Birdline Victoria Weekly Update

Birdline Victoria

Published sightings for the week ending 21 Aug 2011.

Sun 21 Aug	Spotted Quail-thrush You Yangs Regional Park A Spotted Quail-thrush was found at the north side of the park, where the Great Circle Drive intersects with Cressy Gully Rd (see link below). Tim Dolby
	Rose Robin Chesney Vale Hills Rose Robin (2) quite a surprise, a male heard singing then seen up close. Another heard nearby, probably on passage to the higher wetter hills to the south for the spring as the habitat seen in (box-stringybark woodland) is not typical for this species Michael Ramsey
	Lewin's Rail Winton Wetlands Two Lewin's Rails were heard calling in a wet sedgy grassland area, next to the road leading into the duck pond pump station. A variety of clicking and grunting calls heard, one was quite close (within a few metres) and another was heard in the same vicinity. The first record for the wetlands and a very scarce species in north-east Victoria in general. Michael Ramsey
	Buff-banded Rail Merri Creek Trail, Fitzroy North to Coburg Buff-banded Rail Single bird ran across bike track adjacent to creek, 150m south of Arthurton Rd, Northcote. At around 9.00 am. Will Morris
	White-necked Heron, Red-necked Avocets Werribee Treatment Plant White-necked Heron - 4 at Western Lagoon Ponds 1 and 2, and 1 at Conservation pond near Borrow Pits. Very many Red-necked Avocets actively feeding in many areas throughout WTP. Peter Thomson
	Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Reid Street, Northcote One bird singing. First I've ever heard around here. Lawrie Conole
	Australasian shoveler Lake Victoria, golf club pond, Point Lonsdale A pair, male and female, Australasian shoveler ducks were swimming with many chestnut teal. Some Pacific black duck were also present. These are uncommon sightings but possibly due to the water in the pond area being much less saline than in previous years. Rod Corinaldi
Sat 20 Aug	Osprey Marengo Reef Marine Sancturay (just past Apollo Bay) Bird sighted through scope while observing Australian Fur Seals on the larger reef. Clearly seen preening for 15+ minutes from the shore near Marengo Caravan Park Phil Watson
	White-bellied Sea-Eagle 92 Elizabeth Avenue, Rosebud West, Victoria Sighted about 13.30pm flying over swampland towards bay. Not able to obtain photo. Probably a youth based on size. Distinctive call that matched up with a call recorded on internet. Likely to be located on private land or in swamp land located behind private land. Difficult to access. Cameron Brown
	Bush Stone-curlew Clays Road/East Kamarooka Road, Bagshot North (SE of Kamarooka) Single bird observed in farm paddock, west side of Clays Road, under a patch of remnant eucalypts. Dan Weller, Amanda Smith and Cristina Del Borello
	Regent Honeyeater,Turquoise Parrot, Western Gerygone, Brolga, Bush Stone-curlew,Grey-crowned Babbler Half Day Tour (Chiltern and Rutherglen district) A beautiful late winter morning with some great birds seen. At Chiltern Regent Honeyeaters were seen well, along with Turquoise Parrot and Western Gerygone. At Rutherglen a pair each of Brolga and Bush Stone-curlew along with a number of White-backed Swallows. Further north at Gooramadda a nice sized flock of Grey-crowned Babblers and were seen with some Apostlebirds. Southern Boobook roosting in the daytime, nice views of a Little Eagle, Australian Hobby and Black-chinned Honeyeaters, singing Rose Robins and Crested Shrike-tits some other highlights. Michael Ramsey - Bronzewing Birding Services
Fri 19 Aug	Pilotbird, Crested Shrike-tit and Rose Robin Waterholes (near Bruthen) Despite minor flooding on the Nicholson River which has flattened much of the regrowth, EGBOC members noted 41 species during today's Fire Recovery Bird Monitoring survey. Of note were single sightings of a Pilotbird, Crested Shrike-tit and Rose Robin. EGBOC members per Len Axen
	Square-tailed Kite Pullan's Road, Gower - Muckleford Nature Conservation Reserve Single bird seen cruising above canopy along alluvial woodland area at the edge of the Reserve Geoff Park
	Swift Parrot Sheok Crt Ocean Grove. 10-20 Swifties still in the area, feeding in Yellow Gums. Denis Sleep
