Birdline Victoria Weekly Update

Birdline Victoria

Published sightings for the week ending 25 Sep 2011.

Sun 25 Sep	Painted Honeyeater, Whiskered Tern, White-bellied Sea-eagle Winton Wetlands Painted Honeyeater (1) heard briefly early morning at the woodland along Lake Mokoan Rd. Many mistletoes in the woodland, seen before in the Chesney Hills to the north so not a completely unexpected record, still a good one though. Two Whiskered Tern and a pair of White-bellied Sea-eagle also seen off the old yacht club. A great day with over 90 species recorded. Michael Ramsey - Bronzewing Birding Services
	White-necked Heron St Leonards (south) 1' Cell White-necked Heron (2) uncommon sighting of a pair in this wetland. Seen in proximity to a lone Great Egret (that has been in the Edwards Point, Cliff Street wetlands the past two weeks), and two little egrets. Lauren Leviston, Janice Gillet
Sat 24 Sep	Australasian Bittern, Glossy Ibis Krause Swamp, Croxton East (Western District) Australasian Bittern (1) Flushed from wetland vegetation near road, flew into heavier vegetation towards centre of wetland, landed and struck the typical Bittern pose to blend into the reeds/rushes. Glossy Ibis (20) When first observed mixed with Purple Swamphens they were missed, but when hens moved into thicker vegetation the ibis seemed to magically appear, long down curved bills and beautiful glossy brown/purple plumage. Samantha Greiner
	Peregrine falcon Merri Creek, Brunswick Single Peregrine hunting in late afternoon near the velodrome Stuart Dashper
	Lewin's Rail Anglesea Heath Lewin's Rail heard from dense creekside vegetation along Salt Creek where it intersects Bald Hills Rd. Also a White-necked Heron flying low over heath and great views of a pair of Southern Emu-wren. Cuckoos calling everywhere too. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Rainbow Bee-eater 'Birremathool', Bailieston. Rainbow Bee-eater heard clearly flying overhead. An early record for this species. Otherwise Rufous Whistlers and Rufous Songlarks calling incessantly and lots of thornbill and robin activity. Richard & Margaret Alcorn
	White-winged Triller, White-throated Gerygone Warby-Ovens National Park (northern Warby Range) First spring returns for White-throated Gerygone and White-winged Triller, both singing well. Many other spring migrants in the park this morning including Olive-backed Oriole, Rufous Songlark, Rufous Whistler, Western Gerygone, Horsfield's Bronze and Shining Bronze-cuckoos, and Fan-tailed Cuckoo. Long-billed Corella also an odd sighting, this species seems to be slowly spreading east. Michael Ramsey
	Australian Little Bittern Karkarook Park Immature seen well for 5+ minutes clambering in rushes at 0615 hours. It was towards the west side of the second pond N from the SW corner of the wetland complex and seen from the east bank. Michael Norris
Fri 23 Sep	Barn Owl Pakenham Barn Owl (1) Unfortunately Road Kill on Princes Fwy about 500mts East of Cardinia Rd. Third Barn Owl found dead roadside this month Colin Mulvogue
	Rufous Songlark Point Cook Coastal Park Rufous Songlark (3) 2 Seen and 1 other heard . Singing and feeding beside boardwalk on track to Bird Hide . Colin Mulvogue
	Whiskered Terns Swan Bay 9 Whiskered Terns on the boat ramp (pictured here with Crested Tern). David Rantall
	Rose-ringed Parakeet (Indian Ringneck) Newport Lakes Park Rose-ringed Parakeet. An adult bird flying through at great speed. 2nd time have seen this bird in Newport area in last month. Steve Davidson
Thu 22 Sep	Banded Lapwing Maude Banded Lapwing (7) On roadside (2) and in paddock (5) on east side of the road just south of the Maude township. In total 3 pairs seen, one with a large chick. One of the chick's parents dead on roadside (likely due to car collision). Also many Pipits in the paddock. Chris Lindorff
	Topknot Pigeon Marlo Two Topknot Pigeons were seen flying along the Brodribb River, north of Marlo. Seems rather early in the season. Rohan Bilney
	White-browed Woodswallow, Masked Woodswallow. Newtown, Geelong Flock of 300 birds flying into strong warm NNW wind @16:35 h after very warm day of strong N winds. At least 1 Masked Woodswallow positively identified, with pale breast and black mask on face. Always wonderful to see and hear these beaut birds! Craig Morley
