Today, (19th
December 2005), I lead 21 members of the Cumberland Bird Observers
Club to the Hawkesbury area (approx. 55 km north-west of Sydney CBD).
We spent most of the morning at Pitt Town Lagoon, where we saw a good
variety of ducks – 30 plus Hardhead, 50 plus Pink-eared and 10 or so
Australasian Shoveler amongst the other more common Ducks. Other birds of
interest included 3 Hoary-headed amongst 20 or so Australasian Grebe, a Darter,
3 Great Egrets seen foraging together, a female Swamp Harrier, a Wedge-tailed
Eagle soaring very high above, an Australian Hobby, only a few Sharp-tailed
Sandpipers (350 plus were present there over a month ago), 2 Latham’s
Snipe, a few Pied Stilts, Red-rumped Parrots and some finches including
Red-browed, Zebra, Double-barred, Gold and Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. Inside
a melaleuca on the observation mound a recently fledged Horsfield’s
Bronze-cuckoo was being attended to by a pair of Superb Blue Wrens and also
seen in the same shrub, an adult Silvereye was seen on a nest.
For the rest of the morning right through to the middle of the
afternoon we stayed at nearby Mitchell Park in Cattai where we observed briefly
a Grey Goshawk, a couple of Common Bronzewings, Sacred Kingfishers,
Dollarbirds, Leaden and Satin Flycatchers, Black-faced Monarch, Variegated
Wrens (possibly nesting), a recently fledged White-throated Gerygone (with
yellow eye-ring and throat) being fed by a rather scruffy-looking parent and
Satin Bowerbirds.
It was a pleasant time in Hawkesbury with several of our members adding
new birds to their lists!
Edwin Vella
