Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 11 May 2014.

Sun 11 May	Swift Parrot Matthew Flinders Drive Port Macquarie 3 Swift Parrots flew over my house at 15:30 followed by 5 Swift Parrots observed flying overhead from the caravan park on Matthew Flinders drive at 16:00. Large numbers of Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets feeding in flowering Swamp Mahogany trees. Chris Slade
	Swift Parrot Mulgoa Nature Reserve (5 km south of Penrith) - eastern loop of Dillwyina Trail. 15 Swift Parrots seen at 12.15 today. High in "non-flowering" eucalypt. Flew off in a westerly direction shortly thereafter. John French & Andrew French
	White-throated Gerygone, Golden Whistler, Freckled Duck Gum Bend Lake, Condobolin First ever record of this species by myself in the Lachlan Shire. The White-throated Gerygone was observed feeding with Weebills, Varied Sittellas and a female Golden Whistler. The Golden Whistler is another rare visitor to this area. 3 Freckled Ducks were also seen at the local STW Warren Chad
	Swift Parrot Lindfield, Sydney 4 Swift Parrots heard well and seen in flight, heading north east, sadly I couldn't get much of a look at them as they didn't stop. Simon Gorta
	Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove Caniaba, Lismore NSW One of a pair of Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves sunning themselves in a camphor laurel on an east-facing eucalypt hillside. These trees are now fruiting attracting these birds. paul griffin
Sat 10 May	Eurasian Coot Cathcart, Black Lake Over 4,000 Eurasian Coots present on Black Lake for last 5 weeks at least, with assorted other waterbirds including 14 Black-winged Stilts. 36 50' 17" S 149 18' 36" E Barbara Jones
	Hardhead Bombala, Coolumbooka Weir Estimated 450 Hardhead at the Weir, just east of Bombala. 36 53' 50" S 149 15' 00" E Barbara Jones
	Little Eagle Oakhurst Alarm calls of Australian Magpies alerted me to a Little Eagle flying over a grassed causeway near my house. mark fuller
	Little Shrike-thrush Coutts Crossing Village Little Shrike-thrush foraging in canopy of trees and vines in our backyard. Also present on March 23, April 25 & 29, May 2 & 4. Although known from the riparian rainforest of the Orara River at Coutts Crossing (North) and McPhersons Crossing these are the first records for the village. Greg Clancy
	Brolga Brothersons Swamp, Coutts Crossing Adult pair north of Black Swan Drive, north east of Brothersons Swamp (see photo). Also present in area on May 6 and 7. Greg Clancy
	Spotted Harrier Woodbine (2 km north of Campbelltown) A Spotted Harrier sighted at Kanbyugal Reserve, Woodbine. Michael Paul
	Regent Honeyeater Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo Spotted a pair of Regent Honeyeaters going from flower to flower in an ironbark tree on the edge of the Gibbon lake in the centre of the zoo. [Moderator's note (NH/AKM): Interestingly 2 pairs of Regent Honeyeaters were seen at the Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo on 15/10/1986. Anyway, there are not many records of this species for the Dubbo area in general over the years and not many records in NSW overall this year. Updates would be appreciated.] Andrew O'Brien
Fri 9 May	White-eared Monarch The Pocket, Billinudgel, Far North Coast NSW A couple calling in the morning a nice bonus this time of year. Also Spectacled Monarch the week before. Not too surprising considering the very tropical nature of this patch. Duncan Fowler
	Brown Quail, Zebra Finch, Rufous Whistler Sydney Olympic Park One Rufous Whistler acquiring adult male plumage at the Brickpit, one Tree Martin at Woolara, four Zebra Finches (same birds seen a few days ago), five Brown Goshawks, a Nankeen Kestrel and about two or three Hoary-headed Grebes on the Brickpit pond. 4 Brown Quail (Photo by Greg McLachlan) but no sign of the reported King Quail. Dion Hobcroft & Greg McLachlan per Nikolas Haass (moderator)
Thu 8 May	Spangled Drongo Sydney Harbour National Park (South Head) Spangled Drongo braving the wind on South Head near the Light House. Marie Lister
	King Quail Sydney Olympic Park (the Brickpit) I had a good view of a small flock of King Quail (4 birds including one beautiful male). They were feeding near bushes at The Brickpit area) [Moderator's note (NH): This would be the first record of this species for Sydney Olympic Park, we would appreciate it if other observers can corroborate the sighting and ideally provide photo documentation] Ted Wnorowski
