Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 11 Nov 2012.

Sun 11 Nov	White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Grey Goshawk, Peregrine Falcon Mitchell Park, Cattai NP A few nice raptors at Mitchell Park late today. All began with a Grey Goshawk around 17:00 near rainforest section. Then a Peregrine Falcon flying overhead towards the east with a small bird in talons. Could have a nest somewhere nearby. Then a White-bellied Sea-Eagle flew over education center at around 18:30. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Little Eagle Seale Road, Belmore River, Kempsey Great views of a Little Eagle. Other birds present that are not so common on the coast included a pair of Brown Falcons, a Rufous Songlark and also a pair of White-winged Triller's at nearby Ryans Cut. Tim Morris and Steve Edwards
	Long-tailed Jaeger. Ballina Lighthouse. Seen my first three Long-tailed Jaegers for the summer today. michael ronan.
	Spotted Quail-thrush, Jacky winter, Mogo Camp, Yengo NP, Settlers Rd Bucketty A pair of Spotted Quail-thrush foraged around the mowed edges of the campsite during a one hour visit in the middle of the day. Also present were a pair of Jacky Winter, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Yellow-faced, Yellow-tufted, White-naped & White-eared Honeyeaters, Eastern Spinebills and Noisy Friarbirds and many Yellow Robins. 2 Goannas patrolled the camp! Alan Morris & Nick Carson
	Topknot Pigeon Moore/Centennial Parks, Sydney 2 birds flew from Moreton Bay Figs near Fox Studios over to Centennial Park. My first local record. Eric Finley
	Lewin's Rail Eastlakes Golf Course Had great views of Lewin's Rail also 4 Latham's Snipe Tony & Stephanie Dawe Edwin Vella
	Wedge-tailed Eagle Bobbin Head 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles soaring over Bobbin Head. Great views. James Galea
	Topknot pigeon Orient Point A pair of Topknot Pigeons sighted on the edge of the salt marsh, western end of Orient Point. They have been in the same spot for a week. Also three Channel-billed Cuckoos. Richard Brown
	Little Tern Shoalhaven Heads Little Tern (2) Two birds flew in and roosted with the Bar-tailed Godwits. Duade Paton
Sat 10 Nov	Blue-faced Honeyeater, Buff-banded Rail, Tawny Frogmouths Nurragingy Reserve, Doonside An adult Blue-faced Honeyeater was seen next to the entrance gates (they have turned up quite a number of times over the years and are probably resident). Also seen was a Buff-banded Rail, a family of 3 Tawny Frogmouths (an adult with 2 young), lots of Scarlet Honeyeaters feeding on flowering mistletoe, 2 New Holland Honeyeaters (the first I've seen in Nurragingy Reserve), Olive-backed Oriole, Brown Goshawk, Fan-tailed Cuckoo etc. Edwin Vella et al
	Painted Snipe, Red-kneed Dotterel, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin McPherson Rd Swamp, Tuggerah The 2 Painted Snipe could be readily seen in the central section of the McPherson Rd Swamp this afternoon. Also present were 6 Red-kneed Dotterel, 2 Latham's Snipe, Black-winged Stilt with 4 medium size young, the single Black-tailed Native-hen, and a group of 6 Chestnut-breasted Mannikin. White-necked Heron and Intermediate, Cattle and Great Egret also present. John & Carole Carpenter per Alan Morris
	Topknot Pigeon Mackey Park, Marrickville 6 birds flying north this time, this makes two groups heading approximately south, and two groups heading approximately north + 2 feeding birds in a recent report in gladesville, for the inner west. Simon Gorta
	Horsfield's Bronze and Pallid Cuckoo, Rufous Songlark, Brown and King Quail, European Goldfinch Richmond Lowlands Large numbers of Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoos including one group of 6 birds. 2 Pallid Cuckoo. Also European Goldfinch numerous amongst seeding thistles. Rufous Songlark feeding young in nest on Powells Lane. Several Brown Quail seen and a King Quail calling. 1 Collared Sparrowhawk. Eric Finley
	Rufous Fantail, Leaden Flycatcher, Tawny Grassbird, Golden Whistler Moree West In Woodlands and Scrub on the western side of town, yesterday I found an immature Rufous Fantail (which I am very grateful for coming back), 1 Male Leaden Flycatcher, several Golden Whistlers calling (I found a female) and more than 6 Tawny Grassbirds (spread across the briarbush farmland) allowing each good photos. This overcast weather must of attracted these species to town, Rufous Fantail and Leaden Flycatcher on the edge of their western range while Golden Whistler just very uncommon in the area. Curtis Hayne
	Black Petrel, Gould's Petrel, Buller's Albatross, Buller's Shearwater Sydney pelagic trip It was a very rough day on the ocean but we were rewarded with 26 species (one of the all time high counts for the Halicat). The highlights were two Black Petrels, Gould's Petrel, Buller's Shearwater (early), Buller's Albatross, two Long-tailed Jaegers, two White-faced Storm-Petrels, two Northern Giant-Petrels (late) and a Brown Skua (late) Roger McGovern and all on the Halicat
