Returned from holiday in Esperance a couple of days ago, where, amongst other
things, I had the opportunity to check out some of the local birding sites. I
also visited a couple of places near Hyden on the way back. The water level in
all of the lakes near Esperance was fairly high, which meant there were few
migratory waders overall and Hooded Plovers had not yet arrived at any I went
to, but a wide variety of other waterbirds were present. Yellow-throated Miners
were numerous, particularly when driving through farmland and Western
Wattlebirds were also very common (comfortably outnumbering Red Wattlebirds).
Cape Barren Geese were fairly easy to find in farmland around Esperance while
Woody Island had nesting Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Brown Quail with young and a
Spotless Crake, amongst other things. White-winged Triller were also recorded
at several sites, suggesting that the large numbers around Perth this year may
be a wider phenomenon (although I'm not sure of their usual abundance in the
area). All up for the trip, 116 species were recorded, including 5 lifers (Cape
Barren Goose, Short-tailed Shearwater (? see Woody Island report below), Shy
Heathwren, Purple-gaped Honeyeater & Black-faced Cormorant). Below is a brief
summary of the major sites I visited and birds seen. I used the Birds WA
pamphlet on the area and sites listed in John Bransbury's book for site
information. I also requested info on both Esperance and Hyden on birding-aus,
so thanks also to Steve Davidson, Cliff Dent, Laurie Knight, David Secomb, Noel
Luff, Peter West and Sue Proust for their helpful suggestions. ESPERANCE Lake
Monjinup: The area near the carpark was alive with birdwatchers(!), as I
appeared to have stumbled on an outing of the Esperance Bird Group. There were
birds about too, with a pair of Sacred Kingfishers and a number of Elegant
Parrots (shown to me by the bird group) being most notable. There was very
little on the lake, a lone Musk Duck being about the sum of the birds present,
however the surrounding bushland held large numbers of New Holland Honeyeaters
and Western Wattlebirds along with Red-capped Parrot, Red-eared Firetail,
Common Bronzewing and White-winged Triller amongst others. I revisited the site
almost two weeks later and briefly checked some of the bush area, a Western
Spinebill and good views of a male White-winged Triller being the highlights.
Lake Warden: The lake was very full and few birds were found. Several Musk
Ducks were displaying and some Australian Shelducks could be seen on the lake.
A drive along Stearne Road also yielded an Australian White Ibis, White-faced
Heron, White-winged Triller, Yellow-throated Miners and a pair of Cape Barren
Geese in a field. Lake Wheatfield: Despite the high water level, a wader
(probably a Wood Sandpiper) was observed flying across the lake. Also present
were Chestnut Teal, Australian White & Straw-necked Ibis, Great Egret,
White-faced Heron, Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Australian Shelduck, while the
banksia woodland had large numbers of Western Wattlebird, New Holland
Honeyeater and Red Wattlebird along with other bush birds such as Shining
Bronze-Cuckoo and Red-capped Parrot. Woody Island & boat cruise: We stayed for
one night on Woody Island. On the cruise out, Cape Barren Geese, Flesh-footed
Shearwater, Black-faced Cormorant and close views of White-bellied Sea-Eagle
were notable highlights, while on the island, several Brown Quail with young,
Red-eared Firetails, Brush Bronzewing, Rock Parrot, Sacred Kingfisher, Spotted
Pardalote, Golden Whistler and a single Spotless Crake were among the species
recorded. A particular highlight was observing a number of Flesh-footed
Shearwaters returning to their burrows just after dark. On the boat back to
Esperance, a flock of (~500) Short-tailed Shearwaters (I have been told that
this may be an unusual record, but I'm fairly confident in my identification.
If anyone has info about the abundance of ST Shearwaters near Esperance, I'd be
interested to know) and several Australasian Gannets were the best sightings.
Mullet Lakes Nature Reserve: One of the few lakes with any real areas suitable
for waders, however there were still only a few about, namely a couple of
Greenshank, about 15 Red-necked Stint and a lone Sharp-tailed Sandpiper along
with a number of Red-capped Plovers, some with young. Other waterbirds seen
included Chestnut Teal, Great Egret, Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Australasian
Shoveller, while a Swamp Harrier soared overhead. Cape Le Grande National Park:
Relatively few species were recorded in the park, although this was probably in
part because much of our time there was through the middle of the day. Among
those species recorded were Great Cormorant, Pacific Gull, Brown Falcon,
Nankeen Kestrel and White-browed Scrubwren. In farmland along the road into
Cape Le Grande, Emu, White-necked and White-faced Herons and Yellow-throated
Miner were recorded.Peak Charles National Park: Despite a long drive from
Esperance meaning we didn't arrive until almost midday, a number of birds were
still about. It's worthwhile driving slowly along the road in and stopping
where you see birds. Species seen included Shy Heathwren, Blue-breasted
Fairy-wren, Golden Whistler, Rainbow Bee-eater, Tawny-crowned Honeyeater,
Brown-headed Honeyeater, Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, White-eared Honeyeater,
Brown-headed Honeyeater, Purple-gaped Honeyeater, Southern Scrub Robin, Inland
Thornbill and Wedge-tailed Eagle. For the first week, we stayed at Esperance
Chalet Village, which was set in park/bushland along Bandy Creek and had some
good birds, including Brown Goshawks (??nesting), Spotted Pardalote, Golden
Whistler, White-winged Triller, White-naped Honeyeater, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo
and Black-fronted Dotterel along the creek. After a night on Woody Island, we
spent the second week at Beachfront Holiday Apartments along the ocean front.
The place was quite spacious, with lovely views across to Cape Le Grande, but
little in the way of birds. HYDEN Around town, Yellow-throated Miners, Galahs
and Australian Magpies were numerous.Wave Rock: Few birds about, probably
because we were there in the early afternoon and it was fairly warm. Weebills
were conspicuous and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater and Rainbow Bee-eater were also
about. The Humps area: Only three species recorded here; Striated Pardalote,
Grey Butcherbird and Australian Raven, probably quiet for the same reasons as
Wave Rock Highlights from the drive between Perth and Esperance included a
Regent Parrot north of Hammismith, an Australian Bustard west of Lake Grace and
several Tawny-crowned and White-cheeked Honeyeaters plus what looked like a
Pied or Black Honeyeater east of Lake King. On the return drive, a pair of
bustards on Cascades Road north of Cascades and several Wedge-tailed Eagles
spread throughout. All in all, an enjoyable trip. I've typed up my bird list,
so if anyone would like a copy, let me know (off list is probably better)
Cheers and happy christmasJohn Graff
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