Birdline Victoria Weekly Update

Birdline Victoria

Published sightings for the week ending 23 Oct 2011.

Sun 23 Oct	White-browed Woodswallow Viewbank Noisy flock circling very high overhead and drifting south midday, ~10 birds seen Richard Loyn
	Dollarbird Fairhope (12 km N of Bairnsdale) 1 pair perched in tall dead tree, and hawking over Nicholson River at Bullock Hill Track. First record this season for locality. Cicadabird and Sacred Kingfisher also heard. Felicity & Chris Healey
Sat 22 Oct	Brush Cuckoo, Rufous Fantail Bunyip State Park First spring arrivals here this morning of Brush Cuckoo (Camp Rd) and Rufous Fantail (end of Weatherhead Rd). Also great scope views of a gang of 14-15 Gang-gang Cockatoo, a party of 5 or more Southern Emu-wren including two males perched together in the open, as well as 3 Red-browed Treecreeper, and a very obliging pair of Eastern Whipbird. The Brush Cuckoo made it a five cuckoo morning, great to hear its manic peals ringing through the bush again. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
	Sacred Kingfisher Swipers Gully Creek, Research In the section of creek between Ingrams Rd and Eltham Little Theatre. First sighting here for over 30 years. Marian Weaving and Joy Pagon
	Powerful Owl Wilsons Reserve, Ivanhoe Two Powerful Owls roosting together in tree by the river, just off the main path east of the car park. Also sighted Olive-backed Oriole and Fantailed Cuckoo. Martin Dwelly
	Painted Button-quail, Sacred Kingfisher, Masked Woodswallow, Diamond Firetail You Yangs Regional Park At least 10 Masked Woodswallows, part of a flock of about 300 mixed Woodswallows, mostly White-browed but including about 50 Dusky, feeding and sitting in tall gum trees, South East corner of park. Also 3 Painted Button-quail, 2 Sacred Kingfishers and about 6 Diamond Firetails in the same area. Angus Hartshorn
	Marsh Sandpiper, Spotless Crake T-Section Lagoon Pond 4, Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Excellent array of birds at the T-Section Lagoon pond 4. Highlights were a Marsh Sandpiper and Spotless Crake. Other good birds included 10+ Spotted Crake, 5+ Baillons Crake, Greenshank, Buff-banded-Rail and 3 Black-tailed Native Hens. Ed Williams and Mike Honeyman
Fri 21 Oct	Rainbow Bee-eater Cemetery Road Newstead At least two pairs have returned to their regular breeding site - my first local observation this Spring. Geoff Park
	Glossy Ibis Western Treatment Plant,Werribee, t section lagoon pond4 This afternoon 15 Glossy Ibis were sighted feeding with both species of Spoonbills and White Ibis. Hedley Earl
	Black-shouldered Kite, Barn Owl, Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous Songlark Royal Park, Parkville Amazing birding in the Park this afternoon. Started with 4 Black-shouldered Kite hovering over the circle all at once. But the birds over in the White's skink habitat were even better. A Sacred Kingfisher was the first bird seen walking uphill from the wetlands (my first this season). Then heard a Rufous Songlark and while trying to get a better view flushed a Barn Owl. Had great views of both owl, and songlark singing vociferously, for the next 20 mins. Will Morris
	Rufous Songlark Galvin St, Altona About 5pm, a Rufous Songlark heard calling from the north end of the vacant land in Galvin St. Peter Shute
	White-necked Heron, Buff-banded Rail Westgate Park After receiving regular reports by members of the friends group of a White-necked Heron in the park commencing with a sighting of two birds on 5 September, I finally got to see and photograph one today. Also got to see the Buff-banded Rail that’s been regularly seen by others over the last three weeks. Andrew McCutcheon
	Freckled Duck Lake Lorne, Drysdale Seven Freckled Duck seen roosting on island and near the southern shore. Also Blue-billed Duck, Black Swans with 4 cygnets and a Sacred Kingfisher. Barry Lingham, Gordon McCarthy, Graeme Tribe
Thu 20 Oct	Horsfield's Bushlark, Pectoral Sandpiper, Banded Stilt, White-necked Heron, etc. Western Treatment Plant, Werribee. Single Horsfield's Bushlark in Beach Road, west of Point Wilson Road, Pectoral Sandpipers (one each) in 'T' Section and Conservation Pond 35 E 9, numerous Banded Stilts including juveniles at Conservation Pond 85 WC 9 and Paradise Road Lagoon. Twenty plus White-necked Herons and numerous Royal and Yellow-billed Spoonbills throughout the Plant, numerous other species. A good days birding, despite the hot and windy conditions. Peter Gibbons together with Ranjit Gill and Peter Vanstone from the U.K.
