Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 6 Jan 2013.

Sun 6 Jan	Powerful Owl, Crested Shrike-tit, Rufous Fantail Royal National Park (Wattle Flat) Powerful Owl Crested Shrike-tit Rufous Fantail A good morning birding at Wattle Forest area with 42 species seen or heard. Anthony & Vicki Katon
Sun 6 Jan	Little Tern, Red-kneed Dotterel Penrhyn Estuary and Engine Ponds, Mascot, Sydney Little Tern flying around and feeding a nesting site on the sand island. Good to see this area "slowly" coming back to life after all the Container Terminal extensions. Not much else - 6 Red-capped Plovers and a couple of Pied Oystercatchers. Also Red-kneed Dotterel still on mud flats at Engine Ponds. Chris and Jane Gregory
	Grey Goshawk, Satin Bowerbird Nurragingy NR, Doonside, Blacktown Two additions to my Nurragingy NR list. Grey Goshawk was mobbed by miners and other birds while eating Red-whiskered Bulbul chick. Three Satin Bowerbirds (all females or juvs) were gorging on fig fruit (near main pond) with other birds (Australian Koel, Olive-backed Oriole) Ted Wnorowski
	Barking Owl, Nankeen Night-Heron Warriewood Wetlands In the casuarinas at the start of the boardwalk from the Katoa Clse parking end Ted spotted the Barking Owl. Whilst we were looking at it a Nankeen Night-Heron landed on the railing of the boardwalk ahead of us. Further along the track lots of female Leaden Flycatchers, a good few Rufous Fantails, 2 baby Australian Brush-turkeys on separate sightings, as well as the usual birds in this area. A Swamp Wallaby was a surprise. Ted Blackman, Sharon Gotleib, Lorna Bloom
Sat 5 Jan	Masked Booby Richmond River Lighthouse & Ballina Head Carpark Masked Booby (1) Juvenile. Much larger than the Wedge-tailed Shearwaters it was feeding amongst. Head dark, contrasting with pale neck and white underparts, creating a distinct capped appearance. Upperparts: wings dark, mantle, back and rump somewhat lighter, tail dark, neck pale. Underparts: neck, body and wing coverts white, primaries and secondaries dark, creating contrasting trailing edge. Actively feeding among Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, diving from various heights (1-5 m). Moderator's note (NH): This bird could be the same bird seen by Barry Davies at Hastings Point flying south on New Year's Day (see there). Hans Wohlmuth
	Blue-billed Duck, Musk Duck, Plum-headed Finch, Great Crested Grebe Portland - old cement works, quarry no.3 I stopped for lunch near old cement works in Portland and found a flock of Plum-headed Finches (~60) feeding on seeds of grasses and weeds at the backyards of old buildings. There were also plenty of other finches: Red-browed Finches, European Goldfinches etc. On the nearby dam (quarry no 3 dam - very deep) was small flock of water birds with few very interesting species: Blue-billed Duck (1 male), Musk Duck (4), Great Crested Grebe (2), Black-fronted Dotterel (6). Ted Wnorowski
	White-throated Needletail Cowan 2 WTNs observed above Cowan at about 7pm. Jacqueline Reifenstein & Paul Burcher
	Eastern Yellow Wagtail-Tawny Grassbird Newington Nature Reserve-Armoury, Sydney Olympic Park This morning at 0900 a single EYW flew off the samphire pan behind the fence in NNR (between the Birds Australia office and Parramatta River) straight past me calling distinctively. It showed yellow underparts, spindle shape, no rump contrast. Unfortunately it just kept on flying until it was lost as a speck to the west and no photo. There are four Australian Pipits here also-no sign of White-fronted Chat (maybe they are extinct here now). Other good birds seen today included Tawny Grassbird (1) and Musk Duck (1) (Haslam's Creek), five Dollarbirds including two fledgelings (NNR), Latham's Snipe (1), Australian (1) and Baillon's Crake (2), Glossy Ibis (1) Northern Water Feature Pond On the Waterbird Refuge in the past week at high tide there have been Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (46) and Red-necked Avocet (5-15). Dion Hobcroft
