Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 24 Feb 2013.

Sun 24 Feb	Osprey Frenchs Forest A pair of Ospreys circling high over Warringah Rd, near the corner of Forest Way, Frenchs Forest. at around midday today - heading north. Robert Griffin
	Southern Boobook, Caspian Tern Long Reef Aquatic Reserve Single Southern Boobook seen on the path to the headland. Single Caspian Tern seen over reef. Plenty of Wedge-tailed and Fluttering-type Shearwaters offshore - 1 Sooty Shearwater seen, a few Aust Gannets. On the reef were 12 Sooty Oystercatchers, lots of Pacific Golden Plover (a flock seen heading north further out than the reef end as well), 4 Grey-tailed Tattlers (1 showed a very short supercilium and dark bill) and quite a few Red-necked Stint. Tom Wilson
	White-tailed Tropicbird, Sooty Tern North Head Manly My highlights from a sea watch of North Head today were 1 White-tailed Tropicbird & 1 Sooty Tern michael ronan.
	Frigatebird (sp) Sawtell A single frigatebird, species unknown, flying over Sawtell township in the early morning. Observed by Alison Fizelle, reported by Richard Jordan. Alison Fizelle
Sat 23 Feb	White-tailed Tropicbird, White Tern, Sooty Terns and Long-tailed Jaegers Mistral Point, Maroubra 3-5 White-tailed Tropicbirds, 2 White Terns, 21 Sooty Terns and 12 Long-tailed Jaegers were the highlights. Saw the first White-tailed Tropicbird at 9am - a pristine adult complete with tail streamers, another at 2pm was a young bird with obvious mantle vermiculation and lacking tail streamers, then between 5pm and 7 pm I watched two more birds feeding and being chased by Jaegers. I saw other birds e.g. 2:30pm which were harder to identify as 'new' birds. I saw 3 different plumage types and therefore a minimum 3 birds. Also saw 2 White Terns together, again at one stage being chased by an Arctic Jaeger. A count of 21 Sooty Terns added to this superlative day. Best photo attached, was taken about 4:30 pm. All sightings were from my car, positioned looking north over Lurline Bay to minimise spray/wind, gale force Easterlies are rare but very productive. David Mitford
	Sooty Tern Flynns Beach, Port Macquarie A single Sooty Tern flying south at Flynns Beach in the morning when the wind was from the east. A quick look from Tacking Point in the afternoon after the low pressure system had passed and the wind had swung to the north revealed only a few Wedge-tailed Shearwaters present. Tim Morris
	Australian Painted-Snipe, Swamp Harrier, Black-eared Cuckoo, Brown Songlark Terry Hie Hie, NSW area An overcast day, sprinkling around the Terry Hie Hie area today. Rainbow Bee-eaters and large flocks of White-throated Needletails were seen in the small township. Unusual species along Tycannah Creek were lots of Red-browed Finches including immatures, Buff-rumped Thornbills, Eastern Rosellas, Australian King-Parrots, Grey Fantails, Western Gerygones, Spotted Bowerbird, Nankeen Night-Heron, etc. A Black-eared Cuckoo was seen with 3 Brown Songlarks just north of the township along a roadside fence. A Swamp Harrier flew over! North of town on various ephemeral roadside wetlands unusual waterbirds included 3 Australian Painted-Snipes (1 male, 2 females), tens of Red-kneed Dotterels, 1 Black-fronted Dotterel, tens (50) of each Cattle Egrets and Glossy Ibis, 4 Black Swans, Hoary-headed Grebes, Black-tailed Native-hens and Plumed Whistling-Ducks. Grey-crowned Babblers, Yellow-rumped Thornbills and Bluebonnets were seen along the road. Tree Martins were present everywhere but there were very few Fairy Martins. Not many Dollarbirds around but Rufous Songlarks are increasing. Golden-headed Cisticolas were everywhere in roadside grasses while raptors such as Australian Hobbies and Brown Falcons were in small numbers while Black-shouldered Kites and Nankeen Kestrels were everywhere. Curtis Hayne
