Hi All,
Just back from a fortnight's birding holiday on the two islands - first
Norfolk, with just Shirley and myself, and then Lord Howe, after collecting the
'kids' (17 and 19) to come with us.
We set out with a 'target' list of around 15 to 20 for both islands. Managed
17, including 2 or 3 Wandering Tattlers which turned up on Norfolk on our last
morning. We managed five lifers (California Quail, Red Junglefowl, Norfolk
Island Gerygone, White Tern and Norfolk Parakeet) on the first afternoon, from
the spacious grounds of our accommodation - Hideaway Retreat. The
accommodation was spacious and comfortable, and in THE best spot for birding!!
We heard the "hybrid" Morepork the first night, and tracked it down to a tree
in the grounds of Hideaway as well, but couldn't see it - high up and hidden
amongst the foliage of a large Norfolk pine. It was back a few nights later,
and we saw it that time.
We birded all around the island for the next few days, driving on every piece
of public road in the hire car included in our accommodation costs, adding two
lifers for each of the following three days: Slender-billed White-eye and Black
Noddy, Masked Booby and Grey Ternlet(Grey Noddy), and Pacific Robin and Sooty
Tern. The Terns were only distant views of a feeding flock well off shore from
Bird Rock, but that was rectified on Lord Howe the following week!!
We also had the NI race of Sacred Kingfisher (everywhere), Grey Fantail
(everywhere), and Golden Whistler (also very common, and VERY different from
the mainland race).
We did Margaret Christian's Bird tour, and (to our pleasure) the others booked
to do it had cancelled, so we had Margaret all to ourselves! She got us onto a
few more Parakeets in the NP, and our one and only male Pacific Robin (also in
the NP). We found a single female Robin on our last morning (also in the NP).
We added a couple of more sightings of the Parakeet in various spots in the NP.
Margaret's tour also took us onto her property, where eradication of predators
has seen Masked Boobies and Black-winged Petrels returning there to breed. We
saw the Boobies up close, but it was the wrong time of year for the Petrels.
We also walked every walking trail (more like parks and gardens pathways!) in
the National Park - at least that section on the main island!
And therein lies another story....
We had been warned to book, confirm, re-confirm,... and pester... to get out to
Phillip Island.
We booked in back in May with Dave Bigg, of Charter Marine - the only tour
operator licensed to take groups to the Island. We made contact again in
August, just to re-confirm we were soon coming, and very keen to get out to the
island. The afternoon we arrived, I rang Dave, and left a message on his
answering machine that we were there, and keen to get out as soon as we were
able. Not having heard anything by next morning (when the weather was fine,
calm and beautiful!!), I rang again on his mobile number, and spoke to him
direct. He was out with a fishing tour, and not able to check weather charts,
etc. but would do so when he could, and get back to me. Saturday Afternoon, a
front came through, with heavy rain, and strong winds to follow! :(
We'd booked (tentatively) with Margaret for her Monday Tour, and she rang about
4:00pm Sunday to confirm whether we were coming, because she would be cooking
Morning Tea, and needed to know by 6:00pm. I rang Dave, and left another
message telling him this, and asking him to get back to me urgently. When I
hadn't heard by 6:00, I rang Margaret back to confirm with her. About 11:00pm
Dave left a text to say he'd just got my message, and that we definitely
wouldn't go Monday - wind too strong, and swells to large - but he'd ring back
Monday night to see what Tues looked like. He rang Monday pm and said Tues
still wasn't looking good, but would ring Tues pm to consider Wed. Tues
evening he rang and said he HOPED he could get out Wed morning, even if he had
to launch out of Cascade, and would ring 7:00am Wed for a possible 8:00am
start. He rang 7:00am Wed, and said still too much swell, but he'd ring 7:00am
Thurs (we were leaving Friday!!).
He rang Thursday morning, and said the swell was still big, but he'd TRY to get
out, if we could be there at 8:00am. We were, as were 7 other tourists (many
apprehensive about rough seas and sea-sickness), the Island guide and his
girl-friend). We completed paperwork, etc., kitted up with life-jackets, and
got into the boat and were actually lowered onto the water.... and there we
sat, going round and round for the next 20 minutes, looking for a break in the
swell. Finally, Dave aborted that attempt - to the relief of the other
tourists, and our dismay!! He said he would try again that afternoon, or even
EARLIER on Friday morning, so we could still make our plane. He rang back at
lunch-time Thurs to say the swell was still too high but looked good for a
6:00am start on Friday morning. We set our alarm and went to bed early, full
of anticipation of FINALLY getting to Phillip Island on our last day!
When we'd been asleep for only about an hour (but seemed like the middle of the
night), we got a call from Dave to say the swell was dying down, but now he
couldn't get an Island guide, and so we would not be able to go after all - NOT
HAPPY!! That night, I shot off an email to our prospective guide from Lord
Howe Island who we'd pre-booked to take us out to Ball's Pyramid...... Our
potential targets missed by not getting out included Little Shearwater,
Kermadec Petrel, and White-bellied Storm-petrel. :( If you're going to
Norfolk, then you've really, really, REALLY got to keep pushing to get out to
Phillip Island!!
Anyway, with our final morning to fill, we went back to try lots of the coastal
rocks and lookouts to try for Red-tailed Tropicbird - a target we'd so far
missed. We didn't find any, but did add Wandering Tattler to our tick list,
and Ruddy Turnstone and Pacific Golden Plover to our trip list. Apart from the
Phillip Island fiasco, we'd had a very successful and enjoyable time on
Norfolk. One of the most 'surprising' features was there being no Gulls,
Pelicans, or Crested Terns - to see fishing boats come in and clean fish with
NO birds flocking round them was just bizarre!!
Back to Sydney for a night, meet up with the kids, and then off to Lord Howe
Island. (Perhaps I'd better make that a separate report??).
We saw 42 species on Norfolk Island, 11 of them 'lifers' (*):
California Quail*
Red Junglefowl*
Greylag (Feral) Goose
Pacific Black Duck/Mallard Hybrid (didn't find 'pure' Black Duck)
Northern Mallard
Muscovy Duck
Australasian Gannet
Masked Booby*
Great Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
White-faced Heron
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Great Egret
Royal Spoonbill
Nankeen Kestrel
Purple Swamphen
Wandering Tattler*
Ruddy Turnstone
Pacific Golden Plover
Sooty Tern*
Black Noddy*
White Tern*
Grey Ternlet (Noddy)*
Feral Pigeon
Emerald Dove
Norfolk Island Parakeet*
Shining Bronze Cuckoo (heard only)
Morepork (Norfolk Island "hybrid")
Sacred Kingfisher
Norfolk Island Gerygone*
Pacific Robin*
Golden Whistler (Norfolk Is. Race)
Grey Fantail (Norfolk Is. Race)
Common Greenfinch
House Sparrow
Welcome Swallow
Silvereye
Slender-billed White-eye*
Song Thrush
Common Blackbird
Common Starling
I'll completer the report with the Lord Howe Island section later....
John Tongue
Ulverstone, Tas.
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