	Freckled Duck Mulwala Road Wetland, Barooga Around 30 birds were observed roosting on logs on the west side of the wetland. Thousands of other ducks and coots were also present. Michael Ramsey
	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Boomanoomana Wetlands Two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were seen well feeding around some muddy pools in the rapidly drying out wetland. A good sighting, waders are quite rare around this area. Also nice views of Baillon's and Australian Spotted Crakes. Michael Ramsey
Fri 4 Jan	Pale-yellow Robin, Russet-tailed Thrush and Australian Logrunner Copeland Common A pair of each seen in hot midday conditions. Grant Brosie
	Noisy Pitta, Spectacled Monarch and Paradise Riflebird Gloucester Tops camping area 1 Noisy Pitta seen hopping across the road. Spectacled Monarchs were very vocal. 1 female Riflebird feeding high in the eucalypts. Grant Brosie
	Satin Flycatcher, Rufous Scrub-bird and Crescent Honeyeater Kerripit Road, Gloucester Tops A pair of Satin Flycatcher feeding a youngster plus a single male further up the road. Single Scrub-bird seen well. Crescent Honeyeater everywhere Grant Brosie
	Noisy Friarbird, Cicadabird, Leaden Flycatcher 4th Crossing, Mullion R., near Orange Noisy Friarbird (8) two nests, feeding on Cicadas. Cicadabird single male calling. Leaden Flycatcher Neville Schrader (1702)
	Greater Sand Plover Stockton Sandspit Greater Sand Plover found by Liz Crawford and Chris Herbert on the weekend, located by Dan Williams and I this morning at low tide, loosely associating with Red-capped Plovers and Red-necked Stints. A Lesser Sand Plover was also photographed here last week and the Grey Plover has been seen recently, so along with a record tally of Pacific Golden Plovers in the estuary this season (400+) and breeding Red-capped and Black-fronted Dotterels and 'returning' Red-kneed Dotterels on Ash Island there is a good assortment of small plovers in the Hunter Estuary at the moment! No sightings of the Broad-billed Sandpiper have been made since the initial observation (19th Dec) and I am not aware of any recent sightings of the Banded Stilt (last report well before Xmas). Mick Roderick and Dan Williams
	Powerful Owl and 2 Channel-billed Cuckoos for dinner. Stewart Park, Epping Rd. Marsfield Heard owl about 1 am. Searching tree tops, Powerful Owl swooped into nearby tree and caught a roosting Channel-billed Cuckoo. Owl landed on nearby branch and ate Cuckoo over next hour. Inspection next morning revealed the fresh remains of 2 large young Cuckoos that had been raised by Pied Currawong. (Moderator's Note: This is a great observation and HANZAB does not list the Channel-billed Cuckoo as a known prey item! AM) Charles Allan
Thu 3 Jan	White-throated Needletail Near Tea Gardens Approx 200 WTNs seen soaring above Pacific Highway a few km north of Tea Gradens exit at about 10am. Deryk Engel & Paul Burcher
	Black-tailed Native-hen Lake Wallace Black-tailed Native-hen (1) Never seen in the area before, only one Hen spotted in lake south side about 200 meters along road towards school. Pphoto taken. (Moderator's Note: This bird has been present atleast since 16 December 2012.AKM) Geoff Brown
	Pectoral Sandpiper West Byron Sewage Treatment Plant Pectoral Sandpiper (1) still at the STP in same Pond C. Took a while to locate it. A couple of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers also in same pond. Electronic key access required for this site. Kathy Wilk
	Black-faced Monarch etc Lady Carrington Dve to Calala Picnic Area, Royal NP Many seasonal migrants as well as 'regulars' in cool overcast- highlights: 15+ Black-faced Monarch, 10 Rufous Fantail, 7 Sacred Kingfisher as well as 9 Yellow-throated Scrubwren, 12 Large-billed Scrubwren, 7 Green Catbird, 7 Superb Lyrebird, with several families of Variegated Fairy-Wren attending nests. Best Wishes for 2013 to all at Birdline NSW Harry Roberts
Wed 2 Jan	Superb Parrot Tumut STW and Town Common Superb Parrot (12) small flock seen twice (1st and 2nd jan) on Tumut Golf Course. 1st time flew across fairway and prched in distant red gum, 2nd sighting perched in large red gum in close view for good ID Mick Jerram
	Southern Emu-wren Narrow neck fire trail ,Blue Mountains national Park. Katoomba. Both male and female sighted in thick hanging swamp type undergrowth approx 1.5kms along Narrow neck firetrail. Harry O'Donovan and Daniel Marks
	F2 [Eastern x Crimson] x Eastern Rosella hybrid? Ferndale Park, Chatswood "Size like Rainbow Lorikeet (which was sitting close by), but smaller than Crimson Rosella. Actually I first heard a 'new' call I haven't heard before around our house, which was different from the Rainbow Lorikeet chatting and the Crimson call…" Moderator's note (NH): The blue (and reduced white) on the cheeks indicates some Crimson blood. The rest of the bird looks good for a juvenile Eastern - possibly an F2 hybrid? Lars Ittner per Nikolas Haass
	Square-tailed Kite Hylton Moore Park and surrounding area East Gosford Single bird observed flying low and harrassing various birds. Becoming a bit of a regular in the area. Paul Shelley
	Long-tailed Jaeger and Black-browed Albatross Mistral Point, Maroubra Today I saw : 3 Black-browed Albatross, 3 Long-tailed Jaegers, 4 Pomarine Jaegers, 3 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Flesh-footed Shearwater, 10 Fluttering Shearwaters, 1 Hutton's Shearwater, 200 Short-tailed Shearwaters and about 60 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, all heading south into the moderate S S Easterly. David Mitford
	Australian Painted Snipe Edgell's Wetland, Bathurst Single male Australian Painted Snipe seen on Gilmore Street side of the water, under the shelf of a partially collapsed bank. It had a splash about in the water then did a preening 'dance', involving a bit of leaping and wing stretching - quite a treat! Other species included Latham's Snipe, Red-kneed Dotterel, Black-fronted Dotterel, Chestnut Teal, Hoary-headed & Australasian Grebes, Australian Pelican (1), Great Egret (1), Cattle Egret (1), Little Pied Cormorant, Yellow-billed Spoonbill (1), Straw-necked Ibis (40), Black-winged Stilt (with 3 juveniles) and loads of ducks: Pacific Black Duck, Australasian Shoveler, Grey Teal, Hardhead, Pink-eared Duck (but the Musk Duck reported last Saturday appears to have flown). Tiffany Mason
	Beach Stone-curlew Burrill Lake. Ulladulla This morning at 7.30 am at the entrance to Burrill Lake a single Beach Stone-curlew was spotted alongside the breeding area where the Little Terns are nesting. It was under severe bombardment from the terns when I left to alert some mates, but alas it had departed by the time we got back. I believe there one up at the Shoalhaven river a few weeks ago maybe the same one Anyway, what a good start to year ! Bob Rusk
	Square-tailed Kite Maraylya Juvenile bird hunting near the corner of Scheyeville and Saunders Roads at 07:40 this morning. Harassed by an Australian Magpie and partly accompanied by an adult Black-shouldered Kite. Ákos Lumnitzer
Tue 1 Jan	Freckled Duck Gulpa Creek Reed Beds Freckled Duck (6) seen from top deck of the observatory. Chris Armstrong and Anne Stokes
Tue 1 Jan	Satin Flycatcher (4), Beautiful Firetail (2), Rufous Fantail, Rose Robin, Red-browed Treecreeper Waterworks Gully, Lithgow Pair of Satin Flycatchers with two young in nest. Mark Hocking
	Plum-headed Finch Crown Station Road, Capertee Valley One single adult Plum-headed Finch and an independent juvenile Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo. Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	Masked Booby Hastings Point Juvenile flying south Barry Davies
	Oriental Cuckoo Valla Beach Seen in coastal wood land, the bird had a slate grey coloured head, throat, back and wings, white breast and belly with narrow black barring, whitish vent. The bird called once, not unlike the call of a Fan-tailed Cuckoo. The bird was seen at 30 metres, a clean front on view at 6.30 am on 1/1/2013, and had a typical cuckoo yellow eye ring. The bird was not a Barred Cuckoo-shrike, with which I am familar. (Moderator's Note: Oriental Cuckoos have been reported from both SE and NE Queensland in the past few weeks.AKM) Lew Witten per Allen Hamilton.
