Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 5 May 2013.

Sun 5 May	Freckled Duck, Australasian Bittern Pitt Town Lagoon (NW of Sydney) This morning at Pitt Town Lagoon, there were 45 Freckled Ducks, c15 Pink-eared Ducks and a fewer numbers of Hardhead, Pacific Black Duck and Grey Teal. The Freckled Ducks were the most numerous waterfowl present on the lagoon!!! This is also the highest number of Freckled Ducks I have seen in Sydney! We also saw on 3 occasions an Australasian Bittern as well as one Swamp Harrier, 2 (possibly 4) Whistling Kites, Black-shouldered Kite and heard a White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike (the later has been a regular bird here over the last month or so). Edwin Vella and Tony Dawe
	Budgerigar, Black Falcon, Flame Robin, Spotted Harrier and more Capertee Valley An amazing day spent in the Capertee Valley today with Dad. The highlight was a tie between seeing around 40 Budgerigars, in three separate groups, and three Black Falcons together, which was a personal bogey for both of us. With so much of the Valley in private ownership, it is impossible to know how many Budgies are there, but it could be hundreds. One tree on the Pipeline (Newnes) Track featured, simultaneously, a Gang-Gang and a Budgie, surely something unrecorded?! Other good birds included a pair of Flame Robins, two Hooded Robins, two adult Spotted Harriers, Wedge-tailed Eagle and Australian Hobby (7 species of raptor identified, with an unidentified Accipter and likely Little Eagle also seen), Brown Quail, Hoary-headed Grebe, White-necked Heron, and a pair of Azure Kingfishers. Of note also was the abundance of Diamond Firetails, with some seen at most locations, and a maximum of 20 at one location. Ashwin and David Rudder
	Curlew Sandpiper, Pectoral SP, Wood SP, Common Greenshank, Double-banded Plover Fivebough Wetlands, Leeton Curlew Sandpiper (pr) in breeding plumage, single Pectoral and 12+ Sharp-tailed Sandpipers along with a Wood Sandpiper (in flight), Common Greenshank and Double-banded Plover - late Sunday pm. Lots of Red-necked Avocet, Brolga (28), Red-kneed Dotterel (100s), Australian Spotted Crake (12+), Spotless Crake calling. Plenty of Australian Shelduck, Pink-eared Duck, Australasian Shoveler and a few Freckled Duck. A great afternoon's birding. Keith Hutton and Max O'Sullivan
	Spotted Harriers, Wedge-tailed Eagles, Whistling Kites Castlereagh After my dawn adventure, I quickly drove past my fave raptor spot at Smith/Castlereagh Roads. There were two adult Spotted Harriers hunting over the paddock at Princes Farm and I noted one attacking the arriving local Wedge-tailed Eagle male. The wedgies sat atop the same tree in which Edwin and I saw the Black Kite on March 23rd this year. I "chased" the two harriers over to the west and both came within 20m of me as I stood in the middle of the road. Sadly, I had too much focal length on. About one hour later the eagles were spooked off the tree by a man feeding the race horses and they flew towards me. They commenced ascending to great heights and a Whistling Kite began to charge at the male. He then did three pot hook displays. See further info for photos of my fun morning. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Sooty Owl, Glossy Black-Cockatoo Glenbrook I was at one of our known Sooty Owl roosts at 4:30 this morning. It was deathly quiet for nearly an hour when a Tyto-shaped bird glided about six or so meters above me (I could see the shape against the sky). This was at 05:17. At 05:26 I heard a single bomb whistle call from approximately 100 meters or so away. At 05:45 the dawn chorus began and at 05:48 I believe I heard a single screech of a Masked Owl, albeit from quite some distance, hence I would not put money on it. Ascending from the gully I quickly checked a known Tawny Frogmouth winter roost and it was occupied by one adult. I also heard and saw a lone adult Glossy Black-Cockatoo. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Buller's Albatross, White-fronted Tern North Head, Manly Seen my first Buller's Albatross & White-fronted Tern for the winter. Also 40+ Shy Albatross, 60+ Black-browed Albatross and 4 Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross. michael ronan.