	Grey Currawong Hawthorn A couple of the local Pied Currawongs were being pretty vocal this afternoon, and after a few seconds, a Grey Currawong joined in the chorus. I only heard the birds, but the Grey made at least half-a-dozen calls, so I'm certain of ID. Friday's a very still afternoon, so they could've been a reasonable distance away. I've only heard one here once, but I've heard/seen one flying over Kevin Bartlett reserve, which would be about 600 metres away. John Gray
	Australian King-Parrot Lakewood Reserve, Knoxfield Vic Many in the neighbourhood since April, but first sighting at this reserve. Tony Bushell
Thu 18 Aug	White-headed Pigeon Marlo Despite intermittent showers and gusty winds an adult White-headed Pigeon provided extended views while perched on a powerline in Marlo this afternoon. Len Axen
	Blue-faced Honeyeater, Rufous Songlark Bealiba A Rufous Songlark was calling (not seen) at Bealiba Lake and a Blue-faced Honeyeater was sitting on a fence in town. Steve Clark
	Wonga Pigeon Myers Creek, Myers Creek Rd One was flushed while working by the creek and seen briefly before it flew off. Another brief view later in the day as is was flushed again. Matthew Vinicombe
	Plumed Whistling Duck TRU Wetlands, near Morwell Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club survey the TRU Wetlands near Morwell every 3 months. Today we found a very special new bird in the wetlands. A group of ten Plumed Whistling Ducks were swimming up and down in a tight group. There is as far as we know only one previous record of these birds in the Gippsland Region, when I found one in Mathison Park in Churchill in December 2007. Ken Harris
Wed 17 Aug	Grey Currawong Beaumaris A Grey Currawong heard near Stella Maris Primary school, and possiby seen accompanying a pair of Pied Currwaongs the day before. Sean Dooley
	White-winged Triller Bacchus Marsh, Vic. A White-winged Triller has been visiting our garden regularly for the last week. It seems to be a non-breeding male and is quite tame. It has not called though. Bernie McRitchie
	Fan-tailed Cuckoo Royal Park, Parkville One Fan-tailed Cuckoo in the Casuarinas near the zoo fence on corner of the No 55 tram line and Elliot Ave. Nicole Spillane & Paul Jacobson
	Fairy Martin Bellarine Rail Trail, Banks Road Fairy Martin (4) Nesting in same place as last year (culvert) only 4 arrived to-date Angus Hartshorn
	Buff-banded Rail (2) Brighton Golf Course Two BBR seen at edge of filtering wetland from Creswick St. at 0800. Soon retreated out of sight. First record of 2 in the City of Bayside, michael norris
Mon 15 Aug	Great Egret Boort 10' Cell Lake Boort (Big Lake). 28 Great Egret in 200m shoreline. More than 80 cormorants, mainly Little Black. 6 Nankeen Night Heron. Malcolm Cousland
	Whistling Kite Elsternwick Park, Brighton Whistling Kite (1) Circled the E oval, harrassed by magpie then Lt Raven. Flew S. A couple of people have cast doubt on this ID and I am not an experienced birder. Therefore, I'd like to amend this to 'Unidentified raptor'. Hope that's OK. Debbie Lustig
	Grey Goshawk Brisbane Track (Nth), Staughton Vale 1' Cell Grey Goshawk (1) White morph. Unexpected find. Was flushed from low perch on Brisbane Track at intersection with Quarry Track. Flew away from me, providing good views for a few seconds. Unable to relocate. Pure white raptor with bright yellow legs. Perhaps the same individual that was seen at Serendip earlier in the year. Chris Lindorff
	Plumed Whistling-Duck Yarrawonga Sewage Ponds Still over 100 Plumed Whistling-Ducks present at the ponds. Can be easily seen from the Benalla-Yarrawonga Road. Michael Ramsey
	White-necked Heron Truganina White-necked Heron (2) Near corner of Leakes and Tarneit Roads Intersection, 1 bird in tall grass and 1 beside dam just north of Leakes Rd. 1 bird seen just east of here last Wednesday Colin Mulvogue
	Black-tailed Native-hen, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Mill Park Lakes Black-tailed Native-hen (3) Seen on Lawn area along Gabriel Dve. Ran into tree's , very skittish. This area is the only place with exposed mud at the moment but water level is dropping . Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (1) Calling from Small Gum's on Gabriel Dve. Very vocal Colin Mulvogue
	Common Bronzewing Royal Park, Parkville One Common Bronzewing resting on top of the large pile of earth at the rear of the Royal Children's Hospital construction site. The bird was on the side closest to the path. Nicole Spillane and Paul Jacobson