	Southern Whiteface, White-browed Woodswallow, Rufous Songlark You Yangs Regional Park 2 Southern Whiteface and 2 Rufous Songlark at end of Toynes Rd this morning. A pair of White-browed Woodswallow seen perched quietly in a dead tree, after a while they uttered a few chirps and 9 more WBWS suddenly materialised from a great height. Along Great Circle Drive near Toynes Rd. Steve Davidson
	Spotted Harrier Corner Bulban Rd & Manor Rd, Mambourin A juvenile Spotted Harrier floating low into the strong northerly over paddocks. A less splendid and slightly more scrappy-looking individual than the one at WTP from the 18/9. Also in the area at least 25 Brown Falcon all utilizing the wind, soaring and hovering over several paddocks, as well as an Australian Hobby and Nankeen Kestrel. Steve & Wren Davidson
	Plumed Whistling-Duck Lake Guyatt, Sale I counted 19 Plumed Whistling-Duck on the island soaking up the morning sun. They were in long grass so there may have been more. Ken Sherring
	White-backed Swallow Bendigo 2 White-backed Swallows seen on private property near Bendigo. Hanging around dirt mounds - probably nesting there. Observed for 20 minutes - only saw 2 birds. Murray Chambers
Wed 21 Sep	Cape Barren goose Mornington Pair standing on edge of small dam on northern side of Bungower Road near to Moorooduc Highway, easily visible from road. Adam Dixon
	Baillon's Crake, Australian Spotted Crake Tragowel Swamp Baillon's Crake (6) Feeding in shallow mud amongst lignum - often in the open. Many photos. Australian Spotted Crake (14) Probably more in the lignum. Malcolm Cousland
	Brolga McEwen Rd, Kyabram Pair flew up from roadside paddock as we drove along McEwen Rd to Rushworth, around 4pm Lynn & Bruce Roubin
	Cape Barren Goose Middle Swamp near Clunes Single bird with Black Swans on the southern margin of the wetland Geoff Park
	White-necked Heron Taylors Lakes Along the "lakes" near Parmelia Dve. At 4.30 pm Andre Rasquinha
	White-necked Heron Beaton Reserve, Yarraville 5 White-necked Heron soaring overhead on thermal, along with about 200 Silver Gull, about 15:00hrs. Steve & Wren Davidson
	Glossy Ibis South Yarrawonga Wetland A flock of a dozen Glossy Ibis flew out of long rushes on the northern side of the wetland that also had a large number of herons and egrets present. The habitat here is perfect for them here at the moment. Still large numbers of dotterels here, over 80 Red-kneed and 30 Black-fronted Dotterel today. Other good birds included 10 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (numbers up from last week), Black-tailed Native-hen, Intermediate Egret and Brown Songlark. Michael Ramsey
	Rainbow Bee-eater Yarrawonga A couple of Rainbow Bee-eaters seen over Tom Street in the afternoon, first returns for this spring. Michael Ramsey
Tue 20 Sep	Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Brisbane Ranges National Park A pair of Chestnut-rumped Heathwren with two fledgling chicks (photo of one). Pleasing to see a successful breeding of this species in this area. Chris Lindorff
	Barn Owl Altona Meadows Along Henry Drive and Skeleton Creek parklands at 18:20 (still good daylight). The owl was chased and harassed by two squawking magpies. The owl was forced to the ground and onto a roof top - it seemed to come off second best in the encounter. P S Lansley
	Lewins Honeteater Kalorama A single bird very active and vocal in my mother's garden at Kalorama over the past couple of days. This species has become a regular seasonal visitor here in the last few years. Steven Creber
	Grey Falcon Wyperfeld NP, Wonga Campground Grey Falcon chasing two very panicked Regent Parrots at tree level. (Moderators note: yet to be confirmed) Michael Bird
	Spotted Harrier (juvenile) Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Juvenile Spotted Harrier flying low over dense grassland feeding. Raoul Symons
Mon 19 Sep	Cape Barren Goose Strangways, via Newstead Single bird with a small flock of Wood Ducks on a large farm dam near the Rise and Shine Bushland Reserve. I made a brief visit earlier today (20/9) but the bird has apparently moved on. Tony Edney per Geoff Park
	White-browed and/or Masked Woodswallows Camberwell Heard then approx 10 seen (but not with binoculars). Strong+ north wind. George Appleby
	Banded Lapwing Hollands Landing - Bengworden - Hollands Landing road. E 537537 N 5790959 Only one pair now remaining in paddock however four chicks seen meandering around in the grass, not straying far from their parents. Faye Bedford and Rohan Bilney
