Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 9 Mar 2014.

Sun 9 Mar	Spangled Drongo Lovers Jump Creek Reserve, North Turramurra 2 Spangled Drongos sighted mid morning Pat Thorn
	Wedge-tailed Eagle Castlereagh This morning my local pair were busy hunting rabbits or other ground dwelling animals not far from Smith Road. I was lucky to be able to get both male (left) and female into the one frame. Alongside them there was an immature Square-tailed Kite also soaring a little above the eagle pair. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Oriental Cuckoo Field of Mars Reserve, East Ryde An adult male Oriental Cuckoo was a most surprising addition to my patch list this morning. Observed for 10 minutes in eucalypts north of the boardwalk near the t-junction with the Kunzea Track around 7:45am. Heavily barred underparts, slate grey upperparts and yellow eye-ring, as well as large size all evident. A nearby Fan-tailed Cuckoo provided an interesting comparison with the Oriental Cuckoo appearing almost twice the size of its counterpart. The bird was very mobile, flying between trees and was eventually lost from view, but still likely to be in the reserve. Max Breckenridge
Sat 8 Mar	Barking Owl Jamieson Park, Narrabeen Lakes Identical spot to the previous report a week ago. Seen immediately after bridge in a cabbage tree palm on the right hand side (closest to lake). Observed from 1500 to 1600. Steven Girot
	White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Tawny Frogmouth, White-throated Needletail Warriewood Wetlands Highlights of A spotlighting tour on friday night included a Bush Rat and a Tawny Frogmouth literally seen for one second. Decided to follow up the Tawny Frogmouth on Saturday morning after a quick walk in Irrawong in which I observed both a White-bellied Sea-Eagle and 6+ White-throated Needletails. The White-bellied Sea-Eagle didn't hang around very long but the White-throated Needletails were still present in the afternoon . Afterwards at Warriewood Wetlands I located 2 Tawny Frogmouths roosting in a casurina directly opposite the last car spot in katoa close car park. They were still there when I went back again at 8:00pm Jayden Walsh
	Streaked Shearwater, Long-tailed Jaeger north head manly Highlights from a sea watch of north head this afternoon was a close in Streaked Shearwater heading south and 1 Long-tailed Jaeger. michael ronan
	Buff-banded Rail Glenbrook A most unusual and certainly unexpected sighting of an adult Buff-banded Rail along Explorers Rd near the Glenbrook Oval end. Time:18:45 Ákos Lumnitzer
	Little Eagle (light morph) Cambridge Gardens, Penrith This morning I had a light morph Little Eagle soaring over our house. Attached a low quality ID shot. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Square-tailed Kite, Pacific Baza, White-throated Needletail Nurragingy Reserve I call 10:00am 'raptor o'clock', and three Pacific Bazas at 9:50 and a Square-tailed Kite at 10:05 demonstrated why. 30-40 WTNTs also appeared while we were watching the bazas. Also of note were numerous Mistletoebirds, a Crested Shrike-tit and an escaped Cockatiel. Mark Fuller and 22 participants of Blacktown Council's 'Breakfast with the Birds'
	Diamond Firetail Bundaoon Absolutely thrilled (and surprised) to see an adult and a juv. Diamond Firetail in paddocks along Shangri la Road this morning. I'm not aware of any other confirmed Southern Highland records. If anyone intends on following this up, be aware the locals are a little suspicious of outsiders, so please be polite and introduce yourself. Lorne Johnson
Fri 7 Mar	Spotted Pardalote, White-naped Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater Narrowneck Penninsular, Katoomba NSW The Autumn Honeyeater migration has just started to kick in with Spotted Pardalotes & White-naped & Yellow-faced Honeyeaters (all in small numbers) noted heading north. The Spotted Pardalotes seemed to be taking the lead in no's, followed by the White-naped & then the Yellow-faced. This order will dramatically reverse as the migration builds up. The migration is one of the reasons that the Blue Mts is listed as an IBA. The Blue Mts Bird Observers conduct annual "Autumn Honeyeater Migration" survey counts - which will start soon. John French, Fiona Lumsden
