Today, I spent a pleasant winter?s day birding around the Maitland ,
Seaham and Minmi areas (approx 160-180km north of Sydney CBD) in the NSW Hunter
region. There were certainly good number of both raptors (10 species seen) and
water birds (thousands on thousands) about in the area following recent good
rains. Some of the places visited and birds seen included:
EAST MAITLAND
At least 9 BLACK KITES are still calling the East Maitland Tip home
having been here for well over a year (and why they shouldn?t with all that
food!). My first visit in the early morning (when it was still very cold)
yielded only 3 Black Kites but when I returned back again later in the afternoon
when it was warm there was at least 9 of them. According to the guy at the tip,
he has seen up to 50 Black Kites at a time and mentioned that a pair of Black
Falcons are resident and have recently nested. He pointed to the trees were the
Falcons have nested and where one usually comes from and fly?s over the tip. On
my 2nd visit this afternoon, I was able to connect and get brilliant views of an
adult BLACK FALCON as it flew a few times over the tip and then landed on a dead
limb of a Eucalypt where it was then being harassed by Ravens. It then flew low
over my head circled again for some time over the tip and then I lost sight of
it. I saw one here about this time last year when it stayed perched on a tall
power line for a very long time allowing lengthy views. Also at the tip was a
Brown Goshawk and a Wedge-tailed Eagle. Further down the road from the tip, a
pair of Grey-crowned Babblers were making or fixing a nest beside the
road.
MORPETH SEWERAGE TREATMENT WORKS
Here there were thousands of ducks mainly Hardheads and Grey Teal with
lesser number of Australasian Shoveler, Pink-eared Ducks, Black Ducks and Wood
Ducks.
SEAHAM
Here I managed to whistle in 2 Shining Bronze-cuckoos and I heard a
Torressian Crow or two amongst the Ravens. Both these corvids were being alarmed
by a an adult White-bellied Sea-eagle perched on a dead tree in the middle of a
paddock.
GRAHAMSTON
LAKE
A brief visit here yielded the usual Great Crested (20 plus) and
Hoary-headed (50 plus) Grebes as well as Musk Ducks (20 plus).
HEXHAM
SWAMP, LENAGAHAN
Here there were hundreds of Black Swan and Pied Stilts (500 plus),
thousands of Sacred and Straw-necked Ibis and 48 Glossy Ibis. Raptors seen here
included a Brown Goshawk, atleast one pair of White-bellied Sea-eagles (this
pair was seen roosting just before dusk, in the canopy of a large fig growing on
an island in the middle of the swamp), 3 -4 Swamp Harriers, at least 3 Whistling
Kites and a Brown Falcon. At one time both the Brown Falcon and one of the
Whistling Kites were both seen chasing a Raven and then soon following, a group
of 20 or so Ravens were giving the Brown Falcon a hard time as it perched on the
ground.
A list of raptors for today and conservative numbers are as
follows:
Brown Goshawk (2)
Swamp Harrier (5)
Black Kite (9)
Whistling Kite (5)
White-bellied Sea-eagle (4)
Wedge-tailed Eagle (2)
Black-shouldered Kite (10)
Black Falcon (1, possibly 2)
Brown Falcon (1)
Australian Kestrel (2)
A good day birding.
Edwin Vella
