Hi everyone,
My 2012 Victorian Year List is coming to a close, and I have a few species outstanding. Don’t worry, no records will be broken!
Can anyone help me with some reliable locations or recent sightings for the following birds around Melbourne or within a day trip?
Lewin’s Rail – I have tried WTP a number of times without luck Australasian Bittern – not many sightings this year (that I have heard of), perhaps more dispersed? Australian Little Bittern – still a bit early? Lesser Sand Plover – I’ve only ever seen these on Mud Islands, but I won’t have time to get out there Wood Sandpiper – I’ve tried Hospital Swamp, ETP Boundary Rd and Stockyard Pt Ruff Pectoral Sandpiper – I am aware of a couple of sightings at WTP in the last fortnight Australian Painted Snipe Arctic Jaeger – this would be a lifer for me – any ideas of a good place to see them? Often offshore at WTP? Scaly-breasted Lorikeet – have tried Rickett’s Pt Song Thrush – have tried Royal Botanic Gardens and CERES Red-whiskered Bulbul – I doubt there is such a thing as a reliable site for this bird!
Regards,
Luke ===============================
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You are, of course, correct, Green John! I think that in your year either Stuart Dashper or Fiona Parkin scored 226 which would make one of them the current number five…
Paul
Sent: Thursday, 6 December 2012 2:25 PM
Hi Paul, Tim’s is 4th from my knowledge, mine was 335 in 2006 (the year of the “Vic Twitch”), Tim Dolby 2nd in 2008/09(?) and then your 390 odd… just for the record :-).
Yours in all things “green”
John Harris Croydon, Vic Owner – Wildlife Experiences Ecologist/Zoologist Nature Photographer Wildlife Guide wildlifeexperiences@gmail.com 0409090955
President, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (www.fncv.org.au)
Luke, You have a good chance of seeing Arctic Jaeger from the ferry between Sorrento & Queenscliff. They’re around because one was found at Bonbeach on Tuesday and is currently in a wildlife shelter. Australian Little Bittern are believed to be breeding in the swamps SE of Melbourne (a female with a brood patch was caught recently but I can’t tell you where and in any case they have not otherwise been seen nor recently heard), Pectoral Sandpipers have been seen in the last week at Boundary Road and in the Eastern Treatment Plant itself but access not possible until we count on 23 December, and 6 Painted Snipe were seen and photographed yesterday at the Desal Park at Wonthaggi, wherever that is – the park not Wonthaggi!
Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Tel (03) 9787 7136
Hi Paul, Tim’s is 4th from my knowledge, mine was 335 in 2006 (the year of the “Vic Twitch”), Tim Dolby 2nd in 2008/09(?) and then your 390 odd… just for the record :-).
Yours in all things “green”
John Harris Croydon, Vic Owner – Wildlife Experiences Ecologist/Zoologist Nature Photographer Wildlife Guide wildlifeexperiences@gmail.com 0409090955
President, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (www.fncv.org.au)
Hi Luke,
It sounds like you’ve had a good year – and if your total in Eremaea is correct, 320 species seen this year so far, that’s a pretty good effort. I can’t recall the exact numbers but I believe that Tim Bawden’s 328 in 2011 is the third best Victorian year total – at least of the records that I’m aware of, so you have a fighting chance at that one.
The bitterns are always difficult. Ruth and I had a spectacular week in December 2010 where we saw all three “Victorian” bitterns – Little Bittern at Reedy Lake (near Geelong) on 19 December (the same day we also saw the Stilt Sandpiper at WTP), Australasian Bittern in a flooded dam at Terrick Terrick (our second sighting of this species for the year – the first being at the Western Treatment Plant) on 21 December, and Black Bittern on the Genoa River at Gipsy Point on 23 December. Interestingly we had our third encounter with an Australasian Bittern at the Western Treatment Plant on New Year’s Eve 2010, when the temperature was in the mid-40s with a strong northerly wind! Unfortunately, I haven’t heard of any sightings of Australasian Bittern or Little Bittern in recent times. The only thing I can suggest for Australasian Bittern is to try the edges of swamps in central Victoria – Kow Swamp, for example, and perhaps the Kerang lakes. You could try Reedy Lake near Geelong, but it involves wading through cold knee-thigh-deep water and hoping you either hear a bittern or manage to flush it.
Lewin’s Rail – I think that the swampy ponds near the bird hide at the Western Treatment Plant are still the best bet. We have seen this species there several times this year, and even had it cross the track in front of us on two occasions. I suggest trying either really early or quite late in the day. The south side of the track (ie. Towards the Beach Road gate) is the most reliable.
Lesser Sand Plover – unfortunately Mud Islands are your best bet. We also saw this species on Clonmel Island (one of the Gippsland “barrier” islands) in 2010. You could try Stockyard Point.
Wood Sandpiper – it used to be that the Conservation Ponds at Western Treatment Plant were reliable for this species, but I haven’t heard of any this year. By chance we saw one at Alcoa Wetlands in Portland in 2010 too – but once again I haven’t heard of any.
Ruff – there have been no sightings of this species in Victoria this year that I am aware of.
Pectoral Sandpiper – there is definitely at least one at the WTP at the moment. Ruth and I saw it in the Western Lagoons a couple of weekends ago. John Barkla saw it (presuming it’s the same bird) in the Conservation Ponds last weekend.
Painted Snipe – the central and northern Victorian swamps are your best bet. Unless there is one out in the open, this will involve walking the edges of the swamps to hopefully flush one. I note that there are two records from November of this year – Burramine South Swamp (near Yarrawonga) and at Lake Murdeduke near Winchelsea.
Arctic Jaeger – perhaps your best bet is to do a bit of seabird watching. Steve Davidson constantly sees this bird from the Western Treatment Plant. Ruth and I saw one the other day from Avalon Beach – and two weeks ago we saw one tangling with a flock of gulls over the Beach Road boat ramp at the Western Treatment Plant. Remember these are called “pirate birds” because they steal the food from gulls and terns, so it pays to look for larger birds flying over flocks of gulls and terns.
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet – I think your best bet is the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve. Do yourself a favour and cover up completely and use tropical-strength mosquito repellent as they are terrible there. Banule Flats, Yarra Bend Park, Westerfolds Park and other eastern suburban parks are also good – but I think it is more luck to see them there, whereas at OGNR they are reasonably constant and reliable.
Song Thrush – Botanical Gardens – as EARLY as you can possibly get there. The only place worth looking is on the lawns along the northern boundary early in the morning before the hordes of visitors arrive.
Red-whiskered Bulbul – good luck. Ruth and I saw ours in suburban Ferntree Gully – but on a more recent visit we could not relocate them. Interestingly the Common Mynas were still imitating the Bulbuls!
Good luck!
Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria