It's all about the birds
Hi everyone
I am keen to give away some of my older copies.
Wingspan vol 7 no 4 Dec 1997 to vol 16 no 4 Dec 2006
Missing: vol 14 no 1 March 2004
I’m in the inner west if anyone is interested in them.
Chris
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Hi All,
Here’s the second of two trip reports from the weekend.
Cheers,
Rohan
BIRDLIFE AUSTRALIA PELAGIC TRIP OFF EAGLEHAWK NECK
Saturday 30 January 2016
OBSERVERS: Tim Bawden, Jo Culican, Brian Johnston, Peter Kyne, Chris
Lester, Rosemary Lester, Angus McNab, Jack Moorhead, Bill Moorhead, Paul
Newman, Mark Stanley, Andrew Walter & Rohan Clarke (organiser).
WEATHER: 50% cloud as we departed, clearing to about 30% by midday. No
rain. 10-15 knot easterly through much of the day, moderating slightly
around 11 AM.
SEA: 2 m north-easterly swell inshore increasing to 2-3 m beyond the
shelf. A wind-driven sea of 1-2 m meant the sea was fairly lumpy but we
didn’t pitch and roll too much and enjoyed a following sea on the return
leg.
ACTIVITY: Sailed at 0715. Headed east to the shelf, forgoing the usual
pass of the Hippolytes given the large sea and the forecast for stronger
winds. Good numbers of shearwaters and a few albatross in inshore and
offshore waters with a couple of brief stops for interesting shearwaters
in these areas. Crossed the shelf break (100 fathoms) at 0915 before
making our first stop at 43º03’05”S 148º16’08”E over 300 fathoms of
water where we berleyed with fish frames etc. As we were drifting west
back onto the shelf we then moved further out to 510 fathoms and did a
long drift and berley session from 1015-1240 finish back in 200 fathoms
of water. Good numbers of birds in 200 fathoms of water but a bit quiet
over 500 fathoms. Headed back in at 1240 to dock at around 1500.
MAMMALS: Australian Fur Seals: a single in Pirates Bay when we returned
in the PM.
Common Dolphin: A pod of about 8 in the AM in inshore waters.
BIRDS: 28 species (IOC) of seabird beyond the breakwater indicated good
diversity. Highlights were a trifecta of uncommon and rare shearwaters
for Tas, a long-staying Long-tailed Jaeger and a brief but satisfying
Gould’s Petrel.
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel: 2 (1). A couple of flybys at the second berley
point.
White-faced Storm-Petrel: 130 (90). 5 offshore in the PM, remainder
pelagic.
Wandering Albatross: 3 pelagic. 1 adult male, 2 transitional birds.
NZ Wandering Albatross: 1 pelagic.
Black-browed Albatross: 1 immature at the first berley point.
Shy Albatross: all cauta/steadi 70 (30). 7 inshore, 6 offshore,
remainder pelagic. 1 immature pelagic, remainder adult.
Salvin’s Albatross: 1 cracking adult at the second berley point.
Buller’s Albatross: 10 (4). 1 inshore, 3 offshore, remainder pelagic.
All adult.
Fairy Prion: 10 (2). 3 offshore in AM, 1 inshore in PM, remainder pelagic.
Short-tailed Shearwater: 5000 (500). 1550 inshore, 160 offshore,
remainder pelagic.
Sooty Shearwater: 60 (5), 2 inshore, 50 offshore, 8 pelagic.
BULLER’S SHEARWATER: 1 inshore (about 45 fathoms) in the AM.
SUB-ANTARCTIC LITTLE SHEARWATER: 1 flyby in the AM in inshore waters was
seen well by many on the boat. A second Little Shearwater in the PM in
about the same area as the previous sighting was not seen well enough to
separate elegans from assimilis.
WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER: 2(2). 2 together at the first berley point.
Easily the rarest bird for the two back-to-back pelagics though I am not
sure those from NSW and Qld were that impressed! There are just a
handful of previous Tasmanian records.
Hutton’s Shearwater: 3 inshore in the PM.
Fluttering Shearwater: 30 (5). 8 inshore, remainder offshore in the AM.
Perhaps another 20 ‘Fluttons’ that remained unidentified.
