Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 21 Jul 2013.

Sun 21 Jul	Barking Owl, Black Falcon, Scarlet Honeyeater, Speckled Warbler, Superb Parrot Terry Hie Hie, NSW 2400 Great morning with a list of 102 species! A few male Scarlet Honeyeaters were seen again and heard calling. 4 Speckled Warblers were also seen as well as many Thornbills - flocks of Yellow, Inland, Buff-rumped and Weebills as well as Yellow-rumped Thornbills. 2 Black Falcons were observed just north of the village. The main highlight was a pair of Barking Owls which were harassed by Noisy Friarbirds, the birds were identified not only by their size and plumage but also by those yellow eyes. Possibly 100 Superb Parrots were seen throughout the day, wherever we stopped, tens were flying over and heard calling. 150 Plumed Whistling Ducks were also observed on a roadside dam. Other species that haven't been seen here recently were 2 Emus (in the Terry Hie Hie Aboriginal Area) and a flock of 60+ Plum headed Finches which were seen feeding by the road in the village. In addition to the Black Falcons, Speckled Warblers, Inland Thornbills and Barking Owls, a single Olive backed Oriole and female Golden Whistler were observed (which all 6 species haven't been seen here in previous visits). Curtis Hayne
Sun 21 Jul	Australasian Figbird Mehi River, Moree East 2 Australasian Figbirds were observed and heard calling along the Mehi River. Curtis Hayne
	Black Bittern Chain of Lagoons, Stannix Park One Black Bittern seen along the creek, from the bridge. Also present: Little Lorikeets, Azure Kingfisher, Jacky Winter Chris Gladwin, Murray Lord
	Noisy Pitta, Powerful Owl Irrawong Reserve, Warriewood Seen at 7.40 left of the Boardwalk, in usual spot. Thanks to Kerry for the Powerful Owl seen in a tree on the right,towards the waterfall. Poor photo of Pitta attached. Carol Abbott
	Caspian Tern Sydney Olympic Park Caspian Tern spotted by Jenny Stiles on Friday seen at Lake Belvedere at 10 am this morning. Richard Gardner
	Eastern Osprey Hawkesbury River at Windsor One Eastern Osprey over the river, seen from the road bridge Rowan Lord
Sat 20 Jul	Cockatiel, Fairy Prions and Blue Whale Mistral Point, Maroubra An extraordinary afternoon at Maroubra. A few Black-browed Albatross, Fairy Prions and Fluttering Shearwaters were par for the course, a 'flying out to sea' Cockatiel was interesting, however the show was most definately stolen by the presence of at least one BLUE WHALE, close-inshore!!! The Blue Whale(s) were observed for at least 90 minutes as they moved north, diving for approximately 15 minutes after each time they surfaced. Thanks to Ray Gobbe who 'got the message out quickly' Top twitch !!! David Mitford, RAY GOBBE, Fiona Brook et al.
	Topknot Pigeon Suburban driveway, Marrickville Stepped out of my front door to see a Topknot perched on the car. It waited long enough for me to dash inside and get the camera then flew south. Melissa Mason
	Superb Fruit-Dove Irrawong Reserve, Warriewood An adult male bird (by plumage) seen from the boardwalk just after the entrance from Irrawong Road feeding in a Lillypilly above the Cabbage Palms. Falling fruit alerted me to search for the feeder. Rae Lister and Kerry Smith
	Little Eagle Milperra Light morph flying over former Riverlands Golfcourse and adjacent housing flushed about 30 White-faced Herons off the golfcourse. David James
	Brown Falcon West Tweed It was pale bird, presumably an adult male Brown Falcon, and when I looked through the binoculars initially I couldn't tell if it was a grey or brown. Better views and a photo showed that it was a Brown Falcon. Uncommon in the Tweed area. Jed Knight
	White-necked Heron Greenwich (Sydney) My first record for Greenwich, and the 93rd species I've recorded for the suburb since March 2007. Feeding on mudflats at mouth of Gore Creek [9.45. a.m.], then on grass at the NW edge of the oval [10.15], and later sighted on the other side of the peninsula on the mudflats in Gore Cove [10.45]: presumably the soccer match had started on the oval. Ted Nixon