	Musk Lorikeet Moore Park, Sydney Musk Lorikeets are back in the inner city in a big way. Never before seen them outnumbering Rainbow Lorikeets. Numerous flocks between 12 and 4 Musk Lorikeets mostly heading from Centennial Park to Redfern. Largest flock around 45 Musk Lorikeets by far biggest I've ever seen locally. Eric Finley
	Spangled Drongo Eastlakes golf course 1 Spangled Drongo this morning at Eastlakes. Bas Hensen
	Freckled Duck, Australian Shelduck Bathurst - Edgell's Lane Brick Pits Four Freckled Ducks with one female Australian Shelduck, Australasian Shoveler, Pink-eared Duck, Hardhead, Grey Teal, Australian Wood Duck (aka Maned Duck), 2 Australian Pelicans and 2 Black Swans. Mike Fleming and Anne Kerle
Sat 4 May	Freckled Duck Earthcare Park, Metford Rd, Tenambit 18-19 Freckled Ducks Dorien, Nick Livanos and Grant Brosie
	Black Kite Southern Maitland Standing at Gullivers Lane, Louth Park we had a clear view from the East Maitland Tip all the way around to South Maitland. There were 3 groups of Kites circling, 100-110 over the tip, 50 over Rathluba and 30 over South Maitland. So our conservative count was 180+ kite in the air at once. Dorien, Nick Livanos and Grant Brosie
	Eastern Reef Egret (Dark Morph) (Pacific Reef-Heron) Avalon Beach Dark Morph bird flew North around Bangalley Headland this morning. I haven't heard of them at Avalon otherwise. (Moderator's note (NH): While it is not surprising at all to see Eastern Reef Egret (aka Pacific Reef-Heron) at this site, indeed nobody has reported them from there yet). Henry Coleman
	late Common Koel (Australian Koel) Pymble Common (Australian) Koel heard calling on and off for around fifteen minutes this afternoon. Max de Beer
	Freckled Duck Pitt Town Lagoon, Windsor 38 birds today, flushed into open by a pair of Whistling Kites, Also a pair of Australasian Shovelers and good numbers of Pink-eared Ducks Chris Gladwin
	Pink-eared Duck Centennial Parklands Two pink-eared ducks still on the Duck Pond. Today roosting on the edge of an island, almost indistinguishable from the rocks around them until one moved. Also possible hoary-headed grebe, but too distant to identify. Graeme Robinson
	Swift Parrot Lyndale Avenue, Port Macquarie 9 Swift Parrots, flying high and towards the south. First record for the season. Tim Morris
Fri 3 May	Spotted Harrier Teven Road / Bruxner Highway intersection, West Ballina Single Spotted Harrier hunting over long grasses and wetland margins. In recent weeks this bird has been seen regularly in this area. David Charley
	Spotted Harrier Pimlico Road, south west of Ballina Two Spotted Harriers seen hunting over soybean and fallow fields. David Charley
	Sooty Owl Warrimoo This evening at 18:00 a Sooty Owl called deep in the forest. It came to check us out for about five minutes. A wonderful sighting. Ákos Lumnitzer, Mickey Mackwan, Graham Turner
	Spotted Harrier Tyagarah 28 35S 153 32E 1' Cell Another Spotted Harrier along the Pacific Highway in the Northern Rivers. Hans Wohlmuth
	Nankeen Night-Heron Eastlakes Golf Course I came across around 15-20 Nankeen Night-Herons roosting in trees along one of the canals while working at Eastlakes today at around 1100. The location is known as Pond 5 in Sydney Water documentation but I am not sure if this is the same naming convention used by the public or the golf course. Jon Spicer-Bell