White-chinned Petrel: 20 (8). All pelagic.
Great-winged Petrel: all gouldii 35 (15). All pelagic.
GOULD’S PETREL: 1 pelagic at the second berley point made a single
decent pass of the boat. An early call as it approached meant all
present connected.
Common Diving Petrel: 1 inshore in the AM, 1 inshore in the PM.
Little Penguin: 1 inshore in the PM
Australasian Gannet: 2 adults inshore in the PM.
Black-faced Cormorant: 4 inshore in the AM, another 5 inshore in the PM.
LONG-TAILED JAEGER: 3 pelagic at the first berly point. All immature. A
first year bird followed us to the second berley point and remained with
us for over an hour (though annoyingly it was mostly positioned so we
were looking into the sun).
Crested Tern: 2 inshore in the AM, another 2 inshore in the PM.
Silver Gull: 1 inshore in AM, another 5 inshore in PM.
Kelp Gull: 1 adult in the AM, 5 adults and 1 juv in the PM.
Pacific Gull: 1 adult inshore in the PM.
—
Rohan Clarke
www.wildlifeimages.com.au
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BIRDLIFE AUSTRALIA PELAGIC TRIP OFF EAGLEHAWK NECK
Friday 29^January 2016
OBSERVERS: Tim Bawden, Sarah Beavis, Ruth Brozek, Karen Dick, Darryl
Eggins, Brian Johnston, Judy Leitch, Mona Loofs-Samorzewski Angus McNab,
Jack Moorhead, Mark Stanley, Els Wakefield & Rohan Clarke (organiser).
WEATHER: 100% cloud with persistent rain throughout the day: mostly
light but with a solid downpour for almost half an hour on the return
leg. With respect to rainfall the wettest one day pelagic I have ever
done. Very dull conditions and the photos reflect this! 15 knot
north-easterly, moving around to the east and moderating slightly around
midday.
SEA: 1-2 m north-easterly swell inshore increasing to 2-3 m in offshore
waters and beyond the shelf. A wind-driven sea of 1-2 m meant the sea
was fairly lumpy but we didn’t get too much spray. One seasick.
ACTIVITY: Departed at 0715. Headed east to the shelf, forgoing the usual
pass of the Hippolytes given the forecast for stronger easterly winds
through the day. Large numbers of shearwaters and a few albatross in
inshore and offshore waters. Crossed the shelf break (100 fathoms) at
0925 before making our first stop at 43º05.78’S 148º14.95’E over 300
fathoms of water where we berleyed with fish frames etc whilst drifting
back into 100 fathoms. Shifted slightly further north and back out to
300 fathoms for a second berley session from 1050. Headed back in at
1220 to dock at around 1510.
MAMMALS: Australian Fur Seal: a single around the boat at the second
berley point.
Dolphin spp: a couple of dorsal fins seen briefly over 60 fathoms of
water in the AM but the species went unidentified.
BIRDS: 26 species (IOC) of seabird beyond the breakwater indicated about
average diversity. Highlights were Cook’s and White-necked Petrel,
Buller’s Shearwater and South-Polar Skua.
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel: 2 (1). Singletons at the second berley point.
White-faced Storm-Petrel: 62 (20). 4 inshore, 23 offshore, remainder
pelagic.
Wandering Albatross: 1 pelagic.
NZ Wandering Albatross: 4 pelagic – 3 gibsoni, 1 antipodensis.
Southern Royal Albatross: 1 immature at the second berley point.
Black-browed Albatross: 1 immature at the second berley point.
Shy Albatross: all cauta/steadi 60 (20). 9 inshore, 6 offshore,
remainder pelagic. All adult.
Buller’s Albatross: 16 (3). 2 inshore, 7 offshore, 7 pelagic. All adult.
Fairy Prion: 6 (2). 2 inshore, 1 offshore, 3 pelagic.
Short-tailed Shearwater: 7500 (1000). 5500 inshore, 130 offshore,
remainder pelagic.
Sooty Shearwater: 9 (2). 7 inshore, 2 pelagic.
BULLER’S SHEARWATER: 1 offshore (about 60 fathoms) in the AM.
