Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 2 Sep 2012.

Sat 1 Sep	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Kuringgai Wildflower Garden Three Glossy Black-Cockatoos (male, female and an immature) were calmly minding their own business and (rather noisily) cracking Casuarina nuts along the Caley Track, and were completely relaxed about our presence a couple of meters away. Frank Valckenborgh
	Peregrine Falcon; courting White-bellied Sea-Eagles Copacabana Beach, Central Coast Soaring above beach high above two courting White-bellied Sea-Eagles. Came down low for 10 minutes after eagles left area. Christine Melrose
	Painted Button-quail Genowlan Bridge, Glen Alice, Capertee Valley 3 birds walked briskly away from river bank upon arrival at bridge Mark Hocking
	Turquoise Parrot Wollemi National Park, Glen Davis Flock of 13 birds feeding along bank of Capertee River at campground downstream of Glen Davis. Mark Hocking
	Regent Honeyeaters, Swift Parrots Kurri Kurri Woodland, Hunter Valley 6 Regents seen in 3 groups of two birds. 75+ Swift Parrots, estimate a fair few more, many birds throughout in Spotted Gum/Ironbark Forest. Steve Roderick
	Channel-billed Cuckoo Wangi Wangi- Lake Macquarie, Hunter Valley One bird seen flying over yard. [Moderator's note (NH): This and yesterday's sighting of a CBC are in accordance with the typical arrival dates of CBC in the region] Bev Roderick per Steve Roderick
	Golden Whistler (2), Red-capped Robin (2), Grey Fantail and Silvereyes (HUGE flocks) Woodlands, on Western Side of Moree, NSW As usual in September, Grey Fantails are getting ready to leave, but this year MUCH more than before. Hundreds of Grey Fantails were seen passing through. The same in April when they were arriving. There were also many many Silvereyes. Lots of Western Gerygones and a pair of White-throated Gerygones were present. Spotted 2 Golden Whistlers which were indentified as 1 immature and 1 female. There were much more Rufous Whistlers about. Heard a Spotted Pardalote which is unusual at this time of year. Flocks of Eastern Rosella were still present. A male and female Red-capped Robin greeted us as our last species for the day. The first ducklings for the season were seen - 6 Australian Wood Ducklings. A very unsual bird was flushed from the grass but we couldnt identify it. Curtis Hayne
	Pacific Baza Royal National Park (Wattle Flat) Pacific Baza (1) Observed feeding in Eucalypts bordering the picnic area. Greg McLachlan
	Latham's Snipe, Whiskered Tern, Banded Lapwing, Brolga Boomanoomana Some interesting sightings this morning at the wetland along Clearview Rd. Five Latham's Snipe were flushed and three Whiskered Tern seen over the wetlands, both early arrivals. Also a flock of 14 Banded Lapwing on the edge of the wetland and a single Brolga. Michael Ramsey
	Beautiful Firetail Narrow Neck Peninsula, Katoomba Beautiful Firetail (1) Great views of grass bobbing display & nest building John French
Fri 31 Aug	Black-necked Stork Port Macquarie Two birds flying north . Port Macquarie Darin Rounsevell
	Spotted Harrier, Wedge-tailed Eagle Castlereagh 10' Cell Spotted Harrier (1) As I arrived harrier was soaring low near end of my friend's driveway. It then joined pelicans. Wedge-tailed Eagle (1) Soaring high near pelicans and Spotted Harrier. Possible the local male. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Channel-Billed Cuckoo Booth Street Annandale 1 bird flew over the road at around 7:00 this morning. First bird that I have seen this spring. Not sure when they usually come back from migration, but from what I have read they usually return around October. Early return? Simon Gorta
	Latham's Snipe, Magpie Goose, Australian Pelican Narrabri Lake, Narrabri 2390 Flushed one Latham's Snipe out of reeds (no photo) at the southern end of the lake (first of the season). There are still at least 8 Magpie Geese (seen simultaneously) around and now about 10 Australian Pelicans fishing. Aquatic birds (e.g. Australian White Ibis) have started building their nests. Michael Dahlem
Thu 30 Aug	Swift Parrot Muswellbrook At least 4 Swift Parrots in woodland on private property to the south-east of Muswellbrook. Birds were observed feeding on flowering Spotted Gums (still a few around) as well as lerps from Forest Red Gums. Photo attached (apologies for the poor quality). Carl Corden and Aleksei Atkin
	Scarlet Robin Williamsons Road, Rock Forest Single male pouncing on prey amongst Red Stringybark, Bundy Box and Silver Wattle. Also White-throated Treecreeper, Superb Fairy-wren, Yellow-rumped and Brown Thornbills and White-browed Scrubwren, all braving the icy wind! Co-ordinates: 149 19 50E, 33 20 12S. Tiffany Mason
