Birdline NSW Weekly Update

Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 3 Feb 2013.

Sun 3 Feb	Red-capped Plover (2), Wood Sandpiper (1) Riverstone private property (approx. 10km NW of Backtown CBD) Also seen were 2 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 48 Black-winged Stilts (including 4 juveniles), 15 White-necked Herons (my highest count for a single site in the Blacktown LGA), 3 Yellow-billed Spoonbill and 4 Royal Spoonbill, a single Pink-eared Duck, a male Swamp Harrier, a Peregrine Falcon, 3 Brown Falcons (all 3 seen at the same time and perched on posts or low trees), 11 Nankeen Kestrels (all 11 seen at the one time and in the one small area), Dollarbird, Sacred Kingfisher, Double-barred Finch and heard both Brown Songlarks and Stubble Quail. Great to see waterbirds returning to this site as a result of recent rains. Edwin Vella and Tony Dawe
	Wedge-tailed Eagle Grose Vale (private properties) At around 11:30 this morning I was at a friends' property with my wife. The husband was just telling me that in the 18 months they lived there he's never seen an eagle. As luck had it, an adult Wedge-tailed Eagle glided by some two minutes later. I even had a chance to point out the main identifying features for the couple so they can keep an eye out for them in the future. Ákos Lumnitzer and three others.
	Spotted Harrier Penrith Quarries This morning I was scanning the fields at about 8:20 and noted one adult Spotted Harrier low over a field. Soon it was joined by a second adult bird. This had confirmed a suspicion of mine for a while that there are more than one in adult plumage at the quarries. Only hope that they have a nest in the area as I have seen a number of different juvenile/immature birds over the past year in that area. Maybe I am being too optimistic. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Little Tern Boat Harbour,Kurnell At least 5 Little Terns here today including one juv., also good numbers of Red-necked Stint, Crested Terns etc Chris Pollard
	Buff-banded Rail Burns Bay, Lane Cove A pair of birds flushed from Milk Thistle field about 20m from small stream. Both birds flushed independently, one from a dense clump of thistle, towards the stream. First record I know of from Lane Cove LGA (Several records from Lane Cove National Park, but not in Lane Cove) Nathan Ruser
Sat 2 Feb	Wompoo Fruit Dove, Rose-Crowned Fruit-Dove, Paradise Riflebird, Emerald Dove Nightcap National Park, Gibbergunyah Range Road Several Wompoo Fruit Doves (many calling), male Rose-Crowned Fruit-Dove, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Emerald Dove (has been several years since I have seen one at Nightcap), Wonga Pigeon, Azure Kingfisher, Large-billed Scrubwren, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Eastern Whipbird, Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Shrike-tit, Grey Shrike-thrush, Black-faced Monarch, Spangled Drongo, Paradise Riflebird (both male and female), Green Catbird (heard not seen), Red-browed Finch. It was a lovely Saturday morning spent at Nightcap. Huge numbers of fruiting trees. The road has dozens of large fallen trees and I suspect it will be many months until it is open. Big Scrub Loop was also impassable due to fallen trees after the major storm recently. Charles Hunter
	Plumed Whistling-Duck Bushells Lagoon 20+ Plumed Whistling-Ducks at Bushells Lagoon members of Cumberland Bird Observers Club.
	Pacific Baza Orara River Coutts Crossing A juvenile Pacific Baza was taken into care by WIRES today following a wild electrical storm last night. It was uninjured and I banded it for release tomorrow. Greg Clancy
	Spangled Drongo, Grey Goshawk, Coutts Crossing At 0720 hrs a flock of 8+ Spangled Drongos landed in trees in and near our backyard. They were very active so it was hard to count them accurately but there were at least 8. They moved off in a northerly direction. One was heard calling later in the day. At 1600 hrs the alarm calls of the local Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Noisy Miners and Torresian Crows drew my attention to a large raptor in a Forest Red Gum near the Coutts Crossing School. It was a grey morph Grey Goshawk, only the third record for the site in 28 years. Greg Clancy
	Black Noddy, White-necked Petrel, Shy Albatross and Sooty Tern Mistral Point, Maroubra Went out early on my own a saw a Black Noddy, 3 Sooty Terns, 32 Pomarine Jaegers and 3 Arctic Jaegers. Later, together, we saw a close, stunninng White-necked Petrel in perfect light. Also a Shy Albatross, 2 Black-browed Albatross, a dark morph Arctic Jaeger, a few Pomarine Jaegers and a single Long-tailed Jaeger. Shearwater numbers were very low, especially considering the strong southerlies, I suspect they were mainly out wide or in Victoria ! David Mitford, later Ray Gobbe, Fiona Brooke, Bas Hensen and Andy Firth
	White-throated Needletail, Fork-tailed Swift, Australian Pelican, Brown Goshawk, Spangled Drongo Waterview Heights 500+ White-throated Needletails with 1+ Fork-tailed Swift on thermal above house, joined by 3 Australian Pelicans and a Brown Goshawk. 22+ Spangled Drongos moving in a northerly direction through backyard. Gary Eggins
	Freckled Duck, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Edgell's Wetland, Bathurst After much scanning of loafing Grey Teal, Australasian Shovelers and Pink-eared Ducks, three Freckled Ducks emerged - ID slightly challenging with all heads tucked under wings! Also of interest here today was one Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Tiffany Mason
