Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 15 Jan 2012.

Sun 15 Jan	Long-billed Corellas Lysaght Park Chiswick (Inner West of Sydney) Over the last few years only, Little Corellas have been visiting Chiswick. In taking a walk about lunch-time, I was aware of many corellas flying, perching and calling. Whilst beside Five Dock Bay, I found a group of about six not being disturbed by people walking past them . . . so prepared my camera. What a surprise to find they were Long-billed - the first I have ever seen in the Chiswick area. Also a first for me, I saw a red blush on the napes of several. Barrie Ayres
	Plumed Whistling-Duck Nowranie Creek (between Urana and Oaklands) Stopped by the creek to look at a good sized flock of 46 Plumed Whistling-Ducks. Michael Ramsey
	White-winged Fairy-wren Back Berrigan Road, Urana Habitat here of mixed lingum, cane grass and lingum looked right for this species and I was quickly rewarded with views of a bright blue male and three females. On the very edge of their range here towards the south-east. I can't think of any records further south or east. Michael Ramsey
	Banded Lapwing plains south of Urana A flock of 16 beautiful lapwings flew over the road before landing in a ploughed paddock nearby. Also two Black Falcons circling overhead. Michael Ramsey
	Budgerigar Billabong Creek (south of Urana) Thrilled to find a small flock of Budgies breeding in red gums by the creek. Juveniles evident by short tails and one adult could be clearly observed feeding one. Michael Ramsey
	Freckled Duck Corowa Sewage Ponds Still a number of birds here at the ponds. Only 4 counted today but no doubt there is more. Michael Ramsey
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Bellawongarah/Bundewallah escarpment Heard two birds calling from trees in house yard (forest) at 12:40pm today. This is above Bundewallah creek and not far from the escarpment. They called for about 90 seconds but were unable to be sighted. First record for the property since moving here in October 2009. Carla Jackett Nigel and Carla Jackett
Sat 14 Jan	Yellow Wagtail Ash Island Newcastle Yellow Wagtail very flighty hard to photograph with out any cover.A bird hide would go well for this bird Tony & Stephanie Dawe & Edwin Vella
	White-winged Black tern Ash Island Newcastle Went to Ash Island today for better pics of yellow wagtail. Whilst there saw three white-winged black terns feeding upon green weed. Until scared off by peregrine falcon. Tony & Stephanie Dawe & Edwin Vella
	Eastern Ground Parrot, Eastern Bristlebird, Beautiful Firetail, Southern Emu-wren Barren Grounds Nature Reserve This afternoon on the trail to Cook's Nose, we saw a juvenile Beautiful Firetail about 400m from the carpark, Eastern Bristlebirds hopping on the track and calling all along, Southern Emu-wrens close to the track in several places, and an Eastern Ground Parrot flew across the track about 200m from the carpark (where the low open heath starts on your right). Also heard were Pilotbird, Gang-gang Cockatoo and Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo. Nigel Jackett, David Marshall, Jaime Hall & Hanna Allen
	Gang Gang Cockatoos South Turramurra (Southern end of Kissing Point Rd.) Two Gang Gang Cockatoos sited in gums at entrance to Lane Cove National Park. Exact same trees at similar time to last year. Michael Cheers
	Little Eagle Marulan A pair of birds seen where Highland Way meets the Hume Highway. That's four Little Eagles in four days! Lorne Johnson
	Little Eagle Pejar Dam (between Crookwell and Goulburn) One bird seen over Crookwell Rd, by Pejar Dam, mid-afternoon. Lorne Johnson
	Red Necked Avocet Manning River mouth, Harrington Approx 30 (hard to count due to distance and wind) Avocets on sand bar at river mouth at high tide (approx 1:30 pm). Also plenty of Golden Plover, Bar Tailed Godwit and E Curlew, & 6 Red Capped Plover. There were some smaller waders hunkered down on the sandbar amongst the sticks/vegetation to keep out of the wind - quite small and very pale looking - may have been Sanderling? Plenty of terns on the bar - Crested, Common and Littles. An Osprey seen offshore Tom Wilson
	Australian Logrunner, Noisy Pitta (heard) Mount Kembla, Wollongong Great birding on the Illawarra Birders club walk at Mount Kembla today, the highlight being excellent views of a pair of Australian Logrunners (spotted by Bill Zealey). Also noteworthy was the call of a Noisy Pitta, along with sightings of Crested Shrike-tit, Topknot and White-headed Pigeon, Black-faced Monarch, Bassian Thrush and more. On a recce for the walk on 12/1/2012 4 Pilotbirds were sighted. Martin Potter Illawarra Birders
