Awoken this morning at 0330, pitch dark, by the dulcet tones of a Channel
Billed Cuckoo flying overhead.
In North America a lot of migration occurs at night - warblers, Canada Geese,
all sorts - fewer predators, and the days are free for feeding I guess.
Is nocturnal migration the norm here? Was this just an easily confused CBC?
Cheers
Pat
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of
Sent: Friday, 28 September 2012 12:00 PM
To:
Subject: birding-aus Digest, Vol 78, Issue 38
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Contents of birding-aus digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. Australia's Stupidest Bird? (Ed Williams)
2. Re: Australia's Stupidest Bird? (brian fleming)
3. Re: Australia's Stupidest Bird?
4. Ash Island Access? (Peter Ewin)
5. Dollarbird arrival? (Peter Ewin)
6. Re: Dollarbird and Australian Koel arrival? (Nikolas Haass)
7. Re: Ash Island Access? (Alan Stuart)
8. Birding around Leura Blue Mountains Feb 3-7 2013 (Dylan Edwards)
9. Re: Ash Island Access? (Mick Roderick)
10. Alice Springs Tattler ID help (Christopher Watson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 02:49:40 +0000
From: Ed Williams <>
To: "" <>
Subject: Australia's Stupidest Bird?
Message-ID: <>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi all,
Recently a Spotted Dove has been trying to build a nest on one of my plastic
drainpipes in the backyard. Every time he comes over and puts a twig onto his
nest site he knocks the previous one off.
I'm sure that alone wouldn't make him the stupidest bird in Australia - but
today marks the TWELTH WEEK that he has been doing this!
I have swept up countless piles of twigs and sticks from underneath that would
have made a Golden Bowerbird proud...
Can't fault his persistence - but three months in he still only has one twig to
show for it.
Surely a contender for Australia's stupidest bird?
Cheers all,
Ed
Ed Williams
Kingsville, VIC
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:41:01 +1000
From: brian fleming <>
To: Ed Williams <>,
Subject: Australia's Stupidest Bird?
Message-ID: <>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
I once saw a pair of Spotted Doves attempting to mate when the female had
perched on a very slim twig.
When they reached the flappy stage, the twig gave up and bent, and they both
fell off.
As far as I can tell, once the young have left the nest they receive little or
no care or guidance. Presumably their continued survival is due to sheer
persistence.
Anthea Fleming
On 27/09/2012 12:49 PM, Ed Williams wrote:
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> Recently a Spotted Dove has been trying to build a nest on one of my plastic
> drainpipes in the backyard. Every time he comes over and puts a twig onto
> his nest site he knocks the previous one off.
>
>
>
> I'm sure that alone wouldn't make him the stupidest bird in Australia - but
> today marks the TWELTH WEEK that he has been doing this!
>
>
>
> I have swept up countless piles of twigs and sticks from underneath that
> would have made a Golden Bowerbird proud...
>
>
>
> Can't fault his persistence - but three months in he still only has one twig
> to show for it.
>
>
>
> Surely a contender for Australia's stupidest bird?
>
>
>
> Cheers all,
>
>
>
> Ed
>
>
>
>
>
> Ed Williams
>
> Kingsville, VIC
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ===============================
>
> 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
> ===============================
>
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:53:27 +1000
From: <>
To: <>, <>,
<>
Subject: Australia's Stupidest Bird?
Message-ID:
<>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Those are definitely not real bright. I've thought a lot about dim birds,
because I live on an island where there are literally thousands of curlews (ie
bush thick-knees). I love them dearly, but I've maintained for a long time,
that with eyes that big, in a head that small, there can't be a lot of room for
cognitive excellence.
Anyway a good mate of mine, maintains that curlews aren't stupid, because they
aren't trashing the world, causing wars, etc, etc. All true enough, but we had
an ongoing good-natured argument anyway. One day he admits, sheepishly, that
curlews "may be a bit dim". This is what convinced him: his pair of curlews
courted, mated, establshed a nest and generally acted like careful
parents-to-be. They started incubating ... 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks (I
advised that they're overdue), 6 weeks, 7 ... 3 months went by. One morning,
he's on the veranda, and sees the off-duty partner come in clucking - classic
change-over behaviour, so he watches carefully. The incubating bird stands up,
affording a brief glimpse of ... a piece of coral! Not a nice round, eroded
brain coral mind you, a three-branched, bleached Acropora (your classic
staghorn). He lifted the curlew and threw the coral away in disgust, at which
point the birds seemed to sigh with relief and immediately stopped being
clucky.
