Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 10 Jun 2012.

Sun 10 Jun	Kelp Gull Maroubra Adult and juv, being harassed by Silvers,also distant Yellow-nosed and lots of Black-browed Albatross, see photo of immature Kelp Gull. chris pollard
Sat 9 Jun	Eastern Osprey, Australian Pelican, Whistling Kite Ramsay Island, Blackalls Bay, Woy Woy A pair of Eastern Ospreys were seen in some courship flights over Ramsay Island, St Huberts and Rileys islands in Brisbane Water, hopefully they might nest. The last time nesting was attempted was in the 1990's. On Ramsay Island about 60+ pairs of Pelicans were either on eggs or tending young, there were about 40 non-flying large young and about 50+ courting birds, disturbing everyone esle! In the vicinity were 3 pairs of Pied Oystercatchers, 11 Caspian Terns were roosting on the Island and there were about 12 nests of White Ibis as well. 76 Northern Mallards were seen along the foreshore near Ramsay Is, while another 60+ Mallards were between Woy Woy Railway Station and the Boat Launching Ramp - about 130 Mallards in about 1.5 km of foreshore. Alan Morris & 15 members of a Follow That Bird Day trip
	Sooty Owl (1), Southern Boobook (2) Maroota (private property) At 17:51 a Sooty Owl responded to the call playback of a Masked Owl (hiss). The trilling lasted several minutes and while the owl was close (around 30-40m) we were unable to visually locate it. I managed to record some trilling with my not so smart, smart phone. Copy below link into your browser. http://amatteroflight.com/gallery2/v/sounds/VID_20120609_175130.mp3.html Other life recorded were two Southern Boobooks and many Yellow-bellied as well as Sugar Gliders. All identified by their calls. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Grey Goshawk (white form) F6 Freeway, Yallah, near Albion Park Rail One perched near Freeway michael crosland
	White-winged Chough Springwood Golf course Nine Choughs on the golf course today much to the chagrin of the Noisy Miners. Have been playing golf here for many years and this is the first sighting. Mark Ley
	White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Fuscous Honeyeater Kyffins Reserve, Mulwala Two light morph White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes seen well, first record here. Also up to 8 Fuscous Honeyeaters in a very atypical habitat and location, in reeds by Lake Mulwala! Michael Ramsey
	White-winged Fairy-wren, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret, Spotless Crake Wangamong Creek Floodplain, near Oaklands A small group of 3 White-winged Fairy-wren were observed in some lignum. This is an expectional record south and east of its usual range. With recent good conditions perhaps this species is undergoing a small range expansion. Other interesting birds here of note were two Intermediate Egret, a Little Egret which are rarely recorded in these parts and a calling Spotless Crake. Michael Ramsey
	Red-necked Avocet, Red-kneed Dotterel Narrow Plains Road Wetland, Oaklands Nearly 50 Red-necked Avocets were found here with Black-winged Stilts feeding all over the wetland, a great find. Also a good number of just over 20 Red-kneed Dotterel that were observed in a grassy corner of the swamp. Michael Ramsey
	Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Little Lorikeet, Musk Lorikeet Oaklands 1' Cell At least one Purple-crowned Lorikeet was found in a mixed lorikeet flock foraging in flowering gums near the school. Possibly one or two more. A very rare bird in NSW with no known records in this area I know of. A small number of Musk and Little Lorikeets also at this site. (Moderator's Note: This is a very good record, note that Purple-crowned Lorikeets are on the NSWORAC Review List. AKM) Michael Ramsey
	Plumed Whistling-Duck Oaklands West 1' Cell A huge flock of approximately 600 Plumed Whistling Ducks seen on a large dam by the grain handling facility. An amazing number, I have never seen a group this large in NSW before. The good rains and conditions over recent years have probably helped to build up numbers. Michael Ramsey
	Mallee Ringneck, Diamond Firetail Palmer State Forest (East) One Mallee Ringneck observed in flight over paddocks on the eastern edge of the forest, this would be on the south-western edge of its range here in NSW. Also a good number of Diamond Foretail seen which seem to have bounced back in numbers after the good rains of recent years. Michael Ramsey
	Buff-banded Rail, Australian Spotted Crake Nyora 10' Cell, 17 km west of Oatlands Both species seen well in a small wetland at the corner of the Narrow Plains and Berrigan-Oaklands Roads. Michael Ramsey
	Superb Parrot, Fuscous Honeyeater, Rufous Songlark, Common Myna Savernake A young female Suprb Parrot heard then seen perched in Yellow Box by the school, a rare winter visitor to this area. Also four Fuscous Honeyeaters seen in some very open Grey Box woodland, an odd location and habitat for this species. This species is very widely dispersed this winter. An overwintering Rufous Songlark and 12 Common Mynas were also seen. This is unfortunately a new location for the latter species. Michael Ramsey
	Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Fuscous Honeyeater Warmatta Road, Savernake A Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater was found in cypress-pine woodland at the northern edge of the road. A very southerly record with most records coming from further north around Griffith and beyond, perhaps it is wandering in the winter months. Also a small group of 4 Fuscous Honeyeaters were seen in cypress-pine woodland by the roadside. This species is dispersing very widely this winter, not the usual habitat or location here. Michael Ramsey
