There has been some discussion of “overwintering” birds. Just throwing this in. Here at Brooms Head, we seem to have lost the Bar-tailed Godwit that has been around for the last couple of winters, but gained a couple of Golden Plovers and Ruddy Turnstones. They have not moved in to breeding plumage. Peter and Bev Morgan. The conservation battle is never finally won; the development battle is. _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Month: June 2014
Fwd: Over-wintering Yellow Wagtails in Australia? At this stage, more properly a winter record.
Please see below. Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: From: Mick Roderick <mickhhb@yahoo.com.au
Over-wintering Yellow Wagtails in Australia? At this stage, more properly a winter record.
Hi Mick, Why assume that because a Yellow Wagtail is seen on 22 June in Australia that it is necessarily overwintering? One can only make that claim if the bird is seen throughout the winter, not on just one day. Someone else made the same claim about another species seen recently on a single day and although it raised my ire, I didn’t complain. If it is still around in September then it will have overwintered. Until then, this is just a winter record, as significant as that may be. A true case of overwintering was the Spotted Redshank found at the Eastern Treatment Plant SE of Melbourne on 14 March 1992, that disappeared from that site on 29 May 1992 but rediscovered on a nearby wetland on 17 June and after moving to a number of other wetlands in the district was last seen in the area on 14 September 1992. Besides Yellow Wagtails, both White and Citrine have also appeared in Australia in winter. A White Wagtail of the race leucopsis was present at Portland, Victoria from 7 June to 23 August 1992 (I’d accept that bird overwintered), and an adult male Citrine Wagtail was present at Goolwa, South Australia from late May into early June 1987 when it suddenly disappeared. Nearly two decades later we learnt that it had been shot and prepared as a stuffed skin! It was found when a private collection was gifted to the South Australian Museum following the demise of its owner! And that wasn’t the only rarity that he had collected! Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Tel (03) 9787 7136 —– Original Message —– From: “Bill Stent” <billstent@gmail.com> To: <birding-aus@birding-aus.org> Sent: Monday, June 30, 2014 3:40 PM Subject: [Birding-Aus] Over-wintering Yellow Wagtails in Australia > See below. Replies to Mick, Please > > Bill (moderator) > ————————————————————————- > From: Mick Roderick <mickhhb@yahoo.com.au> > To: “birding-aus@birding-aus.org” <birding-aus@birding-aus.org> > Cc: > Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 22:18:21 -0700 > Subject: Over-wintering Yellow Wagtails in Australia > Hi all, > > A Yellow Wagtail was seen on Hexham Swamp, Hunter Estuary, NSW on the > 22nd June by Karen Thumm and Andrew Stauber. It was thought to be a > tschutschensis (EYW) bird due to the white eyebrow. The observers had > close and extended views of the bird and there is no doubt about its > identity (they have seen the birds before both here and in the > northern hemisphere). The sighting was reported to Birdline NSW. > Unfortunately no images were taken and no one has been able to find > the bird since. > > The sighting is significant because as far as I can tell it would be > the first over-wintering EYW recorded in NSW. In fact, HANZAB lists > just a few examples of over-wintering Yellow Wagtails in Australia and > a couple of those are given as “possibly” (whatever that is supposed > to mean). The more definitive records from HANZAB are for Dawson River > (Qld, June 1905), Heron Island (June, 1979), Weribee STP 31/07/2000 > (as detailed in Twitcher’s Corner in Wingspan December 2000) and > August records at Eyre Bird Observatory (WA) in August 1984. > > Is anyone else aware of over-wintering Yellow Wags in Australia? I’m > surprised that there aren’t any from NW WA or the Top End. > > Any details would be appreciated. > > Cheers > Mick _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Birdline weekly summaries
I did not get any today – did anyone else? _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Birdpedia – Australia – Weekly Digest
