Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales

Published sightings for the week ending 6 Apr 2014.

Sun 6 Apr	Australian Logrunner Saltwater National Park Female Logrunner observed along Five Islands Track, just north of the creek crossing from the picnic area / carpark. Bird was silently foraging along the ground in rainforest habitat. Definite ID: Dark upperparts, slightly larger than Scrubwren, rich rufous throat bordered by black stripe, dark wings with two light wing bars. Couldn't find any previous records for this species in the area. Rob Child
	Spotted Harrier Riverstone I was delighted to watch this morning a pair of adult Spotted Harriers flying over a paddock off Farm Rd. One of these spectacular birds actually landed in a melaleuca tree only a few metres away from me and stayed in there for a few minutes. Also at the same place, I watched a pair of Australian Hobbies continually over half an hour or so catching dragonflies as they made several low sweeps over a dam. A group of 160-180 Australian Wood Ducks beside another nearby dam was the largest number I have seen here or anywhere else in Australia. Edwin Vella
	Double-barred Finch and Freckled Duck Wonga Wetlands, West Albury At least 3 Double-barred Finches heard and seen early morning on open grassland area on the left along boundary fence on the red 2km track heading to main lagoon from carpark. Also 3 Freckled Duck sighted mid afternoon on lagoon running along boundary fence on left hand side of carpark (follow track over fish bridge and turn left to follow fence line). Helenna Mihailou, Sara Judge & Sam McPaul
Sat 5 Apr	Sooty Owl, Masked Owl, Australian Owlet-nightjar Coombadjha Creek, Washpool National Park Sooty Owl observed, Masked Owl and Owlet-nightjar heard calling. Greg Clancy
	Channel-billed Cuckoo North Moree Although very late in the season and in inland North-west NSW, Channel-billed Cuckoos still seem to be around, probably for not much longer though. Curtis Hayne
	Spotted Harrier, Peregrine Falcon Castlereagh Adult Spotted Harrier seen near Princes Farm in usual paddock. Two Black-shouldered Kites also present, I watched one catch a mouse and devour it. Near the Regatta Center I actually witnessed a juvenile Peregrine Falcon take a Spotted Dove on the corner of Leland St and Old Castlereagh Rd. Photos taken of all birds (incl. BSK eating mouse). Ákos Lumnitzer
	Rufous Fantail (1) Yaralla Estate, Concord Finally found a Rufous Fantail on the local patch. Other relatively good birds included Golden Whistler (2), Eastern Spinebill (1) and Noisy Friarbird (2). Dion Hobcroft
	Emerald Dove Terrys Creek, Vimiera Park, Epping After missing it yesterday afternoon with David James, the immature Emerald Dove was showing well on the walking trail along Terry's Creek for about 15 minutes at 0730 this morning before being flushed by a jogger. Other good birds included Eastern Whipbird, Australian Brush-Turkey (3), Rufous Fantail, White-throated Treecreeper, Eastern Yellow Robin, Brown Thornbill. Many thanks to Irene Timmins for the report-a great County tick! Dion Hobcroft
	Brush Cuckoo, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike Yellomundee Regional Park The highlights of a great morning's visit to Yellomundee was an juvenile Brush Cuckoo and two dark phase White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrikes. A total of 51 species seen or heard, many migrating Yellow-faced and White-naped Honeyeaters with a few Noisy Friarbirds. Mark Ley
Fri 4 Apr	Black-chinned Honeyeater Sams Swamp Clarenza 29o42'50"S 153o01'05"E 1 Black-chinned Honeyeater observed in gums. Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Freckled Duck, Pink-eared Duck Lawrence Egret Colony 3 Freckled Ducks and 4 Pink-eared Ducks. Numbers well down on previous visits. Water level low and quality poor. Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Topknot Pigeon Clarence River, Great Marlow 6+ Topknot Pigeons flew from fruiting Camphor Laurel tree Greg Clancy and Warren Thompson
	Gang-gang Cockatoo Ruse NSW Small flocks of Gang-gang Cockatoos moving through the suburb. Two small groups arrived separately to the same tree to feed. 8 to 10 in number (moving around a little) with males and females and begging juveniles. John Dodd
Thu 3 Apr	Diamond Firetail, Rufous Songlark Baldersleigh, near Lyndhurst, between Guyra and Ebor 4 Diamond Firetails on powerlines. One Rufous Songlark heard singing its rich liquid musical song. I was a little surprised as I had expected that they would have migrated north by this time of the year but there are a number of other migrants still on the move so probably not totally unexpected. Greg Clancy and Jill Smith
