Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 16 Jun 2013.

Sun 16 Jun	Little Egret, Pied Cormorant, Azure Kingfisher Bushells Lagoon, Hawkesbury A Little Egret in breeding plumage, a Pied Cormorant and 2 Azure Kingfishers were at Bushells Lagoon this morning. Back in April there were 5 Pied Cormorants at this lagoon. Edwin Vella
	Banded Lapwings, Fairy Martins Cornwallis Rd, Cornwallis (Hawkesbury area) At least 2 Banded Lapwings and about 5 Fairy Martins (the later amongst largest numbers of Welcome Swallows) were seen along Cornwallis Rd beside the Grech's Turf Supplies. Edwin Vella
	Buller's Albatross, Wandering Albatross north head manly. 5 species of albatross this afternoon including 2 Buller's and 1 Wandering-type Albatross. michael ronan.
	Pacific Gull (immature); juvenile Kelp Gull Third runway, Sydney Airport Two immature Pacific Gulls were observed resting at the southern end of the 3rd runway mid afternoon. A juvenile Kelp Gull was observed feeding along the western side of the main runway in strong westerly winds on Saturday 15th June. Nigel Coghlan
	Nutmeg Mannikin Castlereagh Not a species I observe much at all locally. I saw a small flock of 15+ at around 15:30 near Church Lane. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Fairy Prion Nobby's Beach and Headland (Newcastle) I thought I'd post another report of the Fairy Prions today as much for their behaviour as anything. There were far more prions out wide today flying north, whilst in contrast to yesterday there was barely a shearwater to be seen. The thing I found interesting was the number of Fairy Prions feeding at the mouth of the Hunter River, along the surf break (Nobby's Reef) and elsewhere very close to shore. The attached image shows a bird that actually flew over the rock platform in front of Fort Drive (the rocks in the background is known as Groper Rock). Otherwise it was quiet with 2 Black-browed / 1 Yellow-nosed Albatross and an immature Gannet feeding inside Newcastle Harbour which wouldn't be for the faint-hearted! (Moderator's comment (NH): Fantastic photo, Mick! It reminds me of Caspar David Friedrich's 'Monk by the Sea'.) Mick Roderick
	Fairy Prion Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie Similar to other reports, there were two Fairy Prions close in, along with thousands of Fluttering Shearwaters heading south, one Commic Tern, numerous Australasian Gannets and several Gull-billed Terns at Tacking Point Lighthouse this afternoon Tim Morris
	Spotted Quail-thrush Bucketty Spotted Quail-thrush best bird seen during a nice morning a few kms along the turnoff from Bucketty towards Wiseman's Ferry. John Weigel
	Western Gerygone Boundary Road Reserve, Bathurst A pair seen feeding in the Red-stemmed Wattles near the water tank giving what must have been contact calls (which I'd not heard before and didn't manage to record as they flew off once they saw the recorder come out of my bag...). Also a pair of Speckled Warblers (usually to be found in this spot), a female Golden Whistler and a small flock of Brown-headed Honeyeaters. Tiffany Mason
	Little Eagle Edgell's Wetland, Bathurst One bird, sitting in the willows above the rusted car bodies. On and around the water were Freckled Ducks (six) plus Black-winged Stilt, Red-kneed & Black-fronted Dotterels, Hoary-headed Grebe, Hardhead, Shovelers, Pacific Black, Wood and Pink-eared Ducks, and Grey Teal. Tiffany Mason
	Little Eagle Castlereagh This morning we observed at least three Swamp Harriers, a Spotted Harrier, White-bellied Sea Eagle, several Black-shouldered Kites and Whistling Kites, Nankeen Kestrel and a light morph Little Eagle that was getting hammered by two Australian Magpies. There were dozens of Hoary-headed Grebes too. Ákos Lumnitzer et al.