Fri 9 Nov	Little Bittern, Wandering Whistling Duck Great Aussie Bush Camp, Tea Gardens School Camp proved successful with 10 Wandering Whistling Ducks in the central lake of the camp and at approximately 6:30, a Little Bittern was accidentally flushed from reeds underneath a walking bridge, It flew to some other nearby reeds where it lay unseen for about an hour until some primary school kids came past throwing rocks and it escaped unharmed and flew to other nearby reeds, where it landed in a rather undignified fashion, crashing through the reeds and then disappeared . Both species photographed. Other interesting species included Buff-banded Rail and Sacred Kingfisher Simon Gorta
	Buff-banded Rail, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Grey Butcherbird Trumper Park, Paddington, Sydney In this small inner city pond saw a pair of CBC's in trees mobbed by the usual suspects - and the CBC's have been reeking havoc here and around Scottish Hospital site for a week or two. It's about 8 years since they have called this part of Sydney home. Also 2 BBR's - now here for, to my knowledge, three seasons and looking to breed again. Also Grey Butcher Birds with a nest in a tree over the pond. Pacific Black Ducks also breeding. Chris Gregory
Thu 8 Nov	Grey Goshawk Maraylya (private property) At 19:43 the raucous calls of Masked Lapwings and the scattering of about 40 rabbits alerted me to a passing Grey Goshawk. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Cattle Egret Canowindra Road, Cowra A flock of about 20 egrets feeding alongside cattle in a paddock just on the outskirts of Cowra. Haven't seen them in the Central West area for a long time. Stephen Gibbs
	White-throated Nightjar Eastlakes Golf Course WT Nightjar flushed from side of track connecting two golf courses on Gardeners Rd end. Involuntarily flushed the bird 3 more times. The recently reported Red-kneed Dotterel is still there on the pond to the NW. A Dollarbird near the toolsheds, and Yellow Thornbills there too. Bas Hensen
	Topknot pigeon Gladesville Saw 2 Topknot pigeons 2 male koels 6 figbirds all feeding in fig tree.Park st Gladesville Tony Dawe
	Horsfield's Bushlark Parkwood Road, Parkwood Horsfield's Bushlark (1) Singing included Willie Wagtail mimicry. Other larks included 2 Brown Songlark, Rufous Songlark and Australasian Pipit Alastair Smith
	Intermediate Egret Cranebrook An unusual sighting for my neck of the woods. This is certainly an egret species I see very rarely, in fact, I am struggling to remember last time I've observed one. It was hunting in a small pond along Old Cranebrook Rd, which runs parallel with New Castlereagh Rd. Ákos Lumnitzer
Wed 7 Nov	Little (Fairy) Penguin Jimmy's Beach, Hawk Nest 1 penguin came in quite close to shore chasing fish and then moved out to about 50m where it stayed in the same area for about 20 minutes. According to locals quite often seen here (small population on Broughton Island, but many nest on nearby Cabbage Tree and Boondelbah Islands). Simon Gorta
	Little Terns, Black-faced Monarch, Pallid Cuckoos and Tawny Grassbird Eastlakes Golf Course, Pagewood Three Little Terns today on the main lake, two were displaying adults (passing fish). One had a single blue flag on left leg. Also both Pallid Cuckoos still there, a Tawny Grassbird and Black-faced Monarch in the section south of Wentworth Avenue. Also a Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous Whistler, Lewin's Rail, Spotted Crake, 2 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and 9 Latham's Snipe seen. 27 Masked Lapwings was quite a high number compared to 'normal'. David Mitford
	Sanderling Mouth of Bonville Ck, Sawtell Single bird seen this morning and still present this evening (first I have seen on Coffs Coast). Other waders present include Grey-tailed Tattler, Pacific Golden Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Australian Pied Oystercatcher, Red-capped Plover, and single Red-necked Stint. Peter Higgins
	Spotless Crake, Glossy Ibis Pambalong Nature Reserve 1 Spotless Crake at at c.7.00pm 6 Glossy Ibis 140+ Cattle Egret, c.60 Australian White Ibis coming in to roost at dusk. 2 days ago at same spot: 1 Baillon's Crake, 4 Latham's Snipe. Michael Kearns
	Grey Goshawk, Regent Bowerbird Blue Gum Hills Regional Park (near Minmi - suburb of Newcastle) 1 adult Grey Goshawk + nest with 1 young. 1 male, 1 female Regent Bowerbird Michael Kearns
	Powerful Owl Monash Rd, Gladesville A high-pitched trill heard from the lounge room turned out to be an immature Powerful Owl perched in a short maple in my backyard. Southern Bookbook has been heard from home lately and Tawny Frogmouth is regular in the garden. Max Breckenridge
	white-eared Monarch, Barred Cuckoo-shrike, Forest Kingfisher. Mebbin National Park near Murwillumbah Got good views of two White-eared Monarchs and at least 12 Barred Cuckoo-shrikes which is a bit surprising seening that there is not much fruit on the fig trees. Also seen two pairs of Forest Kingfishers . michael ronan.