	Spotted Harrier Levenstrath Rd. Levenstrath nr Grafton NSW Swooped across in front of car narrowly avoiding becoming museum specimen and made two unsuccessful "drops" on something in long grass on side of road and then landed in tree about 20 meters from car. 2.30pm with a big storm front approaching. Warren Thompson
Fri 1 Feb	Spangled Drongo Waterview Heights 12+ Spangled Drongos moving in a northerly direction through trees in the backyard Gary Eggins
	Streaked Shearwater, Black Noddy, Sooty Tern Boodooree National Park One live Streaked Shearwater in poor condition live on Bherwerre Beach. It died later. Also several Fluttering Shearwaters and Sooty Terns in poor condition on beach as well as several of each species seen flying along the beach and over dunes battling strong onshore southerly winds. Beachwashed birds along Bherwerre Beach and Cave Beach included a second Streaked Shearwater, 1adult Black Noddy, 2 Fairy Prions, 1 Hutton's Shearwater and 9 Sooty Tern (including 5 juveniles). Note: Definitely fairy prions as just washed ashore in tideline in good condition. Conditions at the time were galeforce onshore southerly winds and driving rain resulting in a number of fluttering shearwater and sooty terns flying over beach and dunes with several in poor condition resting on the sand. Interestingly no or virtually no locally breeding species washed ashore or present ashore in a poor state such as wedge&short -tailed shearwaters little penguin and white faced storm-petrel. Interesting that apart from sooty terns the species that appears to be most affected by present conditions os the fluttering shearwater with numbers found beachwashed at bellambi point Woonona plus Jervis bay beaches with more to come by the looks of it. Back to fairy prions they breed on islands in eastern bass strait so perhaps not so surprising that small numbers are present in southern NAW waters. Martin Schulz
	Black Noddy Maroubra 1 Black Noddy was the highlight of a seawatch this afternoon, another bird was seen shortly before I arrived. Also of note; 1 juv Sooty Tern, 1 imm Black-browed Albatross, 1 Australasian Gannet, 2 Arctic Jaegers, 2 Pomarine Jaegers, 1 Hutton's Shearwater plus many Short-tailed & Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Rob Hynson
	Fork-tailed Swifts, Glossy Ibis and Turquoise Parrot Eastlakes Golf Course Went out this morning and went OK. The Glossy Ibis reported by Greg McLachlan yesterday was still there but flighty, the Turquoise Parrot showed briefly and just as I was about to get into my car to go to work, I saw a White-throated Needletail, I looked up and saw a few more (15) and also with them were about 6 Fork-tailed Swifts. They quickly disappeared and within 30 seconds the Southerly change hit. Also seen were: 3 Little Terns, 1 Brown Quail, 1 Tawny Grassbird, 1 Red-kneed Dotterel, 4 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, a Nankeen Night-Heron, Little, Intermediate and Great Egrets. Heard Lewin's Rails calling in 2 places as well. David Mitford
	Square-tailed Kite Sawtell Single bird sailing low over treetops of suburb; obvious moult of outermost rectrices, ~3/5 length of next inner, which also probably not fully grown. Peter Higgins
	Magpie Goose, Brolga, Whiskered Tern North of Ulmarra 60 Magpie Geese were first observed in flight near the Pacific Highway. They landed at the edge of floodwaters in a flooded cane field. 10+ Whiskered Terns were perched on flood debris in floodwaters nearby. Further north 25 Brolgas, including 1 large juvenile, were in paddocks near flood waters. Later 2 Brolgas were present S of Ulmarra. Greg Clancy
	Black Noddy Mistral Pt Maroubra at about 2 pm a Black Noddy struggled into a strong southerly. It ended up being blown back, disappearing behind Mistral Point. Small, very dark to black, with high contrast white cap, fast wingbeat tern-like. Good views for several minutes. Also 1 juv. Black-browed Albatross, 2 Pomarine Jaegers, few Fluttering Shearwaters, good numbers of Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed shearwaters. Bas Hensen and Ray Gobbe
	Black-necked Stork Flooded paddocks at Clarenza Only 4 Storks present today, adult pair foraging a few hundred metres apart, one sub-adult and one juvenile-immature. Greg Clancy
	Square-tailed Kite Eulah Creek, 20 km east of Narrabri 2390 A single Square-tailed Kite landed in a tall tree at the back of our property. For ID I show a photo taken in-flight; close-up shots of the bird sitting in a tree were obtained. This is not the first time I have seen a Square-tailed Kite looking a bit "ragged". It caused quite a stir amongst the local Galahs. Michael Dahlem
	Sooty Tern (juvenile) Avenue Beach, Kioloa, NSW Found in an exhausted state on dune near beach. Now with Ulladulla Vet Clinic. Marg Hamon, Maggie Mance, Steve & Robin Teding van Berkhout
	Plumed Whistling-Ducks Riverstone Checked out private property at Riverstone water levels returning to ponds noticed six plumed whistling ducks Tony Dawe
	Fork-tailed Swift, White-throated Needletail 'Toxteth Estate', Glebe A flock of 15+ swifts were seen at around 8:10 this morning. A number of them were flying incredibly high, but a few were flying low, just over the rooftops and without binos I was able to see that at least two of the birds were a lot slimmer, not as broadly built, slightly smaller, had long, dark and at some points forked tails and no white under the tail, which a few of the other low flying swifts (the needletails) showed. Overall 13+ White-throated Needletails and 2 definite Fork-tailed Swifts. They were headed towards the city. Simon Gorta
