Author: Alan Gillanders

Last seen report to me was outside the Port Authority Building corner of Hartley and Grafton. Regards, ALan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/ —–Original Message—– From: Paul G Dodd Sent: Friday, January 2, 2015 12:47 PM To: Elliot Leach Cc: Birding-Aus Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] RFI: Cairns Esplanade Rufous Owls Hi Birders, Does anyone have more up to date information on the Rufous Owl(s). We could not locate the owl at the most recently identified tree… Thanks, Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria (currently in Cairns) Sent from my iPhone > On 7 Dec 2014, at 7:18 pm, Elliot Leach <elliot.leach@griffithuni.edu.au> > wrote: > > Thanks to everyone who gave me directions! We saw the owl this afternoon, > having a good scratch and periodically falling asleep 🙂 > > Elliot > > On Saturday, 6 December 2014, Elliot Leach > <elliot.leach@griffithuni.edu.au> > wrote: > >> Hey everyone, >> >> I’m heading up to Cairns tomorrow to do some scientific work on Mt >> Lewis – >> just wondering if anyone has seen the Rufous Owls that were being >> reported >> a couple of months ago along the Esplanade recently. >> >> I’ll be back in Cairns on Saturday morning and will probably have a look >> for waders on the Esplanade then as well. If anyone wants to meet up for >> that then feel free to send me an email 🙂 >> >> Cheers, >> >> Elliot >> >> p.s thanks to everyone who gave me Tassie gen, we had a really good trip! >

>
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 >

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 —– No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG – www.avg.com Version: 2015.0.5577 / Virus Database: 4257/8852 – Release Date: 01/01/15

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

Wim, The only thing I envy you is those northern lights. Having lived all my life in the tropics I’ve never managed them. I did manage a tree-roo on Christmas day though and went and photographed a Pied Monarch on its nest early on New Year’s Day. Apart from that effort I did not go birding yesterday but did manage a good list including Oriental Cuckoo when feeding the neighbour’s chooks. Eastern Barn Owl and Bush Stone Curlew seen while driving home from the New Year’s Ball. Lesser Sooty Owl in the garden when we got home. Bower’s Shrike Thrush, Spectacled Monarch and Yellow-breasted Boatbill when photographing the Pied monarch. Hobby, five pigeon species, nesting lap wings, Koel and Channel-bill Cuckoo in or near the garden along with various other birds. Like this time last year there seems to be a dearth of honeyeaters around. Regards, Alan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/ —–Original Message—– From: Vader Willem Jan Marinus Sent: Thursday, January 1, 2015 10:46 PM To: Birding-Aus ; Birdchat(BIRDCHAT@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU) ; Sabirdnet (SABIRDNET@dbnmail2.ukzn.ac.za) Subject: [Birding-Aus] 2015! Dear friends, Even though I no longer write regularly about birds and seasons in Tromsø, N.Norway, I stil lurk on the lists, and want to wish you all a happy, healthy and bird-rich 2015. As you may remember , Tromsø is at 70*N, which means that in the Christmas holidays we have hardly any daylight at all, and the sun is ‘a month away’ in both directions. In addition, our far North, but coastal situation brings long, but not particularly severe winters, with relatively few land birds wintering here, but lots of waterbirds on the open fjords (but little daylight to see them in). This winter we had beautiful calm clear winter days, with clear skies, spectacular Northern Lights, but little snow on the ground, followed just after Christmas Eve by some days of quite heavy snowfall (maybe 70 cm in 2-3 days, something not unusual in our area, so the town is well prepared and the streets are cleared within a few hours), to the great pleasure of my grandchildren, that were here for Christmas. But it did not last long: the last two days it has blown and rained a lot, much of the snow has disappeared, and the streets went through a period of very dangerous iciness. Under these circumstances the new year list has a very modest start. No birds have been on my feeders today as yet (Now it is 13 45 and again pitch dark), but as usual i saw both Hooded Crow and Eurasian Magpie in the garden; they are virtually always there. A Herring Gull flew overhead, and when we drove my lady to the airport for her return to Holland, I saw a Great Cormorant and lots of Common Eiders on the sound. And that is all as yet for 2015! All the best to all of you! Wim Vader, Vesterliv. 23,9013 Tromsø, norway wim.vader@uit.nowim.vader@uit.no>

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 —– No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG – www.avg.com Version: 2015.0.5577 / Virus Database: 4257/8846 – Release Date: 12/31/14

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

Greetings, Some one, who I think was a birder, sent me questions and info about a film competition which would enable winners to take a holiday in north Queensland to make a film. I cannot find that email so if it was you could you resend it. I also cannot find the competition online so there may be others out there who don’t know about it too who could take a stab at the film of one minute to win a holiday up this way. REgards, Alan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/

