Myself, my brother Steve and Allan Richardson took a
trip up to Crowdy Bay NP last week (25-27th) hoping to catch up with some good
birds that have been reported from there in recent times.
We expected the Grass Owl to be a difficult species to
locate, although on the first night we had a responding bird within 30 seconds
of call-playback. A bird then appeared above our heads within 2 minutes. We
worked our way thru more suitable habitat and located a further 3 birds
(calling). The following evening we set up for photography of the birds,
playing a few calls about a 1/2 hour before dusk. Just after dark a pair of
birds literally rose out of the heath directly in front of us and hovered / jinked
above us for a good minute or so, calling. By true Murphy's Law, our spotlight
failed to work for the photo's but we did get some fuzzy ones. They then
proceeded to hawk over the heath nearby for about 15 minutes, occasionally
passing us (we did not continue playing calls).
To see them emanate from the heath 20m in front of us,
calling furtively, was an incredible sight. Perhaps they had moved closer to us
along the ground during the pre-dusk call-playback?
We had a similar experience with the White-eared
Monarch at Figtree carpark. Two birds were heard, with one bird virtually
perching on our shoulders. This bird had very dishevelled tips to the tail
feathers, suggesting a possibility that it had been sitting on a nest (?).
Varied Trillers and Spectacled Monarchs were also found here.
North of Old Bar we were pleased to see numerous (20+)
fledged juvenile Little Terns amongst at least 100 adult birds. Amongst the
waders here were 46 Sanderling, several Lesser Sand Plovers and around 200
Pacific Golden Plovers. Up at Harrington we found a Grey Plover on an estuary
mudflat. A pair of Beach Stone-curlews were also seen nearby.
We were able to locate a Square-tailed Kite nest
in Coopernook SF, although no birds could be found.
The pair of Bush Stone-curlews at Lemon Tree Passage
were both resting at the time we were there. I am really not sure about the
breeding status of these birds, although the enclosure erected by the NPWS
is obviously dog-proof and until any chicks are able to fly, they certainly
could not leave it.
The Radjah Shelducks are still in the Myall Lakes NP,
although they appear to be spending the vast majority of their time at Legges
Camp, not Mungo Brush. Interestingly, reports suggest that both birds are male,
with no obvious differences in the breast band. Has anyone who has seen the
birds have any input on this? (I personally did not see them).
No rare waders, but good birding within reach of
Sydney / Newcastle nonetheless. Thanx to Edwin Vella and Brett Campbell for
their assistance too.
