Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 7 Oct 2012.

Sun 7 Oct	White-headed Petrel Mistral Point, Maroubra In an amazing sub one hour seawatch we had : 4 White-headed Petrels, 50+ Black-browed Albatross, 5 Shy Albatross, 1 Yellow-nosed Albatross , 2 Common/White-fronted Terns and 1000's of Short-tailed Shearwaters.5:30-6:20pm David Mitford and Paul Johnstone
	Rufous Fantail, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Spectacled Monarch Point Plomer, Limeburners Creek NR Seen on headland walk from Point Plomer campground. Tim Morris
	Brown Songlark Brown's Field Campbell Drive Wahroonga An immature male Brown Songlark has taken up residence near tennis court at Brown's Field Wahroonga over the weekend. ( Apologies for photos) Nick Billington
	Australian Painted Snipe Riverstone Private property at Riverstone we had 4 Painted snipe 75 Black -winged stilts,12 Pink-eared ducks,4 Australasian Shovelers,1 Nakeen Night Heron,2 Brown Songlarks, Tony & Stephanie Dawe Edwin Vella
	Whiskered Tern Sydney Olympic Park Single bird seen well around Lake Belvedere. There seems to be a lot of Sydney records of them recently, could this be result of the conditions inland? Nathan Ruser
	White-throated Gerygone, Brown Honeyeater 'Avonlea' property, Burrumbuttock; near Albury At least two White-throated Gerygones calling in garden and nearby Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre; seen at close range--very fresh plumage with contrasting pale lores and throat. First record for district in almost 10 years ( Western Gerygone is fairly common and has bred here for the last three years). Single Brown Honeyeater still present, with calling Horsefield's Bronze-Cuckoos, Mistletoebirds and Restless Flycatchers David M Watson
Sat 6 Oct	Banded Stilt Stockton Sandspit The Banded Stilt was seen again yesterday by Allan Richardson and family. See image which reveals that it is not an immature as first reported but an adult non-breeding (or coming into breeding plumage perjaps?). The legs don't appear bright pink enough and the band not "full" enough for a breeding bird. Refer to previous report for warnings re: nesting birds nearby. Allan Richardson per Mick Roderick
	Sanderling Bherewerre Beach, Sussex Inlet Sanderling with five Ruddy Turnstones seen on beach while monitoring Pied Oystercatcher and Hooded Plover nests. Also six Red-necked Stints. Brett Davis
	Masked, White-browed, Black-faced and Dusky Woodswallows Cranky Rock NR, Warialda Large flocks of hundreds of Woodswallows. Mostly Masked but a huge amount of White-browed as well. A lot of Dusky Woodswallows were with them as well. At least 6 Black-faced Woodswallows were seen but not with the flock. Also present were large flocks of Grey-crowned Babblers feeding with White-winged Choughs and Apostlebirds, a single Eastern Yellow Robin, Pied Currawong, Spotted Bowerbird and White-winged Triller, Striated Thornbills, Australian King-Parrots, Eastern and Pale-headed Rosellas, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, Silvereyes, Golden & Rufous Whistlers, White-throated Gerygones, Olive-backed Orioles and White-throated & Brown Treecreepers. Very noisy - Noisy & Little Friarbirds were also seen and heard. 55 species were recorded in under 2 hours at this location. A possible Common Bronzewing was seen. An unidentified young Cuckoo was being fed by honeyeaters, not sure what species. Curtis Hayne
	Rufous Songlark Eastlakes Golf Course (Sydney) 1 bird Chris Gladwin
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Irrawong Reserve (Warriewood, Sydney) 3 birds above and left of the main waterfall - feeding quietly in small casuarina Chris Gladwin
	Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern, Leaden Flycatcher, Australian Spotted Crake Eastlakes Golf Course Whilst looking for Chris Gladwin's Rufous Songlark (reported earlier today) we saw : 1 Caspian Tern, 10 Whiskered Terns, 1 Leaden Flycatcher and an Aus. Spotted Crake. The Caspian Tern is my first record here, and this continues an excellent run of recent records at this (normally underwatched) site. David Mitford and Greg Mc Lachlan
