Month: December 2012

The highlights of one-and-a-half days in the Lockyer-Brisbane Valleys with Chris Corben included Australian Painted-Snipe at two sites, Plum-headed Finch, Cotton Pygmy-Goose at four sites, Brown Songlark at three sites, Australasian Shoveler, plenty of Pink-eared Ducks, Hoary-headed Grebe, hundreds of Glossy Ibis, Australian (Spotted) Crake, Spotless Crake, Red-necked Avocet, Black Kite, Blue-billed Duck, Little Grassbird, Stubble Quail and Banded Lapwing.

See here for more: http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com.au/

Greg Roberts

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The call of the Southern Boobook is a common sound at our home at Coutts Crossing, north coast NSW, especially in the warmer months but the sight of an adult roosting in a paperbark in our backyard is a more recent phenomenon. One adult has been present on most days for a fortnight or so trying to sleep through the almost incessant noisy mobbing by the local Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Noisy Miners, Little and Noisy Friarbirds, Grey Butcherbirds, Magpie-larks and the occasional Satin Bowerbird. The last day of 2012 saw two adults roosting in different parts of the same Weeping Paperbark, a threatened species. I had seen two Boobooks in silhouette flying around our large Forest Red Gum in the backyard last night and today while pulling out some very aggressive Bromeliad-like weeds I was distracted by the ‘noisy mob’ attacking something else. It was a very young Boobook in a Forest Red Gum behind out property. I ran for the spotting scope and mounted the camera and was able to get some passable shots. Then a second juvenile flew to the same branch. I fired off some more photos and I am now keen to have a closer look at them as they looked quite good as I downloaded them.

A great way to end 2012.

Have a great New Year Greg Dr Greg. P. Clancy Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460 0266493153 0429601960 ===============================

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How does one access these birdlines? What is my password? David Robertson

Hi All,

I have had an RFI for reliable locations for Marbled Frogmouth in SEQ from Garry Deering in Melbourne. Garry will be visiting Brisbane in a couple of weeks time. I know of a couple of spots but have not been out to look for MFs for some time. If anyone has seen them recently in SEQ would you mind letting Garry know the details it would be much appreciated. Kind regards

Judith

Judith Hoyle Brisbane, QLD 4120 0437549301

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Evening all,

My Australian birding adventure is now at and end and I’m firmly back in the cold, dark islands of the North. Looking through the species I’ve managed to get +/- presentable photos of on my site, I’m sad that I didn’t quite get the full alphabet – I never got anything for Q, U or X. I did however, get some 200 species on there, which is nearly half of what I had on my Australian list over three years (411 – and without owning a car or driving licence!). Thanks to everyone who provided advice on here and to everyone who offered lifts! The connection isn’t /entirely/ over, though as I’m still illustrating Ed Williams’ articles for Australian Birdlife Magazine (which is well worth a look if you’re not a subscriber). Yours in all things small, brown and requiring a panel of experts to judge its ID,

Tony ===============================

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Hi All

4 Oriental Cuckoos plus Brush, Shining-bronze, Fan-tailed and Channel-billed, Koel and Pheasant Coucal made for that kind of day on Saturday – plus a (calling only) Bush Hen. Otherwise the site was remarkably deficient in the usual birds, both in numbers and variety. We all believe we heard one of the Orientals respond to playback incidentally. It was brief but surprisingly clear.

Cheers

Hi All

Seawatch from 8.00 – 13.30 yesterday (30.12.12) proved quite fruitful. South-easterly winds 25 – 30 knots, increasing , choppy, white-capped, irregular seas, 40% cloud cover causing continuously changing light and glare conditions.

Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed Shearwaters in good numbers (~100/hr each), some passing very close, until 10.00 when the passage dropped off to a mere trickle. 2, possibly 3, Sooty Shearwaters and a single Flesh-footed, 2 Pomarine and 1 Arctic Skua and a distant large, very pale, white wing-flashed Skua which could only have been a South Polar.

6 large Manta Rays feeding on the surface just off the rocks provided several hours of entertainment for the visiting hordes and a school of approx 40 Bottle-nosed Dolphins was the biggest single group we have seen off Pt Lookout.

Cheers

Hello,

This Shearwater was photographed on the August 19th Wollongong Pelagic, 2012.

The other birds were quite obvious (excluding the few White-capped Albatross), and we even had some ID help afterwards (thanks to Chris S.) but my colleague just sent me this photo and I cannot be sure of its identification. The jizz brings a Wedge-tailed Shearwater to mind, but I think we never saw one that seems to be so pale underneath. Maybe the strong light plays a trick on this one?

I would really appreciate all available help in this matter.

The photo: http://www.harrynystrom.net/images/shearwater_20120819_wollongong_pelagic_0001-3.jpg

Cheers -Harry (from snowy and wintery Finland) ===============================

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Hi all, yesterday I picked up an exhausted Shearwater off South Ballina beach, took a few quick snaps with my phone & dropped it off at Seabird Rescue. My best guess is Fluttering Shearwater. Bill length was about 32mm, I think that’s too short for Hutton’s. Can the pelagic experts on birding-aus please confirm my ID, or advise otherwise. Hopefully these Dropbox links work ok.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/68945597/Shearwater%20932%20%281600×751%29.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/68945597/Shearwater%20014%20%281280×870%29.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/68945597/Shearwater%20009%20%282000×916%29.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/68945597/Shearwater%20underwing%20021.jpg

Cheers, Steve McBride

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Hi All,

A couple of weeks ago there were quite a few Painted Snipe reported at Black Swamp, Boorhaman East near Rutherglen, Vic.

Has anyone been out there more recently?

Also, whilst I’ve located the correct road can anyone tells what the access and signage to the reserve is like and where exactly on Boorhaman East Rd it is? (Very little info I could find on the web).

I’ll be in Rutherglen tonight and was hoping to round the year off tomorrow with a Painted Snipe.

Happy end to 2012 to all,

Cheers,

Ed

Ed Williams ===============================

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