	Black Kite Marana Rd, Springfield An unusual bird call heard from my backyard alerted me to a Black Kite flying at tree top level being mobbed by a single Noisy Miner. The Black Kite called in annoyance and changed direction every time the Noisy Miner flew at it. Nick Carson
	Black-tailed Native-hen Lake Wallace, Wallerawang Still present, one bird feeding with Purple Swamphens. Carol Probets
	Pacific Baza Nurragingy Reserve 1 individual being harassed by noisy miners. Located in the "Kookaburra" picnic area. John Cresswell
	Banded Lapwing Richmond Lowlands - Cornwallis Rd 2 adults (presumbably a pair) with 3 chicks. John Cresswell
	Little Eagle Old Tollgate site Pacific Highway, Cowan Single bird seen soaring over the cleared area of this site. Paul Burcher & Jacqueline Reifenstein
	Ground Parrot Ben Boyd National Park (Green Cape) Ground Parrot Flushed birds 5 times, 3 times on way out and twice on way back, at least 3 individuals. Steve Benjamin
	Latham's Snipe, Whiskered Tern, Red-kneed Dotterel, Black-fronted Dotterel Lawrence Egret Colony, Lawrence, NSW 15 Latham's Snipe observed feeding on mudflats surrounding Lawrence Egret Colony. Several Whiskered Tern also present feeding in open water and perched on timber in swamp. Red-kneed and Black-fronted Dotterel also observed. Cattle Egret colony with hundreds of active nests. Total of 33 species observed. Darryl Eggins and Gary Eggins
	Spotted Harrier James Creek Road/Yamba Road intersection, Northern NSW Single adult Spotted Harrier observed soaring low over cane fields beside Yamba Road at 4:47pm. Very clear views of beautiful markings: spotted underparts, barred tail and dark wing tips. Site approx 11km west of Yamba.An unusual sighting so close to the coast in the Clarence Valley. Darryl Eggins and Gary Eggins
	Plumed Whistling-Duck end of Royale St, off Geoffrey Rd, Chittaway Bay With the new year, and the new start to our Central Coast list, we went looking for the recently reported Black-tailed Godwit and Great Knot. Didn't find the Knot, but did find 10 Black-tailed Godwits and 6 Plumed Whistling-Ducks. Odd seeing Whistling-Ducks and BTG in same view. Lookout AKM and AB! (Moderator's Note: AKM & AB have you in their sights!) Tim Faulkner and Brad Gabriel
	Glossy Ibis Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush - bird hide 3 Glossy Ibis were foraging on the far right bank from the bird hide. Really catching the early morning new year sun beautifully. Judy Clark
Mon 31 Dec	Glossy Ibis, Australian Spotted Crake, Black-tailed Native-hen Spring Creek Reserve, Orange Glossy Ibis (3) adult 2 juveniles Australian Spotted Crake (5) on developing mudflats, bad photos taken, but good enough to confirm identification. Black-tailed Native-hen (1) one bird with Coot. Neville Schrader
Mon 31 Dec	Australian Spotted Crake, Little Grassbird Gulpa Creek Reed Beds Australian Spotted Crake (1) Observed easily in the open, in shallow water and reeds, on the righthand side of the entrance boardwalk. Little Grassbird Difficult to discover but in reeds adjacent the boardwalk. Responded to iPhone playback for confirmation. Chris Armstrong and Anne Stokes