Thu 31 Jan	Lesser Frigatebird, Sooty Tern Flat Rock, Skennars Head Lesser Frigatebird (1) Juv. Sooty Tern (2) Juv. Steve McBride, Faye Smith, Megan, Hans Wohlmuth
Thu 31 Jan	Plumed Whistling-Duck Royal National Park (Ironbark Flat) Plumed Whistling-Duck (20) Having hired a rowing boat from the Audley Boatshed with family members from the UK, I was thrilled to find ourselves on the water in the company of 20 Plumed Whistling-Ducks. Martin Potter
Thu 31 Jan	Sooty Tern Sawtell Beach Another single juvenile Sooty Tern seen here at Sawtell, at northern end of beach, flying low immediately overhead and circling before continuing south. Peter Higgins
	Streaked Shearwater and Sooty Tern Mistral Point, Maroubra 2 Streaked Shearwaters going south and 2 Sooty Terns heading north today, also 8 Australasian Gannets seen. David Mitford and Rob Hynson
	White-tailed Tropicbird (probable) Merewether (Newcastle) A likely White-tailed Tropicbird was seen by a lucky observer along the cliff line at Merewether near Hickson Street just after midday. The bird was reported as being a "white streamlined looking bird flying with a very!! long white pin-tail and a yellow beak. I did not see any black markings on its back xpt I saw what I thought was a black bar across the rump" (which were later realised to be the black trailing feet). The observer also describes seeing what was likely a frigatebird moments later. John Goswell per Mick Roderick
	Bridled Tern, Black Noddy, Sooty Tern, Lesser Frigatebird, Streaked Shearwater Fort Drive and Nobby's / Stockton Breakwalls (Newcastle) Our tropical visitors remained around Newcastle today with multiple sightings of an adult female Lesser Frigate, distinguished by her missing secondary on the left wing. This bird seemed to be favouring the Stockton side of the river. A Bridled Tern was seen at various times of the day on the Nobby's side. The Black Noddy was frequenting the area off the end of Nobby's Breakwall and was seen just after dawn (AR) and shortly before dusk. Late in the day it was observed flying up the harbour and moments later it was back in the surf. The bird appears to have an orange object hanging from one of it's legs. A few Sooty Terns are still around and the only 'unusual' (well, not unusual at the moment) shearwater were Streaked (at least 3 or 4). Images by Lorna Mee (LFB), Michael Kearns (BN/BT) and me (SS). Mick / Steve Roderick, Michael Kearns, Allan Richardson and numerous other observers
	Sooty Tern NE Centennial Park Found a Sooty Tern in Centennial Park this afternoon. Unfortunately it was no longer alive, lying head down in the grass. The bird was mostly intact, and must not have been there for more than a day. Bas Hensen
	White-necked Heron, Glossy Ibis, Turquoise Parrot Eastlakes Golf Course White-necked Heron, Glossy Ibis, Turquoise Parrot Greg McLachlan
	Magpie Goose, Plumed Whistling-Duck Dam N of Coutts Crossing, north coast NSW Only 4 Magpie Geese and 8+ Plumed Whistling-Ducks today, down on yesterday's count. Greg Clancy
	Black-necked Stork, White-bellied Sea-Eagle Floodwaters at Pacific Highway Clarenza, near Grafton 7 Black-necked Storks spread along the edge of a levee in shallow floodwaters. One adult pair, one immature-sub-adult and four in the distance so age not determined for them but appeared not to be adults. Three White-bellied Sea-Eagles (2 adults one juvenile-immature), 20+ Australian Pelicans and a number of egrets (mainly Great Egret). Greg Clancy
	Red-necked Avocet Lake Wollumboola near Nowra Sighted and photographed 35 Red-necked Avocet this morning at the southern end of the Lake Wollumboola entrance. Richard Brown
	Lesser Frigatebird The Gap, South Head 2 birds heading north c.19:30 Paul Bruty
Wed 30 Jan	Lesser Frigatebird Headland south of Muttonbird Island, Coffs Harbour Gliding over headland and over the sea. All black head and throat, white "armpits", so a female. Decided to go and look as my son Jamie texted me to say that he had seen up to 30 Lesser Frigates at Cape Byron the day before. Hugh Alastair Ford
	Red-necked Avocet Park Beach Coffs Harbour A tight flock of c25 Red-necked Avocets flying south over the surf at about 8am. I note the record from Port Macquarie later on the same day. I could easily have underestimated numbers as it was misty and I didn't see them for long. Hugh Alastair Ford
	Glossy Ibis Sydney Airport - restricted area Single Glossy Ibis observed feeding in an area not accessible to the public. Last seen flying towards Brighton Le-Sands. Nigel Coghlan and Will Jamieson
	Magpie Goose, Plumed Whistling-Duck Dam N of Coutts Crossing The observation of 14 Magpie Geese was the first record of the species at this site for many years. The 39 Plumed Whistling-Ducks constitute the largest number at this site for some time. Years back there were 80+ Magpie Geese and 1,500 Plumed Whistling-Ducks at this site when it was an active egg farm and stock were fed. Greg Clancy
	Beach Stone-curlew Windang Beach Stone-curlew (1) The bird first seen earlier by Paul Nesbitt was sighted on the north side of the inlet to Lake Illawarra, about 100m west of the breakwater. It was spooked by some passing anglers and flew north; it could not be relocated. Martin & Penny Potter
	Black Noddy Sawtell Headland Single bird seen loafing on a small patch of sand on Sawtell Island (immediately north of Headland, and accessible by wading at low tides), among Common and Crested Terns (coming and going with 10-20 of each present at any one time). Also 8 Ruddy Turnstones and 2 Sooty Oystercatchers. Peter Higgins