Fri 8 Jun	Spotted Harrier Onus Lane Richmond About 9.30am on 8.6.12 a sub adult Spotted Harrier was seen hunting over long grass on the left side of the road before crossing to the football ground side. It landed on a railed fence where it ate a mouse before flying further towards the football fields. Adrian Dick and Peter Kelly
	Ground Cuckoo-shrike E of Cudal NSW - 5km on private property 1 bird seen flying W. Therefore think 5 birds seen in the distance flying over farm last weekend were probably also Ground Cuckoo-shrikes. Rosemary Stapleton
Thu 7 Jun	Light-mantled Sooty Albatross and Southern Fulmar Bherwerre Beach, Wreck Bay After a large swell produced by an intense east coast low 1 adult Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, 1 Southern Fulmar and 1 Cape Petrel were found beachcast on Bherwerre Beach, Wreck Bay. Martin Schulz
	Masked Booby offshore of South West Rocks A juvenile - immature Masked Booby was observed off South West Rocks township beach, feeding, then sitting on the water for over one hour. Laurie McEnally first drew my attention to the bird which was first thought to be a Brown Booby. Ken Shingleton
	Yellow-nosed Albatross Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie 1 bird gliding along wave troughs about 200m offshore. Haven't seen one in that close, at this location before. Clive Meadows
Wed 6 Jun	Southern Fulmar, Arctic Jager and Great-winged Petrel Mistral Point, Maroubra "Reminiscent of 1999" would be the best way to describe today's seawatch. The Southern Fulmar was the obvious highlight, flying south at 2:50 pm, but also significant was the fact that birds were very numerous : 120 Black-browed Albatross, 15 Yellow-nosed Albatross, 11 Shy Albatross, 5 Great-winged Petrels (including a pair a performing synchronised display flight), 7 Giant Peterels (sp)1 Prion (sp), 2 Brown Skua, 1 Arctic Jaeger, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Short-tailed Shearwater, 2 White-fronted Terns and dozens of Australasian Gannets. The Fulmar was my 7th bird here, but my first record for a decade (NSWORAC submission pending). David Mitford and Ray Gobbe
Tue 5 Jun	Pink-eared Duck, Whistling Kite, Sea-eagle Dairy Swamp, Central Coast Wetlands, Tuggerah There was an open day at the Central Coast wetlands yesterday for World Environment Day. The bird walk found 2 Pink-eared Ducks, the first record for the Central Coast since 10/1/2011. Other birds present included Whistling Kite, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Black-fronted Dotterels, Hardheads and Cattle Egrets. Alan Morris
	Square-tailed Kite Pebbly Beach, Norah Head At about 1330, a solitary square-tailed kite was gliding low over the flowering coastal banksia trees growing in the high dunes behind Pebbly Beach. On the rock platform at nearby Soldiers Point, there was a pair of Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers, with an Australasian Gannet fishing offshore. There was also an Australian Hobby over the Pacific Hwy at Hamlyn Terrace at 1500. Nick Carson
	Eastern Barn Owl Penrith Quarries My friend just sent me a text message to say she had observed a single adult bird flushed from its daytime roost around 1pm today by some bush birds. It flew over her house and near a small pond and trees where it disappeared into foliage and could not be located again. Ákos Lumnitzer per Jackie Flower
Mon 4 Jun	Glossy Black Cockatoo Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, Wahroonga Pair feeding close to Gibberagong walking track, near the edge of the ridge before the track drops into the gully. Judging by chewed cones, quite regular here. Thanks to Ian McAllan for the tip-off. Also numerous Scarlet Honeyeaters calling and a Brush-Turkey mound near Cockle Creek David James
Sun 3 Jun	Grey Goshawk Dunoon, NSW I was outside the Anglican Church around 9.15am when I spotted a pair of Grey Goshawks. One landed briefly in a tree then flew off with the other as it passed. Andy Ridd
	Masked Owl Allyn River Road, north of Gresford 1 female? Great views Grant Brosie
Fri 1 Jun	Eastern Osprey Narrabeen In tall tree tops east of Narabeen Lake. Hope it / they stay this time and breed successfully after the pair in 2007 failed (died?) ' Stephen Bullen
	Swift Parrot, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Crown land west of Hebburn Rd, south of Abermain 9 Swift Parrots seen in a Grey Gum tree along a small power easement to the west of Hebburn Rd. No blossom in the immediate vicinity. There was also a Chestnut-rumped Heathwren that stood in the middle of track for a few seconds before scurrying off into a low shrub. 8 Painted Button-quail in 4 separate sightings (5 in one group + 3 individuals) , Crested Shrike-tit, Gang-gangs and White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike. Mick Roderick
Sat 26 May	Powerful Owl St Claire One of the ladies at my work showed me a photo of the owl roosting in a palm tree in her backyard on the 26th of May. She has seen it over the past two months on and off. Certainly an interesting find for St Claire. (Moderator's Note : record referred to David Bain, Powerful Owl Project Officer AKM) Ákos Lumnitzer per Gail Davies

Birdline NSW is sponsored by Birding NSW, Birds Australia - Southern NSW & ACT and Cumberland Bird Observers Club and co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds.

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