	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Red-capped Plover, Red-necked Avocet Goran Lake, 30 km south of Gunnedah 2380 First sighting of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers (4), together with other waders at Goran Lake. They were in a flock with 5 Red-necked Stints and about 50 Red-capped Plovers. Apart from other aquatic species that had been seen at Goran Lake before (incl. recently returned Whiskered Terns in breeding plumage), it is noteworthy that there still are thousands, rather than hundreds, of Red-necked Avocets, as recently reported by Alan Morris. Michael Dahlem
	Dollarbird Mitchell Park, Cattai 2 Dollarbirds seen today in Mitchell Park. Returnees? Christina Port
	Masked Woodswallow,White Browed Woodswallow Long Point, Macquarrie River Crossing, Mullion Creek Large mixed flock of Masked Woodswallows with White-browed Woodswallows circling overhead. Some settling in the trees too. Stephen Gibbs
	Topknot Pigeon Bundeena Solitary Topknot Pigeon in the backyard of my place at Bundeena this afternoon. Nothing was bothering it. Bruce Roubin
	Topknot Pigeon, Leaden Flycatcher Irrawong Reserve Topknot Pigeon (40) Flock has grown from 20+ to about 40 birds over past three weeks. They've been favouring a tall skinny (mahogany?) opposite the small waterfall. Watching them stream from the small crown of this tree is reminiscent of an improbable number of clowns clambering out of a mini. Leaden Flycatcher (1) Single bird in mid-story adjacent to small waterfall, nicely seen and heard. Peter Hosking
	Topknot Pigeons and Green Catbirds Lady Carrington Drive and Wattle Flat Highlights of a rainy walk were ten Topknots feeding on 'dates' and voiding seeds, a Rock Warbler, many Fantail Cuckoo and Black-faced Monarchs. Several Rufous Whistlers, three Leaden Flycatchers, a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, and two Lyrebird attended by Yellow-throated Scrubwrens were all on the Drive as far as Jersey Springs. The Flat had three Catbird, a Sacred Kingfisher, several Olive-Backed Orioles and a Lyrebird. Large-billed Scrubwren also about as were Wonga Pigeons. Rain kept the crowds away. Harry Roberts
	Pink-eared Duck Richmond Lowlands Pink-eared Duck (7) Just as we were thinking that there wasn't anything interesting at the Ridges Lane pond when out swam 2 Pink- eared Ducks with 5 ducklings! (Moderator's note: A good Sydney breeding record!) Jenny Stiles
Fri 5 Oct	Australian Painted Snipe Bherewerre Beach, Sussex Inlet NSW Female sighted and photographed in middle of 7km long beach near margin of beach and grassed dunes at midday while doing Pied Oystercatcher and Hooded Plover shorebird survey. Brett Davis
	Whiskered Terns, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Pitt Town Lagoon 2 Whiskered Terns at the lagoon early this morning. Mark Young
	White-browed Woodswallow King Creek, Wauchope 20 plus White-browed Woodswallows overhead during late afternoon. Clive Meadows
	Banded Stilt Hunter Estuary A single immature Banded Stilt was discovered by Liz Crawford and Chris Herbert on Wednesday afternoon on the Kooragang Dykes and was subsequently seen at Stockton Sandspit. The bird was present there today and is associating with the 4000+ Red-necked Avocets. If anyone goes to try and see the bird at the sandspit PLEASE be mindful that there are ground-nesting birds in the area. The best approach is to park under the bridge near the river, walk out to the point and view the birds from there so as to not disturb anything. Best time would be about 2 hours after high tide as the Avocets (and other shorebirds) fly over from the dykes to stage at the sandspit before flying off to Fullerton Cove for the low end of the tide. This is the first Hunter Region record since 2004 and there are no records on Eremaea NSW Birdline at all. Mick Roderick
	Buff-banded Rail George Street, Sydney CBD A roadkilled Buff-banded Rail was on George Street just outside the Grosvenor Place office building today. Perhaps one of the birds from the botanic gardens? Murray Lord
