Birdline Victoria Weekly Update

Birdline Victoria

Published sightings for the week ending 30 Sep 2012.

Sun 30 Sep	Princess Parrot Wilby Astonished to find a Princess Parrot calling from the back garden in the late afternoon. Probably a female or young bird and most likely an escapee. Still an interesting and beautiful bird to find and observe though. Michael Ramsey
	Plumed Whistling-Duck, Black-tailed Native-hen, Whiskered Tern, White-browed Woodswallow Burramine South Swamp Some good birding at the swamp this afternoon. Over 150 Plumed Whistling-Ducks observed large flock roosting on the east side of the swamp, impressive numbers. Also a small flock of Black-tailed Native-hen in shallows at the south end of the swamp and spring returns of 3 Whiskered Tern (coming into breeding plumage) and a White-browed Woodswallow. Michael Ramsey
Sat 29 Sep	Blue-billed Duck, Musk Duck Serendip Sanctuary, Lara Blue-billed Duck (1) Male seen on Saturday (29/9) evening. Not seen on Sunday (30/9). Our first record of this species at Serendip. Musk Duck (1) Female seen in the morning on Sunday (30/9) on Lake Serendip. Not seen again for the rest of the day. Only our second record of this species at Serendip. Paul Dodd & Ruth Woodrow
	Brown Songlark Bulleen Park I was very surprised to find a young male Brown Songlark feeding on the oval next to Bulleen Road. It allowed a ridiculously close approach and I got to within 30cm! Been living in the area for 10 years and never seen one before. Owen Lishmund
Fri 28 Sep	Painted Honeyeater, Masked and White-browed Woodswallows Adjacent to Bartleys Block, Howlong Rd, Chiltern Large mixed flock plus Turquoise Parrots, Black-chinned Honeyeaters and Painted Honeyeaters (calling but not sighted). Kate Daniel
Thu 27 Sep	Sacred Kingfisher Bunyip State Park There was a singing male Sacred Kingfisher opposite the start of Buttongrass Walk along Diamond Creek this morning. This is the first for the season here and a regularly held territory in spring/summer. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
Thu 27 Sep	Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Golden Whistler Elsternwick Golf Course. Fan-tailed Cuckoo and an adult male Golden Whistler were seen. Both are new species for the Elsternwick Golf Course. Gio Fitzpatrick
	Brolga Murchison One pair near the side of the road 5 Km from Murchison to Rushworth on right hand side. No sign of a chick. Bernie O'Keefe
	White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike Mt Rothwell Reserve via You Yangs A single bird foraging and flying about amongst eucalypts. Observed during Geelong Field Naturalists Bird Group excursion lead by Ken Best to this Reserve. Photo Jeff Dagg. per Craig Morley (and all the excursion participants).
	King Parrot 5km north of Harcourt A female bird flew across the Calder highway 5kms north of Harcourt. Simon Starr
	Horsfield's Bushlark, Brown Songlark Elster Creek, Elwood Possibly 60 Horsfield's Bushlark were foraging with at least 4 Brown Songlark on the Elwood foreshore (mostly around the public toilets) and further upstream on the Elsternwick Golf Course. Horsfield's Bushlark is a new species for the City of Port Phillip. [Moderators note: please note that 60 Horsfield's Bushlark and 4 Brown Songlark would be unprecedented - it would be useful if other birders could visit the site for verification. ] Gio Fitzpatrick
Wed 26 Sep	Painted Honeyeater Sullivans Track, Muckleford State Forest A number of birds seen and calling strongly. This species has returned the same site for the last 3 years at least, usually in late September of first week of October. Geoff Park
	Blue-winged Parrot, Rufous Fieldwren Lake Tyrrell Wildlife Reserve A flock of at least 15 Blue-winged Parrot were flushed into some small trees in the saltbush area near the lake in front of the viewing platform. A small party of Rufous Fieldwren was also seen eventually nearby. Joshua Bergmark
	Spotted Nightjar, Malleefowl, Mallee Emu-wren, Striated Grasswren Hattah-Kulkyne National Park Spotted Nightjar flushed off the road at dusk about 1km north of Lake Mournpall campground. Malleefowl seen at noon crossing the road about 800m north of the Nowingi Track entrance on the main road through Hattah. Party of Mallee Emu-wren seen quite well just after midday 1km north of the Nowingi/Konardin Track intersection. A few Striated Grasswren were heard after much effort, but only seen once as a single bird hopeed between two bushes. Joshua Bergmark
	Freckled Duck Seaford Swamp 5 Freckled Ducks were the highlight of a great survey of Seaford Swamp where a record 82 species were seen. Other interesting sightings were Fantailed, Horsfield's Bronze and Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, and the first Whiskered Tern and Latham's Snipe of the spring, though no other migratory shorebirds were seen. Sean Dooley and Andrew Silcocks
	Pink Eared Duck The Briars, Mornington Peninsula Two Pink Eared Ducks on lake. Colin Maddock
	Black Honeyeater Whroo Historic Reserve Corner of Greens and Reedy Lake Rd. Black Honeyeaters feeding in flowering exotic trees along with Brown-headed, White-naped, White-eared and New Holland Honeyeaters. Also Eastern Spinebills. Seen many times over the past four days as well as migrant species Olive-backed Oriole, Pallid and Fantailed Cuckoos. Keith & Judy Humphreys