	Grey Goshawk Hume Hwy (between Welby and Berrima) An adult white morph GG seen perched in a eucalypt by the side of the Hume Hwy, between Welby and Berrima, mid-afternoon. Coincidentally, I saw Bundanoon's white morph GG yesterday, near Bundanoon Club. Lorne Johnson
	Pink-eared Duck, Little Eagle, Whistling Kite Spring Creek Reservoir, Orange Pink-eared Duck (30), Little Eagle (2) light morph, Whistling Kite (3) Neville Schrader (1702)
	Fairy Prion, Fluttering Shearwaters, Soldiers Point, Norah Head 10:00 h Brad Gabriel, 12:45-15:30 Alan Morris & Allan Benson. The rate at which the Fluttering Shearwaters passed was about 1200 in a hour (none of the birds close enough to the rocks showed field marks of Hutton's Shearwater), and the Fairy Prions at 800+ per hour (again, all birds close enough were positively ID's as Fairy Prions). The Fairy Prions were basically going north but feeding, while the Fluttering Shearwaters were going south. Further species: 6 Black-browed Albatross, a Shy Albatross. Very good numbers of Australasian Gannets, Great Cormorants, 5 White-fronted Terns, Crested Terns, Caspian Terns, Silver Gulls, 1 Sooty Oystercatcher (first seen by Anne Morris), 3 Red-necked Stints, 1 Nankeen Kestrel. Brad Gabriel, Alan Morris & Allan Benson
Sat 15 Jun	Swift Parrot, Australasian Figbird Ourimbah Some interesting birds encountered lately near my residence. Saturday lots of north-bound air-traffic included a group of four noisy swift parrots and at least 100 Pied Currawongs - seemingly on a mission. A perched immature White-headed Pigeon appeared to be very skittish during the passage of Currawongs. Also two Australasian Figbirds - a new 'property tick'. Group of 12 roosting Top-knot Pigeons are becoming a regular. John Weigel
	Fairy Prion, Great-winged Petrel, Little Tern Fort Drive, Nobby's (Newcastle) About 50-odd prions seen close-in, flying into the wind feeding on baitfish(?), behaving much like storm-petrels. 4 birds seen well enough to positively ID as Fairy Prions so it is likely the others were also Fairy's. Also a few petrels seen further out, given that they were all-brown I'd say they were definitely Great-winged. Also streams of Fluttering-type Shearwaters numbering >1000 (2 seen in close were both Fluttering) as well as Black-browed and Shy Albatross and 200+ gannets. There was a feeding flock of terns that was comprised of 20-odd 'commics' (probably White-fronted) and one Little Tern (unseasonal?). Mick Roderick
	Fairy Prions, Great-winged Petrel & Pacific Gull Mistral Point, Maroubra Incredible to watch ! Hundreds of (hungry) Fairy Prions streaming North, many turning back into the wind to feed. Best views from land for well over a decade. Also Pacific Gull, Brown Skua, 2 Yellow-nosed Albatross and both Black-browed and Shy Albatross and a Loggerhead Turtle and Inshore Bottle-nosed Dolphins in that feeding event with all the Fairy Prions. Around 30 Great-winged Petrel were also seen - I was only there for the last two hours. Photo attached @ 1600 iso because of poor light. David Mitford and Robert Griffin
	Australasian Figbird Windsor town centre 8 Australasian Figbirds in the figtrees near the river Chris Chafer
	Hoary-headed Grebe Sydney Olympic Park Solitary Hoary-headed Grebe seen feeding in the Frogpond opposite the Allphones Arena near Kronos Hill. Excellent close views from the boardwalk extending over the pond. Spotted at 3pm, still there at 4pm when I left the area. Photo taken from iPhone so please excuse the poor quality. Richard Gardner
	Eastern Reef Egret, Swamp Harrier, Pacific Gull, Kelp Gull Boat Harbour, Kurnell Big seas and southerly pushed the lower high tide much higher. Eastern Reef Egret (1), a pair of Swamp Harrier (2) working the heath behind the harbour, two immature Pacific Gull (2) and a mix of Kelp Gull (6). Greg McLachlan