	Gang Gang Cockatoo Ruse (nr Campbelltown) A flock of 10-15 Gang Gangs in my dads backyard Richard Lonza
Fri 13 Jan	Comb-crested Jacana, Wandering Whistle-Duck Tarro Recreation Area 1 Comb-crested Jacana, 20 Wandering Whistle-Ducks Stephen Wallace
	Yellow Wagtail Ash Island, Newcastle Yellow Wagtails still here - 2 birds sighted between poles 1 & 3 on Wagtail Way between 6.30 and 7pm. Nick Livanos
	Red-browed Treecreeper, Rockwarbler Woodford Dam Good views of several Red-browed Treecreepers at various locations. A Rockwarbler was spotted on low rocks,ground and shrubs on eastern side of gorge near dam wall....unusually sallied for insect over water. Mark Ley, Daz Smith, Fiona Lumsden & John French
	Comb Crested Jacana, Wandering Whistling Duck Kings creek Swamp, Wauchope 2 adult Jacanas seen and 3 chicks too. 8 Whistling Ducks present. Several Hardhead and plenty of Swamphen, Moorhen and Coot. 4 White Necked Heron in adjacent farm dams Tom Wilson
	Latham's Snipe & Red Kneed Dotterel Tuggerah Waste Water plant First time I have seen these species at this site Mike Kuhl
	Little Eagle Great Western Highway, Vittoria (between Bathurst & Orange) One Little Eagle flying low over the treetops and across the highway, eyeing off some roadkill...I've seen the species on several occasions over the past 8 months in this vicinity, but no view has been as good as today's! lat/long: -33.4350, 149.3619. Tiffany Mason
Thu 12 Jan	Grey Currawong Orange 3 birds were on the summit of Mt Canobolas (between car park and towers) mid-morning. Lorne Johnson
	Square Tailed Kite, Grey Goshawk Just south of Bonny Hills, Port Macquarie area Singles of both seen over wooded area on the Port Macquarie to Laurieton road. Goshawk was a white phase bird. Tom Wilson
	Rose Crowned Fruit Dove, Spectacled Monarch Sea Acres NR Port Macquarie 2 fruit doves seen high in trees close to post 151 on boardwalk. 4 Spectacled Monarchs seen around reserve. Also family of 4 Crested Shrike-tits, several GreenCatbirds, and NO Brush Turkeys (?) Tom Wilson
	Common Greenfinch Backyard , ORANGE Pair drinking at bird bath, in backyard. Neville Schrader
	Australian Painted Snipe West Byron Sewage Treatment Plant, Byron Bay Single Australian Painted Snipe seen in the 2nd pond just inside the main gate. I think female. Also at least 6 Latham's Snipe seen around various ponds & a Pale-vented Bush-hen heard calling from the scrub behind the car park. Note, electronic access gate was faulty today, so I'm not sure of access arrangements. Steve McBride
	Pacific Baza and Square-tailed Kite Between Stokes and Baldwin Avenues, Asquith, NSW Pacific Bazas have been sighted in this area for the past three or four summers, but this year is the first that we have been aware of their nesting on the site. They appear to have raised possibly two young, which have now fledged and are being fed away from the nest which was in a Turpentine tree along a creek line. The Square-tailed Kites have turned up for the first time here this summer and have raised one young in a nest around thirty metres from the Bazas. There has been some disturbance between the two raptor species from time to time with such close proximity of their nests. The young Kite has fledged and is doing exploratory flights. An Eastern Rosella has had a nest in a hollow dead tree about midway between the two raptors, and the young Rosella is to be seen patiently waiting to be fed on a limb by its nest. Other species, such as Willy Wagtails and Magpie Larks are not ignoring the raptors' presence quite so calmly. Lyn Eggins
	Spotted Harrier (juvenile) Penrith Lakes Just after 20:00 I observed this bird coming in low, over a small lake, about 1 km NW of the T-junction of Cranebrook and Castlereagh Roads where I saw the large numbers of White-throated Needletails last night. The harrier flew into a tree and settled for the night. It is unreal how in six years of serious birding/bird photography I've never seen a Spotted Harrier then I see two in five days in the same area (could be same bird). My mate also photographed a juvenile Spotted Harrier at Richmond turf farms on the 10th of January! Ákos Lumnitzer
	Gang Gang Campbelltown A flock of 30 to 40 Gang Gangs have been hanging around Campbelltown for the last month . It's good to see so many. Richard Carlolonza
