I have just come back from a week on the south coast at Bawley Point, south
of Ulladulla. It wasnt a birding trip as such but i did get time to spend a
couple of hours most mornings to go birding in nearby areas. My total
species list for the trip is over 115 species. I will list just the
highlights here in no particular order (All needletail sightings will be
posted in a separate email).
Blue-winged Parrot - 1 bird flushed from recently burnt coastal heath on
Warden's Head (Ulladulla). Is this an unusual sighting???
Turquoise Parrot - 2 birds on Little Forest Plateau (Morton National Park).
White-headed Pigeon - 1 bird heard and seen, possibly 2, in rainforest
along Durras Discovery Trail (Murramarang National Park). Again, have they
been recorded here before?
Brown Cuckoo-Dove - 1 bird seen in coastal forest in Kioloa Reserve.
Swamp Harrier - 1 juvenile bird soaring over Barlings Swamp, just south of
Guerilla Bay.
Southern Emu-wren - The surprise bird of my trip. I saw so many that they
were one of the most common birds at Little Forest: Durras Beach (1
immature bird), Little Forest Plateau (at least 4 separate groups seen,
many more heard, Morton National Park), Murramarang Aboriginal Area (2),
South Pacific Heathland Reserve (great views of 4 in remaining small
unburnt area, unfortunately fire seems to have destroyed more than half of
original reserve, Ulladulla).
Variegated Fairy-wren - Lucky to have a family living in our coast house
garden at Bawley Point. Also Preservation Rock at Narrawallee (3), Durras
Beach (family group), Lake Conjola Beach, Little Forest Plateau, Snapper
Point (Murramarang NP).
Beautiful Firetail - 2 separate individuals on Little Forest Plateau
(Morton National Park).
Striated Heron - 1 at Lake Tabourie.
Sooty Oystercatcher - There seem to an abundance of these birds now: Kioloa
Reserve (2), Racecourse Beach (1), Pretty Beach (1, Murramarang NP),
Murramarang Aboriginal Area (1), Broulee Head (4), Broulee Island Nature
Reserve (2), Burrill Lake (1), Dolphin Point (2), Warden's Head (10!,
Ulladulla), South Pacific Heathland Reserve headland (5), Myrtle Beach/Dark
Beach Headland (2, Murramarang NP), Bawley Point (2-4 present every day).
Pied Oystercatcher - Lake Conjola (4), Burrill Lake (2), Moruya Heads (2),
Bateman's Bay (1).
Black-faced Monarch - Kioloa Reserve (2), Cormorant Beach (1, Bawley
Point), Durras Discovery Trail (1), Little Forest Plateau (1), Myrtle
Beach/Dark Beach Headland (1, Murramarang NP), Monga National Park (1
juvenile).
Musk Duck - 1 male on Porter Dam on Little Forest Plateau (Morton National
Park).
Pacific Heron - 1 at South Durras turnoff on Princes Hwy.
Large-billed Scrubwren - Some 3 on Durras Discovery Trail, Monga National
Park (1).
Pilotbird - 2 individuals in Monga National Park.
White-fronted Chat - 3 at Bungendore Sewage Ponds.
The Moruya River, Moruya Heads and Burrill Lake yielded many waterbirds
including Eastern Curlew, Caspian Tern and Whimbrel.
I visited the endangered shorebird breeding colony at Lake Conjola Beach
and saw the local Little Terns (29?, counted some 3 chicks among them),
Hooded Plovers (1), and Red-capped Plovers (12). Unfortunately another
fenced off endangered shorebird breeding area south of Bawley Point was
deserted apart from a flock of some 20 Little Ravens...
Regards
Marnix Zwankhuizen
NGUNNAWAL ACT
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