The following is a digest of Sightings Reported on Birdpedia for the period Monday, June 30, 2014 to Sunday, July 6, 2014: Area: SA Location: Black Point, YP Double-banded Plover (Charadrius bicinctus) (35+) A large flock of plovers was resting among the seaweed on the point at high tide. We counted 38, but there were possibly more. Four or five were in full breeding plumage, the others were in various stages of non-breeding plumage. A few red-capped plover were with them, and five red-necked stints were seen nearby. Brown Quail (Coturnix ypsilophora) (3) Three quail crossed the track in front of us, as we walked back from the beach to the parking bay at the end of the point. Given the previous report of Brown Quail here we assume that’s what they were, but we didn’t get a positive ID. Reported by: Faye Lush and Joyce West on Saturday, July 5, 2014 ——————————————— Date: Sunday, July 6, 2014 Location: Strathalbyn Sewerage Ponds (Strathalbyn Swamp) Red-kneed Dotterel (Erythrogonys cinctus) (25) In lagoon in front of hide. First record of this species at this location. Black-fronted Dotterel (Elseyornis melanops) (20) Same location as above. Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) (8) Ditto. European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) (5) Feeding on weed seeds on bank of lagoon. Another first record for this location. The water level in the lagoon is very low. Ideal wading bird habitat. Not a vast variety of species but well worth a visit (23 species, see trip report). Reported by: Bob Snell on Sunday, July 6, 2014 ——————————————— Need more information about a sighting? Login and contact the poster directly. Receive sightings via email or SMS immediately they are posted. Not a member of Birdpedia? Membership is free and gives you access to information for over 230 countries. To sign up go to the Birdpedia Web Site (http://www.birdpedia.com/). To find out more about Birdpedia and what it can do for you, see ‘What is Birdpedia?’ ——————————————— _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Eaglehawk Pelagic – Places Available
Hi All, I have two places available aboard an Eaglehawk pelagic trip on Sunday the 13th of July. Please contact me off-list if you’re interested in joining. Paul Brooks _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Hacked Off + RFI Flores
Hi All, Apologies to all of you who suffered from my recent hacking experience! I suspect I got hacked via eBay which will explain why some were spared. We are off to Flores via Bali for a week in July. We will be doing the Komodo thing for one day and have booked 6 nights accommodation for the whole time we are there – but with the capacity to cancel if required. Could anyone let me know if it is feasible to stay in a central hub but still get to the good birding spots? If not, any accommodation recommendations? Also, if anyone can recommend a good local guide that would be much appreciated. Thanks Judith _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Brief Trip Report – Sea of Okhotsk
In mid-June I was a passenger on the 12-day Heritage Expeditions cruise to the Sea of Okhotsk. The cruise covered that part of the Sea bounded by Sakhalin Island to the south, the Russian Far East on the west and north and the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east. The cruise started from Korsakov, the port of Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, visited various bird and mammal breeding islands in the Sea, spent a half-day in the town of Okhotsk and ended at Magadan, on the northern shore of the Sea. I had been on two other Heritage cruises in the Russian Far East and this trip interested me because I was promised views of the Ribbon Seal, in my opinion the most beautiful seal in the world. In the event, we saw about 350 of these mammals, lounging on sea ice floes in the south-west corner of the Sea. We also saw Larga, Harbour, Ringed and Bearded Seals, Steller’s Sea Lions, Minke, Fin and Grey Whales, Harbour Porpoises and lots of Dall’s Porpoises. There were also five mother Brown Bears with two cubs each. We saw 12 species of Alcid, all of which I had seen on previous voyages. Those particularly common in this Sea were Spectacled Guillemot and Least Auklet. Northern Fulmars seemed to be mostly dark phase in the south and light phase in the north and were ever-present. Steller’s Sea Eagles were observed on every shore landing. There were good numbers of Aleutian Terns near the town of Okhotsk. The surprise sighting was that of an immature Short-tailed Albatross near the northern coast of the Sea (first sighted at 58 47.327 N, 151 49.136 E), a bird which followed the ship on and off