Coast - Durras to Tuross

["Rod's Gardening" <>]

I'm also just back from the coast, primary objective having been to report on possible Pied Oystercatcher breeding attempts.  The first of the attached photos shows a Pied O/C just visible amongst some scruffy vegetation mid picture.  This bird attempted to lead me away from its nest by feigning a broken wing in a classic distraction display.  The nest in photo 2 (just inside the entrance to Durras Lake) was quickly located and photographed before the bird returned to it.  It looks vulnerable to any very high tide.  There is another potential nesting site on a sandbank in the lake's central area where I observed a pair of Pieds engage in a territorial dispute with a Masked Lapwing before landing and undertaking some foot scraping and movement of other material.  One bird then appeared to sit for a few minutes before they both moved a slight distance to feed .  I thought eggs were a possibility but no, not yet.  I think there may be up to 7 Pieds in the Durras Lake area. Further down the coast I saw a pair at Congo, a single at Coila Bar, and two pairs on the southern side of Tuross Lake entrance, possibly sitting on nests, but I was on the northern side using my binoculars and they were a long way off.   

 

Other interesting obs.

Clyde River bank (at the bottom of Rotary Drive to be precise) I estimated about 200 YFHEs came through in the space of about 10 minutes, making their "chip chip" calls, and heading up stream .  Then about 100 travelling in the opposite direction in the space of a few minutes!  The were a few Wattle birds and one White eared honeyeater mixed in with them.  I suppose the phrase "milling about" comes to mind.  I saw the same activity, same location, same time of the year 3 years ago.

 

Buckenbowra River.  The nice sight of a pair of Sea Eagles and a Wedge-tailed circling together directly above me as I paddled up the river.  On my return the Sea Eagles were perched, one bird obscured, but I had a clear view of the other, head tossed back and beak open as the pair dueted loudly. 

 

Durras Lake.  A whistling Kite made a successful grab from the surface of the lake and retired to a tall tree to dine on its catch.  A Sea Eagle then made a spectacular spiralling decent before making a grab but came up empty.  Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were widespread and calling constantly, as were Fan-tailed Cuckoos.  Grey Butcherbirds were also very vocal.

 

The non-birding highlight were what I believe are Pencil Orchids hanging  in delicate white clusters from the casuarinas around the lake shore.

 

Cheers

 

Rod

  

 

 

 

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