	Spangled Drongo and Musk Lorikeet Victoria Street, Beaconsfield/Alexandria NSW 2015 Saw a Spangled Drongo hawking insects from a huge fig tree near the Northern end of this Street, (surrounded by factories) also had a few Musk Lorikeets flying over. Both of these species are influxing into Sydney at the moment. David Mitford
	Little Eagle, Grey Goshawk McDonalds Lizarow A non-birding friend has reported a pair of Little Eagles decimating the rabbit population on his property. This morning a dark phase Little Eagle was seen being harassed by a Grey Goshawk. Little Eagles are uncommon on the Central Coast. [Moderator's note (NH): Despite its German name 'Kaninchenadler' = Rabbit Eagle, I would doubt that it will decimate the rabbit population but it will certainly take advantage of them] Allan Benson
	Australasian Bittern Rowes Lagoon The previously reported Australasian Bitterns are still present at Rowes Lagoon, adjacent to the Federal Hwy. After failing to find a Bittern at Pitt Town Lagoon from late afternoon yesterday, continued on to Goulburn to try Rowes Lagoon at first light this morning. Heavy and mysterious foggy conditions, and the sight of an Australasian Bittern taking flight, followed by a second just a few minutes later was an unforgettable experience. John Weigel
	Beautiful Firetail Bangalee Reserve, west of Nowra Single Beautiful Firetail - the first we have ever seen here. Ann Millard
	Musk Lorikeet Redfern There is a significant influx of Musk Lorikeets into the inner city at present. I have been hearing them daily in Redfern/Surry Hills/Moore Park for the past 10 days. Numbers are small usually 2-4 Musk Lorikeets (today 4) with Rainbow Lorikeets. [Moderator's note (NH): While there appears to be an annual influx of Musk Lorikeets into the city, this year's influx might be larger?] Eric Finley
Thu 6 Mar	Eastern Osprey Lake Conjola estuary An immature Eastern Osprey soaring above the beach at Lake Conjola late this morning. Very few waders around the lake entrance at this time. In the previous few days: the resident pair of Hooded Plovers; 8 Double-banded Plovers; 4 Red-capped Plovers; 2 Red-necked Stints; a Far Eastern Curlew and 6 Pied Oystercatchers. Also 2 Caspian Terns, a Brown Goshawk doing a fly-by, and off-shore many Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, a few Short-tailed Shearwaters and Fluttering Shearwaters, a Pomarine and two Arctic Jaegers. Robert Griffin
	Square-tailed Kite Narrabri Township Pair flew and circled low over the corner or Lloyd and Barwon rd, Narrabri township. One bird observed swooping a flock of pigeons. Most likely a pair. Kurtis Lindsay
	Spotted Quail-thrush Bucketty An overcast and still morning had numerous Spotted Quail-thrush on roadside verge on the first 5km of Settler's Rd, Bucketty. Also two Chestnut-rumped Heathwrens and a busy group of 10 Little Lorikeets. Also Dusky Woodswallows and the usual nice Honeyeaters. A really terrific birding site so close to Central Coast and Sydney. John Weigel
	Satin Flycatcher, Black-faced Monarch, Rufous Fantail, Spangled Drongo Sydney Olympic Park One female Satin Flycatcher (see image) observed along the path towards the waterbird refuge from the carpark at Bicentennial Park, approximately 100m north of the boardwalk/main path intersection. The bird originally caught my eye as it seemed a darker shade than I would expect on a Leaden. On passing the photographs on to Jeff Davies he confirmed that this bird is indeed a Satin Flycatcher: 'Satin females have a rather brownish warm toned appearance to the wing because the edges of the the secondaries and coverts are orange/brownish when fresh, note the white tips to some of the inner greater coverts confirming that they are fresh brown and not worn, these tips in that location are also typical for females of this species, so this has to be a Satin according to my understanding of these two species. Leaden females... start out with silvery edges to paler grey feathers so generally look pale grey even when moderately worn the male Leaden wing also presents the same. This feature occurs throughout the species and is a consistent (unless the bird is in terrible condition) throughout the species and will be described in the new field guide, when released.' The Rufous Fantail was observed with the Satin Flycatcher, the Black-faced Monarch near the waterbird refuge hide and the Spangled Drongo near the pond at the carpark at Wentworth Commons. See full list: Simon Gorta