	Brush Cuckoo and Tawny Grassbird Eastlakes Golf Course Two juvenile Brush Cuckoos today feeding on caterpillars near the 9th tee, also a Tawny Grassbird, 2 Brown Honeyeaters and 8+ Eastern Spinebills. David Mitford
	Black Honeyeater Cookamidgera South, on the Parkes-Eugowra Road. Went to a large area of flowering Ironbark 15 ks from Parkes on the Eugowra Rd this afternoon and found about a dozen Black Honeyeaters feeding there. Other species include Brown and Yellow Faced HEs, numerous Musk Lorrikeets and 15 Superb Parrots. A large group of White-browed Woodswallows were hawking overhead. Warren Chad
	Eastern Osprey Merimbula Two Ospreys have been present all week in Merimbula. Often perched on the taller posts among the oyster leases in Mermbula Lake in the centre of town. Leo Berzins
	Yellow-billed Spoonbill Mount Hunter Single Yellow-billed Spoonbill asleep at a paddock dam close to Burragorang Rd in Mt Hunter. Not many reported from Sydney region and surrounds lately. David James and Dion Hobcroft
	Speckled Warbler, Crested Shrike-tit, Dusky Woodswallow Macquarie Grove Rd, Cobbitty A mid afternoon visit to remnant shale woodland at the corner of Cobbitty and Macquarie Grove Rds produced a mix of woodland residents and migrants despite encroaching housing development: Speckled Warbler, Crested Shrike-tit (pair with fledgling), Dusky Woodswallow, White-naped Honeyeater, Fuscous Honeyeater, Striated Pardalote (red-tipped), Buff-rumped Thornbill. Also of note where several Euros, six Fallow Deer and a massive Lace Monitor. Dion Hobcroft & David James
	Pacific Baza Cut Hill Road, Cobbitty Towards the end of the road 6 Pacific Bazas (including at least 4 juveniles and 1 adult) were foraging in eucalypts along the road for half an hour before soaring up and moving northwards, around midday. A Brown Goshawk soared with them briefly. A Whistling Kite, 3 Jacky Winters and 1 White-throated Gerygone were also seen. David James and Dion Hobcroft
	Square-tailed Kite Several km south of Woodburn on the Pacific Highway Seen flying across the highway. Adult Square-tailed Kite with very pale face. David Charley
	Hoary-headed Grebe, Great-crested Grebe, Musk Duck, Musk Lorikeet Grahamstown Lake There has been an average 120 Hoary-headed Grebes on the Lake since Dec, but I counted 284 this morning, with 120 and 60 in the first two flotillas. Musk Ducks have averaged 25 and Great-crested Grebes 34 per month. The dam level was raised several years ago, and since then has become habitat for Great-crested and Hoary-headed Grebes that are reliably present. Its a good year for Musk Lorikeets so far in this area too. Philip Slack
	Powerful Owl Milner Rd Wollstonecraft Heard calling at 5-40am in backyard tree. Lindy Jones
Wed 2 Apr	White-bellied Sea-Eagle Gwydir River, west of Gwydir River National Park Adult pair high over River. Greg Clancy and Jill Smith
	Musk Lorikeet, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater Warialda National Park, off Adam's Scrub Road Flock of 10-12 Musk Lorikeets in flight. 3+ Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters in trees. No public access. Greg Clancy and Jill Smith
	Brown Noddy Long Reef, Sydney Checking out the reef we sighted a young Common Noddy on the easterly rock platform. It flew around the reef a few times then headed north up the coast. It was mid afternoon and 2 hours before low tide. It maybe the same individual reported a couple of weeks ago from Bilgola Beach. Chris and Jane Gregory
	Emerald Dove Terrys Creek Parklands Near walking track adjacent to creek in Vimiera Park area. Quietly foraging on ground for a long time - well camouflaged. Irene Timmins
	Freckled Duck; Australasian Shoveler; Pink-eared Duck Pitt Town Lagoon 10 Freckled Duck roosting on the island about 2 o'clock when looking out from the hide. Counted at least 20 Australasian Shoveler and 60 Pink-eared Duck on this island too. 4 Yellow-billed Spoonbills feeding to the easten shoreline. Only waders were Masked Lapwing and a single Black-fronted Dotterel. At least 6 Restless Flycatchers buzzing around the hide area and a flock of 50+ Chestnut-breasted Mannikins were around the hide too, which included many juvenile birds. 2 Double-barred Finch were close to this flock. The trees behind the hide held 12 Brown-headed Honeyeaters, pair of Crested Shrike-tits, a Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo and a Spangled Drongo. Tom Wilson
