Birdline Victoria Weekly Update

Birdline Victoria

Published sightings for the week ending 16 Oct 2011.

Sun 16 Oct	White-browed Woodswallows 5 km NW of Bairnsdale A flock of approximately 60 flew into redgums this morning (only one positively identified) Very vocal, and being harassed by an Australian Hobby. Normally seen here in dry or drought periods. Roger and Rohan Bilney
Sat 15 Oct	Spotted Harrier Andersons Rd.extension, St. Leonards One took off from the road verge and was followed as it headed west across the paddocks. A Swamp Harrier was also seen being attacked by a magpie, avoiding the magpie by doing a 360deg. barrel roll. Tom & Glenn Fletcher
	Arctic Jaeger Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Arctic Jaeger - a dark individual flying past offshore adjaent to end of 95E Rd. Many waders have recently arrived also and the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers especially look brilliant with some adults still in breeding plumage plus several richly colored juveniles. The 35E Conservation Ponds and 270S Borrow Pit were jumping today with well over 1500 waders including 2 Wood Sandpiper, a Pectoral Sandpiper, many Red-kneed Dotterel and (Plus a Latham's Snipe and additional Pec Sand: Maarten Hulzebosch pers comm.) Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	White-browed Woodswallow Newtown, Geelong Total of 300+ ... 4 birds @06:40 h EDST (sunrise 06:36 h) flying W, 2 male and at least 1 female prob 2nd female, heading W then drifted E for short time and then to W. At least 250 @07:00 h moving W ahead of cool WSW wind. 50 birds @14:40 h quite high moving W into strong W wind ahead of rain shower. Craig Morley
	White-browed Babbler. Dunach Reserve. North Clunes. Observed four W-B- Babblers within the Reserve at 1230 Hours today. Warren Palmer.
	Glossy Ibis 38 11S 146 07E 1' Cell Glossy Ibis (4) Flying over paddocks near Trafalgar, Gippsland Will Morris
	White-browed Woodswallow Hamlyn Heights, Geelong 6 birds flying west fairly low to ground and being bashed around quite a lot by the wind. Groups of 2, 6, and 2-300 birds (estimate) noted flying W to NW over Hamlyn Heights from period 12:20 pm-1:00pm. Grace Lewis
	Rainbow Bee-eater & Dollarbird. 5km north Axedale 2 Rainbow Bee-eaters and 1 Dollarbird along the Campaspe River 5km north of Axedale. First sighting for the season. Marlene Lyell
	Barn Owl, Spotless Crake, Baillon's Crake Mini wetland, Barnes Rd, Altona Just before sunrise, saw a Barn Owl sitting on the fence around this now very dense wetland. Spotless and Baillon's Crakes seen on the stony "ford" from the north fence, Brown Quail heard nearby. Peter shute
Fri 14 Oct	Great-crested Grebes Lake Eppalock n of Heathcote A pair of Great Crested Grebe sighted on Lake Eppalock where it flanks the Old Bendigo Road Heathcote. Also Grey Teal, Black & Wood Ducks, 2 Darters, Little Pied Cormorant and a Sacred Kingfisher. . Marlene Lyell
	Barn Owl Cherry Lane Laverton North A healthy specimen was found early am caught in fencing of an industrial site. The bird was carefully removed and sent to Werribee Zoo for care due to superficial wing damage. Micah Kawalek
	Cicadabird Fairhope (12 km N of Biarnsdale) First record in locality for spring. As usual, heard calling in ridge-top box-ironbark and stringy forest. Also 2+ Leaden Flycatchers (which have been regulars in area for more than a month), Bassian Thrush, 1 pair Scarlet Robins and Rose Robin. Felicity & Chris Healey
Thu 13 Oct	Pacific Heron, Great Egret & Eastern Whipbird Gembrook On our evening walk we observed a Pacific Heron & Great Egret fly low over town seemingly together heading south. There is also a very lonely male whipbird living in a neighbour's backyard in our street, probably ventured out from Bunyip NP. None of these birds previously observed in the township area by us. Claire, Ziggy & Eva Wolinski
	Australasian Grebe Cheltenham Park Australasian Grebe (4) 2 adults with 2 chicks no more than four days old Debbie Lustig
	Glossy Ibis First Marsh (South), Kerang Flock flying in V formation south over Lake Bael Bael - seen clearly with binoculars. Malcolm Cousland
	Long-billed Corella Portland I have Photos of what I believe to be 2 Grey Long-billed Corellas in a flock of normal white birds. They have the normal long bill and the normal pink markings but where a normal bird is white they are a similar grey to a galah. [Ed. comment: Mike Carter writes "I've seen birds (and/or pictures of) Silver Gulls in Frankston and Geelong with that grey tone. We suspected contamination of some sort from the Point Henry aluminium plant. It may be more than coincidence that there is also an aluminium plant at Portland!"] Tony Ball