	Bridled Tern, Black Noddy, Lesser Frigatebird, prob White-chinned Petrel, Streaked & Bullers SW Fort Drive / Nobby's (Newcastle) Two sightings of Bridled Tern this afternoon, first from Fort Drive around 1620, then again at the end of Nobby's Breakwall about 90 mins later. This is an ORAC species and would be the first records for the Hunter Region. One, then two Lesser Frigatebirds seen firstly at Fort Drive, then flew over to Stockton Breakwall before soaring high out of sight. Black Noddy at end of breakwall, along with 2 Streaked Shearwaters, at least one Buller's Shearwater and a host of other jaegers etc. One observer (SR) saw a large, dark petrel with an 'all-white' bill, thus ruling out Black on size and impression of bill colour. Oh...and there were a few Sooty Terns as well! But way, way down on yesterday's count. The concentration of birds at the end of the breakwall was associated with a fishing trawler returning to port. Mick and Steve Roderick and 11 other observers
	Turquoise Parrot Eastlakes Golf Course Paul Johnstone and I found the same bird reported last week by David Mitford - on the track between the courses. It was getting late and the bird would not allow a close approach, so could not establish whether there were bands. Nevil Lazarus
	Great Frigatebird, Roseate Tern (NSW ORAC submission required for both species) Ballina Sorry, yet another seabird report. I was pleased to get my first Great Frigatebird for NSW today. 2 Great & 2 Lesser Frigatebirds seen over Black Head late this afternoon. Followed later at Flat Rock by another Roseate Tern, non-breeding plumage this time. Also at Flat Rock - 1 Common Noddy, 1 Sooty Tern & 1 tired Pomarine Jaeger resting on the rock, 3 Wandering Tattler, 8 Grey-tailed Tattler, 7 Terek Sandpipers, 1 Eastern Reef Egret, & few other of the more regular Terns & Waders. Moderator's note (NH): Great Frigatebird and Roseate Tern will require a submission to NSW ORAC. June Harris, Faye Smith, Steve McBride
	Sooty Tern The Serpentine Rd - Bilgola beach juvenile Sooty Tern handed in to Bilgola vet clinic john dengate
	Sooty Tern Thora - 20 km inland Immature Sooty Tern found emaciated and just alive in cow paddock 20 km from ocean in Bellinger Valley. Died soon after. Strong winds related to excyclone 2 days earlier. Kevin Cheers and Michael Cheers
	Sooty Tern Mosman Bay Heard the distinctive "wide-awake" calls of a solitary sooty tern flying over Mosman Bay tonight at around 8pm. James Rees
	Sooty Tern, Common Noddy, Streaked Shearwater Royal National Park Numbers of Sooty Terns seen foraging offshore including some in the swash zone of rocks at the base of the cliffs as well as two juveniles flying over heathland just inland of the cliffs; also 1 Common Noddy flying over the shoreline and adjacent heathland, one Streaked Shearwater close inshore and several Black-browed and Shy Albatross observed off the sea cliffs north of Marley Point in Royal National Park. Also 2 adult and 2 juvenile Sooty Terns beachwashed on Garie Beach. Martin Schulz
	Sooty Tern Fairfield Council, Wakeley Sooty Tern juvenile handed in to our Vet Clinic this morning, found inside the Fairfield Council building depot, Wakeley, dodging fork lifts! Apparently many have been collected by Wires, Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services and Taronga, but I dont think any have been so far inland as this one. Ian Hackworthy BVSc
	Great Shearwater (BARC), Buller's Shearwater, Masked Booby, White-necked Petrel, Lesser Frigatebird fort drive newcastle Spent a total of just under 5 hours doing seawatch today. Only really the first hour was really exciting species and numbers are below. Also I spotted a shearwater/petrel that I couldnt identify. It had mostly white underwing, evenly brown above and a darker head almost black continuing down under the beak to the breast. List: Masked Booby 1, White-necked Petrel 2, Lesser Frigatebird 2 (possible 3rd), Buller's Shearwater 1 (possible 2nd), Great Shearwater 1, Streaked Shearwater 2, Pomarine Jaeger 4, Sooty Tern 8, Common Tern 30+, Short-tailed Shearwater 100+, Wedge-tailed Shearwater 2000+, fluttering type shearwater 10+, Sooty Oystercatcher 26. Description of the unusual species: The Great Shearwater was was observed for over 10 min. The main features observed were the dark cap with an almost complete white collar, with a patchy brown and white underwings, an even grey-brown upper wing, and a white band accros the base of the tail. I saw the bird both in flight and sitting on the water within 150m from the shore. The Masked Booby was sitting on the water for a couple of minutes it was a large white bird with a black face with a large yellow beak and head completly white ruling out Australasian Gannet. Moderator's note (NH): The Great Shearwater will require a submission to BARC. Robert McDonald
	Red-necked Avocet Pelican Island, Port Macquarie A pleasant surprise early this morning, to discover a rare visit from 35-40 Red-necked Avocets foraging in the shallows at the southern end of Pelican Island. Clive Meadows & Frank Loughland
	Sooty Tern- juvenile Bar beach car park Seen at 4pm in the car park, later flew over our house. Ian Jeffery
	Sooty Terns Bay Street, Botany 2019 Shortly after midnight, I heard birds calls, I raced outside with bins and clearly heard Sooty Terns calling. I had heard this call only 5 hours earlier at Maroubra. I did not see them, as cloud cover was preventing a view. But they were up high and calling from two slightly different directions. They seemed to be moving in a south-easterly direction, and there was only a light wind. I have seen Common and Little Terns flying over my house before taking a short cut from Botany Bay to Eastlakes, but never at night. Went down to Eastlakes at dawn to see if they had dropped in there, but alas none were there. I am still amazed. David Mitford