	Freckled Duck, Australian Spotted Crake Mill Park Lakes The Freckled Duck is still at the Mill Park Lakes as are the Australian Spotted Crakes (2) maybe more - also other crakes flying into reeds looked smaller possibly Baillon's but no clear views Matthew Vinicombe
	Spotted Harrier, White-necked Heron Ross Street, Newport The tedium and back-breaking nature of loading a 6 cubic metre skip with renovation rubble this arvo was punctuated by the most excellent sightings of first a White-necked Heron flying over, then half an hour later a juvenile Spotted Harrier flying over from the north. Not one's average backyard birds.. Steve Davidson
	Baillon's Crake Fairhope, East Gippsland Further to report of this species of yesterday, today we observed two Baillon's Crakes on the same small farm dam on our property. Felicity & Chris Healey
	Powerful Owl Eltham Powerful Owl (2) Beside bike path near railway bridge, 2 birds this afternoon discovered by Rod Waterman - in same spot as last Friday. Unperturbed by passing dogs and bikes. Peter Bennet
	White-browed Woodswallow Newtown, Geelong. Truly extraordinary - at least 11,000 woodswallows passed over in just over one hr (a conservative estimate). From 14:30 to 14:50 h (~6,000 birds) clouds of birds in flocks of 50 to 1,000+ flying to N and NW, many very high, coming from SE. Stream ended at 14:50 h. Did not see start of stream so more birds may have passed before observation commenced. At 15:10 attention of observer once more attracted by calls. From 15:10 to 15:35 h (~5,000 birds) clouds of birds in steady stream from SE flying to NW and W. Very heavy dark clouds growing in S and SE and wind becoming cooler and strengthening from W. Earlier in day two flocks each of 500 birds went over. Also odd Masked Woodswallows positively identified amongst White-brows. Also 350 White-brows, with 2 Masked on previous afternoon 19/10. Craig Morley
	Nankeen Night-Heron, Long-billed Corella Cherry Lake (Altona) 1 Nankeen Night-Heron Long-billed Corella Peter Booth
	White-headed Pigeon Bairnsdale A single White-headed Pigeon seen flying over the Bengworden Road between the Bairnsdale Airport and the Princes Highway. Rohan Bilney
	Glossy Ibis(15+) White-necked Heron(9) Williams Landing Wetland, Hoppers Crossing The swamp looking a treat and possibly the best ever. A nice surprise to see at least 15 Glossy Ibis here, with probably more hidden amongst the inundated grassy margins. Also 9 or more White-necked Heron, 3 Great & 2 Little Egret, a Yellow-billed Spoonbill(rare in these parts), several pairs of Black-winged Stilt and several Whiskered Tern quartering back and forth. Habitat looks great for Aus. Bittern too. Steve & Wren Davidson
	White-breasted Sea-Eagle Ringwood North A pair drifting over my home in Ringwood North was an unexpected sight this morning. Seen occasionally along the Mullum Mullum Valley which is not far away. Steven Creber
Wed 19 Oct	Masked Owl Gum Scrub Creek, Officer, Victoria Large, dark "Tasmanian" morph (probable female) Masked Owl observed at 11:50 pm during frog survey. Bird viewed at close range while sitting on a fence post within paddock. Dark coloration, large size, barred upper parts, fully feathered legs and massive talons made misidentification impossible. Daniel Gilmore and Felicity Humann
	Baillon's Crake Fairhope (12 km N of Bairnsdale) A mystery small crake has been observed several times since 11 Oct flying low across farm dam from one patch of reeds to another. We finally got a good look at it this morning as it paused in the open before scuttling into the reeds to identify a Baillon's Crake. Also present, a nesting pair of Aussie Grebes. Felicity & Chris Healey
	Tawny Frogmouth Dalny Rd Murrumbeena Vic Have over last few years had a pair of frogmouth owls in large mahogany gum in our suburban garden. This year there are two pairs, the latest pair are smaller. Dave Thompson
	Common Tern, White-browed Woodswallow, Spotted Harrier, Black Falcon Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Single Common Tern at Little River mouth, and several on rocks along coast adjacent to Pond 24. First spring arrivals here. A few White-browed Woodswallow were heard then seen as faint specks high in the sky as they were spirited away by the wind, along Beach Rd near 29 Mile Rd. Spotted Harrier (2) a very pale (almost white underneath) juvenile bird along coast road opposite 85WB Lagoons, and a sub-adult along 29 Mile Rd opposite gate to T-section. A Black Falcon was seen in flight near Spotted Harrier along coast road opposite 85WB Lagoons, possibly waiting to pounce on any stray sparrow that the harrier put up... Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
Tue 18 Oct	Tawny Frogmouth Harleston Park, Elsternwick Tawny Frogmouth Two tawny chicks in Harleston Park Debbie Lustig
	Brush Cuckoo Fairhope (12 km N of Bairnsdale) Cuckoos aplenty calling on our regular morning walk in box-ironbark forest here at Fairhope, including at least 3 Brush Cuckoos, first record for the season at this locality, and an uncommon summer visitor. Also our first Sacred Kingfisher for the property. Felicity & Chris Healey
	Freckled Duck Mill Park Lakes Freckled Duck (1) First seen swimming past, then stood up on the rocks in the middle lake. Very active, feeding and preening. Fran Murphy and Ann Murphy