	Little Terns Burrill Lake Entrance The pair of Little Terns are still nesting on the Nth side of the entrance. This is remarkable as there has been hundreds of holiday makers passing bye on the beach over xmas. The public have been wonderful as very few have gone inside the markers so the 2 eggs should hatch any minute now as they were laid on the 26th Dec bob rusk
	Nankeen Night-Heron Panboola Wetlands and Heritage Project Nankeen Night-Heron (7) Three adults, four juvenile. Mostly roosting, sometimes disturbed by landing cormorants. Jono Henshaw
	Satin Flycatcher Ingleburn Reserve Satin Flycatcher (1) close views apx. 1.5 metres away of 1 male. Anthony & Vicki Katon
Wed 11 Jan	Plumed & Wandering Whistling-Ducks, Black Bittern Wetland behind Bunnings, South Coffs Harbour Following sighting of a single Wandering Whistling-Duck here on 1 Jan, a check on the 11th found 9 Plumed Whistling-Ducks and 3 Wandering Whistling-Ducks, along with 7 Hardhead, none of which had been seen here previously. A Black Bittern was seen to fly out from the vegetation at the eastern end of the wetland and settle in some trees, and then a little later flew further around to the north. Australian Reed-Warbler also present (not detected here before this year) as were the normal Golden-headed Cisticolas and a few common waterbirds. (The wetland can be viewed from the far [eastern] end of the carpark at Bunnings, around behind the plants section.) Michael Cheers & Peter Higgins
	White-throated Needletails Wilberforce approx 50 WTNT flying in front of the cool Southerly change. keith brandwood
	White-throated Needletail Penrith Lakes At the intersection of Cranebrook and Castlereagh Roads. Sighted over 100 birds at 19:50 tonight. They were heading west, but ahead of the southerly front. In small flocks of 10-15 at varying altitudes. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Wedge-tailed Eagle Richmond turf farms Sighted along Cornwells Lane at 19:04 this evening. Slowly rising higher with an Australian Raven in tow. Then it gained more altitude and used the gale force SW wind to fly over and past Freemans Reach near the lookout. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Australian Painted Snipe Pioneer Dairy Swamp, Tuggerah (private land) 2 male Painted Snipe sitting dry lawn clippings on a concrete slab! Swamp is clise by. Seemed rather unusual! Possibly displaced by recently mowed lawn. Tim Faulkner
	Swamp Harrier Oxford Road, Ingleburn 1' Cell Swamp Harrier (1) Overhead being harassed by Ravens. First time I have seen a harrier in the Ingleburn area in the past 30 years. Anthony & Vicki Katon
Tue 10 Jan	Little Eagle Cowra One adult male performing spectacular undulating ('fishhook') display high above old POW camp grounds site not far from the Japanese gardens. The bird called now and again (offering a single note) during its display. I've never seen this before. Lorne Johnson
	Eastern Whipbird Tudar Rd Duck Pond, Bonnet Bay Saw & heard pair of Eastern Whipbirds beside the duck pond on Tudar Road. I heard them calling in the days before & since in the Jannali Reserve located between Tudar Rd & Washington Dr. I have not heard nor seen Whipbirds in Bonnet Bay in decades, if ever before. Deanne Ridley
	Grey Goshawk Deep Creek, Narrabeen A single bird seen moving between the trees. Mark Young
	Noisy Pitta, Logrunner, Wompoo Fruit-Dove Boorganna NR, Comboyne Pitta flushed from base of tree just before track gets steep. Logrunners seen in same area. At least 4 Wompoo feeding quietly in trees-not calling. Also lots of White-headed and Brown Cuckoo-doves; several Bassian Thrush; a Pale Yellow Robin; heaps of both fantails and three scrubwrens and Eastern Whipbirds with begging young. Tom Wilson
	Square-tailed Kite Asquith A Square-tailed Kite seen from the train just north of Asquith Station Carl Corden
	Plumed Whistling Duck Tuggerah Dairy Wetlands, Cental Coast This is a private property but the birds can be seen from the gate with a telescope. Many birds present. Mike Kuhl
	Spotted Harrier West Bathurst Driving to work this morning (on the Great Western Highway), I observed a flock of starlings spooked from a Yellow Box and then saw the reason: a Spotted Harrier cruised past and flapped on up the hill past Cardinia Avenue. Google maps gave the lat/long as: -33.4125, 149.5304. This is the first time I have seen a Spotted Harrier in the Bathurst region. Tiffany Mason
Mon 9 Jan	Lesser Frigatebird Pelican Island, Port Macquarie While wader-watching on Pelican Island in the Hastings River estuary, Port Macquarie, we were surprised to see a Frigatebird fly overhead. Along with the distinctive wing and tail shape, we noted white breast and armpits, so we believe it to be a female Lesser Frigatebird. It flew over the island and turned north along the river before veering east towards the coast. Ben and Kevin Barker