	Frigatebird sp. Narrawallee Headland, Ulladulla Single Frigatebird sp. seen off headland at Narrawallee Beach near Ulladulla on NSW South Coast. Initially being harassed by smaller gulls or terns. Fair distance off shore, seen through binos. Overall black bird with some possible white around head. Long thin body, long thin wings and long tail. Slow flapping motion. Marnix Zwankhuizen
	Streaked Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater, Common Noddy, Sooty Tern Long Reef, Collaroy Seawatch from 7-9:30am this morning - 3 Sooty Terns (2 Ad, 1 Imm - the latter flew over the track down to the reef flat); 2 Common Noddies, 1 Streaked Shearwater not far offshore. Noddies and Sooty Terns were fishing with a large group of smaller pale terns fishing offshore (Commons?) just beyond the reef. This group being harrased by at least 3 Jaegers. Also 1 Buller's Shearwater mixed in with Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Short-tailed Shearwaters & Fluttering-type Shearwaters. No Gannets, Boobies or Frigatebirds seen. Tom Wilson
	Barred Cuckoo-Shrike Yarranabee Road, Port Macquarie Adult Barred Cuckoo-Shrike feeding a juvenile in fruiting fig tree. Tim Morris
Tue 29 Jan	Australian Painted Snipe Shellharbour swamp 1 bird sighted at the north western side of the swamp in amongst the reeds at around 1800 - 3 other birdwatchers had looked slightly earlier with no success and unfortunately they had left when we sighted the Australian Painted Snipe. Also Australian Spotted Crake, Red-kneed Dotterel and Black-fronted Dotterel sighted along the southern fenceline of the playing field. Nigel Coghlan
	Pectoral Sandpiper, Latham's Snipes, Australian Spotted Crakes Shellharbour Swamp After a significant rise in the water level, it was a relief to see the Pectoral Sandpiper and Latham's Snipes return, both seen flying in. Good to see multiple Crakes still running around too. Mudlflats are significantly smaller but still host a good variety of species. Unfortunately, no sign of the Aus. Painted Snipe since the rain. Hopefully someone can disprove this! Andrew Walker
	Sooty Tern Sawtell Headland Single juvenile Sooty Terns seen on two occasions over front of Sawtell Headland 16:30-16:40, probably different birds, both heading south. Many Little Terns out and foraging in Bonville Creek, at creek mouth and off headland, with at least two flying young seen being fed by adults on sandbanks; also Common Terns and Crested Terns. Many Wedge-tailed Shearwaters also flying in close, but no other procellariiforms seen. Peter Higgins, Pete Richards and Phil Gilmour
	Lesser Frigatebird Coffs Harbour harbour Filling in reports for the eastern coast! In morning (~09:15-09:30), single adult female Lesser Frigatebird high and stationary between harbour breakwall and Muttonbird Island (which inaccessible owing to fairly spectacular wave-action over the causeway). Later in day (17:35-17:50), when much warmer, four frigatebirds off north-western flank of Muttonbird Island, all seemingly Lesser, with at least one an adult female (others distant, but one possibly juvenile with rusty head); a fifth definite adult female Lesser flew right over beside shipyard then out over the harbour. At ~18:10, two frigatebirds flew low over the jetty restaurant strip and out towards the harbour; one definitely an adult female Lesser, and although I didn't get a good look at the second, I suspect also Lesser. These follow reports of frigatebirds at this site by Lachlan Copeland from the previous evening (28 Jan). Peter Higgins
	Sooty Tern Mollymook Beach, Ulladulla 4 dark tern like birds circled overhead briefly at the northern end of Mollymook Beach near Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast. They had thin forked tails and had disappeared by the time I had grabbed the binos. Moderator's note (NH): sounds like juvenile Sooty Terns. Marnix Zwankhuizen
	Sooty Tern Sandon Point, Bulli Sooty Tern (1) An exhausted Sooty Tern was sighted at the back of Sandon Point beach by my brother Darren Potter and Deborah Parker, visitors from the UK. It was later removed by a passing vet. Darren Potter and Deborah Parker per Martin Potter
	Female Lesser Frigatebird & Common Noddy Lake Cathie - mid- north coast With the storm off the east coast anything could turn up. Common Noddy was resting in Norfolk pine, Lesser Frigatebird was soaring magnificently at the entrance to lake cathie. Number of Species: 14. 1 Lesser Frigatebird, 2 Australian Pelican, 1 White-faced Heron, 2 Little Egret, 6 Red-capped Plover, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Silver Gull, 2 Common Noddy, 4 Little Tern, 2 Gull-billed Tern, 3 Caspian Tern, 4 Common Tern, 40 Crested Tern, 2 Superb Fairy-wren. Darin Rounsevell & Henry Siems
	Bridled Tern (NSW ORAC submission required), Sooty Tern, Common Noddy, Lesser Frigatebird Flat Rock, East Ballina Just on dark this evening an extraordinary count of 31 Bridled Terns (NSW ORAC submission required) came in to roost for the night on Flat Rock, along with 2 Common Noddy, 1 Sooty Tern & the 2 regular Wandering Tattlers amoung a few other waders. Also earlier in the day a single Lesser Frigatebird cruised past Flat Rock & 5 were seen over Black Head. A Black Noody was also in North Creek again. My apoligies for the really crap picture taken in the near dark with an old point & shoot. Steve McBride