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

Philip, The ‘rabbit-rats’ have broad, blunt faces with large ears and eyes; they are large rats, well worth catching for a meal. It is from these features they get their old English name. A skull, minus incisors is not immediately rat like in appearance. Hope life is treating you well in ‘temperate’ Canberra. Alan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/ —–Original Message—– From: Philip Veerman Sent: Friday, December 12, 2014 01:55 PM To: ‘Denise Goodfellow’ ; ‘Colin Trainor’ Cc: birding-aus@birding-aus.org Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat Well I did not recognise the name at all and knowing of the tendency to use silly names like marsupial mouse and flying fox for things that they are not, I wondered if it was like a rabbit or like a rat or neither. I have 3 Aust mammal field guide books. One lists Brush-tailed Rabbit Rat (different spelling with alternate name Brush-tailed Tree-rat) Conilurus penicillatus. One lists Conilurus penicillatus as Brush-tailed Tree-rat, which leaves me wondering at the logic of how “rabbit” substitutes for “tree” or vice versa. The third does not mention this species but includes another one White-footed Tree Rat (alternate name Rabbit-Rat). The “Complete book of Australian mammals” clarified it for me. Philip —–Original Message—–From: Birding-Aus [mailto:birding-aus-bounces@birding-aus.org] On Behalf Of Denise Goodfellow Sent: Friday, 12 December 2014 10:47 AM To: Colin Trainor Cc: birding-aus@birding-aus.org Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat Colin, I have some expertise with small/medium Top End mammals, including Black-footed Tree-rat, having worked for some decades as a biological consultant up here. See my writeup in Fauna of Kakadu and the Top End (1993). Regards Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Founding Member: Australian Federation of Graduate Women Northern Territory 043 8650 835 On 12 Dec 2014, at 8:58 am, colin trainor <halmahera@hotmail.com> wrote: > According to the “Action Plan for Australian Mammals” there have been > no confirmed records of Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat in the Greater Darwin > area since 1993, and it is now thought to have been extirpated in > Kakadu Nat Park, with no captures since 2008 despite ongoing > monitoring. > > Your observation would more likely to have been the still regionally > extant Black-footed Tree Rat …. > > From: > > Denise Goodfellow <goodfellow@bigpond.com.au> > Date: > > Fri, 12 Dec 2014 02:21:41 +0930 > > Late one night a couple of weeks ago I saw a Brush-tailed Rabbit-rat > on a > Darwin River road. There is one other record of what sounds like this animal > from this area, from a local man. > > If any Birding Aussers are in the vicinity of Darwin River could you > please let > me know of any sightings? > > Thanks > Denise > > > Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow > PO Box 71

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 —– No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG – www.avg.com Version: 2015.0.5577 / Virus Database: 4235/8719 – Release Date: 12/11/14

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

Greetings, I had a report of two Yellow Wagtails at Harper drive Yungaburra where I had reported a White Wagtail early in the week. One of these birds was reported as being remarkably plain and grey. I’ll check them out and try for photos. Regards, Alan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/

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

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/

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

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/

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

This evening we saw at lest three different Grass Owls between Atherton and Kairi on the Atherton Tablelands. One at least was an adult female from what I have read. Lesser Sooty Owls at Thomas Road near Yungaburra. Two birds churring to each other, one seen over road. Regards, Alan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/

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

Greetings, Yesterday there were two Swifts with a Flock of about 55 WTNT and 20 Australian Swiftlets for which I did not get a positive ID, but were most likely House Swifts. I cannot think what else they could be as the size was intermediate between the other two species, on turning the tail was almost rounded and there was clearly white on the throat and rump. I saw the two birds one after another through the binoculars at about 50 metres and followed one away for over 150 metres. The view was not good enough for me to be convinced absolutely. The Aussies were flying high, 80+ m, but the other swifts varied in their feeding height above the tea at Nerada, Glen Allen, Malanda. At times the WTNT were flying very low and very slowly. So slowly you would almost think that they would stall. It would have been great for photography as the light was wonderful too. REgards, Alan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/

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

Greetings, Following on from two recent threads: Carl wrote, “Personally, I would ban the keeping of all exotic bird species, but, unfortunately, that would be impossible.” That might be impossible but it should not be impossible to prevent the importation of more species or other forms of species which are already a problem. A list of allowed species for all life forms would be a great idea. Anything else is banned. Any application for importation needs a risk assessment provided by the proponent with the right to challenge it extended to anyone in the community with an interest. A bond of considerable size should be added in most cases too and held for a minimum of 10 years. If you feel like me you might consider supporting the Invasive Species Council http://invasives.org.au/ , an organisation whose proactive work has lead to protocols being established for pests and potential pests. Though without political will these are not always followed. Take Myrtle Rust for example … Regards, Alan Alan’s Wildlife Tours 2 Mather Road Yungaburra 4884 Phone 07 4095 3784 Mobile 0408 953 786 http://www.alanswildlifetours.com.au/

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