Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 22 Dec 2013.

Sun 22 Dec	(Eastern) Yellow Wagtail, >3000 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers Hexham Swamp At least one, more likely two, non-breeding Yellow Wagtails (the one seen was a tschutschensis) on Hexham Swamp this morning. A bird was seen by Allan Richardson on Friday that was probably one of these birds and Ann Lindsey had another 'likely' sighting yesterday. The bird(s) are extremely skittish and flush from a long distance (hence the massive crop on the image!). I did a rapid count of Sharpies this morning and got to 3100, being just the ones that were in view (obviously, the point being there were many more out of view). There was a very good count of Curlew Sands (101) and Marsh Sands (47) for this site. Also 12 Red-necked Stints, 3 Greenshank and a lone Pac Golden Plover along with a few Red-kneed Dotterels. 1500+ Grey Teal. At least 3 White-winged Trillers too. No sign of the Ruff or Broad-billeds, though the Ruff was seen yesterday. Doubtless it is there somewhere but the birds were very spread out this morning due to the low tide (many areas of habitat were not visible). Mick Roderick
Sat 21 Dec	Black Falcon Maraylya Park, Maraylya The highlight of the CBOC outing to the Hawkesbury Hot Spots was a Black Falcon seen at morning tea. Mark Fuller, Keith Brandwood and CBOC members
	magpie goose Paddock between the F6 freeway and Fred Finch Park, Berkeley 2 magpie geese seen in the paddock between the F6 freeway and the Fred Finch Park area. The birds are in a large paddock near the Illawarra model airplane area. Anyone going to look for them should head to the end of Hooka Creek Road and look for the red shipping container in the paddock. ( thank you to the illawarra birders' memb.er and IBOC member's that first reported these birds. Michael Crosland
	Long-tailed Jaeger and Shy Albatross Mistral Point, Maroubra Good selection of birds this afternoon, highlights: 30 Pomarine Jaeger, 4 Long-tailed Jaeger, 2 Shy Albatross, 15+Black-browed Albatross, 1 Common Tern, 3 Flesh- footed Shearwater and a few Sooty Shearwaters. A small group of False Killer Whales with calf also noteworthy. David Mitford
	Pacific Baza (breeding record) Emu Plains I was surprised to hear of an active nest in Emu Plains. Yesterday, my friend took photos of two chicks still in the nest, looked ready to fledge. I was there at 15:30 today and found one chick squashed to death by a car sadly, another was still begging and doing lots of wing flapping. Probably ready to leave the nest in the next day or so. That's the second recent breeding record of this species within a short drive of the Penrith CBD. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Black Honeyeater Condobolin Township 5 or 6 birds seen feeding on Eremophila flowers in a vacant block right in the middle of town at 9 am today. At least 2 males and young birds. Warren Chad
	Beach Stone-curlew Flat Rock, Skennars Head Lone bird among rockpools, eventually flew off south. Tim Wunsch
Fri 20 Dec	Pacific Baza, Black Honeyeater, Brown Goshawk Combadello Weir-Ruth Leitch Bridge, Mehi River, 25km West of Moree A Pacific Baza was observed circling over the Mehi River at the actual weir at Combadello Weir at 1100. This must be the western edge of its range? Spotted even further west, ca. 60km west of Moree in October 2011 and June 2013 on the Gwydir River. Around 5 Black Honeyeaters, at least 1 male, more, 3+ females, all were observed feeding in flowering river red gums and river coobas on the riverbank at Ruth Leitch Bridge. They were bathing with White-plumed Honeyeaters and Little Friarbirds. A Brown Goshawk was identified flying over the eastern end of where lagoon was. A single female White-browed Woodswallow was observed hunting from the fenceline of where the lagoon was. About 10 birds were spotted later flying over Ruth Leitch Bridge. 2 White-winged Trillers were also observed which have suddenly gone scarce from being abundant throughout spring. Whittaker's Lagoon is now totally dry, as it was throughout the 10 year drought. Was good while it lasted - (when it was full). Curtis Hayne and Ainslee Lines