	Red-necked Avocet Goran Lake, 30 km south of Gunnedah 2380 A rainy day at Goran Lake, an ephemeral lake south of Gunnedah, showed there are still hundreds of Red-necked Avocets arouund, together with hundreds of Black-winged Stilts and other aquatic species (including Red-necked Stints, Double-banded Plovers and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers). The major change is that all Australian Pelicans have moved out since December, while hundreds of Straw-necked Ibises (together with ONE Australian White Ibis...) have moved in. ALL species of terns are gone, too. No cormorants, no darters left either. The hundreds of Pink-eared Ducks reported earlier are gone, too, but about 30 Plumed Whistling-Ducks have appeared. Michael Dahlem
	Beach Stone-curlew Deep Creek Valla Beach A Beach Stone-curlew was walking up Thompson Street from Deep Creek. Time 7:30 am; eventually returning to the creek area. Allen Hamilton
Fri 22 Feb	Little Penguin Greenwich [Mann's Pt] A most welcome record: 2+ heard at head of Gore Cove and then on W side of Mann's Pt. My first record of them locally since the dog attack at Manly killed 7 c. Dec. 3, 2010. Ted Nixon
	Streaked Shearwater North Head Manly My highlights from North Head this afternoon were a Streaked Shearwater & several Long-tailed Jaegers. michael ronan
	Spotted Harrier Kiama 10' Cell Spotted Harrier (1) 1 adult plumaged bird seen flying over the main road at Kiama Heights (South Kiama Drive) towards Easts Beach at 8:45am. Lachlan Hall
	Southern Boobook Sydney Olympic Park Walking along the pathway from the Northern Water Feature/Haslams Pier towards the WQCP I glanced down towards the mangroves and was surprised and delighted to see a Southern Boobook roosting in a shrub! Not previously reported on Eremaea for this site. I have photos. Jenny Stiles
Thu 21 Feb	Black Noddy The Pass, Byron Bay, Far North NSW Luxurious views of the Black Noddy this time from the surfing line up at the pass. Using the lee of Cape Byron from the damaging waves yet working the southerly 'breeze' in the bay for feeding. Mixed flock of terns keeping a Black Noddy in the mix and occasionally harassing it. Views under 2 metres, headheight and Black Noddy working between the surfers during the calms, if you can believe it. See it before it leaves! Duncan Fowler
	Black Honeyeater, Plum-headed Finch near Tamworth A single Black Honeyeater was well seen on the Tamworth to Nundle Road near Dungowan. A small group of Plum-headed Finches near the same location were worthy of note. Roger McGovern
	Long-tailed Jaeger and Streaked Shearwater Mistral point, Maroubra A nice tight flock of 7 Long-tailed Jaegers fairly close in was a unexpected (this year) surprise this afternoon, also 18 Pomarine Jaeger, 1 Arctic Jaeger, 5 Flesh-footed Shearwaters and a distant Streaked Shearwater were seen. David Mitford and Ray Gobbe
	Freckled Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Australian Shoveler and Glossy Ibis Dairy Swamp, Central Coast Wetlands, Tuggerah (restricted access) I was able to organise an authorised visit to the CCW this morning for 1000 hrs and 8 people were able to join me there. Between the rain periods we were able to find 12 Freckled Duck, 5 Australian Shoveler, 2 Pink-eared Ducks, 13 Glossy Ibis, 5 Straw-necked Ibis, and 12 Great Egrets and a Latham's Snipe. There were 5 Fairy Martins amongst the Welcome Swallows, plenty of Australasian Grebes, Great, Little Black and Little Pied Cormorants were present with Australasian Darters, Australian Pelicans & 8 Black-winged Stilts. Hardheads, Australian Wood Ducks, Pacific Black Ducks and Grey Teal completed the picture with 100s of Eurasian Coots and 20 Purple Swamphens and many Masked Lapwings. Alan Morris, Christina Port (photo) and 6 others.
