Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 19 Aug 2012.

Sun 19 Aug	Pink-eared Ducks, Shovelers Pitt Town Lagoon (NW Sydney) There were a few Shoveler present and 10 Pink-eared Ducks came in towards me (usually it is the opposite) and moved in only a few metres from where I was standing. The water level is quite low at the moment (very different compared to a few months ago when it was at probably its highest level in 10 or more years!) Edwin Vella
	Grey Goshawk Pennant Hills Park Upper Lane Cove Valley/ Pennant Hills Park Greys Goshawks seem to be more frequent in the area in the last couple of years. Ian Francis
	Spotted Harrier, Brown Falcon, Baillon's Crake and Spotless Crake Penrith Quarries This morning I watched an adult Spotted Harrier hunt over the edge of a lake and adjoining fields. A Brown Falcon was perched on a fencepost nearby. Heard the Baillon's Crake calling in a shallow pond and observed a Spotless Crake fly in between two reed beds. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Powerful Owl, Tawny Frogmouth, Buff-banded Rail Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Just wanted to let everyone know that the usual suspects are still present at the RBG. One Powerful Owl roosts around the junction half way between the Consevatorium and Government House (where it was being seen last year). Another was present today along the Rainforest Walk. A pair of Tawny Frogmouths roosts not far from the Vista Pavilion and another pair near the Tropical Centre. And Buff-banded Rails are present too. Murray Lord
	Banded Lapwing Cornwallis rd Cornwallis Saw 9 Banded Lapwings on the turf farms at Cornwallis Tony & Stephanie Dawe
	Black-shouldered Kite Dee Why Lagoon Wildlife Refuge Pair of Black-shouldered Kites hovering over edges of the lagoon this morning as Friends of Dee Why Lagoon pulled weeds. Rae Lister
	Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo Eulah Creek, 20 km east of Narrabri 2390 Single Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo heard at the crack of dawn. Heard here yesterday, too; today found it in an Acacia salicina and took photos (got a second showing head and back). The first migratory cuckoo of the season in our area, a day after strong northerly winds ahead of a frontal system. Michael Dahlem
Sat 18 Aug	Glossy Ibis, Grey Goshawk, Eastern Rosella, Sacred Kingfisher Woodlands and Wetlands, 25km West of Moree. 2 Glossy Ibis seen feeding on flooded paddock. Eastern Rosellas still present at this location. Sacred Kingfishers have arrived back to our area! An Immature Grey Goshawk seen perched in a River Red Gum. 81 species for today. Curtis Hayne
	Kelp Gull Mahon Pool, Marine Parade, Maroubra 12 noon today a Kelp Gull was resting on the outer rocks at the Mahon Pool, Jack Vanney Park, Marine Parade Maroubra. ID features were the more slender bill with the red spot on the tip of the lower mandible plus the 2 white crescents on the back. It appeared it was settled to roost there for some time. adrian Dick
Fri 17 Aug	Square-tailed Kite Asquith., NSW The kites nested in Asquith last summer,raisning one young, so the reappearance of an adult is promising. Lyn Eggins
	Wedge-tailed Eagle Penrith Quarries A lone adult was perched on a broken tree trunk in between two ponds this morning. Could be the male of the local pair as it was a slightly smaller looking bird. Also saw the resident White-bellied Sea Eagle still incubating, "my" little Kestrel flew in again like clockwork at 06:55 calling, landing on her solar panel perch (managed a short phone video take). Another good sighting was 102 Australian Pelicans and 8 Black-winged Stilts. A Little Grassbird could be heard calling from the vicinity of the same pond I heard it from two days earlier. Ákos Lumnitzer
Thu 16 Aug	Inland Dotterel, Plains-wanderer Oolambeyan NP A pair of Inland Dotterel's were observed on the main south west track towards the southern boundary of the park. A single female Plains-wanderer was also observed in another nearby paddock. David Parker
	Pacific Baza Minto heights 50km south west of Sydney A nesting pair.that have.just turned up in the last month. Haven't sighted this species since living in Queensland 30years ago. Haven't seen them here at all since moving here in 79......didn't think they came this far south. (Nowdays Pacific Baza extend all the way south down the Coast to Eden and extend inland to the Blue mountains and north-west to Coonabarabran and Gilgandra ( Alan Morris, Moderator). Peter Moore
