Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 16 Dec 2012.

Sun 16 Dec	White-throated Needletail Mollymook A flock of around 50 White-throated Needletails was sighted at Mollymook, South Coast NSW at around 2.00pm today. Weather hot and humid. Martin & Penny Potter
	Nankeen Night-Heron, Pink-eared Duck, Intermediate Egret Ferneligh's Lagoon (off Triangle Lane), Richmond Lowlands At Fernleigh's Lagoon in the Richmond Lowlands, I accidentally flushed 8 Nankeen Night-Herons from the Willow trees beside the lagoon and also had a here 2 Intermediate Egrets, an Azure Kingfisher, a pair of Pink-eared Ducks as well as a pair of White-winged Trillers. Edwin Vella
	Australian Painted Snipe, Latham's Snipe Jerseyville, private property A single male Australian Painted Snipe was found at a wetland on private property at Jerseyville, where 8 Latham's Snipe were also flushed. It was though that there could have been another 2 Australian Painted Snipe present. Ken Shingleton per Alan Morris
	White-winged Triller Croom Sporting Complex near Shell Harbour White-winged Triller (1) An unusual record for this area. Confirmed by 4 observers. Roger Giller
Sat 15 Dec	Baillon's Crake and Spotless Crake Colebee (near Blacktown) On Saturday morning, I checked out the wetland adjacent to the Stonecutters Ridge Golf Course were I had both Baillon's and Spotless Crakes and heard Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo, Crested Shrike-tit and Brown Quail. There is also a good patch of Cumberland Forest adjacent to this golf course with loads of flowering mistletoe attracting many honeyeaters - Yellow-faced, White-plumed, New Holland and Scarlet Honeyeaters as well as Noisy Friarbirds, Red Wattlebirds and Eastern Spinebills. Edwin Vella
	Zebra Finch, Spotless Crakes The Ponds (near Blacktown) On Saturday morning I checked out The Ponds where I had a leat 6 Spotless Crakes along different sections of Second Ponds Creek, 6 Zebra Finches (including a nesting pair) as well as Double-barred and Red-browed Finches, numerous Weebills etc. Edwin Vella
	Great Knot, Australasian Shoveler, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Whiskered Tern Chittaway Pt and South Tacoma Pt, Tuggerah Lake. Amongst the many hundreds of Grey Teal and 1000s of Black Swans, at Chittaway Point, was a lone adult male Australasian Shoveler, and amongst a group of 8 Bar-tailed Godwit was a Great Knot.. Also 26 Black-winged Stilt and a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Off nearby South Tacoma Point there was a group of 8 Whiskered Terns in breeding plumage, near a roosting flock of 14 Bar-tailed Godwits, 8 Red-necked Stints and another Sharpie. Also present were Crested and Caspian Terns, a Little Egret and many Great Egrets and two seperate sightings of White-bellied Sea-eagles. Roosting in the casuarinas were 3 Nankeen Night-Herons, and Bar-shouldered Doves and Olive-backed Orioles. Alan Morris & 17 members Follow That Bird Tour
	Marsh & Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Latham's Snipe, Southern Emu-wren Central Coast Wetlands, Pioneer Dairy, Tuggerah A 3 hour visit found the Marsh Sandpiper and 2 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers at the Dairy Swamp, 2 Latham's Snipe flew over and a further 3+ were seen in Pioneer Creek, where a pair of Southern Emu-wrens were found taking food to a nest. A party of 30+ White-throated Needletails were overhead at one stage, Nankeen Kestrel and Swamp Harriers were present, 2 Buff-banded Rail, 3 Intermediate Egrets and 1 White-necked Heron, a party of 35 Cattle Egret in breeding plumage, landed at Dairy Swamp for 10 minures or so and then flew on; Sacred kingfisher, Dollarbirds, Koel, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Tawny Grassbird, Cisticolas and a juvenile Figbird. Alan Morris & 17 members Follow That Bird Tour