	Square-tailed Kite Bundanoon One bird flew over home at 12;45pm. My first STK for Bundanoon. Stoked. Lorne Johnson
Thu 4 Oct	Laughing Kookaburra Walgett Unusual pure white bird in picnic area south of the town. Ivor Preston & Karen Doyle
	Freckled Duck Fivebough Swamp,Leeton Feeding amongst Pink-eared Ducks. Carol Abbott
	Topknot Pigeon Victoria Rd and Blaxland Rd Ryde 3 Topknot Pigeons flew across Victoria Rd. Ryde near the intersection with Blaxland Rd about 3.00pm. Appeared to come from Calvary Nursing home. Adrian Dick
	Marsh Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper & Red-kneed Dotterel Pond on Pitt Town Bottoms Rd. Pitt Town There was a single Marsh Sandpiper - 2 Red- kneed Dotterel and 8 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers feeding in a shallow pond opposite the bottom gate to the Golf Course 1.00pm today Adrian Dick
	Spotted Harrier attacked by Nankeen Kestrel Penrith Quarries (Private property) I believe this adult may be the second adult in two days here due to the fact that my report from Tuesday had an adult with a damaged fourth primary on the right wing. This bird has its primaries intact on both wings; hence my assumption. I have been seeing the adult(s) and at least one juvenile in the same area every day for about a week now. A Nankeen Kestrel was quick to disapprove the harrier's presence. Feel free to see a larger version of the image here: http://amatteroflight.com/gallery2/d/7582-1/Spotted-Harrier-and-Kestrel_AGL4090.jpg (Moderator's Note: Great shot!) Ákos Lumnitzer
	Beautiful Firetail (3), Crested Shrike-tit, Bassian Thrush (pair), Green Catbird Royal N.P. - Lady Carrington Drive South. Great activity all around early in the morning before the crowd! Not visiting this site too often but im sure Beautiful Firetail is rather unusual here down at the river. Also Wonga Pigeon, Varied Sitella and lots of Scarlet Honeyeaters! Lorand Szucs
Wed 3 Oct	Lewin's Rail, Baillon's Crake Cambell's Swamp Griffith Lewin's Rail seen in reeds near bird hide together with a Baillon's Crake. Carol Abbott
	Grey Falcon Macquarie Marshes Three birds seen 4km along the Ringorah Road (the public road on the way to Oxley Station's gate), ~20km south of Quambone. Birds were perched in the foliage of a Bimble Box. Tim Hosking
	Southern Boobook Tunks Park - Vernon Street - Cammeray - Sydney Walking back home late, 11.30pm - heard and then saw Southern Boobook - good views of this calling owl for about 10 minutes. Have heard before but not seen. Tom Rambaut
	Brown Honeyeater 'Avonlea' property, Burrumbuttock, near Albury Single adult bird has been calling from concealed perches for the past six days, finally had a clear view of it this morning at close range and confirmed ID. First record for property, and I'm unaware of any records of Brown Honeyeaters in district. It was feeding on flowers of Bay Tree and hawking insets around flowering Wisteria in garden. David M Watson
Tue 2 Oct	Spotted Harrier (adult) Castlereagh I was staking out the spot where I've seen the Spotted Harrier (perhaps two or three) on Sunday near the quarries this afternoon and noted this specimen, appears to be an adult, soaring near me. It is distinctly marked opposed to the one I posted the sighting of from Sunday. Spotted Harriers have been busy near Penrith for most of this year as I have been regularly seeing them. Ákos Lumnitzer
	White-fronted Chat Shoalhaven Heads Approximately 6 White-fronted Chats on the mud flats near where the opening to the ocean is. Michael Crosland
	Kermadec Petrel Mistral Point, Maroubra The highlight of a 2 hour seawatch at Maroubra this morning was a dark morph Kermadec Petrel, flying amongst some of the hundreds, if not thousands, of Short-tailed Shearwaters heading south. Also many flocks of Wedgetailed and Fluttering Shearwaters; a southern Giant Petrel; 6+ Black-browed (imms) and 4 Shy Albatross (3 imms); and a Brown Skua. [Moderator's note (NH): While Kermadec Petrel is expected in March/April in NSW waters, it is still a rare bird outside these months (although there seems to be another - much lower - peak in October/November).] Robert Griffin