Wed 18 Dec	Yellow-billed Spoonbill, White-winged Triller Windsor Turf Farms, Richmond 16 Yellow-billed Spoonbills were foraging in two little dams near Powells Lane. In the tree lining Powells Lane I found a pair of White-winged Triller, Restless Flycatcher, Shinning Bronze Cuckoo and Rufous Songlark (3). There was also a large group of Banded Lapwing (27 birds) feeding in flooded turf ( near palm lined pathway - Cornwallis Rd). A sing Square-tailed Kite was flying near Hawkesbury River Ted Wnorowski
	Pacific Baza, Pallid Cuckoo Castlereagh Nature Reserve Highlight of the visit - Pacific Baza consuming a large stick insect perching on the branch of a gum tree (just near entrance to the reserve opposite auto wrecker yard. Other interesting birds: Pallid Cuckoo (1), Crested Shrike-tit, Speckled Warbler, Varied sittella. There plenty of Little Lorikeets, Brown-headed Honeyeaters and Fuscous Honeyeaters (calling everywhere) Ted Wnorowski
	Brown Songlark, Yelow-billed Spoonbill, Little Eagle Castlereagh, Smith Rd area I flushed out a Brown Songlark female from a nest. The nest was placed on the ground in the tall grass near a fence. There were 3 pink eggs in the nest. The male was also nearby flying. Other interesting birds in the area: Yellow-billed Spoonbill (1), Pink-eared Duck (7), White-necked Heron. Little Eagle was flying over the shallow "lake". At the end of Smith Rd: Cicadabird (pair), Sacred Kingfisher, Restless Flycatcher, Bar-shouldered Dove (5). Ted Wnorowski
	Flesh-footed Shearwaters Warden Head, Ulladulla The first spotting this year of approx 150 of Flesh-footed Shearwaters mixed in with Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, in about the same numbers, and slightly smaller numbers of Short-tailed Shearwaters were seen feeding very close in and just off the head. Also the latter were wheeling around back and forward further out and not heading in any direction that we noticed. A couple of jaegers in adult plumage were also spotted: One was a Pomarine Jaeger, which was large, very close and had a bit of a tail streamer, narrow breast band and clear white flashes on both top and underside of the wing. The other jaeger was flying away from us when we spotted it. It had white flashes on the wings but not as pronounced and seemed to be around the same size as the Flesh-footed Shearwaters compared when passing the shearwaters. We have seen around 5 jaegers in the last week but these have been too far out to sea to ID. Mike Jefferis, Bob Rusk
	Australian Pratincole, Little Egret, Silver Gull Farm Property, 5km North West of Moree Just 5km out of town on a small cotton farm property were several surprises in the 35 degree heat. A pair (2) of Australian Pratincoles were observed on the black soil farm road surrounded by fallow fields. The Pratincoles gave amazing views, staying within 2 metres of us. Hundreds of Whiskered Terns were present (200+) which were observed flying over fallow fields, irrigation, farm channels, a farm irrigation dam and scrub all over the property, about two hundred were observed roosting in a dead tree in an irrigation dam at 0730 and tens on dam railings. Although Whiskered Terns are fairly common, this tends to be the largest flock in the area for a while. About 30 Gull-billed and 1 Caspian Tern were also present. As was 1 Silver Gull which are more uncommon in the area. In the marshy farm irrigation dam (where there were previously two Black-necked Storks) were two Little Egrets - the first sighting since January, two Intermediate Egrets - which are uncommon and a Glossy Ibis. Thanks to the water bought, this irrigation dam would have been by far, empty. Curtis Hayne and Ainslee Lines
	Square-tailed Kite, White-throated Needletail NOWRA NSW 2541 40+ White-throated Needletails overhead at 08:30am, south side of the town. A Square-tailed Kite low overhead near centre of town about 10:30 with a number of smaller species harassing. Harry Roberts