	Musk Lorikeet Belmont city centre, Coles car park Flock of 40+ Musk Lorikeets feeding in 4 eucalypts in the car park have been here for at least a month. Wide spread and numerous in the Belmont-Belmont South area since late March. BILL BOYD
Wed 7 May	White-breasted Woodswallow Warrell Creek, Gaagal Wanggaan National Park Two White-breasted Woodswallows flying above canopy and calling. They are usually a spring-summer migrant to the NSW North Coast. There are none in the Clarence Valley at present (that I am aware of) having left a couple of months ago. Greg Clancy & Rick Dickson-Battye
	Grey-fronted Honeyeater Private Property NSW, 10km NE of Mildura. At least 6 seen in mallee regrowth after clearing. Very active and calling whilst sunny, then quieter when it became overcast. Searching for insects in foliage. Pauline Follett, Jayna Podgorski & Allan Taylor
	Buller's Albatross, Fairy Prion, Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross North Head, Manly Had my first sighting of a Buller's Albatross for the autumn also up to 10 Fairy Prions and 5 Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross. Hopefully another good winter for prions off Sydney. michael ronan
	Pacific Baza, Grey Goshawk, Collared Sparrowhawk, Wedge-tailed Eagle Lower Pappinbarra One Pacific Baza, Grey Goshawk and Collared Sparrowhawk seen in tree tops and three Wedge-tailed Eagles high above. Two were dropping fast then soaring back up to drop again in a display. Ian Kerr
	Pacific Baza, Nankeen Night-Heron, Hoary-headed Grebe Deep Water Park Milperra We had brief views of a single Pacific Baza over Deepwater Park in the late morning. Also saw 2 Nankeen Night-Herons, 2+ Hoary-headed Grebes and a female Rose Robin. David James and Dion Hobcroft
	Eastern Osprey Burrill Lake Estuary An E. Osprey flew briefly around the entrance to Burrill Lake at Dolphin Point before flying further up in to the Lake proper and disappearing. This has been the first sighting here for a good while of an Osprey in the area. The reported Wood Sandpiper disappeared on Friday 4th May and like the Long-toed Stint only lasted a couple of days also in the wetlands. The heavy seas have the water of the lake backing up into the wetlands making them much larger but also deeper. If this has had a bearing on the waders I wouldn't know. [Moderator's note (NH): Thanks, Bob, for the update regarding the disappearance of the Wood Sandpiper and the Long-toed Stint] Bob Rusk
	Spangled Drongo Ulladulla In my garden, picking paper wasps off a downpipe. Listed as uncommon in the Birds of Shoalhaven City booklet. [Moderator's note (NH): There has been an influx of Spangled Drongos into the area since early February 2014] Chris Shinton
Tue 6 May	Pacific Baza (2) Zebra Finch (6) Sydney Olympic Park-Newington Nature Reserve At 1030 a pair of Pacific Bazas flew up and out of NNR, accompanied and mildly harassed by a Brown Goshawk (one of three seen there today). The bazas gained height and drifted off to the north, showing very well, enough to see the solid chestnut bars below etc. A small flock of Zebra Finches also bombed over back and forth twice, my first sighting here for several years. Other good birds included Peregrine Falcon (1), Black-shouldered Kite (1), Double-barred Finch (2), Scaly-breasted Munia (2), Australasian Pipit (2), Red-necked Avocet (3), Golden (4) and Rufous (heard only) Whistler, Grey Fantail (3) and at least (100) Yellow-faced Honeyeaters in one flock. Dion Hobcroft
	Little Lorikeet, Musk Lorikeet Callan Park, Rozelle 4 Little Lorikeets originally heard, then later seen extremely well without binoculars flying past and feeding on some blossom. Red face, size and flight style as well as distinctive call were all noted in the ~45 minutes I was at the site. The football pitch they were around was just off Balmain Road (-33.867766, 151.163762 google maps coords). Hopefully I'll be able to photograph them tomorrow if they're still there. 10 or so Musk Lorikeet were also present and appear to have been present in the Inner West of Sydney for many months now. I have observed them around Fort Street High School since November 2013, although I was not present for most of January. They were still there when I returned in February and were present today. Simon Gorta