	Little Lorikeet, Scarlet Honeyeater, Black-faced Monarch, Leaden Flycatcher Field of Mars Reserve, East Ryde Little Lorikeet - Several overhead, calling. Result of widespread and prolific flowering locally. Scarlet Honeyeater - Having ever only recorded the one-off individuals, it was a massive shock today to find 20+ (males and females, although little calling) feeding in flowering shrubs and eucalypts. Black-faced Monarch - (2) Likely another. Feeding in shrubs and eucalypts with honeyeaters, very surprising. Leaden Flycatcher - (1) Male. Calling for a short while, seen well. In the same general area as the honeyeater activity. Max Breckenridge
	Baillon's Crake, White-winged Triller Walka Water Works (near Maitland) I watched a Baillon's Crake foraging for 15 minutes at the muddy base of some reeds at Walka Water Works. About 100m away, I encountered another of them! Again, I had great views for a considerable time. Earlier I had seen two White-winged Trillers chasing one another, in tress just beyond the causeway. Alan Stuart
Tue 6 Nov	Spotted Harrier, Little Eagle, Brown Falcon, Nankeen Falcon Property, 25km West of Narrabri NSW Spotted Harrier and Little Eagle seen flying over wheat fields. The Brown Falcons were hunting Brown and Stubble Quail that were being flushed from cover in a wheat crop by a combine harvester. One falcon was successful in capturing a quail. The falcons nest regularly in the open woodland adjacent to the cereal crop. I have also observed in the past on several occasions Australian Hobbies using the harvester to assist them in securing quail and grasshoppers, by repeatedly performing high speed passes within one or two metres across the front of the machine while it is operating. James Faris
	Red-capped Robin Castlereagh While walking my dogs along one of the firetrails near Castlereagh I came across a Red-capped Robin. I am not 100% if it is an immature bird, there is a slight hint of a yellow gape. Could not locate a male at this point in time. Ákos Lumnitzer
Mon 5 Nov	Paradise Riflebird. Nightcap National Park, Mullumbimby Excellent views of male displaying.in the Rocky Creek Dam section of the National Park. michael ronan.
	Freckled Duck Lake Cargelligo STW 30+ Freckled Duck present. Also seen were Aus Shelduck and all three Crakes. Carol and Petet Abbott
	Plum headed Finch Cobar A good sized flock of Plum headed Finches at Newey Recreation area. Many Spotted Bowerbirds present. Carol and Petet Abbott
	Glossy Black Cockatoo Australian Botanic Gardens, Mt Annan Single pair preening each other in a low Yellow Bloodwood in the Arboretum (the signed planting on the western side of the exit loop road). Similarly observed a few weeks ago in same spot. Peter Ridgeway
	Australian Little Bittern Lake Jerrabomberra (Jerrabomberra, NSW) A male Little Bittern emerged from long grass at the edge of the lake at about 1:30 today. It disappeared back into the grass and has not been seen since Lindsay Hansch
	Spotless Crake Warriewood Wetlands Spotless Crake seen clearly in wetlands off Katoa Ave, on the right hand side before getting to the boardwalk. Pat Thorn
Sun 4 Nov	Freckled Duck Banar Lake 25 km Sth of Condobolin 5pm 30-35 birds 50-60m from the road right near the culvert. Warren Chad
	Collared Sparrowhawk (x2) Pitt Town Bottoms At about 16:30 in the afternoon a pair of Collared Sparrowhawks were soaring together near the river side of PTB Rd. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Bush Turkey Blues Point Road, McMahons Point We caught sight of this Bush Turkey wandering down Blues Point Road, McMahons Point, right in the middle of the shopping strip. Dodging traffic, he kept up a brisk pace overtaking pedestrians and crossing the road several times as we jogged to keep up. When we lost sight of him the heckling of the native mynahs heralded his every move. Apologies for this poor image but I was too slow to shoot when I came upon him up close as I turned a corner. He seemed a youngish bird with red and yellow markings on his head and neck and he made a low quiet boom boom call. We have another photo of the bird in silhouette high in a tree with wing feathers spread. Trish Wilkins
	Pied Oystercatcher Bundjalung National park a small flock of 7 Pied Oystercatchers, all adults, wheeling down the beach, later split into two flocks of 3 and 4 which went their separate ways. Ian Colvin