	Black Noddy, Common Noddy, Lesser Frigatebird, Sooty Tern Broken Head Late this afternoon at Broken Head, 5 Lesser Frigatebird, 3 Black Noddy, 1 Common Noddy, 1 juvenile Sooty Tern, 1 probable adult Sooty Tern & a Jaeger(Arctic?). Steve McBride
	Roseate Tern (NSW ORAC submission required) Flat Rock, East Ballina A single Roseate Tern in breeding plumage was found by Faye Smith early this morning at Flat Rock. Later photograhed by me at Black Head, East Ballina, & then seen again late in the afternoon by June Harris at Black Head. Moderator's note (NH): This beautiful bird will require a submission to NSW ORAC. Faye Smith, Steve McBride, June Harris
	White-necked Petrel, Buller's Shearwaters Streaked Shearwaters, Sooty Terns Fort Drive (Nobby's), Newcastle Mind-blowing seawatch this afternoon with the highlight being a close-in White-necked Petrel on the very first sweep with the scope. Another "candidate" bird was seen later, but not confirmed. At least 2, more like 5 Buller's SW + 1, likely 2, Streaked SW (2 more seen by Craig Anderson earlier today). But the day belonged to the Sooty Terns and they were omnipresent and in numbers. Well over 100 birds seen, sometimes in groups of 8 to 10 birds but nearly always in groups of 4 to 5 and were seen over the rock shelf and far out to sea. Other reports of them came from suburban Newcastle and flying over main roads in Port Stephens, far from the ocean. The mind boggles at just how many of these birds are near or off the NSW coast at the moment. Also, second hand information that a Tahiti Petrel was seen by 2 very experienced observers at about 3pm this afternoon off Newcastle Baths. From the description the bird could only have been a Tahiti, or else a serious rarity. Mick Roderick, Dan Williams, Craig Anderson, Michael Kearns et al
	Sooty Terns and Common Noddy Mistral Point, Maroubra Went to check on the activity after work this evening. The most numerous bird was Sooty Tern. A very conservative estimate would be 150 birds. They were feeding everywhere, in the surf, mid range and out towards the horizon, one 180 degree sweep alone counted over 80 birds in 5 minutes. The group feeding in the surf kept being joined by fresh birds including a Common Noddy, light was perfect this evening, but no camera ! I believe we may have seen Bridled Tern, but not conclusively. Also 3 Australasian Gannets, 4 Long-tailed Jaegers. Most of the Sooty Terns were moving north - an amazing and unique experience. David Mitford and Ray Gobbe
	Lesser Frigatebird, Common Noddy, Sooty Tern Bellambi Point 1 Lesser Frigatebird and at least 2 Common Noddies flying along the beach and adjacent dunes in late afternoon. Also one Sooty Tern freshly beachwashed. Martin Schulz
	Brown Booby, Buller's Shearwater, Sooty Tern Tacking Point, Port Macquarie After several attempts at a seawatch in atrocious conditions over the weekend the wind and rain finally eased this afternoon. Unfortunately floodwaters near the coast had pushed the seabirds out however there was still a steady stream of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters heading north. Among them was one adult Brown Booby, one adult Australasian Gannet, at least two Buller's Shearwaters, one Sooty Tern and several Arctic Jaegers. One unidentified Noddy species was also present off Flynns Beach. Tim Morris
	Lesser Frigatebird, Streaked Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater, Sooty Tern Norah Head Light House A seawatch for two hours 5.30-7.30 pm, just off the Light House at Norah Head, saw the following birds: a female Lesser Frigatebird, photographed by Tim Faulkner, first seen by Liz Faulkner; 2 Streaked Shearwaters, 3 Buller's Shearwaters, 54 Sooty Terns (including 34 adults and 20 juveniles all flying north); 37+ Fluttering Shearwaters, 4 Short-tailed Shearwaters; 1000s Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, 1 White-bellied Sea-Eagle, 3 Australasian Gannets, 3 Sooty Oystercatchers and 6 Little Terns. At one point a feeding flock of 20+ Sooty Terns and 6 Little Terns with Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and one Buller's Shearwater, was present just off the rocks for 15-20 minutes. The Lesser Frigatebird seen at Norah Head was a different bird to the one seen at nearby The Entrance, earlier in the day. Alan Morris, Liz and Tim Faulkner
	Australian Painted Snipe Private property south of Jindera, near Albury Single male painted snipe has been seen repeatedly at a small farm dam on Private property on Jelbart Road. Seen at close range today by Maggie Watson and Jen Howard, photographs taken. Has been observed doing wing-flaring display if approached too closely, either by primates or by other birds, including White faced Heron. No records from this district for a very long time, especially noteworthy given location is such an unremarkable dam. Maggie Watson
	Gould's Petrel, Red-tailed Tropicbird, White-necked Petrel, Streaked Shearwater, Sooty Tern North Head, Manly Had a great afternoon. The highlight being 15 Gould's Petrels, 1 Red-tailed Tropicbird, 2 White-necked Petrels, 3 Streaked Shearwaters and 100-200 Sooty Terns. Moderator's note (NH): We were astonished by the large number of Gould's Petrels (interestingly David Mitford et al. 'also had at least 1 possible Gould’s type in the murky background', post#163900). Also the Red-tailed Tropicbird is 'new' to the list of Oswald victims. We are awaiting the observer's details. I decided to publish anyway at this point for completion reasons. michael ronan.
