Hi All
I had the same experience at Michaelmas Cay but went on a big tourist cat and
only got Bridled Terns while approaching the Cay, then Common Noddy, Sooty,
Crested, Lesser Crested Terns with Brown Booby and Silver Gull on the sandspit.
I picked up Black- napped Tern and Little Tern at Green Island along with a
young Osprey chomping away at a piece of fish.
Agree about Cattana Wetlands too. I just went for a reccie, not expecting much
but stayed for four hours and picked up Nutmeg Mannikin there with some great
close-ups of male and female Crimson Finches. Great water birds there and I
wished I had gone earlier or later to have a look for crakes and rails. The
place will be huge by the time they finish the work around the new ponds.
Cheers
Chris
Christine Melrose
+61 407705140
On 02/12/2012, at 14:40, Graeme Stevens <> wrote:
>
> G'Day John,
> Got exactly the same list as yourself very recently (18th November) but
> couldn't get beyond the 6!
>
> As most will know who have visited recently, access on the Cay is very
> necessarily constrained to a small strip of beach.
> I went out with "Seastar" (no commercial interest declared) and was the only
> birder aboard.
>
> The skipper was extremely obliging however - and interested - and with a
> favourable tide, took me slowly right around the Cay by dinghy. Apart from
> excellent views of nesting Brown Booby, perched Frigates etc etc I may have
> missed the Black-naped Terns had he not been so helpful.
>
> So, for anyone heading out there, and it's probably a "must-do" while in
> Cairns, I would certainly recommend "Seastar" or at least an enquiry whether
> a quiet motor around the Cay can be on the agenda.
>
> BTW - also spent two sessions at the comparatively new Cattana Wetlands -
> great spot and will only get better.
>
> Best
> Graeme Stevens
>
>
>> Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2012 12:19:11 +1100
>> From:
>> To:
>> CC:
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Tern! Tern! Tern! (to misquote Pete Seeger)
>>
>> Now that you mention it Allan, I would think that Michaelmas Cay would come
>> close... When I visited there in 2000, I recorded Crested, Lesser Crested,
>> Sooty, Bridled, Black-naped, and Common Noddy. I believe that Roseate and
>> Black Noddy are also recorded there, may be others as well.
>>
>> By the way, I'm a Victorian :-)
>>
>> Yours in all things "Green"
>>
>> John Harris
>> Owner - Wildlife Experiences
>> 0409090955
>> On Dec 2, 2012 11:47 AM, "Allan Richardson" <> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi again,
>>>
>>> Too true that our recent Arctic Tern is a rare commodity around here not
>>> to mention the tropical blow-ins that come through from time to time.
>>>
>>> This highlights the fact that Newcastle is a transit location for a number
>>> of species.
>>>
>>> I'm expecting that someone from SE Qld, SW Aus, Cairns, or Broome for that
>>> matter, will chime with a tern mix, possibly including Roseate, Bridled and
>>> Lesser Crested to make up the numbers of an impressive tern score.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Allan
>>>
>>> On 02/12/2012, at 10:19 AM, Allan Richardson wrote:
>>>
>>>> HI Guys,
>>>>
>>>> There is another tern hotspot and it's in Australia - Newcastle in fact
>>> - who'd a thunk it!
>>>>
>>>> Recently we had the privilege of having five tern species before us
>>> (Crested, Common, White-fronted, Little and Arctic) on the rock shelf
>>> behind Newcastle Ocean Baths, while just 20 minutes by road (5 km as the
>>> tern flies) at Stockton Sandspit, in the Hunter River estuary, we had a
>>> further 4 species (Caspian, Gull-billed, White-winged Black and Whiskered).
>>> A total of nine species easily viewable within an hour or so.
>>>>
>>>> Furthermore, just recently, we also had Sooty Tern on a pelagic trip off
>>> Port Stephens a little to the north, but we've also had White Tern earlier
>>> in the year and our waters, and the Newcastle rock shelf, is occasionally
>>> visited by Common Noddy.
>>>>
>>>> Late October was certainly an exceptional time for us, likely a function
>>> of birds moving through. Although, it does highlight the importance of east
>>> coast estuarine and rock-shelf habitats as important stopover points for
>>> migratory birds in our flyway.
>>>>
>>>> As many others seem to be voicing on our forums, we are finding our
>>> migratory bird habitats here in the Hunter are under increased pressure
>>> from the community at these sites, more often than not from a lack of
>>> information about their importance.
>>>>
>>>> It has been our challenge here to find solutions that will accommodate
>>> the birds while including the community, and I'm pleased to say that we
>>> have a tireless group here that are working toward doing just that.
>>>>
>>>> Happy terning,
>>>>
>>>> Allan Richardson
>>>> Morisset NSW
>>>>
>>>> On 02/12/2012, at 9:00 AM, Steve wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> G'day Richard
>>>>>
>>>>> I immediately thought of Port Isabel, Texas where I had a great tern
>>> day a few years ago. I've just checked and I saw only 6 tern species
>>> (Gull-billed, Caspian Royal, Cabot's, Least and Forster's). Other tern
>>> species are to be found there so I reckon it is a good candidate for a
>>> global tern hotspot.
>>>>>
>>>>> I went on a boat with Scarlet Colley (http://www.fin2feather.com/) for
>>> a three hour birding trip and we also saw such birds as Great Northern
>>> Loon, Northern Crested Caracara, Long-billed Curlew, Willet, Dunlin,
>>> Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls, Black Skimmer and Mangrove Warbler. Lots
>>> of dolphins too.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers
>>>>> Steve
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 01/12/2012, at 10:30 PM, "Richard Nowotny" <
>>> > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> A big tern day at the Western Treatment Plant (Werribee, Vic) today
>>> (with
>>>>>> John and Shirley Tongue and family):
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Caspian, Crested, Common, Whiskered, White-winged Black, Little, Fairy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> [I suspect there aren't too many individual sites around the world
>>> where one
>>>>>> can see 7 tern species in a day.]
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Other good birds today included Great Knot, Pacific Golden Plover,
>>> Lewin's
>>>>>> Rail, Banded Stilt, Banded Lapwing, White-necked Heron and that
>>> remarkable
>>>>>> number of Freckled Duck at Walsh's Lagoon (estimated, on the wing, at
>>> well
>>>>>> over 50).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Richard Nowotny
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Port Melbourne, Victoria
>>>>>>
>>>>>> M: 0438 224 456
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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