	Cicadabird Deriah Aboriginal Area Walking along the Brush Turkey Trail this morning around 8 am, I found a pair of Cicadabirds in dry woodland dominated by ironbark eucalypts and cypress pines. The male was observed mimicking cicadas (which started their concert about half an hour later) and looking around for prey. Could not find the female for a photo, but spotted it from a distance. First sighting of the species at this specific location, but seen in the area once before (Mt. Kaputar National Park, Upper Bullawa Creek). Michael Dahlem
Tue 17 Dec	Eastern Bristlebird, Cicadabird Whelan's Swamp West, nr Eden Sun no wind (v good for hearing birds) temp about 20 C Eastern Bristlebird (2) I have not seen any in this region previously Cicadabird (2) heard singing to eachother then 1 seen Angus Hartshorn
Mon 16 Dec	Powerful Owl Terrys Creek Parklands Walked along Terry's Creek Walk from start of walkway at end of Pembroke Road looking for Powerful Owl at sites reported by Jenny Stiles. Found a single adult just past the number 10 creek crossing along the walk. Perched immediately above the track at a height of approx. 5m. Jon & Alison Elliott
Mon 16 Dec	Powerful Owl Umina Beach Powerful Owl (1) heard at 10pm on County Close. Brendan Sheean
	Glossy Black Cockatoo, Emu, Square-tailed Kite Eurobodalla National Park (Potato Point) Good place for birding. Six Glossy Black Cockatoo in she-oak trees along Jemisons Rd. Also White-winged Triller on the same tree. We stopped for a short break near river near and were rewarded with: Striated Heron, Nankeen Night Heron, Azure kingfisher. On the way north to our camping grounds there two emus walking on the beach and Square-tailed Kite flying over them. Ted Wnorowski
	Pectoral Sandpiper, Double-banded Plover Moruya, Coila Creek Bridge, nsw Another good site for small waders. At the edge of shallow lake on drying mudflats and in salicornia there was a good selection of waders including: Pectoral Sandpiper (1), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (38), Curlew Sandpiper (3), Pacific Golden plover (8), Red-necked Stint (3), Red-capped Plover (21), Common Greenshank (2), Black-winged Stilt (4), Masked lapwing (60), Little Egret (7). A big surprise a solitary Double-banded Plover (with two not completely developed band on its breast).. The bird had a deformed foot (a "tumor" was growing over a metal band). Ted Wnorowski
	Grey Plover Moruya, Malabar Lagoon Good selection of small wader roosting at high tide in salicornia vegetation near Malabar Weir Bridge. There were: Grey Plover (1), Pacific Golden Plover (34), Red-necked Stint (11), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (14). White-breasted Woodswallows (4) were hawking insects and perching on the power lines near the bridge. Ted Wnorowski
	Square-tailed Kite, White-cheecked Honeyeater Congo Pt, NSW Two Square-tailed Kites were flying over foreshore along Pedro Point Rd. A single White-checked Honeyeater was harassed by Little Wattlebird feeding in a bottlebrush bush. A group of Red-capped Plovers (4) on the beach nearby. Ted Wnorowski
	Square-tailed Kite, White-thoated Needletail, Eastern Reef Heron Broulee Island Nature Reserve, Broulee, NSW A single Square-tailed Kite was soaring over the heath near the reserve. Two Eastern Reef Egrets roosting on the rock platform on the south side of the island. Other interesting birds: White-breasted Woodswallow (3), Caspian Tern (1), Swamp Harrier (1), Brown Quail (4), Sooty Oystercatcher (2), White-throated Needletail (20+ flying over reserve), Sothern Emuwren, Variegated Fairywren. At Broulee at the end of Albert St there were few fruiting fig tree with birds gorging on it including Figbirds (20), Topknot Pigeons (110, White-headed Pigeon (1) Ted Wnorowski
	Beach Stone-curlew, Little Tern, Topknot Pigeon, Black-tailed godwit Toragy Point, Eurobodalla National Park Two Beach Stone-curlews were roosting on the breakwater wall at Toragy Point (later they flew away and landed on the beach). Other waders and terns : Little Tern (2), Common Tern (21), Bar-tailed Godwit (5 - all juvs), Black-tailed Godwit (2), E. Curlew (1), Whimbrel (5), Australian Pied Oystercatcher (3). Topknot Pigeons (22) flew over the river mouth. Ted Wnorowski
