Birdline Victoria Weekly Update

Birdline Victoria

Published sightings for the week ending 2 Jan 2011.

Sun 2 Jan	Stilt Sandpiper, Ruff, Red Knot T-section Ponds, Western Treatment Plant A morning of challenging wader identification at the T-section ponds. Thanks to Fred Smith and the group of birders who helped sort out the red knot and stilt sandpiper. Photo quality is not great but the stilt sandpiper didnt move much in 2 hours. Mel Mitchell & Erika Anderson
	Stilt Sandpiper, Ruff Western Treatment Plant, Werribee The Stilt Sandpiper was seen this morning at T-Section pond 5 where it remained on a small island for at least a couple of hours. The Ruff was seen to visit both pond 5 and pond 7 a number of times. The photograph is of the Stilt Sandpiper at pond 5. Vik Dunis
Sat 1 Jan	Red-rumped Parrots Emu St.Arnaud-Dunolly road around Emu sighted numerous small groups and pairs of Red Rumps during early afternoon. Michael Geraghty
	Hooded Plover East of Cape Paterson (off the Cape Paterson - Inverloch rd) small sheltered bay A nesting pair of Hooded Plover, scurrying across the sand, dodging the surfers and a group of beach cricketers. Met Stephen Johnson (volunteer Ranger), who had set up a protective barrier and wooden tent shelters for the birds eggs. (Thank you good Sir !!) There are currently a few nesting pairs along this strip of coast between Cape Paterson and Inverloch. Gary Lyon, (footy show commentator), was sitting on the sand behind me with his family, and so I asked him if he knew what this little Sea bird was? He replied " A Hooded Plover " !!! Some other birds observed in this area included a pair of Peregrine Falcon, Nankeen Kestrel, Roufous Whistler and an Eastern Yellow Robin. Con Baltas
	Little Lorikeet Blackburn One seen 1840hr in flowering eucalypt at -37.832507,145.160406. Two heard flying over at -37.831243,145.163963 ten minutes later. Trevor Kerr
	Grey Plover, Albino Swallow (?), Stilt SP Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Plover on beach south of the long stone jetty that is south of 15E Outlet. Albino Swallow/Martin over Walshes Lagoon - too far away for positive ID (it had a white rump!) Stilt SP still in T-Section 7 - many birders present Dave Torr, Iian Denham, Ed Williams (and Phil Liggett for the Stilt SP)
	Southern Boobook Werribee Mansion Park Two young birds seen roosting near the orchard area near the Werribee River. Paul Randall (wingsonwire.com)
	Cockatiel Mallacoota Cell Aviary escapes? Saw a pair feeding in a tree behind the bakery in town. One of the pair appeared leucistic - looked like a miniature Cockatoo. (2). Rohan Long
	White Goshawk Monbulk, Dandenong Ranges In tree in domestic garden, being driven off by a pair of Indian Mynahs. Sighted quite close up - easy to identify, but didn't stay long enough to photograph. Di Logan
Fri 31 Dec	Eastern Koel Newtown, Geelong A bird heard calling"coo-eee" intermittently from 06:30h to 07:20h before ~40 degree heat of later in the day. Bird not sighted, though it did come closer in response to imitation of its call. Also @23:00h on 1st Dec. 2010 @same site, an Eastern Koel, heading in a general southerly direction, called briefly (recording made) from at least two perches in the vicinity of my garden, as it passed through on a mild humid evening after rain. Suburban area. Considered a vagrant to Geelong and District though the species has been recorded more regularly in recent years. Craig Morley
	Sooty Oyster catcher Flinders Four birds seen from a beach car park, opposite the Cape Shank Golf Course. Con Baltas
	Baillon's Crake Edithvale Seaford Wetlands (Edithvale) Heard continuously from 8pm and seen briefly around 8:30pm from reeds on NE side of viewing platform near hide. Paul Dodd & Ruth Woodrow
	Terek Sandpiper Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Feeding on coastal mudflats to the west of the stone breakwater at end of Farm Road. With two Grey Plovers, two Sharpies, some Curlew Sandpipers and lots of Red-necked Stints. GPS 37 59.983S, 144 37.227E. Paul Dodd, Ruth Woodrow & Sean Dooley
	Stilt Sandpiper, Ruff and Bar-tailed Godwits Western Treatment Plant, lagoon 7 and Kirk Point My wife and I sighted and photographed the Stilt Sandpiper and Ruff as they were among a group of greenshanks, Black-winged Stilts, Curlew Sandpipers, Little Terns and shelducks today at 11am. About 100 metres from Kirk Point we saw and photographed 4 Bar-tailed Godwits. Hedley and Irena Earl
	Eastern Yellow Robin Newport Lakes Park Superb adult bird singing away from first light in scrub along west side of North Lake. My first record for this site and for the City of Hobsons Bay. steve davidson