Mon 31 Dec	Buff-banded Rail, Australian Koel Glen Davis, Capertee Valley One Buff-banded Rail at the Capertee River bridge, 1-2 male Australian Koels in the area. Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	Leaden Flycatcher, Cicadabird, White-throated Nightjar Capertee Valley, Wollemi section behind Oskas Cottage 2 White-throated Nightjars, several Brush Cuckoos, 2 Cicadabirds, Leaden Flycatcher 3 pairs Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Maraylya, Private Property The pair (assume the same perhaps) were back in the same tree today. I think it's some Casuarina from what someone told me. I am only posting for the record. Took photos of both sexes, attaching a nicer one. (Moderator's Note; In the Sydney region Glossy Black-Cockatoos feed almost exclusively on the seeds of the genus Allocasuarina, particularly Forest Oak A. torulosa, Drooping She-oak A. verticilliata & Black She-oak A. littoralis. AKM) Ákos Lumnitzer
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo West Head, Kur-rin-gai Chase National Park Went to this site as per recent reports. Found 3 birds in casuarina at West Head lookout carpark. Did not budge from tree in the 5 hours I was in the area and showed no sign of moving when I left. Not at all phased by the human disturbances. Rebecca Citroni
	Pacific Baza, Grey Goshawk St Ives, NSW One Baza seen frequently around the Blue-gum Forest, a Grey Goshawk sighted being mobbed by Noisy Miners Arnie Hollyman
	Black Falcon George st Murwillumbah I spotted a Black Falcon at 15 George St what drew my attention to it was that I was sitting in the car waiting for my freind + i seen a bird try+ take out a sparrow in mid flight + i thought that's a hawk or Falcon +when I got home I looked it up + it was a black Falcon VERY LOVELY BIRD.Theres canefields+ 2-3 Big Camphor Laural trees out the bk of no 13 were my mate lives i'll be going bk each morn this week to see if i can get a photo for you'se to add a new specie's to yr list.I,m a bird lover have been since i was 7-8yrs old i'm now 38 but if u have a link could you please send it to me through my e-mail address +i'll keep you up to date with any new birds i come across thanking you Scott Carter PS I DIDN'T HAVE MY CAMERA BUT I WILL HAVE IT WITH ME EVERYDAY FROM NOW ON HAPPY NYR ALSO..... Scott Carter
Sun 30 Dec	White-backed Swallow, Painted Honeyeater Genowlan Bridge, Capertee Valley One White-backed Swallow, 4+ Painted Honeyeaters, 1 Striped Honeyeater, 1 Azure Kingfisher Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	Painted Honeyeater Southern end of Binya SF along Whitton Stock Route Rd. At least 10 Painteds were seen and heard in the area. It was a cool morning at 7.30 so the birds were perching in the dead tree branches sunning themselves. Max O'Sullivan
	Turquoise Parrot, Diamond Firetail and Black-eared Cuckoo Wattle Dam, Binya State Forest Spent and hour at the dam yesterday and more than 20 Turquoise Parrots came in to drink - lots of juvenile birds which is encouraging. Also Diamond Firetails (6) with young and a single Black-eared Cuckoo. Nearby were Speckled Warbler, Eastern Yellow and Red-capped Robins and Splendid Wrens. Max O'Sullivan
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Maraylya, Private Property At about 19:30 as I was walking up to feed our horse, the distinct calls revealed two adult birds next to the horse's paddock, feeding on some kind of tree's seeds (I have no idea of trees/bushes, sorry). I managed to make a recording of the calls with my smart phone. Ákos Lumnitzer
Sat 29 Dec	Black Falcon Orange One Black Falcon flying over the highway just West of Orange. Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	White-throated Needletail and Neophema spec. (Turquoise Parrot) Back Yamma State Forest 150 White-throated Needletail (together with White-browed and Masked Woodswallows), two swiftly fly-by Neophema spec. (likely Turquoise Parrot) Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	Marsh Sandpiper Chittaway Bay I dipped on the Great Knot, but made up for it with a lifer when I came across a single Marsh Sandpiper. The bird was out the front of Lions Park, just off to the right of the eastern end. Mark Young
