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Like Marnix I'm not long back from a
stint at the beach. Birding highlights started on the Canberra side
of Braidwood on the way down - if you can call seeing a large flock of
Starlings perhaps 500 - 1000 strong a highlight. There were a couple
of smaller flocks on the other side of town, along with the
pleasant chance sighting of 3 yellow tailed black cockatoos
wafting there way o'er the Kings Highway. Then at the bottom of the
Clyde there were a further 4 YTBCs, a precursor to several more sightings
of these over the next week.
Highlights seen while kayaking on Durras Lake
included 2 Pied Oystercatchers, a Caspian Tern, 6 Intermediate Egrets, and
a Peregrine Falcon seen harassing a Sulphur crested cockatoo, then an hour later
giving a Whistling Kite a hard time. The next day (probably) the same bird
was seen trying to annoy a Sea Eagle which didn't seem too worried, just kept
riding the thermals until virtually out of sight with the naked
eye.
Other sightings while bushwalking in the
Durras area were about 8 secretive Brown Quail, 4 Rufous Whistlers, 2 Jacky
Winters, plenty of Koels calling, a Brown Cuckoo Dove 2 Whipbirds, plus the
usual "mundane" array of Honeyeaters - Lewins, White earred, Yellow faced, New
Holland and Eastern Spinebills. A Fairy Penguin was reported washed up
dead on the beach, presumably another storm victim.
Some other highlights during a paddle across
the Clyde River then up the Buckenbowra River as far as Runnyford were 6 Great
Egrets & numerous Cormorants, and a large flock of Wood Ducks startled
into flight by several shots from Farmer Brown's shotgun - on hearing the
blasts we decided to abort forward progress where the road bridge crosses
the river, just in case ... During the resultant early lunch
break we saw a Common Bronzewing and saw and heard Satin Bowerbirds making
incredible noises, plus 5 Jacky Winters equally spaced out on a barbed wire
fence. White throated Gerygones were also heard calling.
On the return trip the undoubted highlight
was the sighting of a magnificent Osprey near Ryan's Island - great views
of the bird flying and landing in a spotted gum, perching for some time
then flying directly over us as it moved off. Reference books suggest to
me it was either a female or an immature with the "necklace" very
evident.
The next day Brou Lake/Whitakers Creek produced at
least 8 Azure Kingfishers while high overhead were what I think were 5 Peregrine
Falcons.
And on the trip back to Canberra, 2 YTBCs flying
over a busy Braidwood main Street.
Cheers
Rod
Rod Mackay
Tel. 0407 456 330
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