On Saturday morning at about 11am Lindsay Smith and Roland Satre (I think
that's it) found what Lindsay thought was a small Swiftlet most probably
Uniform Swiftlet (Collocalia vanikorensis) near Mittagong, NSW (between
Canberra and Sydney). They saw the bird from 150 feet away, had good views and
it was quite low. The bird flew off slowly in a northerly direction but could
not be refound, that's not to say that it is not still around though.
It was no larger than a swallow and was a uniform sooty grey, not black. The
size was right for a swiftlet and it was long-winged with a short squarish
tail. The bird had no white on it and was generally concolourous. Needletails,
Woodswallows and Welcome Swallows were also present.
Directions; Go down through Mittagong and follow the road to Wombeyan Caves for
about 20 Kms. There is a sign saying "Nattai National Park" on the right hand
side of the road. If you reach the tunnel you have gone too far. The birds was
seen from the vicinity of this sign in the open paddocks and above the trees as
you come towards the escarpment.
This is all I know and i'll probably go for it at the weekend on the way to
Wollongong unless there are any other sightings in the nearer future.
Cheers
Phil Hansbro
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