	Common Greenshank Pitt Town Reserve Single bird feeding near the dead Carp. Chased by the larger Black-winged Stilts when it got too close. [Moderators note: originally submitted as Marsh Sandpiper, but identification from photo thought to show Common Greenshank] Michael Rutkowski
Fri 28 Dec	Freckled Duck, Blue-billed Duck, Glossy Ibis, Cockatiel Gum Swamp, Forbes 27 Freckled Duck, 1 female Blue-billed Duck, 1 Little Egret, 1 Glossy Ibis, 8 Yellow-billed Spoonbill, 1 male Cockatiel Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	Common Greenshank The Entrance (North Entrance) 10 birds seen together with Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Bar-tailed Godwits and a single Grey-tailed Tattler. Further along was a small group of Red-necked Stints amongst another group of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. Mark Young
Thu 27 Dec	Australian Owlet Nightjar, Eastern Barn Owl, Spotted Bowerbird, Orange Chat Whoey Tank, Round Hill 1 Australian Owlet Nightjar, 1 Eastern Barn Owl, 3 Spotted Bowerbirds, 2 Orange Chats plus the usual honeyeaters, Blue Bonnets, Mallee Ringnecks, Pallid Cuckoos, White-browed and Masked Woodswallows (including one White-browed x Masked hybrid) and many feral goats and honey bees. Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	Baillon's Crake, Australian Spotted Crake, Spotless Crake, Little Egret, Glossy Ibis, Cockatiel Lake Cargelligo Sewage Treatment Plant One Little Egret, 4 Glossy Ibis, 2 Baillon’s Crake, 3 Australian Spotted Crake, 1 Spotless Crake, 1 male Cockatiel Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
	Malleefowl, Painted Button-quail, Chestnut Quail-thrush Round Hill One Malleefowl crossed Murrin Bridge Rd, 9.9 km SE of the T-junction with Euabalong-Mt Hope Rd at 8:15 pm. One Painted Button-quail, two Chestnut Quail-thrush and two Gilbert's Whistlers at Nombinnie track, several Southern Scrub-robins, Shy Heathwrens, Gould's Monitors and Bell's Lace Monitor, but no Red-lored Whistler this time. Nikolas Haass & Raja Stephenson
Sun 23 Dec	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Private Property, Oallen, Goulburn Region Between 9 and 13 individuals roosting in valley on 3 successive nights. Chris Read
Thu 20 Dec	Regent Honeyeater, Diamond Dove, Common Greenshank, Dollarbird Glen Alice to Genowlan Bridge, Capertee Valley Fantastic two days spent in the Valley. Best birds include: Regent Honeyeater (one near Genowlan Bridge), Dollarbird (1), Diamond Dove (4), Hooded Robin (family of 4 in the paddock near the Capertee River), Common Greenshank (1 -dam near Glen Alice), Red-kneed Dotterel (3 with Greenshank & 10 Black-fronted Dotterels), White-necked Heron (4 usually single birds near small dams) This replaces posting 157001. Ted.Wnorowksi
Tue 18 Dec	Dollarbird Lennox Place, Barden Ridge Following David Stevens Dollarbird sighting from Illawong on Dec 1st, I have observed a single Dollarbird twice during the week of Dec. 16-22 from my home in Barden Ridge, only a few km from Illawong. This is my first sighting in this area in the 10 years I have lived here. Roger Giller
	Common Myna 75 km Nth of Condobolin 6 Common Mynas turned up in a friends garden about a week ago. Never seen them anywhere out this way before. They are currently being trapped and destroyed. Moderator's note (NH): The blue star stands in this case for 'vagrant' and 'important observation' Warren Chad

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