while it steamed east at about 12 knots from 1835 to 2150 on 19 June. These birds are usually seen east rather than west of the Kamchatka Peninsula. In all, I saw 63 species, new for me being the aforesaid albatross, Dusky Warbler, Dusky Thrush and Red-throated Pipit. The excellent bird guide on the ship was Chris Collins. The weather was predictably foggy and a little windy at the start of the cruise but we ended with some fine and calm weather. It was not as cold as I expected. For Tony Abbot’s benefit, the sea ice and Ribbon Seals were much further south than usual, indicating that global warming is affecting this area as well. Please contact me directly for more information and/or a list of bird species seen by me. Regards, Gil Langfield Melbourne, Australia gil.langfield@bigpond.com _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Brief Trip Report – South Korea
On my way to the Russian Far East in early June, I had six days of birding in South Korea. South Korea has a population about 10 times that of my state, Victoria, living in an area less than half that of Victoria. My guide was Dr Nial Moores, president of Birds Korea. Nial is passionate about the fast-disappearing environment there, has ultra-sensitive hearing and the longest list in the country. He was an ideal guide and companion. Early June was not the best birding time but there were still plenty of interesting migrants seen as well as the local specialities. We had two days on Baekryong Island at the start, close enough for comfort to North Korea and then travelled back to Incheon by ferry. We then drove around most of the country and visited wetlands and temples in areas such as Geoje, Hwaum, Seosan. I apologise if the transliterations of the place names are not correct. I saw 113 species in all including 20 which were new to me. My guide saw more and heard many more. Black-faced Spoonbill and Saunder’s Gull were easy very near Incheon Airport, convenient for those with stop-over times. Schrenk’s and Yellow Bittern were seen at Seosan as was a beautiful Amur Leopard Cat, unusual in the daytime. The Ruddy Kingfisher and Ruddy-breasted Crake were ruddy difficult although we managed to get fleeting views of the former at Howchong(?). We saw 5 species of Tit and 3 of Wagtails. There were also many LBJs, easily recognised by call by Dr Moores. Please contact me directly for more information or a list of species seen. Regards, Gil Langfield Melbourne, Australia gil.langfield@bigpond.com _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Brief Trip Report AWC Sanctuary Mornington Kimberly, Broome, Monkey Mia
Hi all. We have just returned from a two week trip to northern and western WA. Highlights were the organised stay at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy sanctuary at Mornington Station in the Kimberly where we had Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens and Buff-sided Robins at our door. There were Gouldian Finches in good numbers (lots of young birds), Long-tailed Finches, Double-barred Finches, Crimson Finches and a couple of Pictorella Mannikins. The scenery there was spectacular and we were shown some magnificent locations as well as spent some worthwhile time at Lake Gladstone on the neighbouring Glenroy station seeing a good variety of water birds. The AWC did a marvellous job of hosting us and showing us what they were doing with the site in particular the very positive results achieved with the removal of ferals and an early dry season fire regime. We also spent some days at the Broome Bird Observatory which, as always, had much to offer. The highlight was the two Asian Dowitchers amongst the over-wintering small flocks of waders. We also saw many of the mangrove specialities of the area including Dusky Gerigone, Mangrove Grey Fantail , Broad-billed Flycatcher (and being able to compare it to a Leaden Flycatcher later in the same day). Following this we spent a few more days at Monkey Mia where it is almost impossible not to run into the local Grasswrens (a split from the Thick-billed Grasswrens in some taxonomies) literally in the car park. Southern Scrub-robins were also very common as were the harder to see Chiming Wedgebills. We also saw the Indo- Pacific bottle-nose dolphins being hand fed, a dugong, loggerhead and green sea turtles. All up a fabulous couple of weeks. Happy birding. — John Reidy Sydney Phone 02 9871 4836 Fax 02 9871 2616 _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org