	Topknot Pigeon Bellawongarah - Berry Mountain At 5:00pm 100+ Topknot Pigeons flew across the house yard and landed in trees in the rainforest northern side of house. Have seen up to 50-60 before but never this number in a flock. This is a good year for fruiting Cabbage Tree Palms here, although not ripe yet. A pair of Topknots nested opposite our house in the rainforest the past two years also. Carla Jackett
	Leaden Flycatcher Coutts Crossing Village female-plumaged Leaden Flycatcher in front yard - probably on passage. Greg Clancy
	Musk Lorikeet Valla Beach 25 plus Musk Lorikeets flew over, a few landing in the Gum Trees near by. Allen Hamilton and Lew Witten
Wed 5 Mar	Black Kite Nowra A Black Kite seen flying low over the Pacific Highway in central Nowra this afternoon, at about 2.00pm. Robert Griffin
	Freckled Duck and Spangled Drongo Eastlakes Golf Course Lone Freckled Duck still near Wentworth Avenue, 16 Latham's Snipe, 3 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers,1 Spangled Drongo and 5 Musk Lorikeets seen this evening. David Mitford
	White-eared Monarch, Spectacled Monarch, Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo Newrybar Three White-eared Monarchs - 2 adults (likely male & female) & 1 juvenile. There were also 2 Spectacled Monarchs and a Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo. Jackson Hagley, Mike Krippner and Richard Hagley
	Musk Lorikeet Belmont North 30+ Musk Lorikeets feeding briefly in Eucalyptus robusta in my back yard before moving on northward. Bill Boyd
	Spangled Drongo Centennial Parklands One Spangled Drongo in pines on the edge of the mission fields being harassed by Noisy Miners. Also present a Sacred Kingfisher and Yellow Thornbills. Graeme Robinson
	Cotton Pygmy-Goose (subject to submission to NSW ORAC), Plumed Whistling-Duck Lake Harrison, Geneva [Kyogle] 2 male, 1 female Cotton Pygmy-Geese in the same area there were 5 on the 26 Feb. The northern part of the lake was not checked. 11 Plumed Whistling-Ducks also present. [Moderator's note (NH): Thanks for the update. Sightings of Cotton Pygmy-Geese should be submitted to NSW ORAC.] Rob Elvish
Tue 4 Mar	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Black-necked Stork, Red-kneed Dotterel, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Round Swamp, Casino 200+ Sharp-tailed Sandpipers foraging in drying wetland, adult pair of Black-necked Storks, 1 Red-kneed Dotterel, 2 Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Pacific Baza Dyraaba E485528 N6824396 Adult Pacific Baza flew into eucalypt. Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Black Kite, Whistling Kite, Wedge-tailed Eagle Dyraaba E490868 N6821031 12+ Black Kites, 4 Whistling Kites and 2+ Wedge-tailed Eagles (1 juvenile) at Greyhound kennels. Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Cotton Pygmy-Goose, Comb-crested Jacana, Plumed Whistling-Duck, White-bellied Sea-Eagle Lake Harrison, Kyogle Four Cotton Pygmy-geese (2 ad males, 2 ad. females), 11+ Comb-crested Jacanas, 10 Plumed Whistling-Ducks and adult pair of White-bellied Sea-Eagles. [Moderator's note (NH): Thanks for the update. Sightings of Cotton Pygmy-Geese should be submitted to NSW ORAC.] Greg Clancy and warren Thompson