	Striated Heron Gore Creek mudflat, Greenwich The solitary Striated Heron flew in from the mangroves as the tide receded, and there it joined 22 White Ibis for a feeding session. sheila walkerden
	Peregrine Falcon Eulah Creek, 20 km east of Narrabri 2390 Single adult female seen in fast glide, calling, around 10:30 this morning. No photo this time, but ID reliable. Too dark, too strong, call too harsh to be an Australian Hobby. Michael Dahlem
	Spotted Harrier, Brown Goshawk, Peregrine Falcon Oakhurst/Plumpton area As I left the house this morning, alarm calls drew my attention to a large raptor, expecting to see the Square-tailed Kite (spotted twice last week), I was amazed when a Spotted Harrier appeared over the rooftops. II went in grabbed my camera and managed to relocate it using the magpies and currawongs. At nearby Alroy park, a Brown Goshawk was also being mobbed by these birds. At Plumpton Park it was the Noisy Miners that helped me spot a Peregrine Falcon circling high above. Mark Fuller
Wed 20 Feb	Glossy Ibis Putta Bucca Wetlands, Mudgee Five Glossy Ibis disturbed and flew to the northern edge of the top pond as I walked to the hide. Also here were a group of about 20 Australian White Ibis, large numbers of Eurasian Coot and Grey Teal, plus Purple Swamphen, Dusky Moorhen, Pacific Black Duck, Hardhead, Australasian Shoveler, Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes, Australasian Darter, Australian Reed Warbler and Little Grassbird. Site coordinates: 149 34 33E and 32 34 26S. Tiffany Mason
	Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Beautiful Firetail, Brown-headed Honeyeater, Leaden Flycatcher Faulcon Bridge, Grosr Rd entrance to Blue Mountains NP Two White-headed Pigeon were perching on power lines near Grose Rd. I was suprised to find a small flock (6 birds) of Brown-headed Honeyeaters in the park (near gate). Othe interesting birds: Chestnut-rumped Heathwren (1 came out the bushes on the road), Leaden Flycatcher (2 near Jennings Rd), Beautiful Firetail (2) Ted Wnorowski
	Beautiful Firetail, Red-browed Treecreeper, Gang-gang Cockatoo, Scarlet Robin Kings Tableland, Kedumba Valley Rd entrance to Bleue Mountains NP Very good year for Beautiful Firetails in Blue Mountains NP. I counted 9 birds within 1 hr in heath before the gate (in family groups 3-4 birds). Other interesting birds: Red-browed Treecreeper (2 down in the valley), Scarlet Robin (2), Gang-gang Cockatoo (3) and plenty of constantly calling Golden Whistlers. Ted Wnorowski
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Wentworth Falls, entrance to Blue Mountains NP Two Glossy Black-Cockatoos were feeding in the she-oak bush in the Wentworth Falls Picnic site (completely oblivious to groups of tourists passing them). Ted Wnorowski
	Black-shouldered Kite Sydney Park, St Peters Black-shouldered Kite foraging around edge of wetlands at Sydney Park - not a common sight at this inner city park. Katie Oxenham
	White-throated Needletail King St Newtown White-throated Needletail seen very clearly flying overhead in Newtown - only saw the one (I was driving) but expect there were more around. Katie Oxenham
	Plumed Whistling-Duck, Freckled Duck and Pink-eared Duck Hooey Lookout, Fivebough Rd. Leeton A bunch of roosting ducks right in front of the lookout had 25 Plumed Whistling-Duck, 40+ Freckled Duck and 60+ Pink-eared Duck along with several Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Marsh Sandpipers. In the distance there were numbers of Red-necked Avocet as well. Max O'Sullivan
	Plumed Whistling-Duck [60+] McCracken Rd off Fivebough Rd Leeton 60+ Plumed Whistling-Ducks were seen on a water storage dam along McCracken Rd. about 5km from the junction with Fivebough Rd. Max O'Sullivan
	Little Pied Cormorant Oatlands Surprise in our pool, which is a little green at the moment: Maybe this young Little Pied Cormorant has mistaken it for a lagoon? Tony & Stephanie dawe
Tue 19 Feb	White-throated Needletail Whites Creek, Annandale, inner Sydney diffuse flock of 20+ foraging from treetop height to 100+m above ground. Closest I've seen them to CBD. Andrew Taylor
	Budgerigar [80+] Evans Smyles Rd via Leeton A flock of 80+ Budgerigars feeding in the wheat stubble beside the road with a similar sized flock of White-browed Woodswallows with a smattering of Masked Woodswallows with them. Max O'Sullivan
	White-throated Needletail Lorikeet St Terigal Every morning for at least the last 4 weeks, from about 7am, a flock of 30+ WTNT arrive and display amazing aerial manoeuvres over the Terrigal Valley. Not sure whether it is the same group, or if it is a different group each morning. If it is the same group where do they sleep? Paul,Luke & Gavin Shelley
	Common Bronzewing Macquarie Uni Aquatic Centre, Culloden Rd, N Ryde Single bird flew over the pool complex approx 7:50am - heading in a north-easterly direction. Tom Wilson
Mon 18 Feb	White-throated Needletail Blackbutt Forest Reserve, Blackbutt Near Shellharbour White-throated Needletail (12) Approximate number. Hawking at about 200m for 20 minutes. Roger Giller
Mon 18 Feb	Freckled Duck and Glossy Ibis Dairy Swamp, Central Coast Wetlands, Tuggerah (Restricted Access) A surprise find at the Dairy Swamp this afternoon was a group of 7 Freckled Ducks, all appear to be immatures, amongst a group of roosting Grey Teal (46) and Wood Ducks (98). Other birds present include 8 Glossy Ibis, 12 Hardhead, 146 Coot, 32 Cattle Egrets, 38 Masked Lapwing, 2 White-breasted Woodswallows, 2 Black-winged Stilt & Black-fronted Dotterel. These are the first Central Coast records for Freckled Duck since 2003 when they were recorded here and at the Tuggerah STW. A check of the latter site the following day found no Freckled Ducks! Alan Morris
	Musk Duck Penrith Lakes. A female Musk Duck was in the middle of the lake opposite the intersection of Cranebrook and Castlereagh Rds. about 11am this morning. Adrian Dick.
