Hi everyone. Here's a report of the Central Coast FOC outing yesterday
to the wetlands at Minmi, Shortland Wetlands Centre and Kooragang Nature
Reserve, Ash Is.
23 of us met near Minmi and before leaving we had Grey and Pied
Butcherbirds, Varied Sitella and Eastern Rosella. Golden Whistler and
White-throated Treecreeper were heard.
Alan Morris took us to our first stop, the wetlands at Cedar Hill Rd,
passsing on the way some White-throated Needletails. There were plenty
of waterfowl on the now drying wetland. Lots of Swans and Egrets,
including Great, Intermediate and Cattle. Other birds here included
Little Grassbird, White and Straw-necked Ibis, Royal and Yellow-billed
Spoonbills, lots of Black Ducks and both Teal. Plenty of White-breasted
Woodswallows giving good views. A number of raptors was also seen,
including Wedge-tailed Eagle, Brown Falcon, Swamp Harrier, Hobby and
Whistling Kite. No Wood Sandpipers but some Black-fronted Dotterels
were about.
After morning tea here we headed across the Expressway to a second, much
drier, wetlands adding Magpie Geese and Yellow-rumped Thornbills to our
list.
>From here we proceeded to the Shortland Wetlands Centre, splitting into
samll groups and going different ways. A comparison of notes at lunch
produced many good birds such as Pink-eared Duck, Wandering
Whistling-Duck, Shoveler, 3 Gloosy Ibis, Little Egret, Nankeen Night
Heron, Dollarbird, Horsfield Bronze-Cuckoo and Azure Kingfisher. A
Red-kneed Dotterel was also seen as was a possible Spotted Harrier. At
the end of lunch a Hobby landed on a nearby aerial giving good views and
a Drongo chased a Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, trying to steal the food it
was carrying.
After lunch Alan led us to Ash Island in search of the Yellow Wagtail
and other birds. Upon arrival good views of a Buff-banded Rail were
obtained. We could see many Black-winged Stilts and Chestnut and Grey
Teal. There were a few Common Greenshanks about and White-fronted Chats
were seen. Also seen were White-bellied Sea-Eagle and 3 Double-banded
Plovers.
A couple there before us said they had just been watching the Yellow
Wagtail. There was a minor stampede to the appropriate spot and scopes
and binoculars were put into action. We were looking across the water
from some small mangroves to a strech of beach beside a group of
Pelican. After a short time a shout came and there it was. The yellow
belly and very long tail left no doubt. The bird was not as coperative
as it could have been, only staying for a minute or two before
disappearing behind the grass. It continued to come out and disappear
again for some time. But eventually all 21 of us got to see it.
Definitely the highlight of the day.
We finished the day with a very good total of 87 species. Thanks to
Alan for a delightful day.
--
Robert Quinan
Gosford
Central Coast, NSW, Australia
E-mail:
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