Birdline Victoria Weekly Update

Birdline Victoria

Published sightings for the week ending 19 Jun 2011.

Sun 19 Jun	Swift Parrot Frankston 10' Cell Five Swift Parrots seen flying over the soccer fields, landing in trees then chased off by resident Noisy Miners. Great views of birds flying in morning sunlight . Colin Mulvogue
	Australasian Bittern Troups Creek Wetland Two Australasian Bitterns flushed from reed beds during PENBOC outing. Most people had a good look of at least one bird. Neil Shelley, Max Burrows
	Intermediate Egret, Red-kneed Dotterel, Brown Quail Burramine South Swamp A nice selection of birds here this morning. An Intermediate Egret was seen with a number of Great Egrets. Two Red-kneed Dotterels, one an immature observed around the muddy edges of the swamp and a covey of 8 Brown Quail were seen well in some lingum. Michael Ramsey
	Bush Stone-curlew Dowdle Swamp A Bush Stone-curlew was seen again at the swamp, on the north-west side under some sapling Red Gums. It was quite a relief to find this bird again as the swamp is quite popular for duck shooters and I thought it may have been scared off. Michael Ramsey
Sat 18 Jun	Gilbert's Whistler, Jacky Winter, Red-capped Robin, Flame Robin, Hooded Robin, Diamond Firetail Terrick Terrick National Park A great hour's birding around lunchtime, with robins seemingly everywhere we looked. Gregg Müller
	Buff-banded Rail Davey St, Box Hill I saw the Rail again this morning. It walked across my front garden, down the path, then flew up on to the side fence before flying into the neighbour's garden. David Clark
	Southern Giant-Petrel Lorne An all dark young bird with green tipped bill hanging around on the water at the edge of Lorne pier hoping to grab scraps as the local fishermen reel in their catch. Sean Dooley
	Grey Currawong, Swift Parrot, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Royal Park, Parkville A Grey Currawong (rare in RP), half a dozen Swift Parrots and at least 20 Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos among 49 species seen in a three hour stroll with 9 species of parrot and 7 species of honeyeater. Chris Lester
	White-Necked Heron, White-Faced heron, European Goldfinch Melton Lone White-Necked Heron and 3 White-Faced Herons disturbed by a passing Brown Falcon at the wetlands south of Darlingsford Blvd Melton. Upon arrival home a single European Goldfinch feeding on Milk Thistle flower in my driveway. David Whelan
	Buff-banded Rail Deep Lead, Vic. (12 km from Stawell) From 4/6/11 to 9/6/11 we observed bird foraging in our garden around our home. For the past week we did not see it, but this morning it has appeared again, just foraging around near the house. Ruth and Ross Hatton
Fri 17 Jun	Fan-tailed Cuckoo Hoppers Crossing At 1005hrs, a Fan-tailed Cuckoo flew into the ensuite window at my home address. No apparent serious injury, the bird most likely concussed and was taken to a local Wildlife Shelter, for recovery and release after 24 hours of observation. Peter Gibbons.