	Red-footed Booby South West Rocks Town Beach A freshly dead beachcast white morph Red-footed Booby was found this morning on the South West Rocks Town Beach by Ken Shingleton. This is the first record for the Kempsey Shire although other Red-footed Boobies have been seen both north and south of the area. As this bird is on the Review List for NSWORAC, the specimen has been photogrophed and a report prepared. Ken Shingleton per Alan Morris
	Lesser Frigatebird, Sooty Tern Iluka, nsw 9 Lesser Frigatebirds seen between Shark Bay and Woody Head. Also juvenile Sooty Tern on beach. Leigh Hall, Russell Beardmore
	Lesser Frigatebird The Entrance Between 1115 and 1200 there was an immature Lesser Frigatebird circling over the entrance of Tuggerah Lake. For most of the time it circled quite high above the channel apparently to avoid the Silver Gulls which chased it when it dropped lower. On three occasions it dropped down steeply in an attempt to steal fish from the gulls and terns feeding on the incoming tide. On one occasion, a Crested Tern dropped a fish which was lost. On the third attempt, the frigatebird was successful and made off with a fish. This is the first Central Coast Record of a Lesser Frigatebird since January 1959! See attached photo courtesy of Alan Morris. Other interesting birds on the sandspit included 29 Pacific Golden Plover, 2 Ruddy Turnstone, 2 Sanderling, 6 Sooty Oystercatcher and 8 Little Tern. Nick Carson
	Lesser Frigatebird, Sooty Tern Hastings Point Lesser Frigatebird (1) 1 female circling lowish over caravan park for at least 5 minutes, about 11am, disappeared heading west, or went to roost? Underwing had white triangles through armpits into underwing, white breast shape was concave, all white areas seemed a bit mottly at the edges, darkish head & chin, but possibly not black, very light pinkish/cream beak, not fully adult? no photos. A local lady said this bird, possibly 2, have been around for past 3 days. Sooty Tern (1) found by a local on southern side of lookout, exhausted, could not fly, adult. Thought I saw a juvenile as well but a long way off west of caravan park. Also a Noddy sp. west of inlet 1 shearwater sp. & the Sooty Tern taken to Seabird Rescue High tide, no other waders around Kathy Wilk
	15 Sooty Terns North Head, Sydney Determined to be more successful than yesterday, Ashwin and I decided to try our luck at seawatching againt this morning (after my initial report yesterday, we went in the afternoon after seeing Dion's report, only noting one more White-necked Petrel with the generic wedgies, shorties, etc). This morning, the wind had all but gone, and most of the birds stayed quite far out. Despite a distinct lack of Bullers and Streaked Shearwaters, and no hint of boobies or frigates, we did count no less than 15 Sooty Terns in 2 hours (plus one possible Bridled Tern and a probable Common Noddy). Joshua Bergmark, Ashwin Rudder
	Black Noddy, Streaked Shearwater, Bullers Shearwater and Sooty Terns Mistral Point, Maroubra After driving rain overnight, we thought it may be worthwhile going down early before work. Correct hunch because we had a stunning little Black Noddy flying towards us, close in and unmistakable ! My first sighting here in over 14 years ! Also close in were at least 12 Sooty Terns, a Buller's Shearwater, a Streaked Shearwater, 1 Flesh-footed Shearwater, 2 Arctic Jaegers and half a dozen Pomarine Jaegers. Both Fluttering and Hutton's Shearwaters were seen, although some other shearwaters had to be put in the 'Flutton's' column. Top morning. David Mitford, Rob Hynson, David Langley and Alistair Stewart
Mon 28 Jan	Pacific Baza Levenstrath nr Grafton 2.15pm Pacific Baza moving back and forth over low trees and shrubs in yard. Raining. with moderate flooding. Rural area.. Warren Thompson
	Red-footed Booby (NSW ORAC submission required) Swansea Heads - south head. Out in wild weather at Swansea Heads late this afternoon, with no birds over the ocean, but turned to notice a bird on the coast watch tower upon the south headland. Dark wings, light belly and tail - looked through the bins, RED FEET!!!! Red-footed Booby, my cup runneth over. The bird did not lift it's head but was locked on the perch in roosting mode. The very light underparts and dark wings suggest it is an intermediate morph toward the lighter end of the scale. This bird will be subject to ORAC scrutiny, but ID looks very positive. Allan Richardson
	Buff-banded Rail, Square-tailed Kite, White-necked heron Marsden Park, Townson Rd, Blacktown A very wet Square-tailed Kite was perching on th power line near the road. A family (5) of Buff-banded Rails was feeding in open near the Townson Rd in heavy rain ( near Bells Creek). Two White-necked Herons on the nearby paddock. Ted Wnorowski
	White-throated Needletail, Pacific Baza Windsor Downs NR Small flock (20) WT Needletails was flying over reserve. Pacific Baza landed on the pathway to pick up a giant stick insect. Ted Wnorowski
	Common Noddy, Sooty Tern Shelly Beach, Ballina Common Noddy (1) A juvenile attempting to roost at Black Head before being blown south. Sooty Tern (25) Mostly adults (at least one juvenile) being blown south by Oswald. Hans Wohlmuth
	Sooty Terns, Streaked Shearwaters Fort Drive Newcastle 4 Sooty Terns and 2 Streaked Shearwaters seen in close, many Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Short-tailed Shearwaters, Fluttering types and 6 Arctic Jaegers Steve Roderick
