|
Birdline Australia
Published sightings for the week ending 18 Sep 2011.
| Tue 13 Sep
|
Australian Painted Snipe
Mareeba -Chewko Rd, Queensland
One male. First Atlas record on the Tablelands for several years. Good bird for our garden list.
If anyone else records a Painted Snipe please send details to the Birds Australia, Australian Painted Snipe Recovery Team.
http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/our-projects/australian-painted-snipe.html
Dominic Chaplin
|
| Mon 12 Sep
|
Wandering Whistling-duck
Lake Dulverton, Tasmania
Confirming Ian Lundy's report from yesterday of three Wandering Whistling-ducks at Lake Dulverton. The birds were on the first dam wall when I arrived 8.20 and were still there when I left a bit after 10am. The closest captive population I know of is the Melbourne Zoo (although I think they're free range) but the birds seemed very wary of approach even at a distance so they could be wild.
Paul Brooks
|
| Sun 11 Sep
|
Wandering whistling duck x 3
Lake Dulverton, Oatlands, Tasmania
I know this sounds highly implausible. At Lake Dulverton today there were many hardheads, one black duck and quite a few domestic ducks/geese in and around the top lake with the aquatic vegetation. Amongst the wild ducks were three different coloured ducks of a similar size - the most notable feature being what appeared to be a yellow stripe down their side along the edge of the wing - like a whistling duck. The birds had a light coloured cheek/neck almost like a grey teal but with a very dark stripe over the top and down the back of their head. They were a reddish/chestnut colour underneath the yellow stripe and darker on top. They flew twice and squeaked as they took off. They had a white V-shaped stripe across their tail. When they landed on the bank I got slightly better views. They showed slight speckling on their front. They were slightly speckled yellow/buff on their front turning to the chestnut colour toward the bottom of the neck and underneath, light buff face with dark stripe over the top and down the back of the head, yellow "stripe" along the wing edge and darker on the back with some light edged feathers, particularly towards the front. The birds looked quite plump when they were on the bank. Didn't check the leg colour but it was dark. When flying the most notable feature was the squeaking on takeoff then the slightly V-shaped white/light strip across the rump. Tail was longish and slightly pointy or maybe legs were trailing. The wings were mostly dark and didn't appear to have patches of lighter colour as most ducks do. Didn't have a camera with me and flushed them before I could even get a phone camera shot. I looked in my book as this was not a duck I am familiar with and this bird was exactly like a wandering whistling duck. This bird is not found anywhere near here but it is what I saw - please tell me I am not going crazy. Could they be escapees of some sort?
Ian Lundy
| Birdline Australia is sponsored by Birds Australia and co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds.
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
|