	Buff-banded Rail, Cockatiel Wilby Buff-banded Rail: great surprise, one running across the road near the old cemetery, another near Sandy Creek by the Tungamah-Peechelba Rd (2). Cockatiel: small flock over the race track (7). Michael Ramsey
Thu 30 Dec	Pied Oyster catcher Western Treatment Plant ( Pt Kirk ) Two birds present, resting on rocks with Silver Gulls. Con Baltas
	Wood Sandpiper Portland A single Wood Sandpiper seen on the Alcoa Wetland.. Paul Dodd, Ruth Woodrow & Rob Farnes
	Dollarbird Terrick Terrick National Park One Dollarbird near the track which runs alongside the Mitiamo Cemetery on the southern boundary of the park. Nicole Spillane and Paul Jacobson
	Plumed Whistling Duck, Latham's Snipe Highett Road, Terrick Terrick East Came across a couple of wetlands on Highett Road today, same as reported earlier. There were only 7 Plumed Whistling- duck when we arrived, also two Latham's Snipe and many Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterel and Black-winged Stilt. Nicole Spillane and Paul Jacobson
	Terek Sandpiper Western Lagoon Pond 4, Western Treatment Plant Single bird seen with Red-necked Stints, however by the time I had driven to Kirk Point there was a similarly flagged bird there! Stuart Cooney
	Fork-tailed Swift, Stilt Sandpiper Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Single Fork-tailed Swift seen low over gate into T-Section when we were leaving after seeing the Stilt SP in Pond 7 - thanks to a call from John Stirling whilst we were at the Borrow Pits. Dave Torr, Christine Shelley, Chloe Youl, Terje Axelsen
	Spotted Quail-thrush Brisbane Ranges One on track near Circuit Track in north of park, 3 on Fairley's track (off Thomson's Rd) Dave Torr, Christine Shelley, CHloe Youl, Terje Axelsen
	Plumed Whistling-Duck East of Terrick Terrick National Park A high count of 85 Plumed Whistling-Duck on a single wetland just to the east of Terrick Terrick National Park on Highett Rd. Black-winged Stilts, Red-kneed Dotterel, Black-fronted Dotterel, Masked Lapwing, Grey Teal and Australian Shoveler were all breeding in the same wetland. Rohan Clarke
	Sacred Kingfisher Wilson's Reserve, Ivanhoe Down the trail from the carpark then left... in the swampy area on the left... then it flew across the trail to the bank of the Yarra. Also seen: Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Spotted Pardalote and lots of Musk Lorikeets. Robert Jones and R. Bruce Richardson
Wed 29 Dec	Masked Owl Strathdownie One bird seen around midnight on Grubbed Road, near intersection with Glenelg Highway (in forest and open heath between plantations). We had given up our search for the evening and were heading back to Hamilton for the night. The owl was on the side of the road with its prey and was seen clearly in the headlights of the car. The owl took off and flew to the forest with its prey and could not be relocated.. Paul Dodd & Ruth Woodrow
	Square-Tailed Kite Dereel Adult gliding over treetops then passing low over friends house .Property is almost on edge of Enfield state forest.Since 1986 I have seen this species at many locations within a 50km.radius of Ballarat during spring/summer period but it was virtually unknown before then in this district. Murray Grant
	Pectoral Sandpiper Avalon Saltworks near Lara Four on pond 10, Snake Island, along with 1000 Red-necked Stints, 330 Curlew Sandpipers, 8 Sharpies and 13 Red Knot. Three of the Pecs were roosting on a small vegetated island and one was feeding with two Sharpies in shallow water. This was on one of our regular counts at this site, where access is generally restricted. Maarten Hulzeboch, Richard Loyn, Peter Menkhorst and Dean Hewish
	Red-chested Button-quail, Little Button-quail, Stubble Quail Terrick Terrick National Park 8 Red-chested Button-quail, ~10 Little Button-quail and ~30 Stubble Quail seen during an evening walk in the native grassland section of the park Rohan Clarke
	Australian Hobby Cheltenham Park Australian Hobby (3) seen near cemetery corner. Very noisy. One flew off, one perched, the lucky one fed on what seemed to have been a Noisy Miner. See blurry photo. Thanks to Chris for original sighting. Also here this evening: one Musk Lorikeet, two Laughing Kookaburras. Debbie Lustig
	Brown Goshawk, Rainbow Bee-eater, Tawny Frogmouth You Yangs Regional Park Brown Goshawk: one adult and nearly fledged chick on nest. Rainbow Bee-eater: m & f along Hovells Creek. Tawny Frogmouth: adult on nest. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Beautiful Firetail Bunyip State Park Immature bird, Link Tk, Bunyip SP. Steve Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Barking Owl Bryan Swamp Barking Owl seen clearly in leafy trees alongside wetlands. Flushed out several times by Grey Shrike-thrush and White-plumed Honeyeaters. (1). Bruce Wedderburn