	Peregrine Falcon Koolkhan, near Grafton Adult Peregrine Falcon perched on tower. Stick nest in top of tower possible Peregrine Falcon nest site. Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Cattle Egret Wetland at northern end of Prince street, Grafton 500+ advanced young on nests and in wetland. Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Glossy Ibis, Yellow-billed Spoonbill Brothersons Swamp, Coutts Crossing 1 Glossy Ibis and 4 Yellow-billed Spoonbills in drying wetland Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Magpie Goose, Latham's Snipe Dam NE of Coutts Crossing (former poultry farm) 50+ Magpie Geese on and around dam. Latham's Snipe foraging at edge of dam. Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Southern Boobook Belmont & Shirley Rds Wollstonecraft Heard a lone Southern Boobook calling continuously for approximately 15 minutes after 11pm. Walked down to see if I could see it, but it was high in the canopy of a liquidamber tree. I know Southern Boobooks used to be around many years ago in this part of the lower north shore, but in the past decade I've only heard them 4-5 times. Lindy Jones
	Broad-billed Sandpiper Stockton Sandspit, Newcastle One Broad-billed Sandpiper with a small flock of Red-necked Stints. Maurice Ashton
	Topknot Pigeon, Brown Goshawk, Musk Lorikeet, Channel-billed Cuckoo Fort Street Highschool, Petersham 2 Topknot Pigeon flew over heading towards the city at around 2pm. Also seen were 14 Musk Lorikeets which have been resident in the same patch of trees near the tennis courts since 1st February. These birds were also in the same trees for a few weeks last year until the end of the year. A female Brown Goshawk and Channel-billed Cuckoo were also seen. I have attached today's list. Simon Gorta
Mon 3 Mar	Glossy Black-Cockatoo Smiths Creek NSW 2474 2 Glossy Black-Cockatoos spotted on a private bushland property, looking for food and calling to each other. They were last sighted one month ago in the same area. Nicole Stokes
	Barred Cuckooshrike, White-bellied Cuckooshrike Valla Beach As reported yesterday more today: 2 Barred Cuckooshrikes, 4plus White-bellied Cuckooshrikes. Plus Black-faced Cuckooshrike. Time 8am. Allen Hamilton and Lew Witten
Sun 2 Mar	Grey-crowned Babbler Cnr of Grady's Rd and De Beyers Rd, Pokolbin (Cessnock Airport) Rather surprised to see 9+ Grey-crowned Babblers. Stephen Aveling-Rowe
	Grey-crowned Babbler West of Gulpa Island, South of Deniliquin A party of about 15 birds found along the road that runs west from the central point of Gulpa Island NP. The habitat was a row of red gums, running along the road & open fields beyond. Kevin Bartram
	Long-tailed Jaeger and Black-browed Albatross Mistral Point, Maroubra A working trawler attracted a few birds, this afternoon: 250 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, 1 Fluttering Shearwater, 20+ Pomarine Jaegers, 2 Arctic Jaegers and a Black-browed Albatross. Unusually there was a Long-tailed Jaeger in fairly close and didn't seem at all interested in the 'frenzy' around the boat further out. David Mitford
	White-naped Honeyeater River Road, Bathurst One White-naped Honeyeater having a great time in the bird bath in my backyard. It's a first for my garden list and not a species I often see in the region. Tiffany Mason
	Barred Cuckooshrike Valla Beach We were birding from Lew's back yard which looks towards bush land when a small group of about 4 Barred Cuckooshrikes landed on the banksia tree only 6 meters away. Time around 8-15 am. Lew Witten and Allen Hamilton
	Musk Lorikeets Norton Street, Surry Hills 6 Musk Lorikeets feeding in flowering street trees with Rainbow Lorikeets Penny Evans
	Little Corella, Long-billed Corella Coleman Park, Central Park, Lidcombe There have been influx of Corellas in Lidcombe suburb for a week. 50+ Little Corellas feeding on the grass at Coleman park, north of Carnarvon Golf Club along Joseph St. 15 Long-billed Corellas feeding at Central Park east of Golf Club. Long-billed seem to mix with Galah. Tun Pin ONG
	Double-banded Plover, Little Penguin, Flesh-footed Shearwater Long Reef, Collaroy At least 2 Double-banded Plovers on the reef flat at afternoon low tide (approx 4:30pm). 3 or 4 Little Penguins fishing just off the north side of the reef flat at the same time. Other waders on flat colouring up. Not much offshore, but 1 Flesh-footed Shearwater seen in amongst the Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. 4 Red-rumped Parrots and 2 Black-shouldered Kite seen on/over the golf course Tom Wilson
