Birdline New South Wales
Published sightings for the week ending 14 Sep 2014.
Mon 15 Sep Australian Koel Bellevue Hill (Sydney)
1 Australian Koel calling from 4 am onwards.
Chris Gladwin
Sun 14 Sep Whiskered Tern Pejar Dam, Crookwell (Goulburn)
10 Whiskered Terns (and 20 Great-crested Grebes)
Chris Gladwin
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater End of Geoffrey Road Chittaway Point
A Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater who was bathing in a puddle was flushed into
the nearby Casuarina trees by my arrival. It was observed for a few
minutes but was too difficult to photograph.
Steve Merrett
Regent Honeyeater Widden Valley, Upper Hunter Valley
Pair of Regent Honeyeaters busy nest building and feeding on mistletoe
in the river oaks along the river. Also large numbers of Rainbow
Bee-eaters in the valley now.
michael ronan.
Plumed Whistling-Duck, Australian Shelduck Bungendore Meadow Dam
13 Plumed Whistling-Duck and 14 Australian Shelduck. Over the past 6
years Plumed Whistling-Ducks have become regular in this area, but not
until mid/late October. Thus an unusually early return.
Martin Butterfield
Topknot Pigeon, Eastern Osprey, Pacific Baza Lane Cove National
Park--Sugarloaf Point
30+ Topknot Pigeons were resting on a gumtree, flushed by a
White-throated Treecreeper call nearby, interestingly. Also a single
Pacific Baza soaring high and calling. Resident Eastern Osprey around
the river chased by Masked (Black-shouldered) Lapwings.
Fatih Sam
White-eared Monarch, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Varied Triller Chambigne
Creek TSR, Old Glen Innes Rd, via Grafton
Unusal sighting (for this location) of single White-eared Monarch
feeding in tops of wattles beside creek. Varied Triller in same
location along with Olive-backed Oriole and many Australian Figbirds
feeding on native Fig fruit. Many Scarlet and Brown Honeyeaters. Also
good looks at a Little Bronze-Cuckoo in drier vegetation near road/TSR
junction.
Darryl and Gary Eggins
Bar-shouldered Dove, Striated Heron, Channel-billed Cuckoo Warriewood
Wetlands
A single Bar-shouldered Dove was seen in clear view from about 10 m
away and heard calling at about 8:45 am this morning. A Striated Heron
was seen very briefly flying off through the wetlands. A Channel-billed
Cuckoo was also heard this morning and 2 days ago.
Jayden Walsh
Sat 13 Sep Pacific Baza, White-headed Pigeon Kurrajong area
One Pacific Baza in garden Grey Gums where this species formerly nested
was my first local sighting in several years. Remarkably, another bird
(different, worn secondaries) seen about an hour later in Kurrajong
village about 3 km away. Also seen White-headed Pigeon, displaying
Yellow-throated Scrubwren, nesting Common Bronzewing, and large numbers
of southwards migrating Yellow-faced Honeyeaters with smaller numbers
of White-naped Honeyeaters.
Eric Finley
Little Lorikeet Cambridge Gardens
Approximately 6 Little Lorikeets feeding among Rainbow Lorikeets and a
few Scaly-breasted Lorikeets in the large Mugga Ironbark on my street
corner.
Akos Lumnitzer
Pacific Baza Kooringal Avenue, Thornleigh
Noisy Miner alarm calls alerted me to 4 Pacific Bazas circling overhead
(in shallow circles as per Pizzey and Knight). One peeled off and
plunged down, and almost immediately the other 3 did likewise, with all
4 tumbling into large trees on all four sides of where I stood. Amazing
to watch and first time I have seen more than 2 Bazas at any one time.
I found one Baza four houses along from ours in an angophora feeding on
a Noisy Miner, but could not locate the other 3.
