Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 30 Jun 2013.

Sun 30 Jun	Scarlet Robin, Grey Currawong, Red-browed Treecreeper Wolgan Valley, Newnes Highlights from a days birding at Newnes today were 8 Scarlet Robin, also 4 Grey Currawong and 8 Red-browed Treecreeper. michael ronan
	Great Egret Kirrawee Great Egret (1) Foraging along the grass verge, southern side of busy Princes Highway just east of Oak Road. This is against the fence of an old brick pit which has a pond or lake at the bottom. Probably the same bird as reported by Bruce Roubin 2 weeks ago. Roger Giller
	Noisy Pitta Kooloonbung Creek, Port Macquarie 2444 Single Noisy Pitta on western track 80 m south of scout hall Dave Whitfield
Sat 29 Jun	Fairy Prion, Common Diving-Petrel Richmond River, North Wall Fairy Prion (28) traveling north, some very close - one entered river mouth for a short while. Common Diving-Petrel (11) traveling north, some very close. With Steve McBride and Faye Smith. Hans Wohlmuth
Sat 29 Jun	Slender-billed Prion, Fairy Prion, Common Diving-Petrel (all beachcast) Flat Rock, Ballina Slender-billed Prion(1), Fairy Prion(3), Common Diving-Petrel(1), all found dead on the beach adjacent Flat Rock Ballina this afternoon. Steve McBride
Fri 28 Jun	Common Diving Petrel, Fairy Prion Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie With all the numerous sightings of CDPs south of us, we decided to chance our luck and head for Tacking Point. We were lucky enough to sight 3 individual CDPs over a half hour period as well as 3 Fairy Prions and 2 Humpback Whales very close in shore. The CDP is a new bird for the Hastings Birdwatchers' records. Clive Meadows & Louise Earnshaw
	Common Diving Petrel, Fairy Prion Soldiers Point, Norah Head, Central Coast A sea-watch this aternoon 1530-1630 hrs at Soldiers Point showed that Fairy Prions were still common offshore. During the whole time I was there, a group of 180-200 Fairy Prions were feeding about 50m offshore of the rocks in a small area ( others were futhere out) and amongst then was one Common Diving Petrel. At least 5 Black-browed Albatross 2A & 3 Immatures were also present. Small numbers (15-20) Fluttering Shearwaters were passing north in small groups of 3-5 birds further out. About 10+ Australasian Gannets and two Humpback Whales were seen.. On the rocks were a pair of Sooty Oystercatchers and earlier in the day, an Eastern Reef Egret was seen by other observers. Alan Morris
Thu 27 Jun	Whistling Kite Bicentennial Park, Glebe 2 kites circling high over Rozelle Bay. Seen from still car at first from near the park and then as we progressed over bridge slowly in bad traffic views of underwing pattern along with general jizz of the birds left me in no doubt of their identity. They seemed to be play-fighting in the air as there was quite a lot of diving and swerving occurring. Very weird to have them so close to the city! Simon Gorta
	Fairy Prion Macauley Headland, Coffs harbur 3 Fairy Prions heading south. Simon Clayton & 2 others
	Glossy Ibis Coffs Harbour, Aviation Drive 4 Glossy Ibis seen 27/6, single bird this 28/6 Simon Clayton & 2 others
	White-faced Heron Lennox Place, Barden Ridge. White-faced Heron (1) in breeding plumage foraging in suburban street,relatively unconcerned by the occasional passing car and dogs on leash. A first for this site in 11 years that have lived here. Roger Giller
	Common Diving-Petrel Fort Drive Newcastle Spent a half hour before work sea-watching on Fort Drive between 7:15 and 7:45 am this morning. Rain falling almost for the whole period. An almost constant stream of Common Diving-Petrels flying through north, which had not ceased by the time I had to leave. No birds heading south. No less than 103 CDP's counted, most close in and occasional birds stopping to forage. Largest group around 7 birds, but many coming through in 2's and less so, 3's. By 7:35 dribs and drabs of Fairy Prions started arriving, as well as a single Fluttering Shearwater. One wonders what this winter is going to bring next. Allan Richardson
