birding-aus

ORIENTAL REED-WARBLER heard at Lower Daintree, FNQ

To: Peter Ewin <>, "" <>
Subject: ORIENTAL REED-WARBLER heard at Lower Daintree, FNQ
From: martin cachard <>
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2018 03:58:00 +0000
Hi Peter, and to eveyone else on here with an interest in this one...


no, I didn't manage to record it unfortunately - and I am definitely kicking 
myself now for not doing so too.


that last bout of song at 1:45pm on Monday was the last time I heard it, and I 
didn't know then at the time that that would prove to be the last I heard of 
the bird, well at least for last week at work anyway...


from my extensive experience with ARW, and from the many recordings I have 
heard of ORW over the years, and also those recordings of ORW that I have 
played to myself since Monday evening, I am 100% confident of my ID of the bird 
being an Oriental. I have spoken to quite a number of people since Monday who 
have had personal experience with ORW and so far they have all agreed with me.


it WAS NOT an ARW, and it couldn't have been anything else.


of course, ever since that last call, I was at the ready with my mobile phone 
(which IS NOT a smart phone) to at least make a video recording of it if it 
called again.


but alas, that hasn't happened as yet...


but believe me, I will be doing my level best from tomorrow onwards to get at 
least a rough recording if it sings again nearby and that I actually hear it - 
and needless to say, it will need to sing a second time to actually record it 
too after hearing it call the first time!


and sorry to the person I called on the phone while it was calling for what I'm 
about to say, but I now wish that I had recorded the bird singing instead of 
calling you (my tongueis  planted VERY firmly in cheek now 😊  ) !!

because it continued on and off then and there for more than just a few 
minutes!!


the reason I chose to call that person was because I wanted to share the find, 
AND to have the call confirmed as an Oriental Reed-Warbler, because I thought 
(and still only 'think'??) that they have heard one in the 'flesh' before.


please wish me luck everyone that I can find this wonderful bird again...


thanx for everyone's interest,

and cheers for now,


martin cachard



solar whisper wildlife cruises,

daintree river, FNQ


& trinity beach, cairns








________________________________
From: Peter Ewin <>
Sent: Saturday, 17 February 2018 11:40 AM
To: martin cachard; 
Subject: Re: ORIENTAL REED-WARBLER heard at Lower Daintree, FNQ


Martin,

You didn't happen to record it on your phone while you were there? I have no 
experience with that species, but I am certain others would be able to confirm 
from a recorded call. Not certain how good they are at recording but even a 
video may gather enough for an ID.

Hopefully you are right (and hopefully it comes back).

Cheers,

Peter


________________________________
From: Birding-Aus <> on behalf of martin 
cachard <>
Sent: Friday, 16 February 2018 8:41 PM
To: 
Subject: [Birding-Aus] ORIENTAL REED-WARBLER heard at Lower Daintree, FNQ

on Monday 12/02/18 at about 1:15pm whilst at work in our open-air on-site 
office, I could hear the song of what could only have been an Oriental 
Reed-Warbler.


the bird was only about 40mtrs away, and just inside the corner of a 3/4-grown 
crop of sugar cane that abutted the carpark, so I walked over towards where the 
call came from and waited for it to call again.


it then called again at 1:25pm and it didn't seem to have moved much from where 
I'd just heard it. I could see a bit of movement of the top of one of the cane 
stands, so I knew where the bird was.

but I could NOT see it!


when it called for the third time, I telephoned someone in Melbourne whom I 
felt could confirm the call if he heard it over the phone. and frustratingly, 
despite the bird calling a few more times, the listener could not pick up the 
call from their end of the phone.


it then made another brief bout of song at 1:45pm, and then nothing.


I haven't heard the bird again since, even though i've been listening for it.


I have never heard or seen an ORW in the 'flesh' before, BUT I have made an 
effort to learn the call years ago from various different apps & CD's, my 
HANZAB's, internet, etc, etc...


and from my extensive Oz birding experience of some 47 years (26 of them living 
in VIC, 21 of them up around Cairns, and 1.5yrs near Newcastle), I have heard 
and seen 100's of Aust RW's...


when hearing the bird, which I know was within 5 mtrs of me at one point and 
calling, and no more than 10 mtrs away when calling at any time, I was struck 
by how surprisingly much lower it was in volume when compared to our Aust RW, 
which I hear on many days when they are here in the cane during winter.


to me it sounded like a quiet ARW, and not only with a cold, but also with a 
frog stuck in its throat as well !!

there were no loud notes at all, and certainly no ringing or silvery notes, and 
the lower notes were nowhere near as rich and full-bodied as an ARW.

what I haerd just sounded less loud, at a different pitch altogether, and 
somewhat crotchety & ratchety in comparison to an ARW.


I am totally convinced that it was indeed an Oriental Redd-Warbler.


I welcome any questions or comments, and of course, I will post again if/when I 
hear it again...


cheers for now,


martin cachard



solar whisper wildlife cruises,

daintree river, FNQ


& trinity beach, cairns

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