Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 8 Jul 2012.

Sun 8 Jul	Swift Parrot Eurobodalla NP, Potato Point Twenty SP in old growth Spotted Gum forest with ten species of honeyeater and three species of lorikeet. Dion Hobcroft
	Bar-Tailed Godwit, Striped Honeyeaters Laurieton NSW Pair of Bar-tailed Godwits observed feeding with magpie-larks and Masked Lapwings on local football oval in Laurieton during high tide. Not concerned with human activity some 50mts away, still there after some 4hrs. Also observed in near-by mangroves were Striped Honeyeaters 10+ Stephen Gallivan
Sat 7 Jul	Glossy Black Cockatoo Pottsville Environment centre(Northern NSW Coast) 3 birds feeding in a she-oak tree,1400 Hours,very quiet just the sound of the seed husks falling Jo Culican
	Spotted Harrier Castlereagh I observed an adult bird low quartering over rural properties in Church Street at 16:05. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Square-tailed Kite Blacktown, w Sydney A single bird being mobbed by Aust Ravens over the M4 near Blacktown. Eric Finley
	Cinnamon Quail-thrush 5km east Silverton A pair of cinnamon quail-thrush were seen about 5km east of Silverton, near Broken Hill. The male was seen first crossing the road. The female was seen a few minutes later. Both individuals gave great views. The area they were in was largely stony ground and low shrubs. Max de Beer
Thu 5 Jul	Glossy Ibis, Caspian Tern, Golden Whistler Bicentennial Park, Homebush Bay Glossy Ibis (2) Although single birds have been reported on and off since 2006, this is the first time I've seen two birds together. Caspian Tern (1) Single bird roosting on the sand spit at the southern end of the Waterbird Refuge pond. My only other record for this site was almost 10 years ago! Golden Whistler (1) An immature bird behind the bird hide. Stephen Mannix
	Spotted Harrier Powells Lane Richmond. 12 noon today an adult spotted harrier was seen flying low quartering the paddocks between Pugh Lagoon and Powells Lane Richmond. Have observed them in the same area in recent weeks. Adrian Dick and Peter Kelly
	Beautiful Firetail Bundaoon (Morton National Park) One bird feeding on dying casuarina at Bonnie View, late morning. My first BF for Bundanoon. Species no. 137 for town. Lorne Johnson
Wed 4 Jul	Australian Bittern Kinchega National Park A Bittern was calling before sunset from a small reed bed near Lake Menindee. Attempts to locate the bird were cut short by the approach of some dogs. Other birds included a caspian tern on the lake and many Chirruping Wedgebills. Max de Beer
	White-browed Woodswallows 16 k's north of Boomi on road to Talwood. but still in NSW 2 or 3, possible more with a large flock (approx 50) of Dusky Woodswallows. All feeding on lerps. Surprised to see White-brows in mid-winter in this area. Also observed 7 Plum-headed Finches within same area. 28 39 16 x 149 30 56 June Harris
	Lewin's Rail Forresters Beach, Central Coast Lewin's Rail calling loudly at 5pm. Very hard to see in melelueca swamp. Only 300m to ocean at this location. Tim Faulkner
	Scarlet Robin Bundanoon Some great birding in Bundanoon today. One splendid male Scarlet Robin in paddocks by Shangri La Road (where I've also seen Flame Robins). The bird was feeding on mud at edge of farm dam (not something I've seen before). Other highlights in the Shangri La Road area were Azure Kingfisher, Musk Duck, Superb Lyrebird, Gang-gang Cockatoo and a Platypus. A female Rose Robin at home (Penrose Rd) was a most welcome first for my home list. A White-naped Honeyeater at Wishing Well in Morton National Park brought my total number of bird species for Bundanoon to 136. Lorne Johnson
	Regent Honeyeater Quorrobolong Up to 50 Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeaters have been recorded at a single site in the Hunter Valley in NSW — the largest congregation seen for years. They were on a property near Quorrobolong which was placed under a covenant by the Woodland Birds for Biodiversity (WBFB) Project last year to protect habitat for Regent Honeyeaters and other woodland birds. The remnant vegetation on the property had been managed sympathetically by the landholder so that it was a haven for the honeyeater. WBFB is working to place other properties under covenant to preserve more habitat. The Hunter Valley had already been identified as an important area for the species, and this was confirmed by the recent discovery. There are currently 80+ Regent Honeyeaters in the Hunter Valley, all within a radius of a few kilometres. The world population is somewhere between 500 and 1000 birds. Keen to take advantage of this unusual congregation, a multi-agency team led by the WBFB project caught and banded a number of birds, with nearly half being first-year birds — an encouraging sign for the survival of the species. 'Woodland Birds for Biodiversity' per Birdlife Australia e-news
	Black-browed Albatross Tacking Point 2 seen heading south at 9.30 am Ian Kerr
	Square-tailed Kite Lemongrove near Penrith CBD On my way to the train station at 07:10 an adult bird was hunting low over suburbia near Coreen Avenue. A nice start to my day. Ákos Lumnitzer
Tue 3 Jul	Double-banded Plover Long beach Pambula NSW Greg McKay