	Plumed Whistling Duck McMahons Lagoon, Tomki (west of Lismore) Estimate 200 birds around the lagoon, mingled with a few other species in small numbers: Pacific Black Duck, Masked Lapwing, Australian Wood Duck, Black Winged Stilt. Jeff Melvaine
	Black-necked Stork Ash Island At 1500 A pair of Black-necked Storks,west of Wagtail Way and north of railway Tony Dawe
	Eastern Yellow Wagtail Wagtail Way, Ash sland Saw one bird only around 6.pm Tony Dawe
	Golden Plover, Ruddy Turnstone Soldiers Beach, Pelican point A single Golden Plover and a lone Ruddy Turnstone were on the rock platform this afternoon. 3 Red-necked Stints, 12 Crested Terns and 5 Great Cormorants also were sighted. No Little Terns or Red-Capped Plovers were sighted. Steve Honeywood
	Little Terns Karagi Point The Entrance A quick visit to the Little Tern site showed 17 Little Terns (11 non-breeding plumage and six breeding plumage) roosting on the beach (East) of the nesting enclosure. Another 4 were sighted flying over the enclosure and one roosting in the enclosure. It would appear the nesting season is over as no chicks or juveniles were sighted. Three birds were banded: (see attached image) bird 1) right leg flagged white lower, sandy beige upper. Left leg single light aqua blue flag. bird 2) right leg lower and upper flag black, left leg sandy beige lower and white flag upper. bird 3) single silver metal tag on right leg. (I know Alan is interested in reporting any identifiable flagged birds) Also sighted a pair of red capped plovers between beach and enclosure. Steve Honeywood
	Black-fronted Dotterel, Latham's Snipe Spring Creek Reserve, S E Orange Black-fronted Dotterel 2 birds. Latham's Snipe - 3 birds sheltering from wind on emerging mudflat. Neville Schrader
	Little Egret (x2), Intermediate Egret (x1), Wedge-tailed Eagle (x1) Penrith Lakes Observed one of the resident adult breeding pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles at 06:45 in one of their regular roosts, most likely the female as the bird was very large. Also saw two Little Egrets (second sighting in a week) flying between two lakes, followed by an Intermediate Egret. While Little Egrets have been seen to my knowledge, I have not personally observed one near Penrith in over four years (same with Intermediate). Ákos Lumnitzer
Sun 8 Jan	Plumed [?] Whistling Ducks Eastlake Golf Course Yesterday at about 10 a.m.I saw a flock of about 15 ducks flying high over Eastlake Golf Course in V formation. They wheeled around and around but would not come down. Then I heard them whistling. Coincidentally John Martin from the Botanic Gardens just emailed the following to me: "one of our Rangers photographed ~15 Plumed Whistling-duck’s (PWD) yesterday within the Garden. At the moment I have only seen the picture on his phone but I am confident about the id." Neither of us has seen PWDs in the RBG, Centennial Park or Botany Wetlands before. Ted Nixon
	Blue-billed Duck, Buff-banded Rail Long Reef Golf Course A couple of Blue-billed Ducks and a pair of Buff-banded Rails seen. Strangest observation was a Pied Cormorant that I saw catch a small Red-bellied Black Snake on the side of a pond and was swallowing it. It would not let it go. I was following it around the pond (to confirm what it was eating) and it was behaving like a Silver Gull with a hot chip. (Moderator: bet you wish you carried a camera Charles.) Charles Hunter
Thu 5 Jan	Pale-vented bush hen West tweed sewer work Late afternoon two birds calling across a small channel. One bird observed well for 2-3 minutes. Both birds continued to call past last light. Brendan Cook
Sun 1 Jan	Wandering Whistling-Duck, Australian Reed-Warbler Wetland behind Bunnings, South Coffs Harbour Single Whistling-Duck and single Reed-Warbler seen. Neither recorded here previously; usually only common waterbirds here, including Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Masked Lapwing, cormorants and darter, Golden-headed Cisticola. Peter Higgins
	Glossy Black Cockatoo Kings Point Reserve A family of GBCs feeding in the She Oaks at Kings Point Reserve. First seen for a few weeks although often heard in the area. bob rusk
Wed 28 Dec	Red-winged Parrot Krambach NSW A lone red-winged parrot visited my garden with a group of King Parrots for about 3 days. I have since kept a lookout for it but have not seen it since. Kim Gillen

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