CENTRAL COAST GROUP (BIRDING NSW) OUTING TO CATHERINE HILL BAY, CAMS WHARf &
SWANSEA SATURDAY 29 APRIL 2006.
30 members met at the Big Prawn at the Pacific Highway, driving 16 cars of
which 10 were Subarus, 8 were white Subarus and 8 were Subaru Foresters!! Is
this a record? Then we were off to Catherine Hill Bay Nth to check out the
flowering Swamp Mahoganies for birds and there were plenty to see because
Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and Silvereyes were migrating along the Coast and
plenty of other Honeyeaters were there to check out the nectar flow
including Lewin’s, New Holland, White-cheeked, Scarlet, Spinebill, Red &
Little Wattlebirds, while a Collared Sparrowhawk circled over giving all a
good view. Other birds included Bul Bul, Golden Whistler & Yellow Robin. In
about an hour we had seen 33 species at this location and then we went to
Cams Wharf, to assess the Swamp Mahogany flowering there and to follow with
morning tea. Similar birds were found here but the Scaly-breasted were the
dominant Lorikeets and common waterbirds were sighted. A Sea-Eagle was seen
in the distance and Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike & White-throated Treecreeper
added to our list.
Off to Galgabbra Pt South Swansea, where the Swamp Mahogany was flowering
well and there were masses of birds although there were no Regents or
Swifties. Little Lorikeets were busy, Noisy Friarbirds and Bellminers added
to the din, Scarlet Honeyeaters, Mistletoebirds & Rose and Scarlet Robins
kept us busy with our identification and audio skills, White-naped
Honeyeaters were just as common as Yellow-faced & White-cheeked Honeyeaters;
a Striated Heron & an Azure Kingfisher were found in the mangroves and Brown
Gerygones, Yellow, Brown & Striated Thornbills kept us busy!
Lunch was taken at Coon Island, Swansea adjacent to the Channel. In the
mangroves we saw Brown & Striped Honeyeaters and Mangrove Gerygones; 2 Pied
Oystercatchers and a lone Bar-tailed Godwit shared the sandbanks with
Caspian & Crested Terns; Wood Ducks grazed the grass around us and
Straw-necked and White Ibis fed there as well. Little & Great Egrets &
White-faced Herons were on the sand flats, and Grey-shrike-thrush and more
Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were in the casuarinas.
Our final stop was Swansea Heads looking out over Moon Island. On the Island
were 2 Sooty Oystercatchers and 3 Reef Egrets, a few Australian Gannets were
sighted, one Wedge-tailed Shearwater, a Drongo and both New Holland &
White-cheeked Honeyaters, and all the common Cormorants. A Sea-eagle came
flying in with a fish, a Kestrel hovered overhead and Ruddy Turnstones,,
Red-necked Stints & a Double-banded Plover were identified on the rock
shelves around the Island. 89 species were seen for the day (Alan Morris).
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