Mon 5 May	Eastern Osprey Wallis Lake and Wallis Lake Estuary, Forster and Tuncurry During the CCGBNSW Camp out at Tuncurry we made a particular point of checking out the number of Ospreys around Wallis Lake. Three occupied nests were seen (a) in a Norfolk Island Pine near the bridge over the estuary at Tuncurry, (b) on a purpose built pole on the foreshore nth of Tuncurry, and (c) on the eastern side of Wallis Island. We are sure that were other nests. In addition at one stage there were 5 Ospreys in the air at once near nest (b), and 4 Ospreys in the air, near nest at site (C). Overall Ospreys were encountered all around the Lake and up the Wallamba River near the Holiday Park, We estimate a minimum of 20 Ospreys were counted in and around the Lake. Alan Morris, Carole Meisenhelter (photo) & 33 others
	Dusky Woodswallow, Plum-headed Finch Bylong Valley Way and Widden Valley (Upper Hunter Valley) Over a stretch of the Bylong Valley Way between Yarrawa and Widden Valleys I saw several hundred Dusky Woodswallows, with concentrations in some areas. Initially I thought perhaps these birds might have been migrating birds, but I noticed that they were perching on available sites (e.g. fences, overhead wires) and feeding on locusts (possibly Australian Plague Locusts - I regret that I did not attempt to identify these at the time). An image is attached of a bird feeding on a dead locust on the road. There were even quite a few road-killed Duskies as well. I have added Plum-headed Finch to this report because at approx. 32.3793s/150.40979e I found a flock of 20+ Plum-heads with the Duskies (and which were separate from my other Plum-head reports). Mick Roderick
	Plum-headed Finch, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, European Goldfinch, Stubble Quail Kerrabee, Bylong Valley Way (c. 20km west of Sandy Hollow) Small flocks of Plum-headed Finches seen at a weedy floodway crossing just east of Kerrabee Creek, along the Bylong Valley Way in the Upper Hunter Valley. There would have been about a dozen birds. I was surprised to also see 2 pairs of Chestnut-breasted Mannikins in the same location (much more common closer to the coast in the Hunter Valley), but was flabbergasted when a lone goldfinch flew past. I have included an image showing a mannikin and a female Plum-head. Stubble Quails were also calling from surrounding paddocks. There is clearly a good supply of seeding grasses and weeds in the area and again the Bidens pilosa seed can be seen in the image (though see separate report of Dusky Woodswallow flocks). Mick Roderick
	White-backed Swallow, Black Falcon 1km north of Glen Alice, Capertee Valley 2 or 3 White-backed Swallows were first seen on the afternoon of the 4th May, but when we returned the next day we found 7 birds, comprised of 3 obvious pairs doing synchronised flight and an additional bird higher up. There were also many Welcome Swallows and a few Tree Martins in this area (+ a female Flame Robin). Earlier we saw a Black Falcon over the Capertee River, a rare bird in the Capertee. Mick Roderick and Dean Ingwersen
	Red-rumped Parrot St Georges Basin Country Club Golf Course 3 pairs in Casuarinas behind 2nd green and on the nearby 9th fairway. They have been seen for the past three weeks. Species not seen by me in this area of the Shoalhaven before during 15 years of observation. Brett Davis
Sun 4 May	Eastern Osprey, Glossy Ibis Ulmarra A single Osprey was flying over Clarence River at Ulmarra (near old hotel). I checked a chain of ponds along Pacific Hwy (5 km north of Ulmarra) and there was a good selection of water birds including Glossy Ibis (2), Yellow-billed spoonbill (3), Royal Spoonbill (3), White-necked Heron (22), Intermediate Egret (1), Black-winged Stilt (12). Black-fronted Dotterel (4). [Moderator's note (NH): This is a stunningly high number of White-necked Herons.] Ted Wnorowski
	Black-necked Stork, Eastern Osprey Nambucca Heads (Nambucca River Tourist Park) Two Black-necked Storks flew over the Tourist Park and landed on the swampy paddock near Newee Creek. A pair of Ospreys was flying over Nambucca River (opposite Florence Wilmot Dr). Ted Wnorowski