Thu 2 May	Red-necked Avocet Goran Lake, 30 km south of Gunnedah 2380 Since my last report on 20 April (#175887) there has been a major change at Goran Lake. The remaining shallow water has attracted more than 1000 Red-necked Avocets. The attached photo shows only the densest cluster. Bird-watching from the public road is becoming difficult due to increasing distance and intervening mudflats. Evaporation rates are high and the lake will probably soon be dry. Michael Dahlem
Wed 1 May	Royal Spoonbill, Brolga Boyters Lane, Jerseyville Royal Spoonbill (80) Brolga (2) Roger Giller
Wed 1 May	Spotted Harrier Cudgera Creek South East 1' Cell A Spotted Harrier by the Pacific Highway just north of Sleepy Hollow. Hans Wohlmuth
	Radjah Shelduck (pending NSW ORAC decision) Coldstream Rd Ulmarra This morning we saw 2 Radjah Shelducks perched on the roof of a pump shed at a waterhole on Coldstream Rd Ulmarra. There were 32 Brolgas next to Post Office Lane Ulmarra. (Moderator's Note (NH): Radjah Shelduck [aka Raja Shelduck] is on the Review List of NSW ORAC and wil be subject to their confirmation) Eric and Margaret Wheeler, June and Norm Harris
Tue 30 Apr	Red-winged Parrot, Australian King-Parrot, Diamond Firetail, Little Lorikeet, Speckled Warbler W of Weean Crk, W of Kings Plains National Park, NE of Inverell (no public access) Adult pair of Red-winged Parrots, two female plumaged Australian King-Parrots, one Little Lorikeet, Mistletoebirds all feeding in mistletoe, also two adult Diamond Firetails feeding three begging juveniles, Spotted and Striated Pardalotes in same trees. Two Speckled Warblers and a Jacky Winter nearby. Greg Clancy, Warren Martin
	Freckled Duck, Whistling Kite Pitt Town Lagoon Party of three (3) Whistling Kites flew over Pitt Town Lagoon and settled on one of the island dead trees. Spooked the ducks and flock of ten (10) Freckled Ducks settled on the water 100m from the mound. Excellent. No sign of Bitterns though. Chris and Jane Gregory
	Black Falcon Wallabadah Road, 2-3kms east of Quirindi NSW Michael Perkins
Mon 29 Apr	late Dollarbird Myall Lakes National Park (Mungo Brush - Paperbark Picnic Area) 1 Dollarbird calling loudly and then briefly seen in flight. Quite a late sighting for a Dollarbird. Musk Duck hanging around the ferry area and an adult and juvenile Brahminy Kite over the broadwater along with two Crested Terns and loads of Whistling Kite. Simon Gorta
	Black-necked Stork, Yellow-billed Spoonbill McMahon Rd swamp, E. of Casino Single adult stork and pair of Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Tawny Grassbird seen as well. J.Wieneke,M.Dam, R.Lamb
	Great Crested Grebe, Blue-billed Duck Fairy Hill Swamp, near Casino All three grebe species present, along with 3 Blue-billed Duck, Wandering Whistling-duck and family of Brown Quail. J.Wieneke,M.Dam,R.Lamb
	Blue-billed Duck, Hoary-headed Grebe,Hobby, Swamp Harrier Llewellyns Rd, Casino Pair of Blue-billed Duck, also Aust.Shoveler and a Glossy Ibis. More Hoary-headed Grebe than Australasian, pairs of Aust.Hobby and Swamp Harrier keeping waterbirds on the alert. J.Wieneke,M.Dam, R.Lamb
	Common Bronzewing Lower Pappinbarra Never seen Common Bronzewing in the area before. A Bar-shouldered Dove was following it around as it searched the ground. The BS Dove seemed very interested in it, following it for more than 100m, but the Bronzewing behaved as if it was not happy about the close attention. Then I saw it again several hours later about 300 m away foraging on the ground again. (Moderator's note (NH): Indeed, Common Bronzewing has not yet been recorded in this block). Ian Kerr