Wed 26 Jun	Scarlet Robin Waratah Rd Mangrove Mountain A pair of Scarlet Robins were found at the end of Waratah Rd Mangrove Mountain, one on a front fence of a property and the other in a fruit tree near the road. Other birds present were Jacky Winter, Silverye, Superb Fairy-wrem & Yellow-rumped Thornbills. This is the first record for the Central Coast in three years. Alan Morris & Allan Benson
	Common Diving-Petrel Norah Head Lighthouse. From 1.00pm to 3.30pm from Norah Head Light house there were well over 100 CDPs all flying north, I stopped counting at 100, still a very large number of Fairy Prions , 500 plus Fluttering Shearwaters feeding on a school of bait with Silver Gulls, Crested Terns. Other birds include 19 Australasian Gannets, 27 Black-browed Albatross, 2 Giant Petrel sp and 4 Shy Albatross and 1 lone Grey-Tailed Tattler on the rocks under the Lighthouse. Brad Gabriel
	Common Diving-Petrel Bellambi Point 10 freshly washed up along with 9 Fairy Prions and 5 Slender-billed Prions. Martin Schulz
	Common-Diving Petrel and Great-winged Petrel Mistral Point, Maroubra The previous Common Diving-Petrel record of 15 in a day for Maroubra lasted barely 3 days, with at least 21 birds seen today. 400+ Fairy Prions, dozens of Prion (sp),1 Northern Giant Petrel, 6 Shy Albatross, 50 or so Black-browed Albatross and a crepuscular (5:06pm) Great-winged Petrel also observed. One or two of the non-identified Prions today, suggested Slender-billed Prion, but alas were not 100% identified. David Mitford
	Spotted Harrier Coffee Camp (locality on road between Lismore and Nimbin) 1 beautiful adult Spotted Harrier flying over grassland near road this afternoon. June Harris
	Cape Petrel, Common Diving-Petrel north head manly. Seen my first Cape Petrel for 2013 along with 4 Common Diving-Petrels this afternoon. michael ronan
	Fairy Prion Kingscliff Fairy Prion (12) viewed with binoculars and scope from southern rockwall of Kingscliff inlet. Kathy Wilk
	Little Eagle M4/M7 lighthorse interchange Seeing a raptor on the way to work, I pulled up on Wallgrove Road nr. Great Western Highway. Pleased to ID it as another (the same?) light phase Little Eagle, using the M7 north-south corridor as per last week. Mark Fuller
Tue 25 Jun	Magpie Goose, Freckled Duck, Glossy Ibis, Spotless Crake Jabiru Geneebeinga Wetland, Casino Arrived at wetland on dusk, first birds seen a flock of 10 Magpie Geese. Deeper pond had numerous duck species feeding, including 3 Freckled Duck. Also flock of 22 Glossy Ibis feeding on weed covered mudflats. One Spotless Crake heard calling. Darryl & Gary Eggins, Greg Clancy, Russell Jago
Tue 25 Jun	Spotted Harrier Summerland Highway, N of Fairy Hill, between Casino and Kyogle One Spotted Harrier gliding low over paddock and then road. Greg Clancy, Russell Jago, Darryl & Gary Eggins
	Common Diving-Petrel, Fairy Prion Terrigal A mixed flock of 12 Common Diving-Petrels, 40 Fairy Prions and 40 Silver Gulls were actively feeding and then sitting on the water just off The Skillion. Other birds seen were Crested Terns, Black-browed Albatross, Fluttering Shearwater and Australasian Gannet. Black-browed Albatross (1), Fairy Prion (40). Fluttering Shearwater (1), Common Diving-Petrel (12), Australasian Gannet (4), Silver Gull (40), Great Crested Tern (4). Nick Carson
	Common Diving-Petrel, Pacific Gull, Kelp Gull Boat Harbour, Kurnell A very different day at Boat Harbour compared with the Golden (Plover) days of summer 2009. Nine (Common?) Diving Petrels, several close in to the cliffs. 4 Pacific Gulls (3 ads, 1 juv), 6-9 Kelp Gulls. 10s of Fairy Prions in close over the outfall. 1 White-fronted Tern, 1 Southern Giant-Petrel and 1 Northern Giant-Petrel plus Fluttering and Hutton's Shearwaters, Black-browed/Campbell, 1 Shy and 1 Yellow-nosed Albatross. Also Peregrine Falcon chasing a Great Cormorant, and a Swamp Harrier. [Moderator's note (NH): The (American) Golden days? 'Common?': Yes, now they are!] David James and Ian McAllan