	Striated Heron Lake Beldevere Happily sitting full view at the back of the main island. No sign of Painted Snipe. Andy Firth
	Pallid Cuckoo, Grey Goshawk Maraylya, Private Property Grey Goshawks were heard calling at around 17:00. At least two Pallid Cuckoo were present. I was able to draw one close by whistling its calls. The bird was constantly harassed by Willie Wagtail and the other resident bushbirds. On a sad note, I watched my Noisy Friarbird nest being raided by a Grey Butcherbird. I don't think anybody survived. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Plumed Whistling-duck Yarramundi (near Richmond) At least one seen in the open lake south of the bridge. Dollarbirds, Azure and Sacred kingfishers, Scarlet Honeyeaters, Shining and Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoos, Varied Sitellas were amongst other birds present. Edwin Vella
	Grey Goshawk Bobbin Head Rd, Turramurra A pair display flying over my house approx 10am this morning for 5 minutes. Were doing circles in unison and then dived away together towards the south. Tom Wilson
	Painted Snipe 15 km South of Condobolin 15 birds, mostly male in flooded Wallaroi Creek about 2 km North of Banar Swamp on private property at 6 pm. Also there were 30+ Red Knee Dotteral, Masked Lapwings, Pink Ear Ducks and 50-60 Black Tail Native Hens Warren Chad
	2 Satin Flycatchers & 8 White-bellied Cuckoo- shrike . Tabbimoble State Forest near Maclean . michael ronan.
	Dollarbird 'Avonlea' (private property) Burrumbuttock, near Albury Pair of dollar birds returned eight days ago, and were presumed to be one of the two breeding pairs we usually have on our property. Plenty of display flights during the week, and observed courtship feeding this afternoon, so looks like the next generation of dollar birds is on the horizon... David M Watson
Sat 3 Nov	Rufous Scrub-bird Barrington Tops National Park Wonderful views of a male Rufous Scrub-bird just off the track where the track to Munro Hut starts (to the right of Kerripit Road). After moving close to where it was (calling for about 10 minutes), it stopped calling and then came within 1 metre of me and I enjoyed 20-30 seconds watching this beautiful bird. I arrived at 11am and it was overcast. I did not hear any birds calling for close to 2 hours. However when the sun came out 3 birds started to call, one of them close to me. The other birds were calling to the left of Munro Hut (where I had been waiting most of the morning) and another in the creek line to the right of the track to Munro Hut. Charles Hunter
Fri 2 Nov	Australian Koel Eden Another Australian Koel was heard repeatedly calling from forested areas near Cocora Beach early this afternoon. Len and Jacquie Axen
	Spotted Harrier Blakebrook, 8 k's north Lismore on Kyogle Rd. one adult bird quartering along edge of road along grassy fenceline. June Harris
	Regent Honeyeater Campbelltown Went for a quick morning stroll in a small isolated Cumberland Plain Woodland remnant (less than 2 hectares) at Campbelltown and was delighted to come across a Regent Honeyeater. The site is within an urban landscape and is located at the corner of Parkside Crescent and Regents Street Campbelltown - not far from the Macarthur Square Shopping Centre. The bird was feeding on the lerp on eucalyptus leaves whilst be harassed by a pair of Little Wattle Birds. Michael Paul
Thu 1 Nov	Turquoise Parrot Cox's River Road, Kanimbla Valley Pair of Turquoise Parrots feeding off grass seeds near large farm dam on right hand side of road, just on the fenceline. Liz Wilson
	Little Tern Tathra Estuary 25 Little Terns were located preening and repeatedly washing themselves in the Mogareeka Inlet this afternoon. Early arrivals based on our records for this site. Some birds already in full breeding plumage. Len and Jacquie Axen
Wed 31 Oct	Whimbrel, Australian Koel Merimbula A Whimbrel was observed feeding amongst the exposed oyster leases and rock outcrops near Spencer Park in the late afternoon. An Australian Koel was also heard on successive mornings calling from the forest that separates the Merimbula township from the Mirador estate to the north. Len and Jacquie Axen

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