	White-necked Heron Rowes Lagoon At least 6 White-necked Herons at Rowes Lagoon just off the Hume highway north of Lake George. Also lots of other waterfowl around but hard to see due to overgrown nature of the wetland. Falk Wicker
	Westland Petrel, Black Petrel, Buller's Shearwater, very late Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross SOSSA pelagic off Wollongong Highlights: A Westland Petrel and two Black Petrels together; a Buller's Shearwater, a very late Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross (1st year bird) and high numbers of Flesh-footed Shearwaters (finally!). A full trip report will be posted on the SOSSA website soon. Westland Petrel is on BARC's review list. A submission is in preparation. Nikolas Haass for all on the Sandra K
	Grey Goshawk, Red-rumped Parrot Mackey Park, Marrickville Single Grey Goshawk briefly seen flying along Cook's River. Also 4 Red-rumped Parrots. Simon Gorta
	Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Grey Fantail Near Whittaker's Lagoon, Moree Today a lower number of 61 species. Although, it was my first sighting of a Grey Fantail in summer! They only come here in autumn and winter. We also observed small flocks of Chestnut-rumped Thornbills. Whittaker's Lagoon is very low and almost dry. The only waterbirds spotted there were 2 Masked Lapwings, a few Nankeen Night-Herons, a few Little Pied Cormorants and Little Black Cormorants, a White-faced Heron, a White-necked Heron, lots of Red-kneed Dotterels and Black-fronted Dotterels and a Latham's Snipe. No Ducks were seen! Curtis Hayne
	White-cheeked Honeyeater and Nankeen Night-Heron Nanny Goat Hill, Wolli Creek, Earlwood 3 White-cheeked Honeyeaters (makes a nice change to all the regular New Holland Honeyeaters) on Nanny Goat Hill and a single Nankeen Night-Heron at 'Cormorant Corner' (where Wolli Creek makes a 90 degree turn). Melissa Mason and Fiona Vaughan
	Intermediate Egret, Australian Shelduck Cranebrook I saw this egret in the exact same spot and pond from which I've reported it on November 8, 2012. I have not seen one there since that day. This time though I was armed. Other interesting finds were the pair of Australian Shelducks (still in same spot), six (at least) Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, which I struggle to remember if I've ever seen near Penrith and a lone Whistling Kite. Got photos of all of them. :-) Ákos Lumnitzer
Fri 14 Dec	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Ding Dang Doo Ranch, Maraylya Glossy Black-Cockatoo (6) At least four adults were feeding at the rear of property and two of them were at the side, near one of the sheds. I had clear views of that last two as they flew off on dusk to their night roosts. Ákos Lumnitzer
Fri 14 Dec	Nankeen Night-Heron Engine Pond, Sydney Airport Nankeen Night-Heron (1) Accidentally flushed from northern side of Engine Pond at about 14:50. Flew over Mill Pond and kept going. Rob Child
Fri 14 Dec	Grey Plover, Banded Stilt, Red Knot, Great Knot Stockton Sandspit Newcastle 1 Grey Plover feeding on the outgoing tide between 1.30 and 2.30pm. 1 Banded Stilt was still around with around 2500 Red-necked Avocets. Also present on the outgoing tide were 23 Red Knot, 2 Great Knot, 55 Little Tern, Red-necked Stints, Curlew Sandpipers, 3 Terek Sandpipers, several Black-tailed Godwits as well as many Bar-tailed Godwits. 130 Eastern Curlew plus many Whimbrel. Chris Herbert, Liz Crawford, Nick Livinos , Dick Jenkin
	Fork-tailed Swift Corowa A flock of 20 birds over town in the afternoon before a storm front. Brendan Toll