	Eastern Spinebill, Brown Honeyeater Eastlakes Golf Course, Pagewood, Sydney One adult Eastern Spinebill with a Brown Honeyeater next to Astrolabe Rd Car Park - as apparently first report of Eastern Spinebill for this well birded location, presumably post-breeding arrival. Andrew Taylor
	Superb Lyrebird Mandalong Valley Pouring with rain. Male Superb Lyrebird. Active on side of the road near the yellow 60kph sign after coming off the bitumen onto the gravel on the Mandalong Valley Road at approx 1500hrs Barbara Mahon
	Musk Lorikeet Balmain East - Walkway off Broadside St 15 -20 Musk Lorikeet feeding in the flowering gums Neil Kaye
	Magpie Goose Mehi River, Moree A total of 26 Magpie Geese were found together, foraging on the Mehi River near the Services Club. This follows a drop in the waterlevel of the river. Back on 2 Feb 2014 (a month ago) a small group of about 5 Magpie Geese were found when the waterlevel was very high. Curtis Hayne
	Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Alexandria Within the last 8 years and only seen very low numbers (roughly 4-5) of Sulphur-crested Cockatoo at a time at Wyndham St park. In the last 2 weeks I've been seeing flocks with 20-25 birds flying around. The largest flock I've seen recently was in Newtown on the 23rd - see #216490. Dale Fish
Sat 1 Mar	Topknot Pigeon Ashfield, Sydney About 15 Topknot Pigeons flying sw quite high over Parramatta Road on a rainy morning. Eric Finley
	Straw-necked Ibis Blacktown, Penrith and Hawkesbury LGAs Influx into western Sydney areas with several flocks of c. 15-60 birds noted from Blacktown and Penrith to Richmond, with several hundred in total along Castleraegh Road Eric Finley
	Spotted Harrier Caniaba Street South Lismore Single Adult Spotted Harrier being chased by Masked Lapwings on the outskirts of Lismore. (near the Tender Centre) June Harris
	White-winged Triller, Australian King-Parrot, Plumed Whistling-Duck Moree Common A pair of Australian King-Parrots flew over. (This is the first sighting for this site in over a decade of monthly surveys). Australian King-Parrots are also rare on the plains. A small group of 3 immature White-winged Trillers were also observed, on an unusual date. (They always totally leave the area by early February). 20 Plumed Whistling-Ducks were also seen, which have not been present for about six months. A pair of Chestnut-breasted Mannikins were observed collecting nesting material (first for the site in years). A pair of Little Grassbirds were found in vegetation around the wetland while a pair of Tawny Grassbirds were heard calling in dry, dense briarbush country. Brown Honeyeaters and Noisy Friarbirds were also found in abundance; while not a single bird was seen throughout the whole of summer. Curtis Hayne
	Ruff (Reeve) Pitt Town Lagoon The Ruff (Reeve) was seen this morning at Pitt Town Lagoon along with 40 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, a Peregrine Falcon, Brown Goshawk, Swamp Harrier, 2 Spotless Crakes, 11 Glossy Ibis, about 50 Pink-eared Ducks, a few Australian Shovelers, 2 Brown Quail etc. Edwin Vella
	Barking Owl Jamieson Park, Narrabeen Lakes Seen immediately after bridge in a cabbage tree palm on the right hand side (closest to lake). Observed from 1500 to 1530. Jayden Walsh
	Square-tailed Kite Cambridge Gardens, Penrith Noted one adult at 9:21 this morning, just around the corner from our house. It was slow quartering around the neighbourhood, but suddenly got driven into the old ADI site, now Judas Springs. Ákos Lumnitzer
Fri 28 Feb	Freckled Duck (80+), Plumed Whistling-Duck (5,000+) Deniliquin Sewage Treatment Works 80+ Freckled Ducks and 5,000+ Plumed Whistling-Ducks at the sewage works in Deniliquin Mark Newman, Alan Collins & John Graff
Sun 23 Feb	Sulphur-crested Cockatoo University of Sydney There would of been close to 60 Sulphur-crested Cockatoos flying over near the University at roughly 6pm. It was quite a noisy sight to see. Dale Fish

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