I have just spent a great 3 day holiday at Hyams Beach on Jervis Bay on the
NSW South Coast. I saw both my target species (Ground Parrot and Eastern
Bristlebird) and more. It's one of the richest bird areas I have visited.
We stayed in a quaint seaside cottage with views of the bay and with a lush
forest creek trickling by the verandah. We awoke each morning to many bird
calls. I have listed my highlights below:
Ground Parrot - 1 flushed from wet heath along roadside on 24/03/02 at 8:00
am near Hyams Beach. A 'lifer'.
Eastern Bristlebird - A duetting pair seen along roadside on 23/03/02 near
Hyams Beach. Another pair calling seen near road on 24/03/02 on way to
Booderee NP, near Hyams Beach turnoff. Another bird seen 1 km further south
some 15 mins later. A 'lifer'.
Brush Bronzewing - At least 2-3 birds seen and flushed along roadside near
Hyams Beach on 24/03/02. A 'lifer'.
Southern Emu-wren - Some 2-3 groups in heath along roadside on 24/03/02
near Hyams Beach.
Little Lorikeet - 4 birds in heathy forest near edge of Booderee NP on
24/03/02. They seemed smaller than Musk Lorikeet in size and definitely
werent Rainbow Lorikeets.
Pacific Heron - 1 bird near small waterhole along roadside on 22/03/02 near
Hyams Beach. The 'Handbook of Birds of Illawarra, Shoalhaven and adjacent
Tablelands' has no mention of this species for Jervis Bay.
Eastern Curlew - 1 bird on sandbank near mangroves in Jervis Bay Wetland
near Huskisson on 24/03/02. The 'Handbook of Birds of Illawarra, Shoalhaven
and adjacent Tablelands' has no mention of this species for Jervis Bay.
Chestnut Teal - 1 female in Jervis Bay Wetland near Huskisson on 24/03/02.
The 'Handbook of Birds of Illawarra, Shoalhaven and adjacent Tablelands'
has no mention of this species for Jervis Bay.
Whistling Kite - 1 bird over Cape St George (Booderee NP) on 24/03/02.
Southern Boobook - 1 bird calling at Hyams Beach during night 23-24/03/02.
Brown-headed Honeyeater - 12 birds in heathy forest near edge of Booderee
NP on 24/03/02.
Brown Quail - Covey of 8 birds along roadside in Booderee NP on 24/03/02.
One comment is that an area of healthy low heath on the southside of Hyams
Beach Rd is not part of any National Park or Reserve. Yet this area yielded
Ground Parrot, Bristlebird, Emu-wren and Bronzewing whereas the other areas
of heath I visited around Booderee NP and NSW Jervis Bay NP yielded none of
the above. I wonder why this small area which is surrounded by National
Park already is not National Park?? The heath on the northside of the road
was black due to fire, whether due to arson or otherwise, I dont know.
We decided to drive back to Canberra via Tianjara Falls, Sassafras, Nerriga
and Braidwood and were astounded at the amount of damage done by this
year's bushfires! In fact the area affected stretched from Huskisson on
Jervis Bay west as far as Sassafras in Morton NP and south to just north of
the Lake Conjola turnoff. I dont know how far north it stretches, but Parma
Creek NR, the new Jerrawangala NP and a massive chunk of Morton NP,
including Tianjara Plateau?, is black.
Regards
Marnix Zwankhuizen
NGUNNAWAL ACT
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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