	Australian Brush-turkey Londonderry This morning, near the corner of Londonderry and Boscobel Roads, I found a road kill Australian Brush-turkey. It was certainly an unexpected sighting for I don't feel the surrounding habitats are quite suitable. It also did have a yellow wire nicely wrapped around (partly) one of its legs, as if it were a pet? Hence, I am tossing up whether it's a real local or an illegal immigrant. Ákos Lumnitzer
Thu 13 Dec	Superb Parrot Cucumgilliga 10' Cell Superb Parrot (60) We first saw 9 heading towards a large eucalypt then 2 large flocks also wheeled into this tree. Alistair & Carmen Drake
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Australian Spotted Crake, Spotless Crake Penrith, Castlereagh Rd - Sydney Water STP site Four Glossy Black-Cockatoos were feeding on the she-oak cones (first sighting for this site). The company planted few dense stands of casuarina trees in the STP plant and this season the tree are completely covered with cones. It is very good that the parrots found those isolated stands of trees.There were also good number of water birds in the STP ponds including: Spotless Crake (2), Australian Spotted Crake (1), Buff -banded Rail (2), Australasian Shoveler (4), Black-winged Stilt (breeding, pair with 3 chicks), Hoary-headed Grebe (6). I also spotted Peregrine Falcon catching juv Common Myna outside the STP. Ted Wnorowski
	Rainbow Bee-eater, Buff-banded Rail, Australian Pratincole, Red-n Avocet, Marsh & Sharp-t Sandpipers Half of the Gwydir Wetlands, Moree An excellent day as well on our 2nd day at the Gwydir Wetlands, spotted a Rainbow Bee-eater, Grey-crowned Babblers, 18 Red-necked Avocets, at least 10 Marsh Sandpipers, around 50 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, lots of Brolgas still around, more than 3 Diamond Doves, Still lots of White-bellied Sea-Eagles, a Buff-banded Rail flew into the reeds at one wetland, Still Latham's Snipes around, and still large flocks of White-browed and Masked Woodswallows and Tree Martins spotted at nearly every location and another Australian Pratincole spotted at a different location, this time on a wetland. Curtis Hayne
Wed 12 Dec	Pink-eared Duck South Lismore STP,Three Chain Road, Lismore At least 4 around treatment ponds and lakes, not the easiest bird to find around the North Coast but a treat for sure. Duncan Fowler
	Australian Pratincole, Pallid Cuckoo, Common Greenshank, Marsh & Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Brolga Half the area of Gwydir Wetlands, Moree Yesterday, at a few eastern parts of the Gwydir Wetlands, we spotted an Australian Pratincole on a tarred road between ploughed fields, Grey-crowned Babblers, Olive-backed Oriole, an immature Pallid Cuckoo sitting on a paddock (my first sighting of this species), lots of Horsfield's Bushlarks seen and heard, Tawny Grassbirds heard, 4 Marsh Sandpipers, 2 Common Greenshanks, 2 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, lots of Brolgas, Large flocks of White-browed and Masked Woodswallows being present at just about every location there as usual, Large flocks of Tree Martin, Hundreds of Black-tailed Native-hens, White-bellied Sea-Eagles at both the wetlands we visited, More than 10 Latham's Snipe, a Little Egret, a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles, Australasian Pipits, Brown Quail, Blue Bonnets present as nearly every location as usual and Jacky Winters. Curtis Hayne
	Australian Painted Snipe Vallances Rd. Mullumbimby 2 Australian Painted Snipe roosting in semi-tidal swamp. As water rose they flew, circled the swamp landed in the water and appeared to "swim" before re-locating to dense reeds on edge of swamp where they could just be seen preening. Probably a pair, one definite female. June Harris and Brunswick Valley Birdwatchers.
