Fw: Some AthertonTablelands rarity news:- House Swift and Wagtail

As emails seem to be getting hung up somewhere, I’ve resent this one so I don’t get into trouble for being slow in reporting. I should also have added that last night we had at least four and possibly as many as seven Grass Owls at the junction of Tinaroo Falls Road and Favier Road between Atherton and Kairi. Alan From: Alan Gillanders Sent: Monday, November 17, 2014 06:29 PM To: Birding_Aus Subject: Some AthertonTablelands rarity news:- House Swift and Wagtail Greetings, This morning at the end of Harper Drive, Yungaburra,there was a grey bird which walked like a Motacilla wagtail and flew like a wagtail. It was very plain and the bill looked a little long to me. I did not see it wag its tail. the bird was first spotted sitting on a small upright twig. It dropped to the ground and walked through some weeds to a bare patch of earth where it seemed to capture prey. It then flew briefly and landed before flying across to the eastern shore at Lakeside. One of the guests made the ID of White Wagtail based on its call which he heard a few times, even from across the water. This afternoon there were 8 WTNT at Nerada Tea Plantation. With them were two House Swifts. This time I got really good looks and have been studying their features since Sunday. The birds were smaller than the nearby Needle-tails but with a similar throat pattern. The rump was a brilliant white saddle. The tail was shallowly forked with rounded ends to the forks. With the afternoon sun behind me the birds were well lit and looked black and white. They flew towards me and turned at about 35 metres. Other birders have gone for the Wagtail today with no reports of success. Regards, Alan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/