Tue 25 Sep	Sooty Owl, Powerful Owl Bunyip State Park We came across a Sooty Owl calling for a long time across a moist gully along Link Rd. Mainly falling bomb calls plus single note strident screeches, as well as metallic clicking call I've not heard before. Another bird may have been answering with similar clicks not far off but not 100% on this. Possibly an adult and young fledgling communicating. Eventually the adult bird flew high overhead and disappeared. Also heard a Powerful Owl female calling clearly and for a prolonged period along Link Rd above Tree Fern Track. Lots of Southern Boobook as usual - we even saw one, plus a single Tawny Frogmouth. Mountain Brushtail Possum seen well too. Steven Davidson - The Melbourne Birder
Tue 25 Sep	Blue-winged Parrot Aireys Inlet Low number of Blue-winged Parrots, nibbling on Poa annua, around the verges of the picnic ground at the foot of the hill leading up to the lighthouse. 2 males and 2 females; 1 male a truly beautiful bird with an orange belly as Blue-wings can sometimes have. Craig Morley
	White-headed Pigeon Marlo A female White-headed Pigeon was observed preening and sunning itslef on a nearby television aerial this morning. Our first record for the 2012 season in Marlo. Jacquie and Len Axen
Mon 24 Sep	Sooty Owl Toolangi State Forest Bird heard calling in flight whilst doing arboreal mammal surveys, then glimpsed about 15 mins later in headlights Mark Hall
	Hooded Plover Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary, Flinders Pair of Hooded Plovers, plus 10 Ruddy Turnstones & about 14 Red Necked Stints feeding at low tide. Plovers very protective of 'their patch' of seaweed whilst feeding, frequently chasing the other birds away. Claire & Ziggy Wolinski
	Barking Owl Kinglake National Park (Wombelano Block) Barking Owl (1) heard calling at around 8:30 PM while doing frog surveys at Kinglake Homestead on Kinglake-Glenburn Rd. From the pitch of the barking, it was probably a female. Rohan Long
	Australasian Shoveler Birdsland Reserve, Tecoma This is the first time I have seen this species at this location in over 20 years of regular visits. Male in breeding plumage and female were on the second pond late afternoon. Jill Wilson
	Glossy Ibis Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Located on Geelong side of Beach Rd I managed to get as close as 5 metres away. It was more interested in feeding. Bernie O'Keefe
	Glossy Ibis, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Oriental Pratincole Western Treatment Plant, Werribee Glossy Ibis as reported the other day. Oriental Pratincole was originally flushed in paddock near the large lagoon (where it has been hanging around near the rocks apparently), then subsequently relocated for great views near the turning circle in W-Section. Broad-billed Sandpiper was literally the first bird seen in my binoculars while scanning a flock of stints on the coast road. Other good birds include one Rufous and many Brown Songlarks, Lathams Snipe, female Flame Robin, Banded Lapwing, Spotted Harrier, Marsh Sandpiper, Red-kneed Dotterels, and a very interesting Red-necked Stint with a variation in plumage, resulting in a mostly white back (this bird had an orange flag, so has been banded in Victoria previously - will post photos on blog in "further information" when I return to Sydney). Joshua Bergmark
Sun 23 Sep	Stubble Quail, Buff-banded Rail, Golden Whistler Elster Creek, Elwood I accidentally flushed a Stubble Quail from some Seaberry Saltbush near the playground at Point Ormond which is a first for the Elster Creek area and later saw the Golden Whistler again in the coastal scrub directly across the road from the barbeque. In case anyone is interested, the Golden Whistler seems to favour the large Black Wattle. There was also a pair of Buff-banded Rails a bit further upstream on the Elsternwick Golf Course. The Buff-banded rails usually forage between the green plastic post and the Willow. Gio Fitzpatrick
	Little Grassbird Fulton Reserve, Blackburn South A neighbour alerted me to the presence of this species after he heard the call during his regular walk around the wetlands. Next day, an early morning recce confirmed the presence of a pair of very vocal birds. Brings the neighbourhood list to a very satisfying 83 species. George Pergaminelis
	White-necked Heron, White-faced Heron, Great Egret Trin Warren Tam-boore, Royal Park Melbourne I came across one White-necked heron, eight White-faced Heron and one Great Egret at 9am Sunday morning. Susan Pepper
Sat 22 Sep	Swift Parrot Beaumaris A single bird heard in the vicinity of Oak Road, early morning. Sounded like it flew off to the south. Sean Dooley
	Painted Honeyeater, Square-tailed Kite, White-throated Nightjar, Spotted Quail-thrush Chiltern -Mt Pilot National Park There were three Painted Honeyeaters observed actively feeding and singing in flowering Mistletoe along Mt Pleasant Rd. ST Kite over Pipeline Track. Nightjar was at Honeyeater Picnic Ground at dusk and Spotted Quail-thrush along Old Coach Rd in the Mt Pilot section of the park. Also Turquoise Parrots at Bartleys Block. Edward Smith and Roly Lloyd

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