	Sacred Kingfisher Gore Creek 4 Sacred Kingfishers were feeding on the mudflats at low tide this afternoon. Judy Clark
	Barking Owl Jamieson Park, Narrabeen Lakes Observed at 10am in large Cabbage palm nearest the path, just before the 2nd bridge, very vocal and unconcerned by the human traffic beneath. up about 5mts in the tree. Many thanks to Lisa Abra for her reporting. Stephen Gallivan
	Rose Robin, Spangled Drongo, pair of White-bellied Sea-Eagle Lane Cove National Park (Fairyland) Apart from passing by White-bellied Sea-Eagles, there were quite a lot of small birds including a juvenile Black-faced Monarch, quite a lot Golden Whistlers, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Rufous Fantail. Also first Rose Robin and possibly the last Spangled Drongo of the year at my lunch time patch. Worth to mention the huge Red-bellied Black Snake. Fatih Sam
	Black Bittern, Australasian Shoveler, Little Lorikeet Deep Water Park Milperra A single Black Bittern (adult female) was the highlight of a morning visit to Deepwater. She flushed from the edge of a pond, flew across the pond and perched in clear view for a minute or two. Two Striated Herons flushed separately and also perched in the open provided nice comparisons shortly after. Other highlights were a pair of Australasian Shovelers (my first in Milperra), 8 Little Lorikeets flying over, several pairs of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets inspecting hollows, and 20 European Goldfinches, the first I've seen locally since early November. David James
Tue 1 Apr	Little Eagle Near Dumaresq Dam turnoff 1 Little Eagle in flight. Greg Clancy and Jill Smith
	Diamond Firetail, Forest Raven Aberbaldie Nature Reserve, SW of Walcha Two Diamond Firetails flew from roadside. 2+ Forest Ravens heard calling. Greg Clancy and Jill Smith
	Black Falcon Condell Park Bankstown Stuck my head out the door at work upon hearing a commotion by the resident Noisy Miners to have a Black Falcon fly directly overhead, circling twice before disappearing from view. First record for the Bankstown LGA. Darryl McKay
	Scarlet Honeyeater Eastlakes Golf Course 9 species of Honeyeater today, including 2 Scarlet, 1 Brown, 2 White-plumed, 3 Yellow-faced and at least a dozen Eastern Spinebills. 1 Rufous Fantail plus Rufous and Golden Whistlers also seen. Last winter's warm temperatures may have resulted in good/early breeding conditions, hence more autumn activity this year. David Mitford
	White-throated Needletail Bundanoon township 4 birds low over home about 6pm. Lorne Johnson
	Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Coachwood Glen, Blackheath Begging chick in tree hollow. Adult bird carefully entered hollow tail-first, followed by feeding sounds from chick. Mark Hocking
	White-throated Nightjar (x2) Castlereagh At around 7pm I observed two White-throated Nightjars hunting around Smith Road, over the quarry paddocks with one bird coming across to Princess Farm. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Musk Lorikeet Belmont South Large numbers of Musk Lorikeets in the east Lake Macquarie area at the moment just south of the Belmont golf course and here in Belmont north, feeding on eucalyptus robusta (swamp mahogany) Bill Boyd
Mon 31 Mar	Topknot Pigeon Waterfall Way, E of Bellingen 60+ Topknot Pigeons in flight in two separate flocks. One bird at Thora. Greg Clancy and Jill Smith
	Long-toed Stint Dairy Swamp, Central Coast Wetlands, Tuggerah The Long-toed Stint was seen and photographed on 30 March by Tim Faulkner, and again on 31 March 2014 by AKM, John French, Fiona Lumsden and others but has not been seen since. On the last occasion, 4 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 6 Black-fronted Dotterels and 6 Australian Shovelers were also present as well as other waterbirds. There is no public access to the swamp. Alan Morris & Tim Faulkner
	Rufous Fantail, Rufous Whistler and Brown Honeyeater Eastlakes Golf Course No less than 3 separate Rufous Fantails, 1 Brown Honeyeater, 1 Rufous Whistler, 1 Golden Whistler, 1 Spangled Drongo and at Least 6 Eastern Spinebills. Prior to this March, I had only ever seen 1 Rufous Fantail and 1 Eastern Spinebill ever at this site in 15 years ! David Mitford
	Caspian Tern Lake Munmorah There were about 50 Caspian Terns flying north on the western side of Lake Munmorah at 6pm. It's only the second time I've seen so many here. Rebecca Citroni
Sun 30 Mar	Blue-billed Duck, Musk Duck, Great Crested Grebe Lake Wallace 3 Blue-billed Ducks, all either juvenile or female, at least 5 Musk Duck [3 males, 2 females], probably more. Many Great Crested Grebe with dependant young, most quite large, but some were small stripy chicks. Jenny Stiles