Fri 19 Jul	Caspian Tern, Mangrove Gerygone Sydney Olympic Park Visit brought to an end by heavy rain. Walked to Lake Belvedere,Saltmarsh, Waterbird Refuge, Wentworth Common, Haslams Pier, Nurawang Wetland, Riverwalk to the amory & back again. Caspian Tern (1) Fishing at Lake Belvedere & then standing on the side of the lake. Photographed. Young bird. Rarely reported at this site. Mangrove Gerygone (4) In the mangroves at Shipwreck Lookout. I heard them singing at this same spot two weeks ago but was not able to see the birds. This time I sighted them & was able to identify them & confirm their call by playing it on Morcombe [softly]. One bird replied and flew across the path. Poor photo obtained but good views through binoculars and naked eye. Rarely reported at this site. Jenny Stiles
Fri 19 Jul	Azure Kingfisher Narrabean lake sydney Azure Kingfisher on branch of tree very low to the water just sitting and watching got to watch this fantastic looking bird for 20 minutes at 4.30 this afternoon Alex james
	Black Bittern Lower Pappinbarra One Black Bittern seen on the river bank at 8:30am Ian Kerr
Thu 18 Jul	Brown Skua Broulee Island Nature Reserve, Broulee, NSW Brown Skua (1) Heavy bodied brown bird with characteristic white patches on top and under wings. Good views with binoculars as it skirted the easterly aspect of the island, follwed by mediocre photos. Rob and James Hamilton
Thu 18 Jul	Fluttering Shearwater, Double-banded Plover Lake Illawarra Inlet and Windang Island 1' Cell 100's (500+ maybe) Fluttering Shearwater flying north and joining a massive feeding frenzy that made its way past the head land and almost into the estuary. 42 Double-banded Plovers on the small beach next to the break wall. Grant Brosie
	Blue-faced Honeyeater Nurragingy Reserve, Doonside A family of Blue-faced Honeyeaters were feeding and quarreling with a flock of Little Corellas in palm trees near the Colbee Centre. Mark Fuller and Jim Dixon
	Yellow-billed Spoonbill Smith Rd, Castlereagh, NSW 3 Yellow-billed Spoonbills showing fine black breeding plumes with 2 Royal Spoonbills in farm dam on north side of Smith Rd Jillian Nolan
	Spangled Drongo Randwick Environmental Park A pair of Spangled Drongoes at the northern end of Randwick Environmental Park early this afternoon. Also a flock of Double-barred Finches with a larger flock of Red-browed Finches and a nice range of bush birds including Grey Fantails, Brown Gerygones and many New Holland Honey-eaters - a bit of an urban oasis. Robert Griffin
	Australian Brush-turkey, Turquoise Parrot, Speckled Warbler, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Deriah Aboriginal Area, 30 km east of Narrabri 2390 This morning parts of Deriah Forest were abuzz with bees and aflutter with all kinds of birds. Next to the locally more common species, the following were seen: Australian Brush-turkey (locally endangered), Turquoise Parrot, Buff-rumped Thornbill, Speckled Warbler, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Brown-headed Honeyeater, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Varied Sittella, Golden Whistler, Crested Shrike-tit and Olive-backed Oriole (all with photographic evidence, except Turquoise Parrots, which were only heard calling). Bird numbers (especially various species of honeyeaters and Silvereyes [lateralis]) were incredible. Food must be plentiful. Many species seen feeding on psyllids, but there must be a lot of nectar too (Urn Heath [Melichrus urceolatus]) is flowering in abundance. Because so hard to photograph, I show here an immature Chestnut-rumped Heathwren. Michael Dahlem
	Little Penguin North Sydney Ferry Wharf 2 seen swimming close to wharf. Nigel Jackett
Wed 17 Jul	Double-banded Plover, Hooded Plover Racecourse Beach, Ulladulla Sunny, mild-slight breeze Double-banded Plover (4) One bird in immaculate breeding plumage Hooded Plover (6) including one juvenile Grant Brosie
	Spangled Drongo Harrington Rainforest Spangled Drongo (1) On powerline at northern end of Caravan Park Adam Fawcett (3039)