Cameron Ward
Black-shouldered Kite breeding pair Pughs Lagoon Richmond NSW
2 Black-shouldered Kites, breeding pair. One called from a large stick
nest at the top of a nearby pine tree. One fed the other. One broke of
a twig from a gumtree and took it to the nest. Several Willie Wagtails
calling in picnic area & a Restless Flycatcher.
Adrian O'Hara
Sacred Kingfisher Woodfield Avenue Bundeena NSW
Heard this morning, first for me for this season of this returning
migrant
Deryk Engel
Fri 12 Sep Plum-headed Finch, breeding Blue-billed Ducks Gum Swamp
(Forbes)
Very surprised to see 50 plus Plumheads at the swamp this afternoon.
I've never recorded them at this site before. A pair of Bluebilled
Ducks had three very small chicks, and Freckled Ducks were still very
abundant. Sea Eagle was on nest and White-breasted Woodswallows were
present.
Warren Chad
Regent Honeyeaters Private property Scrubby Rush Road, Cowra
2 individuals seen feeding about 5.00pm in a red flowering gum with Red
Wattlebirds, Little Friarbirds, White-plumed Honeyeaters - has been
seen previously by the property owner
Frances Smith -Hastings Birdwatchers
Latham's Snipe, Comb-crested Jacana, Little Egret Kings Creek Road
Swamp, Wauchope
Saw my first Latham's Snipe for the season, when it flushed from the
edge of this wetland. Also present was a Jacana, and a Little Egret, an
uncommon visitor to this swamp. For once, there were no Whistling Ducks
of either species.
Alan Morris
Striated Heron Warriewood Wetlands
Immature in full view at main boardwalk around 1 pm
Carl Weber
Striated Heron, Nankeen Night Heron, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Deep Water
Park Milperra
two separate adult Striated Herons, both along the river, one with
green feet and one with bright orange feet. Single adult Night Heron on
the island in the first pond on Maxwell Ave. Still hundreds of Musk
Lorikeets feeding mostly on flowers of Blue Box and Forest Red Gum. One
partially leucistic bird had yellow and green scaly upperprats.
Probably more than 20 pairs of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets nesting. A pair
of Australian King Parrots. !0 species of honeyeaters on the eucalypt
blossum, including White-cheeked and Scarlet Honeyeater. (Moderator's
Note; Bright orange/red legs and feet in Striated Herons is a sign that
they are breeding. AKM)
David James
Swift Parrot Deep Water Park Milperra
12 Swift Parrots this morning about 8 am. At least 5 adults and at
least 2 immatures. Contra HANZAB, the immatures were obvious with
reduced brightness and sharpness of red face, no red in vent. One had
missing central tail feathers. Feeding on blossom of Blue Box
Euc.bauriana and Forest Red Gum E. teriticornis along both sides of
Maxwell Ave in front of the Paint Ball car park.
David James
Thu 11 Sep Pacific Baza pair Greggs rd/Redbank rd Kurrajong NSW
2 Pacific Bazas passed through canopy along Redbank creek, paused
momentarily to copulate. 1 bird broke of small gum twig and ate fresh
leaves (possibly lerps on leaf surface?)
Adrian O'Hara
Rainbow Bee-eater, Rufous Whistler, Olive-backed Oriole Koolumbung Ck
Reserve Port Macquarie
When I visited this reserve at 930 hrs, Rainbow Bee-eaters were flying
over heading south, in small numbers, I estimated 12 birds. Rufous
Whistlers (saw 3) and Olive-backed Orioles were in full song as were
Golden Whistlers.
Alan Morris
Leaden Flycatcher, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Rainbow Bee-eater Red Cliff,
Yuraygir National Park
Adult pair of Leaden Flycatchers, two Shining Bronze-Cuckoos, one adult
male New Zealand race (very green head and nape, some purple brown
patches, other either adult female New Zealand race or male or female
Australian race (see photo). Rainbow Bee-eaters calling overhead.