	Pied Cormorant kyeemagh On a moored boat drying his wings along with 3 Australian Pelicans opposite Fishermans Club. Plenty of Little Pied Cormorants in the area but usually not Pied Cormorants. Oliver Williams
	Wedge-tailed Eagle Castlereagh One adult Wedge-tailed Eagle (I presume male, since his mate should be incubating now, plus he appeared a smallish adult). Whistling Kite, female Swamp Harrier, four Nankeen Kestrels, two Black-shouldered Kites and two (maybe the same one twice?) Peregrine Falcon out near the lakes. Ákos Lumnitzer and Peter Phelan
Fri 14 Jun	Great Egret Clements Pde, Kirrawee (Sutherland Shire) Healthy looking Great Egret foraging at midday on narrow footpath in heavily built-up area, alongside busy street. Have only see them by roadside before at Elouera Rd and Capt Cook Dve, Cronulla in proximity to golf course and wetlands. Bruce Roubin
	Freckled Duck, Hoary-headed Grebe, Pink-eared Duck, Red-kneed Dotterel Wetlands between Lake Road and Finlaysons Road along Four Mile Lane, Swan Creek 2 Freckled Ducks on small wetland with 3+ Hoary-headed Grebes and 2 Pink-eared Ducks; 20+ Hoary-headed Grebes, 7 Red-kneed Dotterels and 3 Pink-eared Ducks on larger wetland near Finlaysons Road. 2 more Pink-eared Ducks along Finlaysons Road near Fullers Road. Greg & Val Clancy
	Eastern Osprey and Collared Sparrowhawk Point Clare, Brisbane Water, Central Coast Three Eastern Ospreys were circling high over Point Clare on the western edge of Brisbane Water when they were harrassed by a Collared Sparrowhawk. Barbara and Andrew Melville, Alan Morris
	Western Gerygone Narrabri Lake, Narrabri 2390 A single Western Gerygone (possibly a young bird, given its light yellow tint) was seen in Acacias in the park around Narrabri Lake. It was clearly not interested in the lake or the reeds, but trees on the south side, near Mooloobar St. It was very active, catching small insects all the time (around 10 am). I could find no other birds with it. Michael Dahlem
	Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Narrabri Lake, Narrabri 2390 Saw several small birds flying at high speed between various reed patches on the south side of the lake, near Mooloobar St. I could not visually identify the two darker birds I saw, but think they were adult Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. At the same time, in the same location, I managed to get the attached photos of two different juveniles. This is exactly where I had reported them nesting in May. Michael Dahlem
Thu 13 Jun	Lewin's Rail Cape Banks Lewin's rail calling in dense cover. Seen from the cliffs were: 3 Black- browed Albatross, Australasian Gannets, a Kelp Gull and lots of dolphins and 5 humpback whales, with some closer to shore. Bas Hensen
	Swift Parrot, Black-chinned & Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Buff-banded Rail Nurragingy Reserve, Doonside There was a large flock of White-naped Honeyeaters in the reserve and among them there were two Black-chinned Honeyeaters. Six Blue-faced Honeyeaters were flying near the Centre. Three Nankeen Night-Herons were roosting in their usual place (near bridge to the western side of the reserve). Buff- banded Rail came out of the creek near Power St. I left the reserve and a flock of Musk Lorikeets was flying along Knox Rd. They landed on the flowering gums (mostly Ironbark) on Karuah St. There were three Swift Parrots and 5 Scaly-breasted Lorikeets among them. Ted Wnorowski