	Rufous and Grey Fantails, Black Petrel, Gould's Petrel Port Stephens Pelagic It was an unusual pelagic off Port Stephens yesterday, with a Gould's Petrel and Providence Petrel seen before we made it to the shelf, followed by a couple of Great-winged (Grey-faced) then a Black Petrel in reasonably quick succession. Things went very quiet after that, but the 'highlights' were 2 fantails seen about 90 minutes apart, both whilst drifting about a mile beyond the shelf break (c. 25 nm from land). The first was a Rufous Fantail, the second a very likely Grey Fantail (views were not great of the 2nd bird but 'proof' images show it wasn't another Rufous and must have been a Grey). Both birds were flying low over the water, the Rufous circling around and showing some interest in the boat. Rufous Fantails have been recorded on NSW pelagics in the past (e.g. Sydney 11 March 2000, though that bird was only 12 miles out) and Grey Fantails have been recorded a few times on Port Fairy pelagics (which is not unexpected as they are known to cross Bass Strait), but I don't know if a Grey Fantail has been seen on an east coast pelagic before? [Moderator's note (NH): October 2009 we (SOSSA's deep water pelagic) had a Grey Fantail over deep waters off Ulladulla] Mick Roderick and others aboard the MV Argonaut
	Grey Goshawk Govetts Leap, Blackheath Grey Goshawk flying from tree to tree in rainforest/wet sclerophyll forest below cliff line Mark Hocking
Sat 29 Mar	Common Cicadabird, Rufous Fantail, Black-faced Monarch Coutts Crossing, SW of South Grafton Common Cicadabird heard calling in school reserve. Juvenile Rufous Fantail and 1st year Black-faced Monarch in bushland adjacent to village. Greg Clancy
	Eastern Ground Parrot x12, Eastern Bristlebird, Beautiful Firetail Barren Grounds Nature Reserve Frustratingly (and surprisingly, despite the late start) heard at least 12 individual Eastern Ground Parrots call throughout the morning (including four counter-singing at one point around 9:30) - did not see a single one. High calling incidence must have had something to do with the misty windy weather (?), and was particularly exciting because we did not realise Barren Grounds still supported so many Ground Parrots (all were within the first 1km of tracks south from the carpark). Also 8 Eastern Bristlebirds (I counted 9 last weekend) and 20 Beautiful Firetails. Full list at the link. [Moderator's note (NH): Typical is to hear them within the first 15 minutes after dusk (usually 6 or so; so 12 is really good). However, they are known to vocalise under certain conditions during the day.] Joshua Bergmark, Ashwin Rudder, and participants of Follow That Bird
	Long-toed Stint, Square-tailed kite, Curlew Sandp[iper, Caspian Tern Dairy Swamp, Central Coast Wetlands, Tuggerah Central Coast Group, Birding NSW members had a great day at the Central Coast Wetlands today, seeing and photographing a Long-toed Stint, 1st Central Coast record. The bird was first seen by Trevor Waller and photographed by Christina Port, leader of the outing. The Stint was about half the size of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and a Curlew Sandpiper feeding nearby. It had a black line from the back to the tail, and a broad black bar at the base of the tail with small white flank markings, white belly and underparts, a chestnut cap, an eye stripe and was coming into breeding plumage. Other birds present included 6 Australia Shovelers, Grey Goshawk, Black-fronted Dotterels, Common Cicadabird, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Collared Sparrowhawk, 2 Whistling Kites, a Caspian Tern and Square-tailed Kite circled over the adjacent Tuggerah Creek. There is restricted access to Central Coast Wetlands and the cattle grazing paddock in which the wetland is located is definitely out of bounds to visitors. Alan Morris & 22 members CC Group, Birding NSW
Wed 26 Mar	Great Frigatebird Lord Howe Island On Wednesday Jane and I went on Jack's boat trip from LHI to Ball's Pyramid. Approaching the Pyramid Jane called a Frigatebird fast approaching from the stern. It's a vagrant sighting around LHI. Photo attached but boat speed and swell made photography tricky. It appears to us to be a late immature female Great Frigatebird. Chris and Jane Gregory
Sat 22 Mar	Yellow-faced Honeyeater Petersham, inner west Sydney flock of 7 heading North - first I've seen of this year migration Andrew Taylor

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