Sun 14 Aug	Azure Kingfisher Furnell lake Cann river Roger Williams
	Gang Gang Cockatoo 30 km west of Portland A pair of Gang Gang Cockatoos flew across Portland-Nelson road. Very westerly record. Kevin Bartram
	Northern Royal Albatross, Brown Skua The Continental Shelf, 30 nm south of Portland On the August BA-Vic Portland pelagic - quite a slow day with low numbers of pelagic birds (except for Black-bowed and Shy Albatrosses and fairy prions). The single Northern Royal was the highlight. The two Skuas were in Portland harbour at the end of the day. Chris Lester et al
	Hooded Plover Flinders Ocean Beach Found 3 Hooded Plovers, 8 Ruddy Turnstones and about a dozen Double-banded Plovers foraging with Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked Stints on Flinders ocean beach. Jon Thornton and Fiona Parkin
	Red-capped Robins Redcastle (north of Heathcote) One pair of birds at Holt's Flat Rd; another pair at junction of Welcome Track and Wynott Dam Track. Many Scarlet Robins about as well. Anthea and Brian Fleming
Sat 13 Aug	Tawny Frogmouth Little Lake Boort One on nest previously used as recently as January - note willow refurbishments. One broken egg on ground below. Malcolm Cousland
	Banded Stilt and Double-banded Plover Lake Corangamite (NW shore at Foxhow) Approx. 430 stilts and 240 DBPs at this interesting site. There could potentially be hundreds (or thousands) of these birds around the huge shoreline of the lake. This area could be even better for birds later in the year. George Appleby and Patrick Scully
	Gloosy Black-Cockatoo Genoa peak(Genoa) 5 birds flying over genoa peak Roger Williams
	Brown Quail, White-fronted Tern, Buff-banded Rail Portland 3 Brown Quail, flushed at Fawthorpe Lagoon. First I've seen in area & according to Birds of Portland District (Robert F. Farnes), rare in area & not recorded at Portland itself. 3 Buff-banded Rails in area (almost ran one over in Portland Harbour carpark the night before. Also 4 first year White-fronted Terns roosting on jetty on south-east side of harbour. Kevin Bartram
	Australian King Parrot, Pied Currawong, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern Nelson An adult male Australian King Parrot located at Nelson in northern outskirts of town. This is only 4 km east of SA border, it would have been the first for SA. I can't imagine it would be an escapee, since Nelson is such a small town & it's not a common avairy species. Pied Currawong also heard in town, very westerly record. At mouth of Glenelg River about 20 Kelp Gulls of all ages & 25 Caspian Terns. Also Olive Whistler south of town, Rufous Bristlebird at rubbish dump singing, 2 Great Crested Grebes on river. Kevin Bartram
Thu 11 Aug	Speckled Warbler, Flame Robin You Yangs Speckled Warblers heard and seen in vicinity of Turntable (loosely associating with mixed species feedling flock incl. Yellow, Striated and Yellow-rumped Thornbills, Grey Fantails and Silvereyes. Also heard later in vicinity of Stockyards, loosely associating with Yellow-rumped Thornbills. 2 pairs of Flame Robins along E section of Great Circle Drive. Also several Brown Goshawks seen at various locations and a single imm male Collared Sparrowhawk and a single Tree Martin (with ~20 Welcome Swallows). Latter two in vicinity of Branding Yards. Rob Ganly, Craig Morley
Wed 10 Aug	Buff-banded Rail Haven We have Buff-banded Rails in our garden, as we live for from what is documented as their normal habitat, thought someone may be interested. val wright
Sun 7 Aug	Painted Button-quail, Red-chested Button-quail, Australian Owlet-nightjar, Sacred Kingfisher, Pied B Pimpinio 10' Cell Monthly Outing of Horsham BOCA in the Wail area 25k northwest of Horsham Tim Mintern
Thu 4 Aug	Banded Stilt Lake Corangamite A conservative and careful estimate of 6,000 along NE corner of lake near Cundare barrage (photo shows small portion). 100 Red-necked Avocets and 60 Black-winged Stilts also noted. 4,000 Chestnut Teal and 1,000 Grey Teal. A wonderful sight from road over barrage (NB narrow and busy!). Also Spotted Crake on muddy margins just downstream of barrage. Also Blue-winged Parrots in small numbers. Rob Ganly, Craig Morley

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