	Scarlet Honeyeater, Scarlet and Rose Robin Yerrung River ( West branch Crossing ) Cape Conran Coastal Park On the Old Coast Road at this location 8 Scarlet Honeyeaters were seen/heard along with a pair of Scarlet Robins and a single Rose Robin in the state forest that borders this stream. Len and Jacquie Axen
	Painted Button-quail, Pied Cormorant, Black Kite Winton Wetlands Painted Button-quail (1), first record for the wetlands, heard "oooooming" at the northern shore woodland. Pied Cormorant (1), seen well at the boat ramp, an unusual bird for the north-east region though seen occasionally here. Black Kite (1), nice views at the boat ramp. Michael Ramsey
	Blue-winged Parrot Verge of grassland reserve adjacent to Racecorse Rd, 2.4km NNw of Sunbury Railway Station Two pair of Blue winged Parrots flushed from verge of graded track on the southern edge of the grassland reserve. Both pair viewed in good light and were observed drinking from puddles on the edge of the track. Sightings of this parrot have been infrequent in this vicinity. location was S37 33' 33.74 E144 43' 54.01 Gerard O'Neill
	Olive backed Oriole You Yangs - Great circle drive Quite surprised to hear then see an Olive backed Oriole today. I have been to the You Yangs many times over the past 2 years but have not heard such a distinctive call ringing out accross the park. Later in the day I visited Black Rock to find the usual birds on the beach such as stints, plovers, kelp and silver gulls, dotterels and ruddy turnstones. Interestingly one of the turnstones was the same bird that I photographed a year ago as it had an orange tag marked 'cpr'. Hedley Earl
	Glossy Ibis, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Western Treatment Plant, Werribee 7 Glossy Ibis seen flying over end of Beach Rd toward South Borrie, and a single late-staying Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater at 270S Borrow Pit. Also at Borrow Pit was a Marsh Sandpiper amongst 100's of the smaller waders, and singing Stubble Quail & Horsfield's Bushlark along Ryans Swamp Rd. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
Wed 12 Oct	Grey Plover, Red Knot, Glossy Ibis Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Grey Plover (3) and Red Knot (3), all in partial breeding plumage, seen on the Spit. 16 Glossy Ibis flew into T Section, the first seen here in over a year. Three Brolga seen flying away from T Section. 1 Ruddy Turnstone on rocks between Beach Road and Kirk Point. Gina Hopkins, Jenny Flood, Paddy Lightfoot
	Black Falcon, White-fronted Honeyeater, White-winged Triller(nesting) Greater Bendigo National Park (Kamarooka Section) Black Falcon (1) single bird cruising over woodland along Camp Rd. White-fronted Honeyeater (7) Cambell's Rd, including 3-4 recently fledged juveniles, still being fed by parents. White-winged Triller (2) male and female at nest, Camp Rd. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Leaden Flycatcher Heathcote-Graytown National Park (Mt Ida) Beautiful male bird along main track from entrance, nearly wasn't when a Collared Sparrowhawk took aim but missed. Also here a pair of Speckled Warbler, small flocks of White-browed Woodswallow high overhead and a friendly Yellow-footed Antechinus. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Painted Honeyeater Mt Egbert 2 or 3 heard many times, morning and afternoon in area with mistletoe flowering. Also Gilberts Whistlers and male Mistletoebird. Malcolm Cousland
Tue 11 Oct	Masked Woodswallow Edwards Point State Faunal Reserve Masked Woodswallow (1) Only one, a male Got a good view, Angus Hartshorn
	Masked Owl The Basin, Dandenong Ranges national park Have heard the call all this week just behind our house in the national park. Jess. K
	Superb Parrot Bearii 10' Cell At least 10 perched in trees Yielima North Rd near Murray Valley Hwy. Most flew off to the North. Malcolm Cousland
	Intermediate Egret "Gilbert's Gulch", Orbost-Marlo Road An Intermediate Egret was observed quietly feeding in some temporary freshwater swamps early this afternoon. The observation continues a trend of sightings in Gippsland east of Bairnsdale and may reflect an unseasonal movement of this species to the far eastern areas of Victoria in 2011. Len Axen
	Nankeen Night Heron, Hardhead Lake Joanna, Castlemaine Botanic Gardens In the willow tree on the island in Lake Joanna, there has been 1 adult and 3 juvenile Nankeen Night Herons roosting there during the day for the last week. The 4 of them were there again this afternoon, along with 2 Hardhead on the lake acting like Black Ducks looking for a hand out of bread from anyone passing by. Greg McKay