Mon 1 Oct	Pied Honeyeater, Black Honeyeater Round Hill Nature Reserve Pied Honeyeater (2) whooey tank track, about 100m back from the tanks. 1 flying, 1 sharing flowering Emu bush with Black Honeyeater! Black Honeyeater (1) Ben Walmsley
Mon 1 Oct	Brahminy Kite Morna Point (Port Stephens area) One immature Brahminy Kite seen around midday flying along rocky coastal habitat. Also two Sooty Oystercatchers feeding on shoreline. Paul Burcher, Isabel Burcher & Jacqueline Reifenstein
	Black Falcon Morpeth main street Single Black Falcon flying over the main street of Morpeth yesterday (proof shot as I leapt out of the car attached!). Mick Roderick
	Brown Songlark, Rufous Songlark, Banded Lapwing Glenarvon Road, Bolwarra (near Maitland) Several Brown and Rufous Songlarks in the 'flat country' along Glenarvon Rd (Rufous more common of the two). Also 11 Banded Lapwings on the turf farms. Mick Roderick
	White-winged Triller Lenaghan, west side of Hexham Swamp near Newcastle 3x male White-winged Trillers on the western edge of Hexham Swamp yesterday. Mick Roderick
	Bassian Thrush, Topknot Pigeon, Brush Cuckoo, Glossy Black-Cockatoo Irrawong Reserve.Narrabeen Seen this morning 3 Bassian Thrushes, 12 Topknot Pigeons, Brush Cuckoo, Spotted Pardalote nesting at the big waterfall, 2 Glossy Black-Cockatoos, first time seen here for many years. David Simpson
	Lewin's Rail, Spotless Crake, Baillon's Crakes East Lakes (approx. 5-10km south of Sydney CBD) At East Lakes this morning we were rewarded with excellent views of a Lewin's Rail for a minute or so. Also seen were both Spotless and Baillon's Crakes, Buff-banded Rail (heard only), 2 Latham's Snipe, 2-3 Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoos, 3 Brown Quail, a Brown Goshawk with prey in its talons, both a Little and Intermediate Egret Egret, Scarlet Honeyeater, 4 Whiskered Terns, a flock of 20 or so Nutmeg Mannikins and 3 Greenfinches. 70 bird species seen this morning. Edwin Vella and Mark Fuller
	Australian Reed-Warbler and Rainbow Bee-eater 'Avonlea' property, Burrumbuttock (near Albury) Single Australian Reed-Warbler observed at close range in garden, and small group of Rainbow Bee-eaters flying overhead--first returns to district. Also Spotted Pardalotes, Yellow Thornbills, Superb Fairy-wrens, Australian Hobby, Collared Sparrowhawks, and large flocks of Noisy Friarbirds David M Watson
	Latham's Snipe, Sacred Kingfisher, Common Greenfinch, Lewin's Rail, Whiskered Tern Eastlakes Golf Course Pair of Sacred Kingfishers and another calling, 1 Latham's Snipe, Lewin's Rail heard, numerous Australian Koel and Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo heard, 4 Black-fronted Dotterel (inc likely nesting), Little, 1 Intermediate and Great Egrets, 3 Common Greenfinch, 4 Whiskered Tern, 2 Little Wattlebird, 3 Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo. 68 species in 3 hours. Eric Finley
	Superb Lyrebird Lady Carrington Drive, Royal National Park ,Sydney Four Lyrebirds seen, one group of three and one single bird between Jersey Springs and the Callalla picnic area on Lady Carington Drive Greg Smith
Sun 30 Sep	Painted Honeyeater, Crested Shrike-tit, Red-capped Robin Cumbil Road, Baradine State Forest Was delighted to find a loose group of Painted Honeyeaters feeding in the fruiting mistletoe along Cumbil Road (part of Baradine Bird Route 6). Other nice birds on this road included a male Crested Shrike-tit and a pair of Red-capped Robins. Ashwin Rudder
	White-winged Triller Stockton Borehole Swamp, Teralba (Lake Macquarie) 2x male White-winged Trillers present at Stockton Borehole Swamp on Sunday (note this swamp is on the north-west side of Lake Macquarie and is nowhere near the town of Stockton!). Allan Richardson per Mick Roderick
	Rufous Scrub-bird Werrikimbe NP One Scrub-bird seen well and several others heard, along Hastings Forest Way. Murray Lord