Wed 15 Aug	Spotless Crake Riverstone Saw 3 Spotless crake in weed bed on private property Tony Dawe
	Spotted Quail-thrush Knapsack Reserve Glenbrook Spotted Quail-thrush (2) male and female, near bridge on RHS; around 14:50 this afternoon. Poor image quality, but enough for positive ID. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Satin Bowerbird Yaralla, Concord Female plumaged Satin Bowerbird gave excellent views mixed in with Figbirds. My second record of this species at this site but a rarity in the inner west of Sydney. Dion Hobcroft
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Southern end of Tyagarah Nature Reserve, West Byron Bay 7 birds observed flying out of heath / woodland after being disturbed by Swamp Harrier. David Charley
	Spotted Harrier and many raptors Penrith Quarries Flushed an adult Spotted Harrier while driving along my friends' driveway at the quarries (all private property). It hung around for about five minutes, perching on different embankments. Just stunning. Other raptors seen were a lone Whistling Kite, many Black-shouldered Kites, two Australian Kestrels, a single Little Falcon and the resident pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles (one incubating on nest). Ákos Lumnitzer
Tue 14 Aug	Glossy Black Cockatoos Tascott, NSW Saw two small black cockatoos with red/pink tail markings at my home today. I have seen many Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos previously but didn't recognize these bird immediately and therefore needed to consult my bird book to confirm their identity as Glossy Black Cockatoos. They are rarely seen around here but are regularly reported at nearby Pearl Beach. Two King Parrots were also present I am also seeing more frequent visits from the White-bellied Sea Eagles in the morning. Andrew Whitaker
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Mitchell Park (south), Cattai NP Glossy Black-Cockatoo (3) One pair preening, next to a third bird feeding on Casuarina. Just outside the southern boundary of Mitchell Park on private property @ 09:15 Rob Child
	Topknot Pigeon Greville Street, Chatswood A Topknot Pigion amongst a group of White-headed Pigions. Also Satin Bowerbirds just in the Ferndale Park Reserve and a pair of Tawny Frogmouth in Turpentine trees on Greville St -33.792844,151.168098 Steve Edwards
	Glossy Ibis, Sacred Kingfisher, Striated Heron Sydney Olympic Park. Went in for a quick look today; specifically for the ibis. The first surprise was the adult Sacred Kingfisher on a railing of a rusty barge at the archery end of the waterbird refuge. There were also four Red-necked Avocets on the main pond, 50 (counted) Bar-tailed Godwits. Several adult Black Swans with 2 cygnets. Didn't look for the Mangrove Gerygone, but did see the one Glossy Ibis at the ponds directly near Allphones (ex Acer) Arena, near the water feature (big thanks to Jenny Stiles for directions). At Lake Belvedere my friend managed to accidentally flush an adult Striated Heron. Interesting to see a number of Purple Swamphen tending nests in a small pond near the main lake. Lots of Brown Honeyeaters behind the education center. Ákos Lumnitzer
	White-eared Monarch General Stubbs Dr. Rosebank In Camphor Laurel by roadside Phil Murray
Mon 13 Aug	White-headed Pigeon Cumberland State Forest A pair sitting quietly. These are the first ones i have seen here! Steve Edwards
	Red-necked Avocet Goran Lake, 30 km south of Gunnedah 2380 There are still about 200 Red-necked Avocets at Goran Lake (which has risen again by about 30 cm after recent rainfall). There have been a number of changes in the bird population. No Red-capped Plovers could be found (previously round about 50); there is a (very) tentative identification of only 5 Double-banded Plovers (previously also round about 50). There were only about 20 Australian Pelicans (previously about 1000). But now maybe 100 Black-winged Stilts (previously just a few). MANY, maybe 1000-1500, as reported earlier, Grey Teals seen again. Still some Pink-eared Ducks around; also tens of Pied and Great Cormorants. No other duck species identified. Found 2 Red-kneed Dotterels, but no Black-fronted Dotterels. Still many Silver Gulls around, but only 3 Caspian Terns, no other terns found. Red-necked Avocets were observed feeding like ducks (see photo); previously only seen sifting left to right in shallower water. Where they were seen now must have been near the water's edge a few weeks ago. Michael Dahlem & R. Druce