	Rose Robin Berry Rose Robin With the thornbills and weebills along the creek Ray Comer
	Crested Grebes, Musk Ducks Lake Wallace Crested Grebes seen on the lake - out towards the middle. Also Musk Ducks (2) seen on lake close to shore near boat club shed. Tom Rambaut
	Eastern Barn Owl Castlereagh On my way home at 19:37, along Castlereagh Rd, near the Cranebrook Rd T-junction, I had an Eastern Barn Owl fly across from the quarry towards the back of Church Lane about 3 meters above the road. The ghostly white flying shape and flight was unmistakable. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Little Eagle Terranora A light phase bird. This species is an uncommon winter visitor to this area. Rob Morrow
	White-eared Monarch Grasslands HSD, Mullumbimby One seen in riverine habitat along Brunswick River Rob Morrow
	Australian Figbirds Rydalmere Observed them in the trees and surroundings inside the Parklands Industrial Estate at 08:45 this morning. It's the first time in nearly three years (since I've worked here) that I have seen this species. There were nine adults, mostly females. Ákos Lumnitzer
Mon 2 Jul	Galahs harrassing Whistling Kite Cowra sewage treatment ponds A flock of around 15 Galahs was noticed apparently deliberately flying with a Whistling Kite and seemingly trying to mob it. Whenever the Kite changed direction the Galahs also did. I observed this behaviour for about 3 minutes before the whole group passed out of sight wayne gregson
	Plumed Whistling Duck Lagoon (sewage ponds?) on outskirts of Canowindra Around 20 Plumed Whistling Ducks along with large number of Grey Teal. wayne gregson
	Lewin's Rail Eastlakes Golf Course Saw between one and three Lewin's Rails (never more than one at once) in the reeds by the fairway, just south of the weir/dam wall, feeding warily in the more exposed section of reedbed (caused by earthworks). Other nice birds included a Royal Spoonbill, and a flock of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos that landed above me in the late afternoon light. Ashwin Rudder
Sun 1 Jul	Spangled Drongo Crestwood Drive, Port Macquarie A loose flock (a circus?) of 15 Drongo's flying north landed in a stand of flowering Melaleuca and Swamp Mahogany. Hadn't seen such a large number in a flock before. Tim Morris
	Osprey - possible Moore Park, Sydney Possible Osprey seen flying high over south side of Moore Park into Centennial Park about 1500 after Noisy Miners went into alarm mode. Distinctive mostly white underparts, flight style, size and tail shape rules out WBSE or Whistling Kite which are both sometimes seen here, but no binoculars handy for a confirmed id. Not sure if there are any previous records from the parklands here despite the increase in Sydney sightings. Eric Finley
	Square-tailed Kite Erskine Park Observed hunting along boundary of residential and remaining bushland near the industrial estate in the afternoon. Adult bird. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Square-tailed Kite Tumbi Umbi Soaring over the wetland at the back of Mingara Recreation Club at 1400. Nick Carson
Sat 30 Jun	Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel Lake Curalo, Eden Bar-tailed Godwit (5) On sand/mud bank close to Whimbrels. Inentified by general Godwit size, shape and colouring; plus slightly upturned pink beaks with black tips. Observed for at least 15 minutes. Viewing conditions very good (sunny). (moderators note: original sighting was reported as Black-tailed Godwit but key diagnostic features like wing and tail pattern were not observed, other features non-conclusive particularly in non-breeding plumage) Angus Hartshorn
Fri 29 Jun	Black-browed Albatross (juvenile) Maroubra Cliff tops, Marine Parade I addition to Ray and Fiona's sighting yesterday, wasnt sure until I rechecked!!! (moderators note: originally published as Grey-headed, but this species discounted primarily due to bill colour, with what looks like to be a black tip. Head also looks too pale.) chris pollard
	Grey-headed Albatross Mistral Point, Maroubra We were delighted to observe a juvenile grey-headed albatross feeding on the water approximately 350 m from the shore in the late afternoon. Several pods of surface-active humpback whales on their northerly migration were an added bonus. [Moderators note: this bird is not to be confused with the previously claimed Grey-headed, which was likely to be a juvenile Black-browed. The observers were able to describe features more typical of Grey-headed, namely: - mostly dark underwing with very slight central paler areas, - grey head with white cheek, - greyish bill with dark tip, - slightly smaller than black-browed which was seen in the same field of view through a telescope] Ray Gobbe and Fiona Brook
Fri 22 Jun	Brush Cuckoo Wedgetail Eagle, White Bellied Sea Eagle, Brush Cuckoo Mulgoa (moderators note: whilst very unusual this sighting is possible in winter with a few winter records reported in the past - observer also noted lack of eye- ring) Peter Harvey

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.

===============================

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
===============================