	Freckled Duck, Great Crested Grebe, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, woodswallows Wonga Wetlands, West Albury A short stop in the afternoon produced some interesting species including the following, At least 7 Freckled Ducks, 1 juv. Great Crested Grebe, a few White-breasted and at least 1 Black-faced Woodswallow, 1 White-bellied Sea-eagle (all on or near Lagoon 1). 1 White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike and a lone Brown Treecreeper near the Visitor Centre. Falk Wicker
	Little Eagle Nurragingy Reserve, Doonside Little Egle was perching on the gum tree near the Centre oblivious to harassment of Noisy Miners, Australian Raven and Pied Currawongs. Ted Wnorowski
	Powerful Owl Bellawongarah - Berry Mountain One Powerful Owl heard calling in the forest at 9:50pm for a short while. A relatively warm still night. Carla Jackett
	Spotted Harrier Long Term Car Park, Sydney Airport Single Spotted Harrier observed hunting near the long term car park, occasionally being harassed by Australian Ravens. Nigel Coghlan
	Yellow- tailed Black Cockatoo McGregor Reserve, Rankin Park, newcastle A flock of 10 or more Yellow- tailed Black Cockatoos in McGregor Reserve, Rankin Park, Newcastle behind John Hunter Hospital. Just a short walk along the track and you will see them feeding on the pine cones and having a merry, vocal chat. Kathryn Diehm
	Magpie Goose, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, Budgerigar Narrabri Lake, Narrabri West 2390 30 Magpie Geese are still present at Narrabri Lake (the photo shows about 26); looks like they are set to stay. A pair of Chestnut-breasted Mannikins is still nesting, but all breeding activity of the aquatic birds is over for the season. Apart from the "usual suspects", there were also 2 Red-kneed Dotterels today. And, as everywhere else in the region right now, a flock of Budgerigars (about 50 of them roosting in eucalypts; took a few photos). Michael Dahlem
	Black Kite Council Waste Site Lismore Minimum 55 Black Kites at the council waste facility in Wyrallah Rd. Normally rare in the Northern Rivers, although that clearly has not been the case in the past couple of months. Hans Wohlmuth
	Little Corella Grafton 2460 8.15am. Approx. 300 Little Corella in two flocks and loose birds over Grafton between Dobie Street and the Clarence River. Warren Thompson
Sun 28 Apr	Black Kite, Weebill Coutts Crossing One kite observed by Bill hunting on wing N of Orara River at Coutts Crossing in morning. 23+ observed by Greg in very high flock moving SW over southern end of village @ 1550 hrs. It wasn't clear if the birds seen constituted the whole flock or were the tail end of a larger flock. Two Weebills present all day in forested farmland at edge of village. Greg Clancy, Bill O'Donnell
Sun 28 Apr	Powerful Owl Lane Cove, Sydney A Powerful Owl hit our window. It was a bit winded but fine. When we turned the light on to investigate the noise we saw it on the ground accompanied by its mate. We gazed at each other for a short time, quickly turned the light out and off they flew. John Francis Ryan
	Rose Robin Mulgoa, private property two males and 1 female, first sighting of season peter harvey
	Campbell Albatross, Providence Petrel, Wilson's Storm-Petrel Terrigal pelagic, Central Coast Tim Faulkner organised the first Terrigal pelagic for today with 10 observers, unfortunately the sea was flat and there was little wind out off the continental shelf. Highlights included 1 Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, 11+ Black-browed Albatross, 1 Campbell Albatross, 10+ Wilson's Storm-Petrels, 2+ Providence Petrel, 2 Short-tailed Shearwaters, 20+ Wedge-tailed & 20+ Flesh-footed Shearwaters. Tim Faulkner, Alan Morris, John Weigel (photo) and 7 others.