	Red-necked Avocet, Pink-eared Duck, Australasian Shoveler, Tawny Grassbird Pitt Town Lagoon A single Red-necked Avocet seen as well as 200 plus Pink-eared Ducks, 70 or so Australasian Shoveler (fewer numbers of Grey and Chestnut Teal, Pacific Black Ducks and only a single Hardhead amongst these). There were also 4 Fairy Martins, 25 Hoary-headed Grebe, 8 Yellow-billed and 5 Royal Spoonbill and raptors included a Swamp Harrier, Brown Goshawk, 3 Whistling Kites, 2 Black-shouldered Kites and a Nankeen Kestrel. Also heard a single Tawny Grassbird which I haven't had there for a while. Edwin Vella
	Pacific Baza Naremburn, Sydney On the Flat Rock Gully walking trail near Hallstrom Park, one adult Pacific Baza. Chris Watson
	Australian Pelican, Pacific Golden Plover and Little Tern Pelican Islet, Wallis Lake , Forster In the middle of Wallis Lake, west of Forster is a sandbank, no more than 50 sq.metres in extent, on which a group of Pelicans are nesting. Members of the CCGBNSW went past the island as part of a tour on tbe Lake. Due to strong westerly winds for the past two days, the islet had been reduced to half that size. There were at least 12 large juveniles and one small juvenile Pelicans, as well as about 20 adults present during our visit. Three chicks that were reported to have hatched the previous weekend were no where to be seen. Crested and Caspian Terns, and one immature Little Tern were present on the islet as was a Pacific Golden Plover in partial breeding plumage. Black Swans and Pied Cormorants were resting in the lee of the sandbank. Alan Morris, Diana Hogan (photo) & 30 members CCGBNSW
Sat 3 May	Spotted Harrier. Jacky Winter, Whistling Kite Coomba Bay, Wallis Lake Another Spotted Harrier was seen from the road over an extensive grassy paddock at Coomba Bay. Jacky Winters were observed on the fence at this site ( the only ones seen during our 3 day Camp with 35 participants), while Whistling Kites and White-breasted Sea-Eagles were also seen here. Alan Morris
	Spotted Harrier, Square-tailed Kite. Charlotte Bay West, Pacific Palms An adult Spotted Harrier was observed over a long grassed paddock on the Coomba Park Rd , south west of Pacific Palms close to the southern end of Wallis Lake. On our return, a Square-tailed Kite was observed on the other side of the road. Other birds present were a Great Egret and Noisy Friarbirds. For the area Tuncurry, Forster, Wallis Lake, Cooloongalook, Nabiac and environs, since 1998-2014 there have only been 3 reports a of Spotted Harriers and no Square-tailed Kites in the Birdlife Australia Bird Atlas despite over 1500 atlas sheets being submitted. Alan Morris & 35 members CCGBNSW
Fri 2 May	Scarlet Honeyeater, Crested Shrike-tit, Large-billed Scrub-wren, Spangled Drongo Shelley Beach, Pacific Palms On the Walking track that leads to Shelley Beach, at Pacific Palms is some remnant rainforest. Here Scarlet Honeyeaters were seen feeding dependant young, Large-billed Scrubwrens were in the Vine Scrub, pair of Crested Shrike-tits feeding in the Cabbage Tree Palms, a Spangled Drongo in the rainforedst as well as Golden Whistlers and Brown Gerygones., Alan Morris, Jodi Osgood photo & 28 members CCGBNSW
	Plum-headed Finch, White-backed Swallow, Horsfield's Bushlark Bureen, mid-Hunter Valley A pair of Plum-headed Finches were found building a nest at Bureen near the intersection of Jones Reserve and Martindale Roads. There is a large amount of seeding 'Farmers Friends' (Bidens pilosa) and other roadside weeds in the area, as can be seen in the image of the female bird. 2 White-backed Swallows were not far away, along the Martindale Creek north of Martindale at a site where I have seen them before, but not for at least a couple of years. About 2km to the west I came across a stretch of grassy paddocks where up to 10 Horsfield's Bushlarks were calling and flying (some cisticolas were also doing display flights). Mick Roderick
Thu 1 May	Olive-backed Oriole; Superb Lyrebird Greenwich Migrating birds are still moving through Sydney. Nothing startling, but the Oriole is a rare transient here; also c.10 Yellow-faced Honeyeaters flying north "in formation"; c. 5 Tree Martins; a Grey Fantail; 2 imm. Golden Whistlers; a flock of 'mainland' Silvereyes; a Darter overhead. The contact 'blick, blick' call of one of our now resident Lyrebirds rang from a cliff-side. Resident Superb Fairy-wrens and White-browed Scrubwrens joined the visitors at intervals. Ted Nixon

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