	Song Thrush Hawthorn At about 4:15pm I was watching a couple of young Blackbirds playing around in the backyard. Their mottled chests reminded me about how I'd seen only one Song Thrush in our yard in the past ten years (before that we had a resident pair). Almost instantly, a bird with a light brown back dashed across the yard and landed at the top of a bare tree. Incredibly, it was a Song Thrush. John Gray
	Hardhead Yarra River, Richmond between Victoria St and Bridge Rd., swimming by itself, observed from 10-12 metres. Penny Johns
	Sooty Oystercatcher Altona Four Sooty Oystercatchers on the rocks at Seaholme. Alf Forbes
Thu 16 Jun	Southern Emu-wren, Scarlet Robin and Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Canni Creek Despite cool conditions and being very wet underfoot, 39 species were recorded within the reserve. Of note were 2 pairs of Scarlet Robins, a small party of Southern Emu-wrens and an obliging Shining Bronze- Cuckoo that continuously called in the late afternoon sunshine. Len and Jacquie Axen
	Painted Button-quail, Crested Bellbird Soundry Road, Bendigo Regional Park three Painted Button-quail observed foraging amongst low shrubs, while 2 Crested Bellbird's were observed close by, both perched in dead Golden Wattles. David Parker
Wed 15 Jun	Swift Parrot, Hardhead Royal Park, Parkville A largish flock of Swift Parrots in gums by the tramline through the golf course. Scared off by a brown goshawk. Also 4 Hardhead in Trin Warren Tam-boore wetlands. Will Morris
	Spotted Harrier, Singing Honeyeater Terrick Terrick Park Large number of Singing Honeyeaters around picnic area and rocks at Mt Terrick. Only other honeyeater seen was White plumed (stacks). Lots of Hooded Robins and Red capped Robins. Also young Spotted Harrier on fence near Mitiamo. Murray Chambers
	Collared Sparrowhawk, Painted Button-quail Inverleigh Flora and Fauna Reserve Collared Sparrowhawk (1) south-eastern part of Reserve - good views for positive ID. First time recorded in Reserve. Painted Button-quail (1) north-western part of Reserve, running along track. Good views of body shape when compared to quail spp. Quite commonly recorded in Reserve. Chris Pitfield
Tue 14 Jun	Brolga Cressy 3 Brolgas spotted flying west over the town at ~ 8am. Geoff Park
	Australian Hobby, Fairy Tern, Horsfields Bronze-Cuckoo Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Two Hobbys perched low in dead trees just off the road near Borrow Pits with one eventually attacking the other and driving it off. Fairy Terns in abundance (30+) on rocks off the coast to the east of Point Kirk boat ramp. Quite a few Bronze cuckoos calling and seen throughout the plant. Paul Randall (wingsonwire.com)
Mon 13 Jun	Indian Ringneck Langwarren Flora and Fauna Reserve Mornington Peninsula A single Indian Ringneck has been seen at this reserve last Monday and forwarded the information onto SDE in Melbourne. Details: 100 metres from the carpark at the southern end of the Centre Break Track. A birdo had been observing a couple of Rainbow Lorikeets going in and out of a nesting hole in the same tree when an Indian Ringneck landed about 3 metres from them. After about a minute it took of in a westerly direction when he lost sight of it. The time was about 3.15 pm on 13 June. As the species is invasive and a threat to native parrots (see the link) it's important that all sightings are posted onto Birdline so the Department of Primary Industries can act quickly. passed onto Martin O'Brien
	Buff-banded Rail Davey Street, Box Hill At about 1315, a Buff-banded Rail landed in our front garden and began foraging in the damp soil. We watched it for about 5 minutes until a Butcherbird landed nearby and the Rail disappeared into some tussocks. David Clark
	Australian Owlet-nightjar Boort 10' Cell Australian Owlet-nightjar (1) Seen on gate from 1 metre - small with distinctive brown head markings and banded tail. Flew off after a few minutes. Malcolm Cousland
	Sooty oystercatchers Anglesea - Point Roadknight Two oystercatchers seen at midday on the rock platform at PT Roadknight. Also two hooded plovers nearby Elizabeth Pearson
	Australian King-Parrot, Flame Robin Thoona A female/immature bird at the cemetery, out of usual habitat of tall forest, likely on winter dispersal. Also a nice winter flock of Flame Robin seen at the cemetery as well with Yellow-rumped Thornbills and Southern Whiteface joining them foraging on short grass. Michael Ramsey