	White-bellied Sea-Eagle Harparary, 30 km south of Narrabri 2390 One adult bird seen near dirt road in a tree overlooking a very busy big farm dam with lots of aquatic birds on it (including lots of cormorants, indicating that the fishing must be good there). First adult I have seen in the area in years (usually only see immature birds). Michael Dahlem
	Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Golden Whistler, Hardhead Mason Park, North Strathfield Singles of each-only my third FTC in Sydney Olympic Park area and my first for MP. Also my first Hardhead at MP. Black Swans have also bred successfully at MP with four cygnets. Dion Hobcroft
	Pied Oystercatcher Hen and Chicken Bay, Wareemba Took four visits but found it today-thanks Barry, a great bird on the local patch! Dion Hobcroft
	Bar-tailed Godwit Sydney Olympic Park Bar-tailed Godwit (42) Waterbird Refuge. I have poor photos [they weren't very close] Jenny Stiles
	White-bellied Sea-eagle Cremorne Point Circling overhead 8.30am Katie Oxenham
Sat 11 Aug	Spotted Bowerbird Paroo-Darling NP, Lake Perry Pair courting at bower in undergrowth dry watercourse running into lake. Neville Schrader
	White-browed Treecreeper Paroo- Darling NP Sw of Lake Perry birds feeding in Belah/ Mulga. Neville Schrader
	Brown Treecreeper Paroo - Darling NP s of Perry Lake male and female in creekline feeding under River Red Gums only pair observed. Neville Schrader
	Pied Honeyeater White Cliffs - Paroo - Darling NP Lake Perry Pied Honeyeaters a pair in White Cliffs Caravan Park and also recorded from this location right to Lake Perry when ever a stop was made, appeared to be feeding on three species of flowering Emu-bush E. longifolia, E. duttonii, E. freelingii. Only males observed most in song flight. Neville Schrader
	Gilbert's Whistler, Diamond Dove Roundhill & Nombinnie Nature Reserves Birds reasonably plentiful despite windy conditions. Highlights were Diamond Dove in Roundhill and Gilbert's Whistler in Nombinnie Mike Kuhl
	Salvin's Albatross, Wandering Albatross and Great-winged Petrel Mistral Point, Maroubra Astonishing numbers of Albatrosses this weekend, counts as follows: 175+ Black-browed Albatross (including a few impavida), 150+ Shy Albatross, 1 juvenile Salvin's Albatross, 5 Wandering Albatross (including 1 presumed male antipodensis seen close in) and unfortunately only 2 Yellow-nosed Albatross. Other seabirds observed were 16 White-fronted Terns, 2 Brown Skuas, 25+ Great-winged Petrels, 2 Giant-Petrel (sp) and a few Prions (sp). The juvenile Salvin's Albatross clearly showed the more extensive, well demarcated dark tips typical of Salvin's. This bird also was darker hooded than the dozens of juvenile Cauta/Steadii that I saw all weekend. The leading edge of the underwing also showed the dark margin continuing all the way to 'thumbprint'. David Mitford
Fri 10 Aug	Superb Parrot 12.5km West Narrabri on Yarrie Lake Road Adult male Superb Parrot observed flying across the road at approximately 1630hrs. Only one parrot was noted although others may have been present (observer was travelling along road by car at the time of the sighting). The parrot was flying northwards across open farming and grazing land bordered by Eucalyptus pilligaensis (PIlliga Box) and Casuarina cristata (Belah). James Faris
Mon 30 Jul	Black-necked Stork Approx 5km South East Wee Waa NSW Black-necked Stork observed at approximately 30 Deg 15' 24" S, 149 Deg 28' 54" 5km SE of Wee Waa along Yarrie Lake Rd on northern side of road (opposite side of road to the sighting reported by Michael Dahlem on 1st August 2012) . The stork was observed standing in a small drainage depression 50m from the road. Only one individual was noted. James Faris
Thu 26 Jul	Little Eagle 20km W of Emmdale Roadhouse 2 birds circling only pair observed from Orange - Broken Hill Neville Schrader
Wed 25 Jul	Painted Honeyeater Fort Bourke lookout 1km SE Cobar and Emmdale 20+ birds feeding on fruiting Grey Mistletoe Amyema quandong at Fort Bourke Lookout at the open cut mine at Cobar. Also additional birds observed at every stop made between Cobar and Emmdale Roadhouse. No birds recorded on return trip 14 August 2012 Neville Schrader
Tue 24 Jul	White winged Triller 25km W Cobar single male feeding on edge of road. Neville Schrader
	Superb Parrot Bogan River, 20km s of Nyngan sizeable numbers (50+) of birds along flowing Bogan River in Black Box. Neville Schrader

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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