Mon 10 Oct	Chestnut Crowned Babbler Hattah - Kulkyne Park Seen about 700mts South of Gate on the Mournpal Track , just past Boolungal Track . 4 Birds were observed but due to Earthworks were not seen again , however a group of 10 to 12 birds were seen on the 12th near Lake Yelwell , along the Boolungal Track Colin Mulvogue
	Blue Winged Parrot Hattah - Kulkyne Park Single bird seen at same area as Grasswren and Mallee Emu Wren , Bird posed for a few pic's then flew to the ground and resumed feeding Colin Mulvogue
	Striated Grasswren Hattah - Kulkyne Park 1 Bird seen well , close to a group of 4 Mallee Emu Wrens, they were just off the Park entrance road on the Northern side of the road . Many Woodswallows and Trillers also in the same area. Very poor photo supplied. Colin Mulvogue
	Mallee Emu-wren Hattah 10' Cell Mallee Emu-wren (8) 2 groups , 1 , a pair with 2 Juv's and the other 1 adult male and 3 females , possibly 1 imm. male. 300mts from park entrance on North side of road Colin Mulvogue
	Gull-billed Tern. Elwood Rd Lake, south of Lismore Elwood Rd Lake, south of Lismore on the Camperdown Rd in the Western District Lakes. Bob Hughes
	Song Thrush Seddon, Inner-west Melbourne First sighting of song thrush since I moved into the area 6 months ago - 1 pair hopping around the grass in a vacant lot, and another on a road a few blocks away. Reports seem to suggest that the song thrush is making a comeback to the area after being severely depleted during the drought. Also Eurasian Tree Sparrow in the area too. Ed Williams
	Little Eagle and Scarlet Honeyeater "Fisherman's Landing", Lake Tyers At least 6 Scarlet Honeyeaters were heard/seen actively feeding in eucalypts at the Fisherman's Landing carpark this morning. A Little Eagle ( light morph ) was also observed circling high above the inlet. 13 EGBOC members per Len Axen
	Red Knot, Eastern Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Forest Raven Lake Tyers Beach During today's EGBOC outing notable sightings included a Red Knot with vestiges of breeding plumage clearly discernible on its breast and a pair of Intermediate Egrets, which continue the trend of observations of this species to a variety of locations east of Bairnsdale. Other birds of interest were a Forest Raven and 2 Eastern Great Egrets, one of which was in full breeding plumage. 13 EGBOC members per Len Axen
	Painted Button-quail Kensington Banks, Kensington VIC Thomas Nataprawira
	Dusky Woodswallow Banyule Flats Reserve, Heidelberg Single bird, near the electricity pylons upstream from Plenty River footbridge. First seen this spring. Anthea Fleming
	Whiskered Tern Sanctuary Lakes Whiskered Tern (5) About five individuals were flying around the main lake amongst many Silver Gulls, ducks and Eurasian Coots. Rohan Long
	Glossy Ibis Moolort Plains (near Campbelltown) Flock of 8 with Yellow-billed & Royal Spoonbills, Straw-necked and Australian White Ibis on lignum wetland. (Moderator's note: there seem to be a small irruption of this species into Victoria over the last week with recent reports from Yarrawonga, Tungamah, Brimin, near Hamilton, Maribyrnong and now this sighting). Geoff Park
	Blue-billed Duck Western Treatment Plant (ponds to east of borrow pit) Nice to see a pair of Blue-billed Ducks today. Good numbers of Curlew and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and a pair of Wood Sandpipers in conservation pond 35E9. Heaps of Whiskered terns with avocets and stilts at borrow pits. Plenty of crakes and rails sighted at various locations but despite careful looking I could not spot the little bittern reported last Saturday. hedley earl
	Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Murrumbeena 15 birds flew over Murrumbeena Park at about 08.00 am westwards. Frank Arnold
Sun 9 Oct	Tawny Frogmouth Gardiners creek near Winton Rd Ashburton Three birds, probably two adults and a juvenile, sitting in a tree on the east bank of the creek. Jill dumsday
	Channel-billed Cuckoo Metung A Channel-billed Cuckoo was heard calling early this morning. This observation coincides with previous EGBOC records over the past 7 years where initial reports ranged between mid September and mid October. Camilla Manvill per Len Axen
	Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Huntingdale Shopping Centre About 10:30am, one pair on power lines. Wayne Beauglehole
	Lewin's Rail (heard) Kororoit Ck, Altona Heard calling from dense reeds, downstream from Barnes Rd bridge, between the pipe bridge and the railway line. Click link for recording. Peter shute
	Hardhead Truganina Swamp, Altona At least 10 Hardheads on main pool at 6pm. This species not commonly seen at this site. Colin Clark
