Hi Everyone,
I just arrived home last night from a 1 week trip to Norfolk Island. The
weather was not the best with high winds for most of the week due to the
cyclone off New Caledonia but there was little rain so we were able to walk
each day. I met up with Margaret & Eric Wheeler at Brisbane airport so it was
nice to have some other people to bird with during the week. We went out with
the local bird-guide Margaret Christian on two mornings walking the tracks
around Mt. Pitt. The Slender-billed White-eye was easy to find but according
to Margaret there have been no sightings of the White-breasted White-eye since
2004. We also saw the Red-fronted Parakeet on a few occasions around the Mt.
Pitt area.
There were no sightings of the Pacific(Scarlet) Robin (now a separate species
in the latest Christides & Boles checklist) in this area but we did see a
beautiful male at the boardwalk near Bird Rock. The road to Captain Cook
Memorial was closed due to repairs on the track so the only access was via the
Red Road track. Grey Ternlet, Great Frigatebird, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Sooty
Tern and Masked Booby were all seen around Bird Rock.
It was fairly quiet along the foreshore around Emily & Slaughter Bays and the
Kingston Pier probably due to the high winds although we did see plenty of
Ruddy Turnstones, a Wandering Tattler and a Double-banded Plover. Of course
our trip to Phillip Island was cancelled and the Norfolk Trader which arrived
last Tuesday was still waiting to be unloaded on Sunday as the lighters could
not operate in the choppy conditions.
Birds seen on the Kingston Common were Pacific Golden Plover, Whimbrel,
Bar-tailed Godwit, Purple Swamphen, Latham Snipe and of course plenty of
Mallard/Black Duck hybrids.
It was sad to see so many exotic species of birds and weeds such as Common
Starlings and Feral Pigeons with the island largely covered in Hawaiian Holly
(I think we call this Broad-leafed Pepper in Qld), Lantana and Cherry Guava
which grows right through the National Park although they are trying to control
it.
There are plenty of restaurants and tourist activities to chose from making it
a great holiday choice for the non-birder as well. The temperature was a very
pleasant 17-25 degress for most of the week.
Below is a list of the 42 species seen on the island.
Feral Chicken Grey
Ternlet
California Quail
White Tern
Feral Goose Rock
Dove
Mallard
Emerald Dove
Pacific Black Duck Crimson
Rosella
Black-winged Petrel
Red-fronted Parakeet
Wedge-tailed Shearwater Sacred
Kingfisher
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Norfolk Island Gerygone
Masked Booby Pacific
Robin
Great Frigatebird
Golden Whistler
White-faced Heron Grey
Fantail
Nankeen Kestrel
White-breastedWoodswallow
Purple Swamphen House
Sparrow
Latham's Snipe
Welcome Swallow
Bar-tailed Godwit
Silvereye
Whimbrel
Slender-billed White-eye
Eastern Curlew
Common Blackbird
Wandering Tattler
Island Thrush
Ruddy Turnstone Common
Starling
Pacific Golden Plover
Double-banded Plover
Sooty Tern
Black Noddy
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