	Cicadabird, Little Lorikeet, Scarlet Honeyeater "Fairy Dell" via Wiseleigh Interesting sightings from today's outing at Fairy Dell included 5 Scarlet Honeyeaters, 5 Little Lorikeets, and single observations of a Whtie-bellied Cuckoo-shrike ( our first record for this site ), Cicadabird and Black-faced Monarch. 11 EGBOC members per Len Axen
	Latham's Snipe Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Following Jennifer Spry's report I visited the WTP this afternoon to look for the snipes. They took quite a while to venture out but there are indeed 4 of them and they are in the exact spot previously reported. Both Wood sandpipers were on view also. hedley and Irena Earl
Mon 17 Oct	Latham's Snipe, Pectoral Sandpiper Western Treatment Plant, Werribee There were four Latham's Snipe in the dead grass and mud at the south east corner of the Conservation Pond 35 E 9. The birds were seen at about 1530 along with one Pectoral Sandpiper at the same place. The resident Wood Sandpiper was seen beside a grass surrounded inlet close to the north bank of the same pond. Jennifer Spry
	Common Sandpiper Mouth of Kororoit Creek, Williamstown North. At 1450 hours, a single Common Sandpiper observed on the southern bank of the creek mouth. The bird was feeding and bathing at the waters edge adjacent to the mangroves on the falling tide. Excellent views from a small jetty in front of the fishing shacks on the north side of the creek. Peter Gibbons
	Grey Plover and Wood Sandpiper Western Treatment Plant, Werribee The Wood Sandpiper is still present on the northern side of conservation pond SE35-8 providing excellent photographing opportunities as it feeds very close to the track. The 3 grey plovers reported by Gina Hopkins last week are still visible from the track that leads down to the Murtcairn drain at western lagoons. Today they were 600 metres down the track and about 100 metres off shore standing in the shallows of the spit lagoon. two of the birds have orange bands and 2 are in breeding plumage. They are a bit difficult to photograph but easily identified with a scope. Hedley Earl
	White-browed Woodswallow, White-winged Triller, Olive-backed Orioles You Yangs Regional Park White-browed Woodswallow (10) 'interacting' with Duskies White-winged Triller (3) 1 male 2 female Olive-backed Oriole (2) One sitting 'in' nest Angus Hartshorn
Sun 16 Oct	Australian Little Bittern, Baillons Crake Winter Swamp, Cardigan A dead Little Bittern was found near the viewing platforms at the end of the walking track out into the wetland. It looked to be a female, and was possibly the victim of a bird of prey. Also at this wetland a Baillons Crake, seen feeding. Other birds about included a Black-tailed Native Hen, a Buff-banded Rail, 4 Nankeen Night-Heron, a female Blue-Billed Duck, 2 Australasian Shoveller and 6 Musk Duck, a Great Egret and 2 White-necked Herons. Fran Murphy
	Red-Browed Finches Overnewton Castle, Keilor Whilst photographing a wedding at Overnewton Castle in Keilor, at least 10 Red-Browed Finches active in the beautifully manicured gardens. David Whelan
	Pied Butcherbird Elmore Sitting on the wires just as you pass the 100kmh sign heading towards Rochester Greg McKay
	Latham's Snipe Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Single snipe amongst the Sharpies, Curlew Sandpipers, Red-necked Stints, Red-kneed Dotterels and Greenshank in the lagoon by the Beach Road entrance. No sign of the Intermediate Egret seen here previously. Mark Stanley, Annette Hatten
	White winged Triller Western hospital, Footscray staff carpark While I was coming back to the car park, around 3.00 pm, I saw this bird in a tree . It was a male white winged Triller. It was perched in a tree and singing. Tissa Wijeratne & Chanith Wijeratne
Sat 15 Oct	Sacred Kingfisher Elsternwick, Victoria I found a Sacred Kingfisher (unfortunately dead) in my driveway on Sunday. It looked as if it had simply fallen out of the sky and hit the ground. It saddened me because it was such a beautiful little bird. Very special. After consulting my bird book - A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia (Pizzey) - I read the Sacred Kingfisher can be found throughout most of Australia but I was surprised to find one in Elsternwick! Sarina Delanis
Thu 13 Oct	Pink-eared Duck Lillydale Lake A pair seen on Lillydale Lake wetlands around 5pm. Ann Williamson
Sun 2 Oct	Baillon's Crake Mont Albert North One seen on the wetlands near Koonung Creek on 2 Oct and 3 Oct; not seen since. Knud Hansen
Sat 1 Oct	Nankeen Night Heron Polly Woodside, Melbourne Juvenile Nankeen Night Heron being harassed by Magpie Larks and Silver Gulls on the raft in the dry dock at Polly Woodside, Melbourne. Shara Canzano and Justin Johnstone
	Black Swans 10 minutes south of Foxhow on the Foxhow/Camperdown road A small lake has re appeared after 10 years of drought on the left of the Foxhow road on the way from Melbourne to Camperdown. There is an amazing number of swans and cygnets...thousands. No other lake nearby has even one swan.This small lake would have to be quite shallow. We were wondering what would attract them to this one spot. It's quite a sight! Jill McKenzie
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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