	Brown Honeyeater, Little Tern and Freckled Ducks Eastlakes Golf Course One Brown Honeyeater near Fairy Martin colony but elusive. 3 Little Terns present and courting, 2 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and 3 (possibly 4) Freckled Ducks just north of Wentworth avenue today. David Mitford
	Regent Honeyeater, Painted Honeyeater, White-backed Swallow, Little Grassbird Capertee Valley An excellent few hours this morning, with the highlight among over 100 species being two Regent Honeyeaters in the Ironbarks at the Tambo Rd intersection. In addition, a Painted Honeyeater at our final stop, at Coco Creek, was good to see, while 2-4 White-backed Swallows near Bogee was unexpected but fantastic. A Little Grassbird heard calling was new for the Valley. Most of the other Valley specialists (Hooded Robin - breeding; Diamond Firetail, Plum-headed Finch, Black-chinned Honeyeater) also put on a show. Ashwin Rudder and Joshua Bergmark
	Little Corella South Grafton 12.45pm Large flocks of Little Corella flying around and in camphor laurel trees near the river. Unable to do accurate count but estimate between 400 - 500 birds. Warren Thompson
Sun 15 Dec	White-cheeked Honeyeater, Beautiful Firetail Wonboyn 10' Cell exploring lake, the town (Wonboyn Lake) and the forest from the town to the beach (mostly open Banksia forest with woolly butts, stringybark, casurina, bracken understory, some wet areas). Light wind about 18 C White-cheeked Honeyeater (1) Beautiful Firetail (3) separate individuals all juvenile both in area described above. Angus Hartshorn
Sun 15 Dec	Ruff, Broad-billed Sandpiper Hexham Swamp A Ruff was seen yesterday afternoon near Fishery Creek, along with 3 Broad-billed Sandpipers and 100's of Sharp-tailed Sands, a few Curlew Sands and the odd Greenshank. There is some conjecture whether this is the same bird first seen on the 10/12, as that bird appeared to be a young bird whereas the one seen yesterday appears to be an adult. Allan Richardson, Mick Roderick, Craig and Toby Anderson
	White-browed Woodswallow , White-throated Needletail Yerriyong - SW Nowra Good views of about 6 WBWS perched and flying low in forest down Yerriyong Rd. One adult observed feeding 1 juvenile. Approx. 12 WTNT flew over near Parma Rd at Yerriyong. Carla Jackett
	Fork-tailed Swift Long Reef Golf Course Two Fork-tailed Swifts (poor quality photo attached) seen foraging over Long Reef Golf Course. Also seen were dozens of White-throated Needletails. Carl Corden and Katrina Wolf
Sat 14 Dec	Australasian Bittern Rowes Lagoon, Collector One Australasian Bittern seen briefly and distantly (ca 500 m) across the swamp from the rest area. It flew heavily for about 50 m just above the vegetation and then 'collapsed' into the vegetation. It was not visible except when in flight. ID based more on jizz than any visual detail at that distance. Best estimate location is -34.8982 149.5170. Also present were 12 Latham's Snipe, 2 Whistling Kites, 1 Swamp Harrier, 4 White-necked Herons and 4 White-faced Herons. Harvey Perkins
Thu 12 Dec	Malleefowl, Painted Honeyeater, Painted Buttonquail, Diamond Dove, Spotted Nightjar Nombinnie Nature Reserve and Round Hill Nature Reserve. The undoubted highlight of a few days around Nombinnie and Round Hill was four separate sightings of Malleefowl, including a chick at the wheat field. The three adults were all seen on the main road, within half an hour of sunrise/set (see lists). A Painted Honeyeater was heard one afternoon north of the wheat field, and a Painted Buttonquail was flushed from within the wheat field. Quite a few Spotted Nightjars heard, with a couple seen. 5 Diamond Doves were also seen drinking on the 15th by the rail line, in Round Hill NR (immediately across road from Nombinnie). All the usual mallee species seen easily. The eremophila is all heavy with bud and should be worth a visit in a week or two. Ashwin Rudder and Joshua Bergmark
Sun 8 Dec	Crested Shrike-tit Terrys Creek Parklands Near Vimiera Park Epping along the walking track. Irene Timmins

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