	Possible Barking Owl, Southern Boobook Ferntree Gully - near Napolean and Glenfern Rds Southern Boobook heard calling for a few minutes just before 6am; I have seen them before at nearby 100 Acres Bushland Reserve on Glenfern Rd. The call at times sounded like it was coming from 2 birds. There where 2 and 3 note calls close together very similar to the tones and pitch of the audio 'typical calls' by McNabb and Young on the 'The Owl Pages' website. Also unconfirmed Barking Owl was heard a few weeks ago around 3 am in similar location. Greg Cobern
Sun 12 Jun	Striated Grasswren, Redthroat, White-fronted Honeyeater Wyperfeld National Park A lovely long weekend (except for cold mornings) with a good number of species (73) and quite a good number of birds as well. Chris and Rosemary Lester
	Grey Goshawk (White Morph) Lakes Entrance (North Arm) One Grey Goshawk (white morph) seen in lakeside forest, eventually chased away by resident magpies. Anthea Stubbs
	Purple-gaped Honeyeater, White-fronted Honeyeater etc Mallee South of Kamarooka Choc-a-block full of honeyeaters, 16 species recorded in area. Good numbers of Purple-gaped and a few White-fronted Honeyeaters. Other species: Red Wattlebird, Noisy Miner, Black-chinned, Brown-headed, White-naped, Yellow-faced, White-eared, Yellow-tufted, Fuscous, Yellow-plumed, White-plumed, New Holland, Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters & Eastern Spinebill. Other highlights: Crested Bellbird, Crested Shriketit, Restless Flycatcher, Rufous Songlark, Diamond Firetail, Jacky Winter (all drinking or bathing at tall woodland dam at north of the park). Shy Heathwrens heard several places. Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Olive-backed Oriole. Kevin Bartram
	Regent Honeyeater Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park Three Regent Honeyeaters observed at Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park. One bird, which was unbanded and we assumed was the offspring of the other two, appeared to beg for food (bottom inset photo) and it was subsequently fed by a banded Regent Honeyeater (main photo). The banded Regent Honeyeater's mate was unbanded (top inset photo).(Moderators note: this feeding behaviour seems to be an early sign of pair bonding, not feeding offspring). Vik Dunis
	Nesting Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo The Briars Historic Park Mt Martha Observed these birds preparing their nesting hollow for approximately an hour. Resident pair of Nankeen Kestrels perched in adjacent tree seemed to be enjoying watching their industrious activity as well. Keith & Judy Humphreys
Sat 11 Jun	Peregrine Falcon, Black Falcon, Australian Hobby, Spotted Harrier Mitiamo area Great day for raptors, 11 species seen in region: Black-shouldered Kite, Whistling Kite, Little Eagle, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Spotted Harrier, Swamp Harrier, Kestrel, Hobby, Black, Brown & Peregrine Falcon (no goshawks). Adult Peregrine seen on power pole just outside Mitiamo, Black Falcon seen perched in a tree south, Hobby seen in town and south of town & 2 Spotted Harrier immatures south of town. Also a few White-necked Herons & a Great Egret seen north of town. Kevin Bartram
	Spotted Harrier, Stubble Quails, Brown Songlark Terrick Terrick grasslands Two immature Spotted Harriers together in grassland within the National Park. Quite a number of hawks around, most common Brown Falcon. Lots of Stubble Quail, about 40 flushed along grassy roadside verges outside park. Unfortunately a shooter was also aware of this & shooting quail within private property accompanied by a dog. I can't believe we allow shooting quail, especially in an area where Plains Wanderers are present. Also a few unseasonal Brown Songlark seen. Kevin Bartram
	"Bird-eating Spider", catches Yellow Thornbill (plus other sightings) Terrick Terrick: Picnic Ground leading off corner of Sylvaterre-Timms Lake & Mologa-Echuca Rds Saw a Yellow Thornbill fly into an Orb-spinning Spider's web, got photos. Don't dispair, thornbill managed to shake itself free before spider could get it! Also quite a lot of good birds in area: Hooded & Flame Robins, Southern Whitefaces, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Varied Sittellas, Brown Treecreepers, Restless Flycatcher, Little & Wedge-tailed Eagles. Kevin Bartram

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