	Grey Goshawk Scarborough Park,Ramsgate In tree behind baseball pitch and adjacent horse paddock-near the creek Oliver
	Australian spotted crake Narrabean Lake walking along board walk at 7. 30 this morning spotted this tiny bird drinking water what a delight to see Alex james
	Swift Parrot Mulgoa Nature Reserve 5 or 6 Swifties feeding on lerps high in eucalypts at southern end of reserve. Other sightings, Crested Shrike-tits, Scarlet Robins, Jacky Winter, Weebills and sadly two dead Australasian Grebes that had drowned in a yabbie trap set in a small dam. Mark Ley & Blue Mountains Bird Observers
	Square-tailed Kite North Brother Mountain, Laurieton A pair of STK, sighted over Laurieton retirement village at 1300, came out of the forest to stir up the magpies. Flew low over village, good views. Stephen Gallivan
	Pale-headed Rosella Bilambil Heights, near Tweed Heads Adult and immature bird, not common at this location Sam Ford
Tue 16 Jul	Yellow-nosed Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Northern Giant-Petrel, Fairy Ben Boyd National Park Yellow-nosed Albatross (2) Green Cape White-capped Albatross (20+) Green Cape Black-browed Albatross (1) Green Cape Northern Giant-Petrel (3) Green Cape Fairy Prion (50+) Green Cape Common Diving-Petrel (1) Green Cape Black-faced Cormorant (1) Green Cape Southern Emuwren (20+) Common in the low heath around Green Cape Tawny-crowned Honeyeater (30+) Common in the low heath on Green Cape Striated Fieldwren (5+) Easily seen and quite vocal on Green Cape Grant Brosie, Robert Kilkelly, Dorien and Nick Livanos
	Black Falcon 35 km from Moree on Croppa Ck Rd I Black Falcon Peter and Bev Morgan
	Pink-eared Duck Centennial Parklands A single Pink-eared Duck first seen on the left hand pond at 9.00am and 2.00pm on the main duck pond hanging out with the Hardheads feeding near the edge Marie Lister
	Hoary-headed Grebe Vaucluse Sydney Adult Hoary-headed Grebe found in my back yard in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney 6.50am. Must have thought the pool was a pond and perhaps flew into the glass fence. Was successfully released in Centennial Park. Happily swimming in the same pond 5 hours later. Marie Lister
	Musk Duck, Turquoise Parrot, Rose Robin, Spotted Harrier Ellalong Lagoon, Paxton Plenty of water birds in the lagoon including: Musk Duck (3), Royal Spoonbill (11). Spotted Harrier was hunting over grassland near lagoon.. In the wattle trees along Congewai Rd (near Paxton) there were 3 Rose Robins among Yellow Thornbills. A pair of Turquise Parrot was investigating a hollow in a gum tree near Congewai Rd. Ted Wnorowski
	Spotted Harrier, Yellow-billed Spoonbill Pokolbin, near Hunter Valley Garden An adult Spotted Harrier was flying over the grass near a dam located opposite the Hunter Valley Gardens. At the edge of the dam: 21 Black-fronted Dotterels and 1 Yellow-billed Spoonbill. Ted wnorowski
	Topknot Pigeon, Grey Goshawk, Emerald Dove, Pied Butcherbird Ourimbah RTA Reserve Little bush birds (Brown Gerygone, Silvereye, Yellow Thorbill) in large numbers. Highlights: over 250 Topknot Pigeons flying over my head, Grey Goshawk ( at the entrance to the reserve), Emeral Dove ( slowly walked in front of me on the track), Pied Butcherbird ( at the end of the track perching on the container). Ted Wnorowski
	Hoary-headed Grebe Glenbrook Lagoon Hoary-headed Grebe (3) at least three seen in north-west corner of lagoon. Not common in the Blue Mountains. They were seen at this location last month also Mark Ley
	Osprey Port Hacking Osprey carrying a fish flew up Port Hacking from Jibbon Point and past Bundeena around midday. Bruce Roubin
	White-naped Honeyeater and Buff-banded Rail Eastlakes Golf Course Ducked into Eastlakes in my lunch hour to see if there were any Freckled Ducks - no luck. However saw a new bird for the location in the form of a White-naped Honeyeater, feeding at head height on the track that links the two courses. Also 1 Buff-banded Rail, 2 Brown Quail and a Grey Fantail. David Mitford