Greg Clancy & Russell Jago
Leaden Flycatcher, Forest Kingfisher, Coastal Emu, Rainbow Bee-eater
Brooms Head Road, Taloumbi
Female plumaged flycatcher in paperbarks and Forest Red Gums, Adult
male Forest Kingfisher on powerline, 3 Coastal Emus, 2 foraging in old
soya bean paddock, heard Rainbow Bee-eaters overhead.
Greg Clancy & Russell Jago
Square-tailed Kite Kellyville
1 Square-tailed Kite seen circling low over vegetation near the corner
of Balmoral Road and Old Windsor Road.
Carl Corden
Noisy Pitta Ourimbah
Noisy Pitta heard from my front door in adjacent property (Forest of
Tranquility) - the first visit I am aware of for several years.
Moderator's Note: A Noisy Pitta was observed at the Forest of
Tranquility on 1/7/2014 by Colin Bradshaw and the observation was
published on Birdline NSW. AKM)
John Weigel
Peregrine Falcon Penrith CBD
One adult on the wing at 13:15 much to the displeasure of the city
slicker bird population around Henry and High Streets.
Akos and Donata Lumnitzer
Painted Honeyeater Yarrie Lake
At least 3 Painted Honeyeaters heard (1 visual ID; no photo) calling
this morning from casuarinas with flowering mistletoes in them at the
creek feeding Yarrie Lake near Wee Waa. Large numbers of other
nectar-eating species competing with them - mostly Brown, White-plumed,
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters and Little Friarbirds, but also many
Mistletoebirds. Painted Honeyeater calls were recorded ("further
information" link).
Michael Dahlem
Common Blackbird, Latham's Snipe Eastlakes golf course
Single bird Common Blackbird and 7 Latham's Snipe this morning.
Mark Young
Wed 10 Sep Eastern Osprey Penrhyn Estuary, Botany Bay
One Eastern Osprey flew in and landed on the edge of Estuary at about
11 am. We were at the viewing platform.
Allan Richards & Max O'Sullivan
Wedge-tailed Eagle Castlereagh
Female and first-year seen along Castlereagh Road again at 15:50 and
until 17:00. It is also of note, that last week we observed the same
two birds on at least four afternoons in the same area, including my
report on September 1.
Akos Lumnitzer and Peter Phelan
Paradise Riflebird Beechwood - private property
A male Paradise Riflebird seen calling from the top emergent gums along
Morton's Creek. Further calls in the area to late morning
Peter West & Sue Proust
Square-tailed Kite, Sacred Kingfisher Ingleside, Sydney Northern
Beaches
An immature Square-tailed Kite is quite unusual for this area - the
first I have seen here in five years. The Sacred Kingfisher was my
first Sydney record of the spring and, with no others so far reported
on Birdline, may be an early arrival?
Roger McGovern
Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Sacred Kingfisher, Leaden Flycatcher Coutts
Crossing, SW of South Grafton
Went to bushland near Coutts Crossing Cemetery early this morning to
photograph the Glossy Black-Cockatoo family that I had seen late
yesterday. They were feeding in a small Black She-oak adjacent to
Armidale Road. The juvenile was heavily marked with yellow and had
yellow on the red barred panels indicating that it was a female.
Another trio, this time with a juvenile male was found feeding on Black
She-oak 'cones' while at least two other birds, apparently adults
joined the first trio, so a total of 8+ birds. Heard Sacred Kingfisher,
first for season at this site and observed an adult male Leaden
Flycatcher after hearing one late yesterday.
Greg Clancy & Warren Thompson
Tue 9 Sep Black Kite Duranbah, Tweed Valley
8 birds over road kill on Pacific Highway.
Rob Morrow
Eastern Koel Maryville (suburban Newcastle)
Single bird heard in the early morning.
