birding-aus

Peaceful Dove, heathwrens at Kuringai NP

To: Birding-Aus aus <>, Bruce Cox <>
Subject: Peaceful Dove, heathwrens at Kuringai NP
From: Ricki Coughlan <>
Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:59:44 +1100
G'day bird lovers

An interesting morning indeed on the Waratah Track at Kuringai National Park (Sydney).
I haven't walked this trail since the end of August and, as is to be  
expected, the change in season has totally altered the bird list for  
this trail. Many regulars are gone and fewer species about overall.  
However, the abundance was still very good and a couple of excellent  
sightings made the walk a very worthy one indeed.
I began the walk with my most easterly observation of a Peaceful Dove  
about 100 metres along the track. There's been at least one other  
sighting of this species in the park before but it would have to be  
quite a rarity there. The abundance of Pheasant Coucals was  
remarkable, with at least 7 birds showing or calling along the way.
Plenty of heath and dry sclerophyll faves (the trail runs through an  
ecotone) but finished the walk off very nicely with long, crippling  
views of a couple of Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. I've visited this  
track 8 times and have only dipped on heathwrens on one occasion.  
It's got to be the best place for viewing this species that I've yet  
encountered. My total for today was four of them. My record for this  
track is seven individuals on one day and I generally only walk about  
3kms out and 3 back.
This track is also pretty good for button-quail, Brush Bronzewing and  
the occasional Bar-shouldered Dove, if you can beat the mountain  
bikes through (you usually get a couple of them so an early start is  
required).
Adding plenty of colour and interest were the large numbers of Jewel  
Beetles which are currently breeding along the track. I can't get an  
ID to species level, so have to settle for Buprestidae, Jewel Beetle.  
If anyone has suggestions, I'd appreciate it. I've put images online  
at http://www.rickicoughlan.com/beetles.html
Common butterflies were Blotched Dusky Blue, Spotted Brown and Brown  
Ringlet.
Here's the list, for what it's worth:

Peaceful Dove
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Koel
Pheasant Coucal
Laughing Kookaburra
Variegated Fairy-wren
White-browed Scrubwren
Chestnut-rumped Heathwren
Brown Thornbill
Little Wattlebird
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
White-eared Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
White-cheeked Honeyeater
Eastern Spinebill
Eastern Yellow Robin
Eastern Whipbird
Rufous Whistler
Grey Shrike-thrush
Grey Fantail
Pied Currawong
Australian Raven
Welcome Swallow

Ricki Coughlan
Belrose, Sydney
===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com

To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 
===============================

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
  • Peaceful Dove, heathwrens at Kuringai NP, Ricki Coughlan <=
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU