Hi all,
Inspired by Tim Dolby's VicTwitch in 2009, Dan Williams and I decided to see
just how many species we could see within the Hunter Region of NSW in a
calendar year. See my earlier posting for details:
http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/birding-aus/2009-12/msg00307.html
The key difference between our big year and Tim's is that we are including
pelagic trips (with the definition of the Hunter Region being seaward to 100km
from the shoreline). The other difference is that it is not a fundraiser, but
we will be submitting a lot of data from our sightings (to BA and NSW DECCW
Atlases) and are hoping to add to the knowledge of our region. The idea has
caught on up here and it appears that there are a few people out there doing
something similar. This generally equates to a fountain of good oil being
available for all to draw on.
Straight up, the year got off to a very slow start. I had been attending a
music festival at Gulgong on New Year’s Eve and my intention was to enter the
Hunter Region from the west and spend my first day and night for 2010 in
Goulburn River NP. Torrential rain and 3 non-birding companions quickly put pay
to that plan, but I was still a show for achieving my other early goal, which
was to record Emu as the very first bird of the year. As I entered the region
near Ulan my passerine-blinkers were well and truly on. The driving rain was
actually helping me with this mission, until a Magpie flew across the road in
front of me! Literally 30 seconds later we passed by a pair of Emus in a nearby
paddock so I had to be content with them as #2.
As the rains extended have into western NSW, it seems to have caused an exodus
from the region by particular species. For example, during mid-January I
decided to go check out the Lesser Sand Plover that had been reported at
Stockton Sandspit. Finding the Plover was easy, but there was definitely
something missing that day...3000+ Red-necked Avocets to be precise!
Collectively they all had left the Hunter Estuary since those rains started.
Fortunately there were 5 birds present on Kooragang Island during a routine
wader survey I do there once a month.
Other birds to have scarpered west are Black-tailed Native Hens and Pink-eared
Ducks, both of which appeared to have left the region in late December last
year (I'd be glad to hear otherwise). Conditions west of the hill must be great
for species like these and it will be interesting to see if they return to the
Hunter this year.
The first targeted site was in the north of the region at Harrington. Here I
went to Figtree Camp to investigate the status of the White-eared Monarch that
had been found there in previous years. Unfortunately I came away empty-handed,
leaving me in some doubt that this species actually persists within the region
(it was the southernmost known pair anywhere). However, some good birds were
added around Harrington including Fork-tailed Swift, Glossy Ibis, Sanderling,
Regent Bowerbird, Forest Raven and Cicadabird.
A couple of days later Dan texted me to tell me he was looking at a pair of
Powerful Owls in Blackbutt Reserve in suburban Newcastle. Twenty three minutes
later I was alongside him looking at the said birds. The next day I decided to
bag a few birds that I was worried would also leave because of the rain. I was
relieved to see a lone Blue-billed Duck at Walka Water Works and as equally
pleased to see a pair of Banded Lapwings near Morpeth. Good numbers of
Horsfield’s Bushlarks and a lone Brown Songlark were also nearby. On the same
day I made the effort to head to John Brown’s Lagoon to see Comb-crested
Jacanas and was rewarded with a Square-tailed Kite en-route.
Soon after, we headed out to Goulburn River NP (GRNP) where there is
essentially a gap in the Great Dividing Range. At Ulan, where the catchment of
the Hunter meets the catchment of the Macquarie, the elevation is only about
250m ASL. You hardly even notice that you are "crossing the divide" there as it
is still quite flat. This essentially means that typically western birds occur
in the area and even the vegetation within GRNP is reminiscent of more inland
flora. In GRNP we added species such as Black-eared Cuckoo, White-backed
Swallow, Turquoise Parrot, White-browed Babbler and White-throated Nightjar.
Other niceties included Hooded Robin, Diamond Firetail and Chestnut-rumped
Heathwren. A little further west we got onto some Southern Whitefaces that had
been seen a few days earlier – a great western bird to see on a coastal
watershed.
Next it was up to Gloucester Tops – though we never had any intention of
locating Rufous Scrub-birds, which seem to be generally quiet by late January.
Rather, we were looking for other specialties such as Satin Flycatcher,
Crescent Honeyeater, Flame Robin and Olive Whistler. We found the first 3
without too much hassle although we did not see or even hear an Olive Whistler
all day. We also added Red-browed Treecreeper and Logrunner. Little Ravens were
seen near Gloucester, rounding out the 4 Hunter Corvids for the year.
Our final "trip" in January was to Copeland Tops, on the eastern side of the
Barrington Tops spur and home to some great rainforest birds. Here we were able
to add things like Pale Yellow Robin, Spectacled Monarch and Russet-tailed
Thrush. But the real highlight of the trip was on our way back from seeing
Red-backed Fairy-Wrens on the West Barrington Road. It was about 30 minutes
before dusk and we were driving through the grazing country when we noticed a
rail standing on the edge of the road near a culvert, vegetated completely by
weeds and pasture grasses. We stopped and got out of the car as the bird
disappeared into the Purple Top, only to see a Lewin's Rail run across the road
in front of us - a most unexpected find a new bird for me in the Hunter.
A lone Wompoo Fruit-Dove west of Cobark was the last "January bird" for me and
was bird number 251 for the year (Dan is trailing just slightly). The next 49
birds will be a bit of a slog, relying heavily on the weather so that planned
pelagic trips make it to the shelf. Beyond that it will be a matter of filling
in as many gaps as possible, finding a few cripplers and hoping that spring
does herald the return of several species that have made themselves scarce for
now.
On a Big Year, it's really only those unusual or "bonus" birds that make for a
good tally. Such birds now comprise about 80% of my "to get" list!
Cheers,
Mick Roderick
Newcastle, NSW
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