Fine. Perhaps they were just learning. This year, they started brooding. 2
weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks. My mate intervened and lifted the curlew to see what
was going on - one warm Burdekin plum! I suspect it'll be a discarded Rubick's
cube next year.
Eric
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of brian fleming
Sent: Thursday, 27 September 2012 2:41 PM
To: Ed Williams;
Subject: Australia's Stupidest Bird?
I once saw a pair of Spotted Doves attempting to mate when the female had
perched on a very slim twig.
When they reached the flappy stage, the twig gave up and bent, and they both
fell off.
As far as I can tell, once the young have left the nest they receive little or
no care or guidance. Presumably their continued survival is due to sheer
persistence.
Anthea Fleming
On 27/09/2012 12:49 PM, Ed Williams wrote:
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> Recently a Spotted Dove has been trying to build a nest on one of my plastic
> drainpipes in the backyard. Every time he comes over and puts a twig onto
> his nest site he knocks the previous one off.
>
>
>
> I'm sure that alone wouldn't make him the stupidest bird in Australia - but
> today marks the TWELTH WEEK that he has been doing this!
>
>
>
> I have swept up countless piles of twigs and sticks from underneath that
> would have made a Golden Bowerbird proud...
>
>
>
> Can't fault his persistence - but three months in he still only has one twig
> to show for it.
>
>
>
> Surely a contender for Australia's stupidest bird?
>
>
>
> Cheers all,
>
>
>
> Ed
>
>
>
>
>
> Ed Williams
>
> Kingsville, VIC
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ===============================
>
> 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
> ===============================
>
===============================
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
===============================
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:43:28 +1000
From: Peter Ewin <>
To: ? birding-aus <>
Subject: Ash Island Access?
Message-ID: <>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I may have a spare day available in the Hunter Valley in the next week or so.
Ash Island would be one spot I would like to visit but I had a vague idea
access was closed. Is this the case? I would be looking in the vicinity of the
ponds around 'Wagtail Way' - I have been in the past and unless access has
changed in the last few years I should be able to find my way in.Any
information would be appreciated (also any information on anything interesting
in the area - particularly around Broke/Wollombi).Cheers,Peter
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:49:34 +1000
From: Peter Ewin <>
To: ? birding-aus <>
Subject: Dollarbird arrival?
Message-ID: <>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Have just arrived in Sydney today and in my afternoon walk spotted a Dollarbird
on the overhead wires at Pennant Hills. Not certain how long they have been
about, but my recollection of living in Sydney is they were one of the later
arrivals. No Koels heard here yet, but I suspect they will pop up in the next
two weeks.Cheers,Peter
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:17:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nikolas Haass <>
To: Peter Ewin <>, ? birding-aus
<>
Subject: Dollarbird and Australian Koel arrival?
Message-ID:
<>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Hi Peter,
I have had Australian Koel daily since 14th September in Leichhardt and in
Annandale, Sydney. There are also several other reports on Eremaea. These
sightings are?in accordance with the typical arrival dates of this species in
the region.
Dollarbird has been reported irregularly since 25th August (Warriewood, Sydney).
Cheers,
Nikolas
?
----------------
Nikolas Haass
Sydney, NSW
________________________________
From: Peter Ewin <>
To: ? birding-aus <>
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 4:49 PM
Subject: Dollarbird arrival?
Have just arrived in Sydney today and in my afternoon walk spotted a Dollarbird
on the overhead wires at Pennant Hills. Not certain how long they have been
about, but my recollection of living in Sydney is they were one of the later
arrivals. No Koels heard here yet, but I suspect they will pop up in the next
two weeks.Cheers,Peter ??? ??? ??? ? ??? ??? ?
===============================
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
===============================
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:29:28 +1000
From: "Alan Stuart" <>
To: "'Peter Ewin'" <>, "'? birding-aus'"
<>
Subject: Ash Island Access?