Hutton’s Shearwater: 1 pelagic.
Fluttering Shearwater: 40 (10). 35 inshore, 2 offshore, 3 pelagic.
Another ~10 ‘Fluttons’ that remained unidentified.
White-chinned Petrel: 12 (7). All pelagic, though 2 followed us back
into offshore waters.
Great-winged Petrel: all gouldii 30 (12). 2 offshore (~80 fathoms) in
the AM, remainder pelagic.
GOULD’S PETREL: 1 pelagic at the second berley point, but only seen
briefly by some.
COOK’S PETREL: 1 pelagic just after we started heading back in. At least
one other cookalaria that might have been a Cook’s ‘got away’ from us.
WHITE-NECKED PETREL: 1 made several casual passes at the second berley
point. About the 5th record for Tasmania that we are aware of.
Australasian Gannet: 1 adult inshore in the AM.
Black-faced Cormorant: 4 inshore in the AM.
Jaeger spp: A brief flyby in offshore waters. I called it as an Arctic
but as soon as it was gone started second guessing it and now think it
was a Long-tailed….
SOUTH-POLAR SKUA: 1 darker intermediate bird made a very quick pass at
the first berley point.
Crested Tern: 1 inshore in the AM.
Silver Gull: 4 inshore in AM.
Kelp Gull: 1 adult in the AM.
—
Rohan Clarke
www.wildlifeimages.com.au
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Hello Josh,
Congratulations on such a terrific and comprehensive report.
In regard to the calls of the northern Cicadabird, you can hear them, and other Cicadabird calls, on my website www.graemechapman.com.au/library/sounds.php?c=720&p=78
It sounds like quite a different bird to me. Certainly worth ticking, species or not.
Cheers
Graeme
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Hi all,
I have recently published my book BIRDS OF THE WET TROPICS OF QUEENSLAND
& GREAT BARRIER REEF & WHERE TO FIND THEM.
With just over 400 pages, and 1500 illustrations (all but one hand
painted) the book contains a large amount of information for both
visitors and locals birding The Wet Tropics.
– Over 200 pages are devoted to a field guide based on colour and
habits. The intention has been to make it much easier than the standard
taxonomical field guides for visitors, locals and others having
difficulty identifying their birds.
– A section of over 80 well illustrated pages on how to separate the
very difficult species such as the yellow-spotted honeyeaters (Lewin’s,
Yellow-spotted & Graceful), the friarbirds; the
Satin/Leaden/Broad-billed Flycatcher group; the tattlers; the knots;
swiftlets; Masked, Barn and Grass owls; Atherton, Large-billed and
Tropical scrubwens; the cisticolas; Bassian and Russet-tailed thrushes;
gerygones and many more.
– A 45 page, well researched, well referenced section on the current
status and range of all 451 species recorded from the Wet Tropics and
Great Barrier Reef
– Over 30 pages of the best birding areas within the Wet Tropics with
maps, species which can be expected, facilities where applicable and
access. (There has been a recent trend by a number of establishments
(accommodation etc) to jump on the birding band wagon and have
themselves listed as good birding sites when they are not. Having lived
in The Wet Tropics for 25 years and covered every corner extensively, I
can guarantee that only the best and most productive sites are listed).
The book covers some of the intriguing species in the Wet Tropics and
these are dealt with in detail – birds such as the “Herberton”
Honeyeater, the recently discovered quail-thrush, the cicadabird puzzle,
Rogers Pipit, the Pacific Swallow (yes, it does visit the region!) and
others.
It covers other species to watch for such as the Grey-headed Goshawk,
Pacific Long-tailed Cuckoo, Garganey; why Ninox lurida should be split
as a good species; the possibility that the Yellow-legged Fly-robin
occurred in the Wet Tropics (and may still do?).
There are smaller jottings on the endemic species, migration, best time
to visit, birding tips, birding etiquette, tips when visiting The Wet
Tropics, binoculars and telescopes, feeding birds – right or wrong and
so on.
Taxonomy is based on IOC 4.2
Available via my website www.birdingaustralia.com.au – $45 (plus $12
postage within Australia). Payment by credit card through Paypal – or
direct deposit if preferred. It is also available from Kingfisher Park
Birdwatcher’s Lodge and bookshops throughout the Wet Tropics.