Tue 28 Dec	Red-backed Kingfisher Hattah-Kulkyne National Park Seen on Konardin Track, about 2.7km from the fence following a tip-off by Ivor and Karen Preston. First sighted by Jon Thornton.. Paul Dodd, Ruth Woodrow, Fiona Parkin & Jon Thornton
	Hooded Plover Cape Paterson First Surf Beach Seen about 9pm, just before sunset on the First Surf Beach, towards the Cape. Michael Mules
	Australasian Gannet Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Pre-fledgling Gannet sighted off beach between Beach Rd. gate and bird hide. Chick made it ashore, shivering and distressed. A call to Wildlife Rescue who came and picked up the bird. By the time they arrived, the chick was quite feisty and begging for food. A good outcome predicted. Arthur & Denise Carew, Merrilyn Serong
	Plumed Whistling-Duck, Brown Quail Broken Creek (west of Tungamah) Four Plumed Whistling-Duck by the Broken Creek, continuing an exceptional year for this species in the local area. Also a Brown Quail by a freshly cut wheat paddock. Lack of obvious streaking and yellow legs ID from Stubble Quail. Michael Ramsey
	White-faced Heron, Musk Lorikeet Heathmont am. Birding by bicycle. White-faced Heron: (1). Peter Booth
	Stilt Sandpiper Western Treatment Farm Still Present in north-east T-Section pond. Managed to get flight photos. Still hard to approach. Also 7 Common Terns counted, 3 Marsh Sandpipers. 3 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers across the road in flooded paddock, good to see them back. A Buff-banded Rail ran across the main road next to Austin Rd Lagoon. Kevin Bartram
	Stilt Sandpiper (update) Western Treatment Plant Stilt Sandpiper still present this morning (28/12/10) until about 1100 when we had finished looking at it in number 7 pond at the T-section. There were still a few Greenshanks about but the Stilt Sandpiper seemed to be keeping to itself, and was giving very good views and not seeming too flighty. Chris Watson
Mon 27 Dec	Square-tailed Kite Beechworth One circled over treetops on edge of town on Myrtleford road, SE of Lake Sambell, before flying towards Lake Sambell. (Photo supplied previously.) Richard Loyn
	Australian Hobby Cheltenham Park Adult female with a fledgling midway up a large pine tree along the common fenceline with the golf course - only 200m uphill from the carpark. Both quite vocal and hawking low over my head. Thought it might be worth mentioning a bird like this in suburbia. Chris Watson
Sun 26 Dec	Inland Dotterel Neds Corner Station At least 7-8 birds seen on Neds Corner Road around 9:30pm, 2-3km from the intersection of Neds Corner Road and Old Mail Road.. Paul Dodd & Ruth Woodrow
	Square-tailed Kite Green Hill Lake (Ararat) Single bird seen just west of Ararat Bruce Wedderburn
	Possible Short-toed Eagle Hovells Creek at Princes Hw (upstream side), Lara c12:30 and 18:30pm. Soaring on flat wings, wings narrower at body and tips with broader middle, longish barred tail, occasionally 'hovering' into the breeze, underwings faintly barred, contrasting darker head, otherwise slow flapping flight. Seen without binoculars, but well seen. I've seen this bird a few times in France/Spain, and one previous occasion (unconfirmed) in W Victoria in c1980 with Margaret Cameron and others. I'm about 99% certain of the ID - requiring binoculars for the additional 1%. Lawrie Conole
	Stilt Sandpiper T-Section Lagoons. W.T.P. Werribee. Stilt Sandpiper observed in Pond 7 at 10.00 A.M this morning. Warren Palmer.
	White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Rufous Songlark Kangaroo Flat An intermediate morph White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike observed & photographed. Several Rufous Songlarks about, including recently fledged juveniles. Kevin Bartram
Fri 24 Dec	Scarlet Honeyeater Foothills Warby Rages Glenrowan First time we have seen Scarlet Honeyeater here in more than 10 years of birdwatching. Came to our birdbath in backyard Xmas Eve. Great pressie from Santa. Jan Osmotherly
Fri 3 Dec	Latham's Snipe Waterford Valley (City of Knox) 1 bird-20/12, 2 birds-21/12 pm Henderson Road grassland, active fox den just across the road...29/12 - pm. single birds flushed from Henderson Road and Waterford Valley Golf Course (2). Peter Booth
Wed 1 Dec	Muscovy Duck Lakewood Reserve 28/12 am. near jetty where people often feed ducks. Peter Booth

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