Mon 15 Jul	Glossy black cockatoos Junction Temona & Watercourse Road, Moree 2 Glossy Black Cockatoos evening of 15th, Pacific Baza morning of 16th July Peter and Bev Morgan
	Black Falcon, Little Eagle, Spotted Harrier Medhurst Bridge, Martindale Creek Excellent place for birding along Martindale Rd. We recorded 11 raptor species within 2 hours including 2 Black Falcons (near Medhurst Bridge), 1 Spotted Harrier, 1 Little Eggle, 3 Black Kites and 10 Brown Falcons Ted Wnorowski
	Ground Cuckoo-shrike Pilliga 3 birds, right at the 5km sign on the Pilliga - Narrabri road East of Pilliga Steve Edwards
	Glossy Black Cockatoo, Superb Parrot Private Property 26km west of Narrabri Eighteen Glossy Black Cockatoos observed flying low across open grassland toward Belah scrub. Seven superb parrots also flew over earlier in the day. The superbs parrots have been present at the property in mobs of up to 40 individuals (typically 3-10) for the past 3-4 weeks. James Faris
	Torresian Crow Springfield A pair of Torresian Crows flew overhead at 930 headed towards East Gosford. They called several times. This is the first time I have seen this species in the Gosford LGA. Nick Carson
Sun 14 Jul	Painted Button-quail, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, White-fronted Tern North Head, Sydney Harbour A pair of Painted Button-quails was feeding at the edge of dense heath (near Memorial Walk). Seven Scally-breasted Lorikeet landed in the Fig tree near Fort Caffe. Small group of White-fronted Terns were roosting on the rock near the entrance to the Sydney Harbour. Ted Wnorowski
	Musk Duck Castlereagh This morning I saw two Musk Ducks on a lake near Cranebrook Road. It was also a good day for raptors with the following species observed. 2 Swamp Harriers, 2 Spotted Harriers, the resident pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles, an immature Collared Sparrowhawk chasing a massive flock of corellas, Australian Hobby, Brown Falcon, Black-shouldered Kites (7), Nankeen Kestrel (mated), adult White-bellied Sea Eagle with Eurasian Coot prey, second year White-bellied Sea Eagle with a large eel prey, four Whistling Kites, Little and Tawny Grassbirds. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Pink Robin Nurragingy Reserve, Doonside, western Sydney Adult female caught in mist net in banding project. Several photos taken with iPhone camera. Banded and released. Jeff Hardy, John Farrell, Ken Gover
Sat 13 Jul	Osprey Boat Harbour, Kurnell Fishing just off the rocks and flying over roosting shorebirds, around midday on high tide. Bruce Roubin and Ken Gilmour
	Regent Parrot Euston Pair flew across hwy into eucalypt woodland just s.w of Euston at 2.30pm Peter Harvey
	Budgerigar, Plum Headed Finch Namoi River block, Genanagie Street Narrabri An estimated 150-200 budgerigars were flushed from low grass along the bank of the river by a Little Eagle flying overhead. 20-30 Plum-headed finches also flushed. The budgerigars have been continually present at this site in varying sized mobs since they arrived to the region earlier in the year. James Faris
Fri 12 Jul	Grey Goshawk Wogamia, on Shoalhaven River Being chased by a group of magpies, but it settled into the upper branches of a spotted gum, and remained there for quite some time looking down at the river, despite the magpie attacks. Merrin Ross
	Superb Lyrebird, Spotted Quail-Thrush, Rose Robin Wollomombi Falls NP via Armidale On a brief visit to the falls last week I found a male Spotted Quail- Thrush beside the track going to the lookout and at the lookout there was a male Rose Robin, a female White-throated Treecreeper and a male Golden Whistler in a eucalypt beside the viewing platform. In the campground, I located a beautiful male Superb Lyrebird within 5 metres of me and others calling in the area close-by. Max O'Sullivan

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

===============================

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
===============================