	Ruddy Turnstones, Banded Stilts etc Western Treatment Plant 5 Ruddy Turnstones at Beach Rd rocks, one a newly arrived juvenile; also a juvenile Ruddy Turnstone at Borrow Pits. 1 juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit at Beach Rd rocks & 1 juvenile Curlew Sandpiper at Borrow Pits. Banded Stilts multiplied at WTP with 8 at Austin Rd Lagoon, 90 at Paradise Rd & 6 at Borrow Pits. 1 dead female Stubble Quail on side of Beach Rd just east of Avalon Airfield. 5 Fairy Terns at Beach Rd rocks, immatures & adults, later 2 Little Terns seen there.1 Black-tailed Nativehen at bird hide at Little River Mouth. Also 2 dead Barn Owls on side of Geelong Freeway going to Werribee & 3 different dead owls seen on way back, total=5. Kevin Bartram
	Buff-banded Rail, Long-billed Corella Elsternwick Park, Brighton Buff-banded Rail N side of island Long-billed Corella (60) Just on nightfall, flew over park Debbie Lustig
	Australasian Grebe Cheltenham Park Australasian Grebe x2. Nest on golf course dam. Debbie Lustig
Sat 8 Oct	Brown Quail Earlston Four flushed in paddock. First record for property in 20 years of observation and only the third known record for district in that time. Doug Robinson
Fri 7 Oct	Baillon's Crake, White-backed Swallow Wetland, Great Southern Road, Rutherglen 5 White-backed Swallow flew in after I'd been there for half an hour, cruised the swamp a bit then disappeared just as quickly. Also 2 Baillon's Crake on vegetated edges of small islands on north side of wetland, heaps of Red-kneed & Black-fronted Dotterel and Nankeen Night-heron flushed from nearby trees. Steve Davidson
	Dollarbird Lake Moodemere Natural Features Reserve Single Dollarbird passing over, presumably just arrived. Steve Davidson
	Glossy Ibis, Intermediate Egret, Grey-crowned Babbler, Apostlebird Brimin Road wetlands Intermediate Egret (7) all in basic plumage Glossy Ibis (19) A flock that flew low over but kept moving Grey-crowned Babbler (2) in nearby Cypress-Buloke woodland Apostlebird 2 groups - one in in nearby Cypress-Buloke woodland, another of 9 birds a bit further down road toward old farmhouses. Steve Davidson
Thu 6 Oct	Banded Stilt Lake Reeve Estimated total of 490 birds (one flock of c. 420, 1 flock of c. 70). Approximately 40% of birds with extensive breast band, foraging near causeway to 90-mile Beach. Only the flock of 70 birds noted on 7 October 2011. Other birds present included Great Egret (c. 10). Little Egret (12), Grey and Chestut Teal (c. 2400, mainly Grey), Red Knot (c. 60), Red-necked Stint (c. 200), Red-capped Plover (c. 30) and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (c. 50). First record of Banded Stilt for observer at this site since observing there in 1999. Only other records of this species at Lake Reeve known to observer were in January 2008 (see Birding Aus archives). Jamie Matthew
Sat 1 Oct	Buff-banded Rail Esplanade back garden Williamstown An adult Buff Banded Rail has taken up residence in our back garden. Felix, Rob, Bonnie
Sat 24 Sep	White bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Red capped Robin, Hooded Robin, Speckled Warbler, Rufous songlak Wartook State Forest Great day - full list Emu, Black Swan, Wood Duck, Pacific Heron, White faced Heron, Intermeadiate Egret, Sacred Ibis, Wedge tailed Eagle, Painted Button-quail, Masked Lapwing, Crested Pigeon, Gang gang Cockatoo, Galah, Long billed Corella, Sulphur crested Cockatoo, Musk Lorikeet, Crimson Rosella, Eastern Rosella, Red rumped Parrot, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Boobook Owl, Laughing kookaburra, White throated Treecreeper, Brown Treecreeper, Superb Fairy Wren, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, White browed Scrubwren, Speckled Warbler, Brown Thornbill, Buff rumped Thornbill, Yellow rumped Thornbill, Weebill, Red Wattlebird, Spiny cheeked Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Yellow faced Honeyeater, White eared Honeyeater, Yellow tufted Honeyeater, Fuscous Honeyeater, White plumed Honeyeater, Brown headed Honeyeater, White naped Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater, Eastern Spinebill, Jacky Winter, Red capped Robin, Hooded Robin, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike- thrush, Restless Flycatcher, Willy Wagtail, Grey Fantail, Black faced Cuckoo-shrike, White bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Dusky Woodswallow, Magpie-lark, Australian Magpie, Grey Currawong, Australian Raven, White winged Chough, Red browed Finch, Mistletoebird, Welcome Swallow, Rufous Songlark. Phil Robertson

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