Author: Jeanie

Our last birding adventure for 2014 was to the Inaugural Wildmob Birdweek on Norfolk Island from the 2nd to the 9th of December. The trip was organized in conjunction with Derek Ball from Wildmob, Bec Christian -who runs Norfolk Island Travel Centre and Margaret Christian. Margaret is the author of the book “Norfolk Island..the Birds”and an Island local and she along with Derek were our guides for the week. The week encompassed talks and presentations (about the endangered, endemic Green Parrot), several walks and bus trips around the Island to discover all the endemic bird fauna and also flora (if you are interested) What Margaret, Derek and Bec don’t know about Norfolk is frankly not worth knowing. We had a night Birding experience, several dinners which was great for getting to know your fellow birders and there was also quite a bit of spare time included where you could do your own thing. We found this really beneficial as it meant we could return to some places that we had enjoyed with the whole group or zip off to other areas that were recommended to us by various locals. There was also two optional trips – one to Phillip Island and a pelagic trip. These are subject to weather conditions but well worth doing if you are able. There is lots to see and do on Norfolk- the history and culture alone is fabulous and extensive. Overall it was a fantastic week. Norfolk Island is such a beautiful gem – we are very lucky that Wildmob and the people of Norfolk are striving to preserve their unique fauna and flora. We will most definitely be returning in the near future. If you’d like to attend the 2015 Birdweek keep a look out in Birdlife or contact Bec at the Norfolk Island Travel Centre. I will be posting my Norfolk Island Bird pics on my Facebook page in the next few days if you are interested, Jeanie Churchward

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Can anyone give me the contact details to whom/where I can my Swarovski binoculars for repairs and service please, Many thanks, Jeanie _______________________________________________ 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

Hi I just sent the entry below for submission to Birding Aus but I don’t think the link is working. It is Bill Stents’ dropbox,

Sorry to be a pain, Jeanie

From: Jeanie Churchward [mailto:ijchurchie@bigpond.com] Sent: Tuesday, 29 January 2013 9:04 PM To: birding-aus@lists.vicnet.net.au Subject: Presents from Cyclone Ozwald at Dundowran Beach, Hervey Bay, QLD

Hi every one, Myn husband, Ian and I live on the beach at Dundowran which is just north of Hervey Bay. Saturday night, the 26th, January was a night of little sleep for us – we experienced extremely wild, destructive winds with trees coming down, a huge king tide that made quite a mess of the beach and an incredible amount of rain. However, I’m sure lots of people experienced this and worse but on Sunday morning as we surveyed our newly acquired moat and lake we were surprised by the many unique presents that Cyclone Ozwald had blown in.

First, we saw 2 common noddies fly past – now that is a strange thing to see in our area so there was a mad panic for the bincos and camera. The next surprise was all the terns we found sheltering from the winds in our yard – not our usual fare of Caspian or Crested Terns but after looking at various resources we think they are either Bridled or Sooty Terns – from my photos (see the link below) we are leaning more towards Bridled Tern. However, I really don’t know so I would appreciate some help please.

On the low tide we raced down to the beach to discover quite a few other birds that had obviously been blown in – probably from the islands offshore I would assume. We were quite excited to see 3 Frigatebirds patrolling up and down the beach – I finally got some photos of them but unfortunately due to the appalling light conditions they are not very good but I’m hoping someone will be able to identify which Frigatebird this is. Both Black and Common Noddies were abundant on the beach and in the trees along with our usual waders.

At one point when the tide was on its way back in again we spotted another interesting bird – see photos 4 and 5. This bird was the only one of its species on the beach and it appeared to be very exhausted. At first I thought it was a juvenile Pacific or Kelp Gull but looking at the photos I took and comparing them to other information and drawings I’m inclined to think it could be a Pomarine Jaeger. I looked at the facial markings and the markings on the wings when the bird was in flight – there is a photo on the link of the bird standing on the beach and when it flew off but unfortunately the flight photo is not in focus but I added it to the link anyway in the hopes it will help someone positively identify my bird.

Please view my photos on the following link

https://www.dropbox/sh/jx231gscnwdskjk/Do9EqCntix

I just wanted to say thankyou to Bill Stent who helped me with posting my photos – Bill kindly put my photos on his dropbox so everyone can view them,

Thanks again, Bill

Looking forward to hearing your views,

Jeanie Churchward

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Hi every one, Myn husband, Ian and I live on the beach at Dundowran which is just north of Hervey Bay. Saturday night, the 26th, January was a night of little sleep for us – we experienced extremely wild, destructive winds with trees coming down, a huge king tide that made quite a mess of the beach and an incredible amount of rain. However, I’m sure lots of people experienced this and worse but on Sunday morning as we surveyed our newly acquired moat and lake we were surprised by the many unique presents that Cyclone Ozwald had blown in.

First, we saw 2 common noddies fly past – now that is a strange thing to see in our area so there was a mad panic for the bincos and camera. The next surprise was all the terns we found sheltering from the winds in our yard – not our usual fare of Caspian or Crested Terns but after looking at various resources we think they are either Bridled or Sooty Terns – from my photos (see the link below) we are leaning more towards Bridled Tern. However, I really don’t know so I would appreciate some help please.

On the low tide we raced down to the beach to discover quite a few other birds that had obviously been blown in – probably from the islands offshore I would assume. We were quite excited to see 3 Frigatebirds patrolling up and down the beach – I finally got some photos of them but unfortunately due to the appalling light conditions they are not very good but I’m hoping someone will be able to identify which Frigatebird this is. Both Black and Common Noddies were abundant on the beach and in the trees along with our usual waders.

At one point when the tide was on its way back in again we spotted another interesting bird – see photos 4 and 5. This bird was the only one of its species on the beach and it appeared to be very exhausted. At first I thought it was a juvenile Pacific or Kelp Gull but looking at the photos I took and comparing them to other information and drawings I’m inclined to think it could be a Pomarine Jaeger. I looked at the facial markings and the markings on the wings when the bird was in flight – there is a photo on the link of the bird standing on the beach and when it flew off but unfortunately the flight photo is not in focus but I added it to the link anyway in the hopes it will help someone positively identify my bird.

Please view my photos on the following link

https://www.dropbox/sh/jx231gscnwdskjk/Do9EqCntix

I just wanted to say thankyou to Bill Stent who helped me with posting my photos – Bill kindly put my photos on his dropbox so everyone can view them,

Thanks again, Bill

Looking forward to hearing your views,

Jeanie Churchward

===============================

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http://birding-aus.org ===============================

Hi everyone – thanks to Waynes’ info, saw the Kelp Gull today at Cottontree. We had very good views of the bird through the scope – it had green legs indicating a non-breeding male kelp gull (I believe Pacific Gulls have yellow to orange/yellow legs), small spot on lower beak as opposed to the large red tip on the Pacific Gulls we saw recently while in WA. When the bird flew there was no black present on the tail and around the wings there was quite a wide edge of white.

Cheers Jeanie Churchward

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