	Eastern Osprey Nepean Weir, Penrith My friend Sue sent me an e-mail asking for ID confirmation of a raptor she photographed near the weir at 11:25 this morning. Glad to say it was an Eastern Osprey, as she had initially thought. Great to see them back. We had a pair for a while in 2010-11, but they disappeared after their beloved night roost tree blew over in a windstorm. Permission for posting photo was obtained. Ákos Lumnitzer on behalf of Sue Thomson
Wed 12 Jun	Black Falcon Casino Coraki Road 28 56S 153 13E 1' Cell Single Black Falcon seen perched in tree beside road, approx. 8km north west of Coraki. Steven McBride
Wed 12 Jun	Double-barred Finch Randwick Environment Park A flock of about 20 Double-barred Finches seen on two days feeding in tall grasses next to the community vegetable garden. Access via Randwick South Sydney Daycare. Birds seen near compost heap and vegetable garden on southern side of environment centre. David Eldridge
	Little Lorikeet, White-ceeked Honeyeater, Brown-headed Honeyeater Castlereagh Nature Reserve 2 Little Lorikeet, 4 Brown-headed Honeyeater and 10 White-cheeked Honeyeater in the many flowering ironbarks in the reserve off the Northern Rd. Lots of White-naped and New Holland Honeyeaters too, as well as 3 Rose Robin. Chris Chafer
Tue 11 Jun	Brolga Ulmarra I saw at least 10 Brolgas on the Northern side of Ulmarra Northern NSW in a cane paddock. odette aitchison
	Swift Parrots Koorawatha East, Sutherland Road During a campout on private property by members of Birding NSW over the Queen's Birthday Weekend, Swift Parrots were recorded daily with a maximum of about 12 birds seen at any one time. ALLAN RICHARDS
	Tree Martin, Rose Robin Sydney Olympic Park A single Tree Martin over Woo-la-ra is unseasonal. A female-plumaged Rose Robin on Louise Savage Walkway was apparently the 3rd record for SOP (1 seen same spot on 16 May 2013 by DJ; 1 seen several years ago at Mason Park by DH). Also a pair of Crested Shrike-tits and a male Rufous Whistler along Walkway. David James & Dion Hobcroft
	Eastern Osprey Narrabeen Lakes Eastern Osprey (1) Single bird has returned to the nesting site used a few years ago. Mark Young
Mon 10 Jun	Red-necked Avocet Ramsay Island, Woy Woy 6 Red-necked Avocets were roosting on Ramsay Island, in Blackwall Bay, Woy Woy. A rare record for Brisbane Water and only the 5th Central Coast record. Other birds present at 4+ Hoary-headed Grebe, 3 Black Swan and about 40 pairs of Pelicans nesting on the Island. Wendy Gillespie per Alan Morris
	Eurasian Coots Coffs Harbour, Southern Cross University dams 300+ Eurasian Coots on one dam and 100+ on dam close by. Very unusual numbers for these two very small dams. Also 6 Royal Spoonbills and 12 White-eyed Ducks (aka Hardheads). Michael Cheers, Peter Richards and Peter Higgins
	White-headed Pigeon Oxford Falls Rd, Oxford Falls 4 birds seen just near the oval for the Grammar school Mark Young
	White-headed Pigeon Field of Mars Reserve, East Ryde A pair of White-headed Pigeons at Field of Mars reserve this morning, looking like they'd gorged themselves on the fruiting privet - Kunzea Track towards Cressy Road. Robert Griffin
	Pied Butcherbird, Australian Hobby Castlereagh Rd, Castlereagh (approx. 60km west of Sydney CBD) I was surprised to see a Pied Butcherbird fly into someone's front yard beside Castlereagh Rd. An Australian Hobby was also seen perched on top of a dead tree on the same property. Apparently, there has been other sightings of Pied Butcherbirds in the Castlereagh area over the past 20 years but not sure how well established they are. This is also my only 3rd or 4th location were I have seen Pied Butcherbirds in the Sydney region. Edwin Vella
	Freckled Duck, Spotted Harrier Bushells Lagoon, Hawkesbury 4 Freckled Ducks by the causeway. Also a single Spotted Harrier, 2 Red-kneed Dotterels, 2 Hoary-headed Grebe amongst others. 7+ White-necked Herons in nearby Freemans Reach and Kurmond Eric Finley