	Whiskered Terns, White-winged Trillers, Dollarbird, Scarlet Honeyeater East Lakes Golf Course We had an excellent morning at East Lakes today. Some of the goodies seen included 16 Whiskered Tern (most in breeding plumage), White-winged Trillers (2 males and 2 females), Dollarbird, Swamp Harrier, Brown Goshawk, Black-shouldered Kite, Nankeen Kestrel, Little Egret, 2 Latham's Snipe, Spotless Crake and Buff-banded Rail, Pied Cormorant (locally rare for East Lakes), Rufous Whistler, Sacred Kingfisher, a male Scarlet Honeyeater (the later locally rare for the area) and some Greenfinches. We also were amazed by 2 males Water Dragons engaged in battle! Edwin Vella and David Mitford
Sat 29 Sep	Superb Lyrebird Terrys Creek, Vimiera Park, Epping NSW In neighbours garden who adjoins Vimiera Park. Photograph & video Virginia Hall
	Painted Honeyeater Capertee Valley, Crown Station Rd/Glen Davis Rd area Heard Painted Honeyeaters. Saw Red-capped Robin, hundreds of White-browed Woodswallows, Masked Woodswallows, Little Lorikeets, Pallid Cuckoo, White-winged Trillers, Rainbow Bee-eaters plus lots of others. Tony & Stephanie Dawe
Fri 28 Sep	Cattle Egret Lake Albert, Wagga Wagga Cattle Egret (10) On a bank in the middle of the Stringybark Creek sediment pond on the southwest end of the lake Robert Myers
Fri 28 Sep	Bourke's Parrot 30 km north-east of Tibooburra Pair of Bourke's Parrots flushed from roadside when driving up to them and failing to see them until the last moment. They were on the Gorge Loop Rd, very close to way marker #5. The gibber plains there are now covered by grass and low shrubs, all going or gone to seed. Nearby (between Mt. Wood Homestead and way marker #4) thousands of Budgerigars were having a feast. When disturbed the Bourke's Parrots flew into a gully (the one described in the Gorge Loop Rd Drive Tour Guide by NPWS) lined by Gidgee trees (Acacia cambadgei). Failed to find the parrots for photo ID, but birds seen and identified by two persons independently. Michael Dahlem
	Speckled Warbler Munghorn Nature Reserve Speckled Warbler - banded on right tarsus. Tony & Stephanie Dawe
	Black Bittern, Australian Spotted Crake, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis Northern Rd (9 road - Penrith to Narellan) - Western Sydney I surveyed ponds and swamps along Northern Rd (Penrith-Narellan road). Most of the ponds are on the private land so you need a scope and a good vantage points to find the birds. There were a great variety of water birds and many of them were breeding (Grey Teal, Australasian Grebe etc). Interesting birds found there: Yellow-billed Spoonbill (7 sightings - usually single bird per pond), Glossy Ibis (1), Australasian Shoveler (one flock -5), Pink-eared Duck (11), Red-kneed Dotterel (5 birds - 2 flocks), Brown Quail, Australian Spotted Crake (1), Black Bittern (1 - swamps in the army restricted zone), Little Grassbird, Zebra Finch (10). Ted Wnorowski
Thu 27 Sep	Hooded Plover Hell Beach (near Kioloa) 2 birds seen in late afternoon. A team from the Australian National University have signposted much of Hell Beach to make visitors aware of the Hooded Plovers' nesting area. Southern end of beach near creek mouth was roped off. There are HP footprints over much of beach! 2 Sooty Oystercatchers and a White-bellied Sea-eagle were on Belowla Island off Hell Beach also. Lorne Johnson & Steve Edwards
Wed 26 Sep	Black-breasted Buzzard 50 km north of Wanaaring Single Black-breasted Buzzard seen circling above the road, almost exactly halfway between Wanaaring, NSW, and Hungerford, QLD. At that point the road is close to the Paroo River. Got great photos for ID. Michael Dahlem
Mon 24 Sep	Mulga Parrot, Major Mitchell's Cockatoos 23 km south of Bourke Single male Mulga Parrot spotted feeding in red-flowering Emu-bush Eremophila longifolia by the side of the Bourke-Cobar Rd, 23 km S of Bourke.Present at the same time were about 8 Major Mitchell's Cockatoos. When checking again 6 days later, most flowers had gone to seed and the remainder did not attract any parrots any longer (only the odd Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater). Michael Dahlem

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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