	Powerful Owl Royal Botanic Garden Sydney Powerful Owl is still roosting in the same gum tree. Pair of Tawny Frogmouths are no longer behind the Tropical Centre where I saw them last as the tree that they were roosting in had been trimmed and cut down. Angela Sim
	Painted Button-quail Knapsack Gully Bridge, Glenbrook 100 metres south of the Emu Plains car park on the western side of the path David Potter
	Australian Pied Oystercatcher Hen & Chicken Bay (Sydney inner west) Saw two Australian Pied Oystercatchers on mudflats near Halliday Park c. 1445. Probably same birds, staying in the area, first reported on 05 Aug, and seen again by Dion on 13 Aug. Barrie Ayres
	Little Eagle Cnr. Ophir & Whiterock Roads, nr. Lewis Ponds Single bird (light morph adult) flew over the road, at about 30m height, giving a fabulous view of its underparts! A lone Australian Raven attempted (rather feebly) to drive it off. Location is about 10km (in a straight line) from where I occasionally see the species at Vittoria. Co-ordinates: 149 19 08E, 33 20 32S. Tiffany Mason
Wed 29 Aug	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Little Egret, Nankeen Night-Heron, Lewin's Rail Sydney Olympic Park Single adult Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in breeding plumage at the Waterbird Refuge. Adult Nankeen Night-Heron at Lake Belvedere, Little Egret at Waterbird Refuge, Lewin's Rail heard and glimpsed. Dion Hobcroft, Detlef and Carol Davies
Tue 28 Aug	King Parrot Jubilee Park, Glebe seen at about 7:30 in the morning flying towards Balmain from my backyard, which is opposite to Jubilee Park. First of these species I have seen in this area before, don't know how common they are in the inner west. Simon Gorta
	White-fronted Terns , Fluttering Shearwaters Bellambi Point 40+ White-fronted Terns resting on exposed rock platform amongst equal number of Crested Terns. Unusual to see so many White-fronted Terns in this area. Flocking before heading to NZ? Also thousands of Fluttering Shearwaters close inshore Martin Schulz
Mon 27 Aug	Southern Boobook Fitzpatrick Reserve Forestville I was literally sitting right underneath it about 8 feet away and  we just stared at each other for ten or so minutes before I left. Kris Olsen per Rae Lister
	Regent Honeyeater The Pilliga State Forest - birding routes, Coonabarabran We spent four days travelling the biding routes of Baradine and Pilliga. We recorded twice Regent Honeyeater (one bird taking bath at Baradine Ck near the bridge to the Pilliga Forest Way - route 6, two birds feeding on flowering ironbark tree Cumbil Rd, route 6). Barking owls were very vocal in our camping site (near Coxes Rd). Other interesting birds: Glossy Black-Cockatoo (flock of 37 birds came to drink in the waterhole -route 8), Turquoise Parrot (seen 5 times), Brown Treecreeper, Eastern Barn Owl (catching mice late afternoon near the silo at Baradine), Crested Bellberd (everywhere), Spotted Nightjar, Ground Cuckoo-shrike, Banded Lapwing (near Baradine on the nest), Spotted Harrier, Black Kite (8), Square-tailed Kite, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Black-chinned Honeyeater. Wonderful place for bird watching (very cold). Ted Wnorowski
	Rainbow Bee-eater Pelican Island Port Macquarie First seen this season. 5 towards the northern end of the island late afternoon. Ian Kerr
	Musk Lorikeet, Bassian Thrush Kurrajong Hills Flock of 6 Musk Lorikeets hanging around. Single Bassian Thrush has been regular in the garden past few weeks, apparently in moult. Good numbers of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters moving south at canopy level in groups of 4-20 every few minutes, often with 1-2 pairs of White-naped usually trailing. Little Wattlebirds and Bell Miners with recently fledged young. Large numbers of Pied Currawong apparently feeding on lerps. Satin Bowerbird in full display in recently renovated bower in our garden. Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Bar-shouldered Dove, Wonga Pigeon and Brown Cuckoo-dove (all regular/resident). Eric Finley