Tom Clarke per Mick Roderick
Regent Honeyeater, Rockwarbler, Rainbow Bee-eater Giants Creek (Upper
Hunter)
Whilst most of the ironbark blossom is tailing off, I found a single
Regent HE 'braving conditions', with several aggressive Noisy Friars,
in a pair of (planted) Mugga Ironbarks 600m south of where I'd
previously found Regents earlier. I was granted access to the property
so explored the area and to my complete surprise I found 2 further
separate Regents on the ridge in habitat I'd never have expected them
in (shrubby Grey Gum with Stypandra/Acacia understorey - no blossom
anywhere). There was a pair of Rockwarbler on the edge of the ridge
too, in fairly marginal habitat. Some early Rainbow Bee-eaters (for the
Hunter Valley) were along Giants Creek.
Mick Roderick
Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Leaden Flycatcher Coutts Crossing SW of Grafton
Adult pair of Glossy Black-Cockatoos with begging juvenile feeding on
'cones' in Black She-oaks in bushland at edge of village, flew to
Spotted Gum to roost together at dusk. One Leaden Flycatcher heard
calling on dusk. First record this season at this site.
Greg Clancy
Gang-gang Cockatoo North Epping
This is my first sighting of Gang-gang Cockatoos in my suburb for many,
many years.
Frances Rein
Australian Brush-turkey Pacific Hwy, Gore Hill
Walking along the highway this afternoon, I spotted an Australian
Brush-turkey ahead of me, just opposite the ABC tower. It then
proceeded to walk down an entry way to a block of units. On reaching
the front door which was closed, it flew up onto a window sill and in
the window into a unit.
Judy Clark
Little Corella 147 Levenstrath Rd. Levenstrath, nr Grafton
Flock of 250-300 Little Corella flying fairly high and direct in a
westerly direction.
Warren Thompson
Red-necked Avocet, Caspian Tern Tuggerah Bay Saltmarsh, Tuggerah
There were 58 Red-necked Avocet at the saltmarsh today. First reported
by Luke Ullrich on 28/8/14, they have been coming and going since.
Other birds present included 2 Little Egrets, 8 Caspian Terns, Black
Swans etc.. Avocets are rare birds in the Tuggerah Lakes system. To
access this site, you enter from the end of Lake Road, Tuggerah, and
walk down the firetrail, which was once the road to Tuggerah Point,
where early visitors to The Entrance caught a ferry, after having
alighted from the train at Tuggerah Stn.
Alan Morris
Shy-type Albatross, Great-winged-type Petrel Brown's Mountain, 20nm
East of Sydney
Two immature Shy-type Albatross and a single Great-winged-type Petrel
noted whilst fishing at Brown's Mountain off Sydney. [Moderator's note
(NH): According to geolocator data most (but not all) Shy-type
Albatross of NSW and QLD are White-capped Albatross (Th. c. steadi).
Also, it is currently not entirely clear, which of the two taxa of
Great-winged Petrel are predominant. Grey-faced Petrel (P. m. gouldi)
is certainly the predominant taxon in summer, but the winter/spring
situation is unclear.]
Darryl Smedley
Mon 8 Sep Black-chinned Honeyeater, Little Lorikeet 8 Mile Lane &
Avenue Rd Glenugie Nr Grafton
There is profuse flowering of Forest Red Gum which is attracting many
lorikeets and honeyeaters. At least 3 Black-chinned Honeyeaters were
seen and birds were calling in several places so there may have been
others around. Four species of Lorikeet were present but the majority
perhaps 100+ were Little Lorikeets. Also feeding were, Scarlet,
Fuscous, White-throated, Blue-faced and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters plus,
Noisy Friarbirds. The light was poor and there were light showers so
other species could easily have been missed.