	Whistling Kite Pennant Hills near pennnat Hills Park Whistling Kite gliding low over the eastern Pennat Hills area near park, unusual for the area. Ian francis
	Rose Robin Greenwich Gore Creek One male. Only my 2nd local record. Also an adult White-bellied Sea-Eagle, and an immature Satin Bowerbird. Ted Nixon
	Black Kite N of Clarence Regional Waste Depot, South Grafton 9 kites flying S at c. 50 m above ground @1720 hrs. Bill O'Donnell
Sat 27 Apr	Glossy Ibis Queensland Road, Casino Swamp on both sides of road about half-way along road contained 40+ Glossy Ibis, some actively feeding, most loafing in company with Black Swans, Australian White Ibis etc. J.Wieneke, M.Dam, R.Lamb
	Pink-eared Duck, Black-tailed Native-hen, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Casino STW Many Pink-eared Duck, single Black-tailed Native-hen, 3 Aust. Shovelers, and a few Chestnut-breasted Mannikin. Total of 33 species in 35 minutes J.Wieneke, M.Dam, R.Lamb
	Little Eagle Berowra One Little Eagle observed above Windybanks Interchage (F3/Pacific Highway) at 1pm. Paul Burcher
	Pink-eared Duck Centennial Parklands Sydney Pink-eared Duck main pond in the centre of park. Also Hoary-headed Grebe Marie Lister
	Pink-eared Duck, Hoary-headed Grebe Centennial Park Sydney A pair of Pink-eared duck on the central main pond at CP this morning. Came near to the edge to my amazement and then spent time in the centre of the pond circling each other - a mating display? Also Hoary-headed Grebe. Marie Lister
Fri 26 Apr	Masked Owl Majors Creek on Grafton-Armidale Road Very white bird (? male) flew across road @ 1850 hrs. Distinguished from Barn Owl by large size and strong direct laboured flight. Greg Clancy
	Spotted Harrier New England Highway, Glencoe. Adult Spotted Harrier over paddock. (Moderator's note: In view of the fact that there are many Spotted Harriers in NSW west of the Great Diving Range, it has been decided that we will not publish any more sightings from there unless there are exceptional circumstances about the sighting. At the rate they are now being seen in coastal regions we may have to restrict postings of them there too but not at this stage as yet. They, like Black Kites and Budgerigars are certainly moving into coastal regions.AKM) Warren Martin
Wed 24 Apr	Musk Duck Centennial Parklands Sydney Musk Duck close to the edge of main pond in the centre of Centennial Park. Diving for food near where the children were feeding ducks. Marie Lister
Tue 23 Apr	Black Kite, Black-Necked Stork Hexham Swamp West, Leneghan Drive Approx 50 Black Kites wheeling over the rise near properties above the swamp, some low over paddocks and perching in trees there. Some mobbed by ravens, or flying with Whistling Kite, or landing in paddocks with cattle and dogs nearby. Some pairs in skirmish. Also a pair of Black-Necked Storks roosting in distant paddock. Bruce Roubin and Ken Gilmour
Mon 22 Apr	White-fronted Chat Newington Nature Reserve Sunny autumn while working on site. Mainly near Birdlife centre. White-fronted Chat (2) Unmistakable black and white markings on the face and chin, small size also. Unfortunately I couldn't get a very focused photo with the camera phone as was too far away. Looked great in the binoculars though. This is posted as an unusual or rare observation as this area only has 4 white-fronted chats recorded and are all male. It is good to see at least a couple of individuals are still alive. Mark Cachia
Fri 19 Apr	Ground Cuckoo-shrike Sturt Hwy, 36k from Narrandera towards Carrathool 2 Ground Cuckoo-shrikes sitting on gate at roadside gave great views then moved further into paddock Sandra Henderson, Lia Battisson, Jean Casburn, Jane Green, Julie McGuinness

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