Message-ID: <>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Peter et al
Access to Ash Island has been OK for well over a year now. I was out there a
week ago and there weren't many birds around - but as we all know, just
about anything can turn up there and this is a good time of the year to
check it out. We're all on the lookout for the 1000+ Red Knots that usually
call in at Ash Island for half a day, on migration passage to elsewhere.
If you go to the HBOC website (www.hboc.org.au) there is a Birding Route
brochure about Ash Island and also some for other lower Hunter Valley
locations. There isn't yet one about any Upper Hunter locations,
unfortunately. Goulburn River NP, between Merriwa and Wollar, is a good
place to visit in the Upper Hunter. And there are plenty of Rockwarblers in
Wollemi NP, accessible from the Wollombi side of the NP.
Alan Stuart
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Peter Ewin
Sent: Thursday, 27 September 2012 4:43 PM
To: ? birding-aus
Subject: Ash Island Access?
I may have a spare day available in the Hunter Valley in the next week or
so. Ash Island would be one spot I would like to visit but I had a vague
idea access was closed. Is this the case? I would be looking in the vicinity
of the ponds around 'Wagtail Way' - I have been in the past and unless
access has changed in the last few years I should be able to find my way
in.Any information would be appreciated (also any information on anything
interesting in the area - particularly around Broke/Wollombi).Cheers,Peter
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
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===============================
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 09:33:02 +0100
From: Dylan Edwards <>
To:
Subject: Birding around Leura Blue Mountains Feb 3-7
2013
Message-ID:
<>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Hi Staying in the Blue Mountains for 3 full days and wondering about the best
sites within 2-3 hours drive ....Are there any local guides ( not necessary
paid professionals ) willing to take people out ...particularly like to see
Australian Owlet-nightjar and other owl species ....
Regards
Dylan Edwards
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:03:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mick Roderick <>
To: Peter Ewin <>, ? birding-aus
<>
Subject: Ash Island Access?
Message-ID:
<>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Hi Peter,
?
It is 'business as usual' on Ash Island again, now that the bridges have been
fixed. Just be aware that I can't think of anything of note there at the moment
- interesting birds only arrive when I leave town! ;-)
?
Note that there is a section of pretty rough muddy track near the junction of
Bell Frog Track and Wagtail Way which a car with low clearance might struggle
with.
?
In the Broke / Wollombi area, keep an eye out for the now-resident (or
temporarily resident at least) Spiny-cheeked HE's (maybe not of interest to
someone who lives out west but it is interesting to us coasties). South of
Wollombi there is a stringybark flowering that has attracted Regent HEs in the
past (a good road to take is Yango Creek Rd at Laguna). Alas the vast majority
of the 100+ Regents that were in the Lower Hunter woodlands appear to have
either left or gone to ground, with the only few remaining visible birds being
on private property.
?
The woodlands around Kurri have been turning on White-browed / Masked
Woodswallows and things like Rufous Songlarks have also just arrived. There has
also been the odd tardy Swift Parrot still around as well.
?
Cheers
Mick
________________________________
From: Peter Ewin <>
To: ? birding-aus <>
Sent: Thursday, 27 September 2012 4:43 PM
Subject: Ash Island Access?
I may have a spare day available in the Hunter Valley in the next week or so.
Ash Island would be one spot I would like to visit but I had a vague idea
access was closed. Is this the case? I would be looking in the vicinity of the
ponds around 'Wagtail Way' - I have been in the past and unless access has
changed in the last few years I should be able to find my way in.Any
information would be appreciated (also any information on anything interesting
in the area - particularly around Broke/Wollombi).Cheers,Peter ??? ??? ??? ?
??? ??? ?
===============================
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/
===============================
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:12:21 +0930
From: Christopher Watson <>
To:
Subject: Alice Springs Tattler ID help
Message-ID:
<>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
G'day all,
Ant Molyneux was kind enough to put me on to this bird earlier this morning
at Alice Springs Sewage Ponds. Prett sure I know what it is, but I would
appreciate any opinions from those with more experience with tattlers.
I've managed to get one picture up here;
http://comebirdwatching.blogspot.com.au/p/id-help.html and I'll try to get
some others up later.
Thanks in advance, and happy wader watching!
Chris Watson
--
*BIRDS CENTRAL*
*Central Australian birding resource*
*Guiding, writing, and site information*
*from Alice Springs*
www.comebirdwatching.blogspot.com
------------------------------
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