Peter West and Sue Proust
Eastern Common Terns, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstones Soldiers
Point, Norah Head
I could see some small terns with black bills on the Island off
Soldiers Pt, and assumed that they would be White-fronted Terns. Being
low tide, I went out to check as it was possible to get onto the
island. I was surprised to find that there were 78 Eastern Common Terns
roosting there, which is an early date. At least 12 of the Common Terns
were still in breeding plumage, the rest were both immatures/juveniles,
or were in the process of changing into non-breeding plumage, also all
appeared to have red legs. Also present were 9 Ruddy Turnstone (up from
the usual winter number of 3-4), and a single Curlew Sandpiper, also a
first return to the Central Coast.
Alan Morris
Citrine Wagtail (Subject to submission to BARC) Putta Bucca Wetlands,
Mudgee
Citrine Wagtail still present during visit this afternoon at 4pm. We
enjoyed good views for the whole time we were there, still in reported
location. [Moderator's note (NH): Sightings of Citrine Wagtail should
be submitted to BARC. So far only three Citrine Wagtails have been
accepted by BARC: Botany Bay, NSW, 1962; Goolwa, SA, 1987; Christmas
Island, 2009. It would be great if we could get a complete
documentation of the Putta Bucca bird]
Paul & Phillip Shelley
Hooded Robin, Jacky Winter, Speckled Warbler Bullio, Southern Highlands
It was great to see a variety of woodland species on private property
in the north-western part of the Wingecarribee Shire. Other species
included Brown Treecreeper, Crested Shrike-tit, Varied Sitella and a
couple of Emus.
Martin Filipczyk
Superb Parrot Mangerton, Wollongong
2 adult Superb Parrots in trees in my backyard in Mangerton,
Wollongong. (Moderator's Note: Most likely these birds are aviary
escapees. AKM).
John Maughan
Swift Parrot, Striated Heron, Long-billed Corella Deepwater Park,
Milperra
Four Swift Parrots in flowering Box near Blue Gum Farm. Also a pair of
Striated Heron showing nesting behaviour. Also a pair of Long-billed
Corella - not uncommon but a first for myself at this site.
Greg McLachlan, Debbie Andrew
Sun 7 Sep Channel-billed Cuckoo North Epping
This is a very early sighting for my suburb - they, and the koels,
usually arrive on or around the October long weekend. (Moderator's
note: This is the 10th report of the arrival of the Channel-billed
Cuckoos, mostly to the Sydney and Central Coast Region. From now only
special sightings at unusual locations and or large numbers will be
published. AKM)
Frances Rein
White-winged Chough Quakers Hill
Driving along the Quakers Hill Parkway I saw two White-winged Choughs
in a tree in a park just north of the Quakers Hill railway station.
Darryl Smedley
Apostlebird Great Western Highway, Minchinbury
Saw a single Apostlebird on the median strip at 7:15am whilst stopped
at the traffic lights. [Moderator's note (NH): AKM tells me that this
is a known site for the feral Apostlebirds that escaped from
Featherdale Farm 20-30 years ago.]
L. Morgan
Swift Parrot Capertee Valley--Genowlan Bridge
Great views of 7 Swift Parrots seen by all on BMBO outing to Capertee
Valley. They were in eucalypts on the north-east side of the bridge,
gleaning leaves presumably for lerps, only 10m from observers and at
eye level.
Mark Ley and 14 members of Blue Mountains Bird Observers.
Noisy Pitta, Spangled Drongo Irrawong Reserve
Excellent views of foraging Noisy Pitta. Also Spangled Drongo.
Nicholas Beswick
Channel-billed Cuckoo Bicentennial Park (Glebe)
1 bird heard at around 10am, seems to be consistent date-wise with
other other reports of them arriving in Sydney. First for Glebe that I
know of, for the year.
Simon Gorta
Sat 6 Sep Spectacled Monarch Sawtell
At least 2 Spectacled Monarchs in forest on southern side of headland;
first returns for season. Many Scarlet Honeyeaters and Silvereyes
around at present (two subspecies of Silvereye). Also observed four
Grey Fantails, at least one of which appeared to have much less white
on uppertail.
Peter Higgins
Brush Cuckoo Weston, Hunter Valley
Heard calling around 6am. Usually passes through early Oct.. Early
record.