	White-browed Woodswallow Mia Mia Road (Newstead) 200+ birds turned up at home this afternoon. John Alexander
	White-browed Woodswallow, Noisy Friarbird, Speckled Warbler Seymour Bushland Reserve A single White-browed Woodswallow heard then seen high overhead. Noisy Friarbird and Speckled warbler were nice surprises also. Very little other birdlife evident.. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Western Gerygone Yea Wetlands Was surprised to see 2 Western Gerygone here at this location today. They were singing loudly, chasing each other and looked to be courting. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Pink Robin, Rose Robin Quarry Track, Toolangi State Forest 3 pairs of Pink Robin seen along a 500m stretch of Quarry track this morning. The males ranged from an immature with pink wash on breast, to a slightly more developed male with a greyish head and more pink breast, through to an immaculate adult bird. All three were singing strongly in the canopy, while the females tick-ticked away in the scrub. Equally vociferous were the many Rose Robin heard along this stretch, with one pair seen well. Also about were a few singing Large-billed Scrubwren, a distant Pilotbird, several Olive Whistler and a very obliging female Superb Lyrebird. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	White-browed Woodswallow, Masked Woodswallow Wilby After reading recent reports today on the net about woodswallow flocks, I wasn't surprised to see one over the garden this afternoon of around 40 White-browed and 5 Masked Woodswallows. The weather was quite warm with northerly winds. This species often arrives during these weather conditions in early spring, with last year being an exception when they were absent over many parts of the state. Michael Ramsey
Sun 18 Sep	Plumed-Whistling Duck Swanpool On Sunday 4th September, I stopped to have a look at a pair of Yellow-billed Spoonbills at a dam on the Lima East Rd Swanpool. When I saw this flock of 36 Plumed Whistling-Ducks. They are staying around as we have seen them a few times and again on the 18th September. They can easily be viewed from the car as the dam is only 50 metres from the road. Christine Holmes
	Star Finch Chase Estate, Berwick I saw a red-billed finch perched on the gutter outside our kitchen, which I subsequently identified as a Star Finch. Several months earlier I noticed a pair of similar looking birds sitting on our neighbours gutter, but they flew off before I got a good look at them. (Moderators note: most likely an escapee, but published if others wish to search) Kenn Tulley
	Square-Tailed Kite; Eastern Spinebill Maldon The Square-tailed Kite sighted flying across Fogarty's Gap Road about 6km out of Maldon. A pair of Eastern Spinebill's working the eucalyptus trees along the road at the same location. Albert & Eleanor Wright
	Painted Button-quail Chiltern Forest Spent yesterday around Greenhill Dam with lots of species in that vicinity including Painted Button-quail, Mistletoebird, Turquoise Parrot, Crested Shrike-tit and Rufous Songlark; also heard Black-eared Cuckoo. Geooff Jones & Peter Merritt
	Wood Sandpiper, Blue-winged Parrot, Spotless & Baillon's Crake Western Treatment Plant Wood Sandpiper in 55E (but no Golden Plover), 6 Blue-winged Parrots at 270S, 5 Spotless Crakes & 6 Baillon's Crake (+Spotted & Buff-banded) in T-Section, adult White-bellied Sea-Eagle in 85W, Wedge-tailed Eagle near North Spit, 4 Black-tailed Native-hen at 270S, 2 Brown Songlarks, Banded Stilts, lots of Whiskered & Fairy Terns and good numbers of new wader and waterfowl arrivals. One dead Eastern Barn Owl on 29 Mile Road. John Barkla, Fred Smith & Debbie Lustig
	White-Fronted,Tawny-Crowned, White-Eared Honeyeaters. Kamarooka Section, Greater Bendigo National Park. Observed several White-fronted HE, 2 Tawny-crowned & many White- eared HE along Campbells Road. Also saw 7 Noisy Friarbirds along West Kamarooka Road throughout the day. Warren & Cheryl Palmer.
Tue 13 Sep	Scarlet Honeyeater, Topknot Pigeon, Dusky Woodswallow and Rose Robin Cabbage Tree Palms Flora Reserve 20+ Scarlet Honeyeaters were seen and heard during this morning's monthly survey along with 2 Topknot Pigeons feeding amongst a dense stand of Lilly-pilly. 4 early returning Dusky Woodswallows and 3 Rose Robins were other birds of interest. Len and Jacquie Axen

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