Finally, some of the profits will eventually be going to worthwhile
conservation and research projects.
Lloyd Nielsen,
Mt Molloy, Nth Qld 4871
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On the 24th of January last week I received a phone call from Shaydeen
Schrader informing me that her husband of many years, Neville, had passed
away at home after a long battle with cancer. Neville was well known to many
NSW birders, especially from his time living in Parkes where his
conservation activities were rewarded with him being awarded an OAM. He had
moved to Orange to be nearer better medical services that he could not
receive in Parkes. Neville’s funeral was held last Friday. He will be sadly
missed by his many friends and colleagues. My sympathies go to Shaydeen and
his family, Robert, Jodi and Natasha.
Mark Clayton
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I follow with great interest the valuable discussion on this list concerning the value and dangers of bird feeding. There are often comparisons with the situation in Europe and N. America, but there is one aspect there that I cannot see has got much attention, i.e. the great differences in climate. Here in Tromsø, N. Norway, at 70*N and with snow cover half the year, many People feed the birds in Winter and that feeding, provided hygienic aspects are taken care of, is defintely of benefit to the birds we have here in Winter. In fact, we would not have Great and Blue Tits so ar North at all without feeding and nest boxes (They do not hoard food for winter, as the other northern tits do.). In Australia the situation is quite different, as at no season are the birds depemndent upon feeding by humans.
The problem of a concentration of predatory birds is also, in my opinion, somewhat less acute here, although there is little doubt that the numbers of Eurasian Magpies and Hooded Crows is much larger here now than if there would not have been people here; but they get most of their food from human carelessness with garbage and Food rather than from direct feeding
Wim Vader, Tromsø, Norway
wim.vader@uit.no
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G’day
In the spirit of people posting write-ups of good birding accommodation, I would like to mention “Kelsie’s Cottage” at Greenlands – about 10 mins west of Stanthorpe on the Texas Rd. It is a handy spot for people traversing the New England Highway, or birding, bushwalking or doing the wine tasting fooding thing on the Granite Belt.
Kelsie Neilson has an environmental background and has a 2 bedroom cottage on a land for wildlife block. There is a birdwatching verandah on two sides of the cottage. I’m not sure what the RE type is, but it is a eucalypt woodland with extensive undergrowth and a small dam (with plenty of small fish). I photographed close to 20 species of woodland birds while I was there a couple of weeks ago (the usual suspects – Miners, Magpies, Crows etc were thin on the ground because of the undergrowth).
One of the features of the property is a “Chook Mahal” – an unused luxurious chookpen about the size of an average house (complete with fruit trees and frog pond). I got some nice pix of Speckled Warblers on the edge of the pen.
From the rocking chairs on the verandahs, you can watch fairy wrens, finches, fantails, tree creepers and geregones etc. There were quite a few Musk Lorikeets feeding in the flowers in the eucs, and a family of Crimson Rosellas feeding on some bushes close to the ground. Round the dam, there were bronzewing pigeons, honeyeaters (e.g. Naped, Yellow-faced and White Plumed) and pardalotes coming in for a drink. There were also Dusky Woodswallows, Peaceful Doves and Forest Kingfishers up in the canopy, with Dollarbirds patrolling the sky. I heard a few cuckoos calling, but the highlight was finding a Rufous Whistler nest with freshly hatched chicks …
Overall, it is a very nice place, with better vibe, range of bird species and night sky than most of the other accommodation in the region. It is hard to beat birding breakfasts and beer o’clocks on ye olde verandahs … I can pass on Kelsie’s contact details to any birders looking spend some time on the Granite Belt …
Regards, Laurie.
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Hi people,
The next batch of my New Zealand part of my trip, visiting beatiful Fiordland National Park and Stewart Island, amongst other locations in South Island. Including South Island Brown Kiwi, New Zealand Rock Wren, Fiordland Penguin, Kea and a hybrid Black Stilt/White-headed Stilt!
ibc.lynxeds.com/news/video-highlights-fiordland-national-park-stewart-island-new-zealand
Best regards,
Pieter de Groot Boersma
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