	Fluttering and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, White-fronted Terns Off Newcastle baths / beaches Huge numbers of Fluttering Shearwaters today off Newcastle, stretching from the heads of the river (Nobby's Breakwall) to Merewether (that we could see!). 11,500 birds counted with doubtless a few thousand more that we could see out wide and further south. There were lots of fish breaking the surface and around these schools were a total of about 300 White-fronted Terns feeding with the Cresteds and gulls. At the same time there were 107 WfTerns on the rocks behind the baths, so at least 400 WfTerns present with all the spectacle of the masses of shearwaters (see image for a tiny fraction of the flocks). Also, 500+ Wedge-tailed SW behind trawlers (and the odd bird mixed with the Flutterers) and some Black-browed / Yellow-nosed Albatross. Mick Roderick and Allan Richardson
Sun 26 Aug	Blue-faced Honeyeater Bobbin Head Rd, North Turramurra In callistemons on Curagul Field fence line. Not used to seeing them in Sydney David Langley
	Latham's Snipe, Australian Reed-Warbler Riverstone (approx. 10km NW of Blacktown CBD) Accidentally flushed my first one for the season at Riverstone. Also had some Australian Reed-Warblers too. Edwin Vella
	Topknot Pigeon Bicentennial Park, Homebush One seen flying over on Saturday morning. Edwin Vella
Sat 25 Aug	Wedge-tailed Eagle, Black-faced Woodswallow, Mallee Ringneck Oolambeyan National Park (Homestead) Although not an uncommon bird, definitely an unusual number with 24 Wedge-tailed Eagles observed in two loose flocks soaring over the plains. There was plenty of food around with hundreds of rabbits in the sand hills by the homestead. Black-faced Woodswallow and Mallee Ringneck were some other interesting birds observed here. Michael Ramsey
	Gull-billed Tern Gum Creek Road, Carrathool While travelling to Oolambeyan National Park I was quite surprised to find a single Gull-billed Tern in full breeding plumage. It was roosting at a shallow wetland by the roadside. Michael Ramsey
	Superb Parrot Darlington Point A flock of seven birds observed flying over paddocks just south of the Kidman Way and Sturt Highway intersection. Michael Ramsey
	Black Falcon Coleambally 10' Cell A terrific number of 10 Black Falcons seen in a loose group by the Kidman Way. Birds were perched on the ground, on irrigation channel banks or flying around a freshly ploughed paddock. The highest number of this species I have ever seen together. Michael Ramsey
	Superb Parrot Pine Drive, Coleambally A small flock seen flying over the Coleambally Golf Course. Michael Ramsey
	Superb Parrot Finley 10' Cell A loose flock of 16 birds seen in open Grey Box woodland by the Newell Highway. Michael Ramsey
	White-browed Woodswallow Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park Spotted two Woodswallows circling over the oval during the game - around dusk - at my eye level (cheap upper seats of Victor Trumper stand). Not sure if they were going for swans or hawks. Charles Allan
	Rainbow Bee-eaters, Peaceful Dove, New Holland Honeyeater, Square-tailed Kite Boambee Creek, Sawtell Several groups of up to 5 Bee-eaters heard or seen on north side of Boambee Creek, although it is possible that they comprised the same birds moving about the area (14 birds seen flying south over Sawtell 27 Aug also). A single New Holland Honeyeater seen and a Peaceful Dove heard north of the creek, both very unusual for Sawtell. A Square-tailed Kite on Boambee Headland provided superb and prolonged views both from above, as it soared below the track, and of its underparts as it repeatedly sailed back and forth. Noisy Pittas also seen near bottom carpark of Boambee Headland. Peter Higgins with Coffs Coast Birdwatchers
	Brown Treecreeper 4km NE of Trunkey Creek Four birds within 100m of each other along creek-bank. Vegetation mostly Ribbon Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) with some stringybarks and fallen timber. Also White-throated Treecreepers here. Co-ordinates: 33 46 38S, 149 23 31E. Tiffany Mason
	Grey Currawong Rockley Mount, south of Bathurst Great views of a pair beside the old Rockley Road. Also Pied Currawong, White-throated Treecreeper, Superb Fairy-wren, Striated & Buff-rumped Thornbills, Eastern Spinebill, White-eared Honeyeater & Varied Sittella. Co-ordinates: 33 33 54S, 149 33 05E. Tiffany Mason
	White-throated Treecreeper, Sacred Kingfisher Watercourse surrounded by Woodlands & Vegetation, 20km West of Moree Watching all sorts of small birds, eg. Silvereyes, Weebills, Thornbills, Finches, etc, when I spotted a Treecreeper from a distance. I thought Brown but when I looked at the only photo I got of it, it was unmistakeably a White-throated. Pink-eared Ducks, White-winged Choughs and Torresian Crows were in good numbers. Both Martins were seen. Curtis Hayne
Fri 24 Aug	Whiskered Tern Newcastle Ocean Baths Single Whiskered Tern at Newcastle Baths - an early return? Allan Richardson per Mick Roderick

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