Hi All,
Yesterday (Sunday), Colin Scouler and I birded the northern part of the
Winsor area (~50K. N.W. of Sydney).
We visited Mitchell Park first and found it full of birds and bird song,
both species of local whistlers were very vocal and White-throated
Gerygonies were calling everywhere. We saw or heard 4 species of cuckoo:
Pallid, Fan-tailed, Shining Bronze and Horsfield's Bronze, but missed out on
the Little Bronze reported there recently. Saw Sacred Kingfisher, a season's
first for both of us and Leaden Flycatcher which was a season's first for
me. We were entertained at morning tea by 2 Brown Cuckoo-Doves courting in a
wild tobacco too close for us to use our bin's. There were ~20 Nankeen
Night Heron in the casuarinas alongside the creek and a few Scarlet
Honeyeaters in the Melaleuca swamp area.
By the time we got to Cattai National Park it was getting hot and the birds
were a lot quieter, but again whistlers, gerygonies and cuckoos.
Pitt Town Nature Reserve was very hot and the wind had come up, besides the
usual ducks, swans pelicans etc. there were 2 Australian Spotted Crakes and
a Baillon's Crake feeding along the reed line to the left of the lower gate,
they wandered in and out of the reeds never moving far from shelter, we
noted that the Baillons was more wary than the Spotted which would move up
to .5M. away from the reeds. The Baillons hardly left the shelter of the
reeds. We only had to swivel our telescopes 180 degrees to watch 2
Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoos low in casuarinas. The light was behind us and
their plumage colours brighter than usual, particularly their head markings
were very obvious and the rufus side panels in their tails showed strongly.
Obviously they were all dressed up and ready to go and "crash " a couple of
Fairy-wren's nests.
On the way home I stopped off at Newman Rd. Maraylya to look for the Pacific
Bazas, no luck there but I did see my first Dollarbird for the season plus
another Sacred Kingfisher. After that off home for the Grand Final.
Bruce.
Bruce Cox.
48 Rangers Retreat Rd. Frenchs Forest.
Sydney. 2086. Australia.
Phone:--02 9451 5394.
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