	Australian Koel Queanbeyan Bird heard in evening and at dusk on 10th December and again this morning from Crawford Street c. 1km north of main shopping strip. P.S. Lansley
Tue 11 Dec	Australian Spotted Crake Cnr Barkers Lodge Rd & Mullholland Rd, Thirlmere Swamp near Nangarin Estate James Fong
	Plains-wanderer, Painted Honeyeater Oolambeyan NP Plains-wanderer, Little Button-quail and other regulars observed during regular monitoring of grassland sites. A pair of Painted Honeyeater also observed in Boree woodland to the east of the homestead. David Parker
	Spotted Harrier Orara River near Grafton Single bird 200 meters north of the McPhersons Crossing bridge. Flying about 3metres above ground. Warren Thompson
	Little Lorikeet Thirroul A flock of approximately 20-30 birds in the flowering gums in the park at the top of Sea View Terrace, Thirroul. Numbers have been increasing throughout the week. Michael Crosland
	Turquoise Parrot Australian Native Botanic Gardens, Mount Annan One female plumage bird observed for about 20 minutes in the Conservation Woodland area at Mount Annan near Campbelltown, NSW. Alan Leishman, Ken Gover & Leslie Hook
Mon 10 Dec	Australian Painted Snipe 4km North along Wightman Road from Quia Station Road, 25km North West of Gunnedah Single bird in a bunch of undergrowth being mobbed by Apostlebirds Steven Edwards
	Plumed Whistling-duck Macquarie Pass 15 birds seen on a small farm dam approx 1 km from the bottom of Macquarie Pass. These birds are rare for the Illawarra area Terrill Nordstrom
Sun 9 Dec	Shy Albatross and Black-browed Albatross Mistral Point, Maroubra 42 Black-browed Albatross, 2 Shy Albatross, 1 Arctic Jaeger, 12 Pomarine Jaegers, 3 Flesh-footed Shearwaters, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Fluttering Shearwater seen today amongst the thousands of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Short-tailed Shearwaters. David Mitford, Robert Griffin and Ray Gobbe
	White-throated Needletail Bayview Ave East Gosford Approx. 20 ind. observed. Warren Brown
	Australian Shelduck, Little Egret, Glossy Ibis Penrith Lakes A delightful end to my weekend bird observations came from a tip-off from Bob Sinclair, who lives in my area. I passed the very lake this morning, without taking a look, in which an adult pair of male/female Australian Shelducks have turned up possibly overnight as I check this spot almost daily. Also present was a Little Egret, several Hoary-headed Grebes, Great Crested Grebes and a pair of Black Swan with seven well-grown cygnets. A male Swamp Harrier flew through with small prey (could have been a juvenile waterbird) and a Glossy Ibis arrived along the shores as well. After this observation I briefly checked a wetland across the road only to find an adult and juvenile Glossy Ibis, taking my count to three Glossy Ibis in a matter of ten or so minutes at this location. Ákos Lumnitzer
Wed 5 Dec	Australian Pratincole Gum Creek, south of Carrathool Single bird observed in sparse native grassland on private property. David Parker
Mon 3 Dec	Red-chested Button-quail Conargo area Pair observed in grassland north of Conargo off Mabins Well Road David Parker
Wed 28 Nov	Australian Painted Snipe Limestone Creek 33 38S 148 54E 1' Cell Australian Painted Snipe (3) 1 Male, 2 Females. Photographed. On private property. Bec Read
Wed 28 Nov	Little Bronze-cuckoo, Forest & Sacred Kingfisher Verges Creek Rd Kempsey When stopping on hearing the call of a suspected Forest Kingfisher, which had been seen a few hundred metres down the road, and playing the tape, a Little Bronze-Cuckoo responded to the playing of the tape! The observer is very familiar with the call of this species, having had the bird come to his garden when living in South Kempsey. The bird was calling from a patch of trees 30 m from the road but unfortunately there were no bushes close to the road to provide cover if it came any closer. Sacred Kingfishers were also present. Ken Shingleton per Alan Morris
Sat 24 Nov	Australian Painted Snipe Finley NSW Pair of Australian Painted Snipe sighted east of Finley on a drainage channel adjacent ot a rice crop. Total of five individuals seen. Photo of a single bird attached (credit R. Ryan) Gerard O'Neill
	Australian Painted Snipe McPherson Rd Swamp, Tuggerah 1 male feeding among Black-winged Stilt (counted 6 immature of these altogether) , Pacific Black Duck and all the usual other suspects at this location. Rex Schmidt

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