Hi,
We went out to Michaelmas Cay with Seastar on the 15th November while up in
Cairns to view the eclipse. We too were taken around the cay in the Dinghy &
had great views of two Greater Frigate birds, Brown Boobies, Common
Noddies,Brindled, Black-naped, Sooty, Crested & Lesser-Crested Terns as well
as a lone Ruddy Turnstone
The snorkelling was lovely too, especially at Hastings Reef.
Cattana wetlands were great too. We managed a late afternoon visit & spotted
2 White-browed Crake, several pairs of Green Pygmy Geese and 3 Comb-Crested
Jacana and a Glossy Ibis. A quick middle of the day visit picked up the
Crimson Finch I was determined to find [this time my family stayed in the
air-conditioned car!].
From
Jenny Stiles
P.S. Cairns Esplanade was terrific too.
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Melrose
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2012 3:40 PM
To: Graeme Stevens
Cc:
Subject: Tern! Tern! Tern! (to misquote Pete Seeger)
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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