	Common Noddy, White-necked Petrel, Streaked Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater and Sooty Terns Mistral Point, Maroubra 12 hours in the 'cave' produced: 30+ (up to 50) Sooty Terns (including a flock which increased to 24 as well as a Common Noddy in Maroubra Bay), 10 Buller's Shearwater, 4 Streaked Shearwater, 8 White-necked Petrels (including 2 together), a further 2 Common Noddies, 2 Hutton's Shearwaters, 6 Flesh-footed Shearwaters, 1 Common Tern, 4 Australasian Gannets, 100's of both Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed Shearwaters. These are the highest numbers of White-necked Petrel, Buller's Shearwater, & Common Noddy we have ever had. We also had at least 1 possible Gould’s type in the murky background. Photo attached is of 2 White-necked Petrels (honest). Photos were also taken of the Buller's Shearwaters and Sooty Terns (for the latter see post#163862 by Edwin Vella et al.). David Mitford, Ray Gobbe earlier Edwin Vella and Fiona Brooke
	Black Noddy North Creek, Ballina Late this afternoon, a single Black Noddy was found sheltering on a sand spit in North Creek with a 1000 odd other Terns & Waders. i.e..Crested, Common & Little Terns. Poor photo taken with mobile phone held to scope in very windy conditions. Steve McBride
	Black-browed Albatross, Pomarine Jaeger prior to the 12 hour sea watch #163900 Mistral Pt, Maroubra (approx. 5-10km south of Sydney CBD) Prior to the exellent sea watch reported by David Mitford et al. (#163900) we saw Black-browed Albatross, a few Pomarine Jaegers as well as a few Fluttering Shearwaters. I have attached a photo I took of one of the adults Sooty Terns for the record. Edwin Vella, David Mitford, Ray Gobbe and Fiona Brooke
	White-necked Petrel (1), Buller's Shearwater (1) Sooty Tern (4) North Head, Manly Excellent view of White-necked Petrel (my first from land), Buller's Shearwater (not so great in the rain but a definite) and four single Sooty Terns (three in really close-one flying over the headland!). Managed to miss Joshua and Michael (I was tucked in against the sandstone wall at the north carpark). Another seawatch near Bungan Beach turned up a distant possible White-necked Petrel but the big drench set in so abandoned my post! Less noteable Pomarine Jaeger (2), Hutton's type (1) Fluttering (2), Short-tails (100) Wedge-tailed (400), Aust Gannet (2). Dion Hobcroft
	White-necked Petrel, Streaked Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater North Head Manly Great morning for seabirds this morning. Had close in views of 2 White-necked Petrels. 3 Buller's Shearwaters. & 1 Streaked Shearwater. All within 100 m of the head land. michael ronan.
	Blue-faced Honeyeater / White-throated Needletails Cambridge Gardens, near Penrith At around 09:30 this morning a small flock (approx 15) of White-throated Needletails were flying low over my suburb, hunting ahead of the approaching rains, which have now arrived. Arriving home from grocery shopping at 12:15 I heard a familiar call; it was a Blue-faced Honeyeater. It's a species I first saw in our backyard around the autumn of 2008. Over the years I have regularly heard/observed and often reported them to Birdline. It does appear that there is a small population established in this area. Today was my first chance of any photo; albeit in most miserable conditions. Ákos Lumnitzer
	White-necked Petrel North Head, Sydney Single bird made getting drenched this morning worth it. Very clear white underwings with dark tips, white collar and dark head cap with slaty grey/blue/black back and wings. Nothing else except for Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Short-tailed Shearwaters and a fluttering-type shearwaters, but anyone who is prepared to brave the weather today will probably net some great species! Joshua Bergmark
Sun 27 Jan	Grey-tailed Tattler Collins Creek north side, Woonona Point One Grey-tailed Tattler feeding along creek bank open to the ocean 6am to 9am. Disturbed by unleashed dog at 9am had been prior to this with Silver Gulls and Crested Terns. Nerida Hudspith
	Spotted Quail-thrush, Cicadabird, Red-capped Robin Warrumbungle National Park, Coonabarabran Area Headed up to the Warrumbungles to help with the recovery effort following the devastating bushfires that destroyed upward of 90% of the Warrumbungle NP, as well as more than 150 buildings (including the Visitors' Centre and the Woolshed). Over the 25th-27th, recorded an amazing 70 species of bird in the affected areas, including Nankeen Night-Heron, Red-capped Robin, Cicadabird, Spotted Quail-Thrush, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, and six species of raptor (an unusually high number, probably scavenging). A number of vulnerable species were also seen/heard: Brown Treecreeper, Speckled Warbler and Grey-crowned Babbler. Given how badly most areas have been burnt (see photo for an idea), this is better than expected, however, the extremely low counts (eg, 1 Striated Thornbill, 1 Brown Treecreeper) are worrying for the long term. Other than birds, a good number of Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Red-necked Wallabies were seen, and a live Koala was found, which seems something of a miracle. Also note, access to the national park is restricted to the main through road, and you are not permitted to stop your vehicle. Special permission was obtained in order to survey the park. Ashwin Rudder
Fri 25 Jan	Freckled Duck Fivebough Swamp, Leeton Two Freckled Ducks observed from the bird hide that over looks the Leeton STP Ponds. Numerous other duck and water bird species present. Paul Burcher and Deryk Engel
Wed 23 Jan	Brown Booby North Head Manly Great views of adult Brown booby flying south into strong southerly. From north head this afternoon. michael ronan.
Mon 21 Jan	Streaked Shearwater north head manly Seen my 2nd Streaked Shearwater in two days this one also flying south about 150 mts off the head land. michael ronan

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