	Little Eagle Between Exeter and Werai A single adult perched on a power line by Werai Rd, not far from Loftus Parade. The first time I've seen a Little Eagle here; the 4th place I've recorded Little Eagles in the Southern Highlands. Lorne Johnson
	Great-crested Grebe Port Macquarie Dam Single bird Brian Curtis
	Pied Oystercatcher, Pied Cormorant, Royal Spoonbill Hen and Chicken Bay, Paramatta River, Wareemba (Sydney Inner West) Walked the Wareemba shoreline this afternoon, seeing the usual birds - but also a single Pied Oystercatcher. Also saw the single Pied Cormorant (Little Pied Cormorants often seen, singles and pairs, but this Pied is the first I can recall seeing along this beach) and one Royal Spoonbill. Barrie Ayres
Sun 9 Jun	Sooty Owl Bago Bluff National Park (Quarry Trail) 1 Sooty Owl located in rainforest gully near Bluff Matt Hinze
Sun 9 Jun	Sooty Owl, Southern Boobook, Owlet Nightjar and Tawny Frogmouth Waterslea Youthworks Conference Centre, Shoalhaven 1 Sooty Owl heard making a falling bomb call at around 9pm in the rainforest behind the camp up the hill. After much whistling in an attempt to call it in, it started responding with descending trill/screeches, sadly could not locate it. Also four or more Southern Boobooks calling, Owlet Nightjar and Tawny Frogmouth. Simon Gorta
	Grey Goshawk Bulli Tops Adult Grey Goshawk was seen perched on cable beside highway. Carla Jackett
	Pink-eared Duck, Grey Goshawk, Black-winged Stilt Seale's Rd Swamp, Belmore River, Gladstone I counted 400+ Pink-eared Ducks on the Seal's Rd Swamp today, the most that I have ever seen together in the Macleay River Valley wetlands. Also present were 1100 Grey Teal, 400+ Black-winged Stilts and 500+ Coots, all very high numbers for this wetland. The waterbirds were being continuously harassed by 4 Swamp Harriers and there was a Grey Goshawk perched on the overhead wires. Ken Shingleton per Alan Morris
Sat 8 Jun	White-throated Gerygone Willandra National Park White-throated Gerygone (1) One immature bird at the campground. I heard it first and it came to a branch within a few metres of me. It had a lemonish breast. David Dickson
Fri 7 Jun	Powerful Owl, Southern Boobook, Glossy Black-Cockatoo Pearl Beach Powerful Owl and Southern Boobook heard calling at the same time at 8.30pm. Several Glossy Black-Cockatoos seen on 8th, 9th. Charles Hunter
Thu 6 Jun	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Sandstone Caves Circuit (yaminbah), Pilliga NR, Coonabarabran At least two Glossy Black-Cockatoos,100 m from Carpark in low dwarf type head high Casuarinas, close to track. Duncan Fowler
	Speckled Warblers Warrumbungle National Park (Camp Wambelong) Was surprised to see at least 2 colonies of these survivors about 1 km apart amidst the fairly fire and flood devastated surrounds, somewhat more protected in valley near river from recent fires. Various other insectivores working ground level, 30 spp. of bird in morning/arvo walk. Duncan Fowler
Sun 2 Jun	Great-winged Petrel, White-fronted Tern, Albatrosses Norah Head During a half our sea-watch in very windy conditions with the sea very rough with a south-east swell from 1605 hrs, 12 Great-winged Petrels were seen flying northwards and arc-ing upwards in their usual large loop like flights. Also present were 5 White-fronted Terns feeding in the whitewater and while most albatross were well out, 2 Black-browed and one Yellow-nosed Albatross was identified. The significance of this observation is that at the same time large numbers of Great-winged Petrels were also reported off Mistal Point and Newcastle, indicating a large northwards (?) movement of this species. There were many Australasian Gannets. Alan Morris

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