	White-throated Needletail, Peregrine Falcon Fort Street High School, Petersham (Sydney) 20 White-throated Needletails seen today over the school oval at lunch time today, flying quite low. Also one Peregrine Falcon. Simon Gorta
	Pied Honeyeater, Diamond Dove Alcheringa Crown Land, Gol Gol During my Atlas Survey, I observed 32 Pied Honeyeaters around flowering Melaleuca. There was a mix of males and females. The nearby patches of Eremophila had just finished flowering, so maybe this is what initially attracted them to the reserve. They were very skittish, and would perch atop the trees and fly together as a flock. Also, sighted 1 Diamond Dove in Black Box during same survey. Pauline Follett
Sun 17 Feb	Hooded Plover Ulladulla A total of 6 Hooded Plovers, including 2 juveniles were feeding along the rock platform north of Racecourse Beach during sunset. Earlier one of the adults and two youngs were near the fenced off area in the south and flew off north to join the other two adults. Tun Pin ONG
	Glossy Ibis, Peregrine Falcon Dee Why Lagoon Peregrine Falcon was seen in the trees at the bottom of Hawkesbury Ave. Lots of birdlife in the lagoon: A Glossy Ibis, a Buff-banded Rail, plenty of Royal Spoonbills, Eurasian Coots, both teal, egrets etc. See here: Mark Young
	Beach Stone-curlew Orient Point The BSC is still at Orient Point. West side near white boat and rocky area near mangroves. Watch out for 3 local dogs that can be a nusiance. Whimbrel, Royal Spoonbill and Immature White-bellied Sea-eagle were also seen. I observed the BSC 1-2 hours before high tide early evening. It is feeding on soldier crabs. Carla Jackett
	Little Eagle Lake Francis, near Holdsworthy Little Eagle (1) Flew over with possible myna in talons. Simon Gorta
Sat 16 Feb	Black-chinned Honeyeater, Collared Sparowhawk, Little Eagle, Stubble Quail Capertee Valley Just about everywhere I stopped along the Capertee-Glen Davis Rd, I saw or heard Black-chinned Honeyeaters which were in good numbers especially between the stretch of the second bridge from Capertee and the Crown Station Rd turn off. At the Coco Creek (second bridge from Capertee), I had a light morph Little Eagle and Wedge-tailed Eagle. Beside Crown Station Rd, also had a Collared Sparrowhawk. Also about the intersection of the Capertee Rd and Crown Station Rd heard Stubble Quail. Other interesting birds included Speckled Warblers, 100 plus White-throated Needletails. Edwin Vella
	Turquoise Parrot Coco Creek approx 10km east of Capertee One seen a hundred or so metres east of the creek and right beside the road between Capertee and Glen Davis. Edwin Vella
	White-backed Swallow, Plum-headed Finches Crown Station Rd, Capertee Along Crown Station Rd a White-backed Swallow was seen as well as about a dozen Plum-headed Finches (some of the later mixing in with a Diamond Firetail and some Double-barred Finches). Edwin Vella
	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Pearl Beach (Amethyst Street) 3 birds (including juv.) seen at 7.30pm at the end of Amethyst Street. They then flew off and were followed by another 8 birds (so 11 birds seen in total). Charles Hunter
	Powerful Owl Pearl Beach (Amethyst Street) Amazing views of a Powerful Owl on electircal wires at the end of Amethyst Street. Spent 20 minutes or so observing at close range. There was another owl (Tyto) screeching in the distance (but not sure what it was, possibly a Barn Owl). The resident Long-nosed Bandicoots and Brush-tailed possums were no where to be seen! Charles Hunter
Fri 15 Feb	Black Honeyeater 'Kooragindi', Koorawatha Black Honeyeater (2) A pair of birds feeding in flowering Box Mistletoe. Last seen on this property in Spring 2008. Great viewings by us and other members of the CWBP survey volunteers John French
Wed 30 Jan	Far Eastern Curlew Long Reef Aquatic Reserve 5 of these birds were on the reef. Mark Young

Birdline New South Wales is sponsored by Birding NSW, Birds Australia - Southern NSW & ACT and Cumberland Bird Observers Club and hosted by Eremaea Birds.

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