	American Golden-Plover 2009 accepted by BARC Boat Harbour, NSW. 12th January 2009 to 28th March 2009 Normally I send this kind of information only to my co-observers but this bird was so popular that I thought to post it on Birding-Aus and Eremaea in order to reach all observers. Earlier today I got an e-mail from Tony Palliser with the following news: "Submission No 766: American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica Boat Harbour, NSW. 12th January 2009 to 28th March 2009. Submitted by: Tun Pin Ong, Nikolas Haass, Graham Buchan and David Stowe. Verdict: Accepted. ... This is the 3rd confirmed record for Australia. The first was a worn and faded juvenile seen and photographed at Byron Bay, NSW on 8 November 1994 (BARC case no. 189) and a well photographed individual at the Dry Creek Saltfields, SA in November 2006 (BARC Case No. 529)." The full acceptance letter with detailed information on the acceptance process has been uploaded onto the BARC website (link below; klick on "Index of Decisions and Case Summaries" and scroll down all the way to #766). Best wishes, Nikolas. P.S. Yes, I know that the bird was reported on Birdline NSW as late as 3rd April 2009 and on birding-aus as late as 5th April 2009. Tun Pin Ong, Nikolas Haass, Graham Buchan and David Stowe and many others
	Scarlet Robin, Jacky Winter Mulgoa Nature Reserve A male Scarlet Robin using my car and fence line as a perch as it fed in the open and on the road (Dillwynia Drive) at Glenmore Park at start of walking tracks to Mulgoa NR. A Jacky Winter also seen within the reserve. Mark Ley, Colin Scouler
	Powerful Owl 100 Queenscliff road Queenscliff 2096 Nsw Has settled in a palm tree for past week near busy road Isabel Tydeman
Mon 24 Jun	Fairy Prion Hastings Point quick seawatch to search for the recently sighted Fairy Prions at Ballina, An albatross possibly also seen. Fairy Prion (6) straight out from the headland, flying and rafting, sometimes with Silver Gulls. The late afternoon sun showed up the light colour underneath, light upper with the dark M pattern & broad dark band along the tail Kathy Wilk
Mon 24 Jun	Fairy Prion Sawtell Headland 3 Fairy Prions (one on water) between Sawtell Headland and the outer island not far offshore or just seaward of the outer island in the wave zone and where swells were pitching up (between 13:00 and 13:45). At least 8 seen in 10 mins on 25 June, several sitting on the water at times. Peter Higgins
	Fairy Prions Byron Bay, The Pass and Wategos Beaches Following on from other reports these not so regular visitors made for close observation in the surfing line up today whilst resting on the water. 2 Fairy Prions were within 1 foot away!, seemed curious, even flew under the board nose. Duncan Fowler
	Pied Butcherbird, Banded Lapwing, King Quail, Barn Owl Windsor Turf Farms, Richmond Pied Butcherbird was perching on the power lines opposite Bakers Lagoon. 4 Banded Lapwings were feding on a ploughed paddock near the palm lined driveway (Cornwallis Rd). The flooded red beetroot patch near Corvallis Rd was teaming with Black-fronted Dotterels (counted 46). I also flushed 3 King Quails from this patch. I flushed Barn Owl from the dense tree near a free range chicken farm on Edwards road. The owl was quickly attacked by magpies, magpie-larks and White-plumed Honeyeaters. There was a good number of raptors around this paddock (A. Hobby -2, Black-shouldered Kite - 4, Nankeen Kestrel - 2, Brown Falcon - 1, Little Eagle - 1 flying overhead) Ted Wnorowski
	Black-tailed Native-hen, Square-tailed Kite, Australasian Bittern McGraths Hill Sewage Treatment Plant A single Australasian Bittern was flying over ponds and later disappeared in the South Creek vegetation. Square-tailed Kite was flying along the line of gum trees and harassing lorikeets and honeyeaters. Two Black-tailed Native-hens were resting with ducks and ibises on the path between two back ponds. They were well visible from the road. Ted Wnorowski
	Nankeen Night-Heron, Little Egret, Lewin's Rail, Azure kingfisher Bushells Lagoon, Hawkesbury Very low water level in the lagoon. I saw 3 Little Egrets hunting in the very shallow water. 37 Nankeen Night-Herons were very visible (from the lagoon crossing), roosting in the dead willows. Other interesting species : Lewin's Rail (1), Baillon's Crake (1), Azure Kingfisher (5). Ted Wnorowski