Steve Roderick
Square-tailed Kite, correct e-mail address and correct name Cattai
Wetlands
"While photographing water birds two Square-tailed Kites flew over and
I had them identified on a birding photography website from my pictures
. They are reported to have been seen before." [Moderator's note (NH):
This post came without a valid e-mail address, with no observer name
and no photo attached. As this happens frequently, I'd like to address
this issue here and now: While photos are certainly not mandatory
(however often very useful as in this case), the name of the observer
and an e-mail address are. Please always make sure that your e-mail
address is correct so that we can reach you for queries. Thanks!]
Nikolas Haass (moderator)
white phase Southern Giant-petrel, White-headed Petrel, Buller's
Albatross Royal National Park--Wattamolla
Seen my first white phase Southern Giant-petrel for this year which
hung around off Wattamolla for most of the day. Also 1 White-headed
Petrel and 2 Buller's Albatross.
michael ronan.
Fri 5 Sep Citrine Wagtail (Subject to submission to BARC) Putta Bucca
Wetlands, Mudgee
I have just published a video on youtube of the Citrine Wagtail at
Putta Bucca wetlands, which I made on the morning of Sep 5:
Bruce Roubin (per Birding-Aus)
Thu 4 Sep Freckled Duck, White-breasted Woodswallow McPherson Rd Swamp,
Tuggerah
The Freckled Ducks had not been seen for the past few weeks, possibly
because of all the rain the Central Coast has been receiving, but two
were back today. Also present was a pair of White-breasted
Woodswallows, first return report for the Central Coast, usually they
turn up the last week of August.
Alan Morris & Allan Benson
Wed 3 Sep Spotted Harrier Lake Windamere
Spotted Harrier at the southern end of Lake Windamere.
Graham Blackwell & Alec Gillespie
Mon 1 Sep Rainbow Bee-eater Sawtell
Heard in flight at two separate locations over suburb, apparently
moving southwards. First records for season in Sawtell (but note
reports a few kilometres north, Sawtell-Coffs Harbour, 21 Aug).
Michael Cheers & Peter Higgins
Sun 31 Aug White-breasted Woodswallow, Olive-backed Oriole Sawtell
White-breasted Woodswallows heard in flight over Sawtell (AM), moving
south; later, seen flying south over Toormina shopping centre (26 birds
in small groups, largest of nine birds, 16:50-17:00). Olive-backed
Oriole heard calling from early morning, and heard persistently each
day since (>1 week later). First returns noted for season (although
note report of Oriole here 15 June).
Peter Higgins
Sat 30 Aug White-headed Petrel, Great-winged-type Petrel, Buller's
Albatross Wattamolla.Royal National Park.
Highlights from a seawatch today from Wattamolla was a White-headed
Petrel. About 40 Great-winged-type Petrels, 3 adult Buller's Albatross,
1 Wandering-type Albatross, 2 Fairy Prions and 2 Brown Skuas.
michael ronan.
Sun 24 Aug Wandering Albatross Offshore--Wollongong pelagic
Highlights of the Sunday SOSSA pelagic were approx. 20 Wandering-type
Albatross (13 of which were exulans). Again not a single Cape Petrel
and also no Giant-petrels on either trip. The photograph of the
Buller's Albatross was taken by Mick Roderick. For a detailed trip
report and further pictures see here on the SOSSA website:
Nikolas Haass and all on the Sandra K
Sat 23 Aug Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross (BARC submission in prep),
White-headed Petrel Offshore--Wollongong pelagic
Highlights of the Saturday pelagic were: 1 Atlantic Yellow-nosed
Albatross (BARC submission in prep), 2 White-headed Petrels and 15-20
Pygmy Killer Whales. Attached photos by Duade Paton. For a detailed
trip report and further pictures see here on the SOSSA website:
Nikolas Haass and all on the Sandra K
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