call birds as well. We only
needed two members to call each species. We had agreed to stay completely
within the Clarence Valley this year which can be limiting. Three-thirty saw
us standing at a wetland near Grafton watching a Black-fronted Dotterel and two
Comb-crested Jacanas. Ten minutes before start time a male White-winged
Triller lobbed into a flowering Silky Oak. Russell was allocated to keep it in
sight. White-winged Trillers have been absent from the valley for a couple of
years so we wanted this one on our list. Four o’clock arrived and we called
Black-fronted Dotterel and Comb-crested Jacana but the Triller had completely
vanished. By the time we left this wetland eighteen minutes later we had
notched up 31 species. A good start. Wedge-tailed Eagle was seen next
followed by Plumed Whistling-duck and Musk Lorikeet. The Musk Lorikeet was a
real bonus as they had been absent from the Clarence Valley for many months.
They had only returned the week before the Twitch. At Eatonsville we added 6
species including Grey-crowned Babbler then back to the Gwydir Highway notching
up Rainbow Bee-eater and Peaceful Dove on the way. Between Eatonsville and
the Gibraltar Range we added 23 species including Spangled Drongo, Little
Lorikeet and Channel-billed Cuckoo. Gibraltar Range was interesting with a
shroud of smoke but surprisingly we heard Paradise Riflebird and Wompoo
Fruit-Dove in an area that had been back burnt. The back burn was in a rather
moist area and was relatively cool and low so the damage to vegetation was
limited. A stop to confirm Brown Cuckoo-Dove also produced Green Catbird,
Satin Bowerbird and White-headed Pigeon and others. A toilet stop at a lookout
added Bassian Thrush as two were at the entrance to the toilet block. Our
regular Rufous Scrub-bird did not disappoint and a Superb Lyrebird was foraging
on the roadside nearby. The Noisy Pitta also called on cue and after a few
nervous minutes of waiting the two Glossy Black-Cockatoos turned up at their
usual location. We arrived at the Emu-wren site but the sun was setting and
the cool weather meant that most birds had shut down for the night. Despite
this we ticked off Southern Emu-wren, Variegated Fairy-wren and New Holland
Honeyeater. As darkness fell we heard Australian Logrunner and shortly after a
Southern Boobook was calling. Nocturnal species are difficult to get but we
were happy with Southern Boobook, Eastern Barn Owl, White-throated Nightjar,
Australian Owlet-nightjar, Masked Owl, Bush Stone-curlew and Tawny Frogmouth as
well as Eastern Koel and Latham’s Snipe. By the time we went to bed at 1.30 am
we had recorded 117 species. To be continued.
Greg Clancy
Head Stalker
Black-necked Stalkers Twitchathon Team
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