	Common Diving-Petrels Soldiers Point, Norah Head A total of 6 Common Diving-Petrels were seen by Allan Benson and myself flying north today only 100 meters from the rocks at Soldiers Point between 11.00am and 12.00pm. Then again by Tim Faulkner and myself between 2.00pm and 3.00pm another 8 Common Diving-Petrels were seen flying north, with 3 birds sitting and feeding just beyond the breaking waves. Other species include Fairy Prions, Fluttering Shearwaters, White-fronted and Crested Terns, Australasian Gannets and Black-browed Albatross and 1 Giant Petrel sp. Brad Gabriel, Allan Benson, Tim Faulkner
Sun 23 Jun	Pink-eared Ducks and Australasian Shovelers Dragon Swamp Rd, Cathcart, east of Bombala Large dam on the road to the Cathcart Cemetery. 97 Pink-eared Ducks, 8 Australasian Shovelers and numerous other assorted waterbirds. Small watercourse along opposite side of road also worth checking. Barbara Jones
	Slender-billed / Antarctic Prions, Black-bellied Storm-petrel, Buller's Albatross Port Stephens pelagic As expected with all of the recent reports of prions, diving petrels and the birds reported from Wollongong the day before, the Port Stephens pelagic was fantastic - easily the best winter trip since this round of pelagics commenced. Although we can't match a Blue Petrel(!), the highlights were Slender-billed and Antarctic Prions amongst the numerous and widespread Fairy Prions (and we are still 'working on' one or two other prions photographed). A lone Black-bellied Storm-petrel and 3 Buller's Albatross were also good to see. Large albatross numbers generally, present around the boat all day. Although I do not currently have a date in July I will definitely be organising one soon. Details to follow on Hunterbirding and Birding-aus. Mick Roderick, Dan Williams, Allan Richardson + 11 others
	Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Tareelaroi Weir - East of Moree A group of 4 Chestnut-breasted Mannikins were feeding in rank grasses near the Gwydir River at Tareelaroi Weir. This is one of the sites listed in the "Bird Routes of Moree" and is located 18 km east of Moree on the Gwydir Highway. Also present were Brown & Spiney-cheeked Honeyeaters, White-winged, Superb & Variegated Fairy-wrens, and an out of season Olive-backed Oriole, Note that the western limit of the distribution of the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin was given as Tenterfield in 1981, in the book "Handlist of Birds in NSW", Morris, McGill and Homes 1981. In the past two years they have been seen regularly in the Moree area. Alan Morris & Deryk Engel
Thu 20 Jun	White-plumed & Brown Honeyeater, Red-necked Avocets, Glossy Ibis Bicentennial Park, Homebush Bay Heard the Brown Honeyeater at small scrubby lake near southern end. White-plumed Honeyeaters (bad photos but also video taken) paused through the bushland at the waterbird refuge and started scrapping with New Holland Honeyeaters, not sure if this is unusual for this site being pretty coastal. A dozen Red-necked Avocets on shallow lake was a treat and 2 Glossy Ibis for about a minute. Duncan Fowler
	Black Falcon 5km South of Scone on the New England Highway. A single bird was seen circling over the Highway. Also present were two Nankeen Kestrels and a Black-shouldered Kite. Alan Morris & Deryk Engel
	Double-banded Plover, Caspian Tern Lake Goran on the Sprinng Ridge-Curlewis Road. There were still 3 Double-banded Plovers feeding in with a group of 38 Red-capped Plovers at the edge of the lake close to where the road crosses the Lake. It is extraordinary that these birds from NZ extends so far inland into NSW. Also present was a group of 19 Caspian Terns. Other birds present were Yellow-billed Spoonbills, 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles, Nankeen Kestrels, Black-shouldered Kite and a Brown Falcon. Alan Morris & Deryk Engel
Sun 16 Jun	Superb Parrot Gooromon Ponds Rd, just off Wallaroo, Rd, Hall 2 took off by road; one adult male, but both flew back from my direction of travel, so unsure of other. Site not unusual, but time of year is. Ian Fraser

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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