Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update

Birdline New South Wales Published sightings for the week ending 14 Dec 2014. Mon 15 Dec Pheasant Coucal Eulah Creek After listening for calls unsuccessfully for the last 2 months, this morning at 7 I heard a Pheasant Coucal calling (3x) for the first time this season. It must be somewhere in dense undergrowth along Eulah Creek, about 20 km east of Narrabri, not far from the (white timber) bridge across the Eulah Creek (no photo). Michael Dahlem Sun 14 Dec Spectacled Monarch. Deep Creek reserve, Narrabeen. Got my second Sydney record this year of a Spectacled Monarch at Deep Creek this morning about 50 meters in from the Wakehurst Parkway. michael ronan. Little Eagle Farnell Ave, Loftus Observed 1 Little Eagle (light morph) cruising overhead near northern entrance to Royal NP this afternoon. Photograph attached. Greg McLachlan South Island Oystercatcher Lord Howe Island Airport I observed and photographed the SIPO feeding and flying between the airport and the nearby Mosely’s swamp on Sunday the 14th and Friday the 12th this past week. I was unable to find any Pectoral Sandpipers during this past week on Lord Howe Is. Jon Spicer-Bell Glossy Black Cockatoo, Rufous Songlark Terry Hie Hie A small flock of 4 Glossy Black Cockatoos were observed flying over broadacre farmland about 10km north of the village, this is the first record for this area. A single Rufous Songlark was observed singing on a fence in grassland, in the village. This is the first sighting for this site this year and the first for the whole north-west region since January. (Usually Rufous Songlarks are present almost everywhere throughout spring, not a single bird this year though.) Curtis Hayne Sat 13 Dec Long-tailed Jaeger, Buller’s Shearwater, Wandering type Albatross. wattamolla royal national park. Good numbers of winter and summer birds from Wattamolla today including 1 Buller’s Shearwater at least 2 Wandering Albatross,20+Shy albatross,30+Black- browed Albatross and 6-7 Long-tailed Jaegers. michael ronan. Wandering Albatross Mistral Point, Maroubra A 2 hour sea watch at Maroubra this morning turned up a Wandering Albatross (heading northeast), 14 Black-browed Albatross (adults + imm.), 3 Arctic and 3 Pomarine Jaegars, a constant stream of small flocks of Short-tailed Shearwaters heading south, many Wedge-tails and a few Fluttering Shearwaters Robert Griffin Buller’s Shearwater (2), White-chinned Petrel (5) Offshore–Wollongong pelagic 2 Buller’s Shearwaters and 5 White-chinned Petrels were the two standout highlights of this years’ SOSSA December pelagic off of Wollongong. There was an excellent variety of tubenoses around, most likely as a result of the recent storms. Also 1 Parkinson’s ( Black ) Petrel, 6 Wandering Albatrosses, and 1 apparent ‘Tasmanian’ Shy Albatross. Logan Lalonde Collared Sparrowhawk, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Cicadabird, Little Lorikeets Murrumbung HSD, Mardi near Tuggerah The CCGBNSW had their Christmas outing and break-up at the home of John & Carole Carpenter, The Valley Way, Mardi where 35 people saw 43 bird species during the morning. This included 28 Brown Cuckoo-Doves coming to a feeder, 2 Cicadabirds, a Collared Sparrowhawk apparently pursuing a Bellminer, a pair of Little Lorikeets, Scarlet Honeyeaters and Sacred Kingfisher, Black-faced Monarch, Koels and Channel-billed Cuckoos. Alan Morris Jacky Winter Whittaker Lagoon, Moree A Jacky Winter was heard calling repeatedly in cattle grazing farmland. Although probably listed as common, this is the first record for this particular area, in 6 years of monthly outings. Curtis Hayne Fri 12 Dec Bar-shouldered Dove South Maroubra Calling in scrub between the Anzac Rifle Range and the coast track to Magic Point. Ted Nixon Sooty Owl Tumut River upstream from 8 Mile Ck junction, Kosciuszko NP Two Sooty Owls in tall Mountain Gum forest. Unusual to record this species along a western flowing river in such a vegetation community. Martin Schulz Caspian Tern Nepean Weir, Penrith Reporting on behalf of my friend, who observed the tern near the weir at dusk today. Akos Lumnitzer for Peter Phealan Brush Cuckoo, Channel-billed Cuckoo Port Kembla Golf Course One Brush Cuckoo heard calling steadily at the Port Kembla Golf Course. Also one Channel-billed Cuckoo flew over near there. Logan Lalonde Australian Spotted Crake Eastlakes golf course One Australian Spotted Crake this morning. First for several months, pond nearest Maintenance shed. Group of Freckled Ducks still about. Bas Hensen Wandering Tattler, Sanderling Flat Rock, Ballina 3 Wandering Tattlers and 7 Sanderlings on the reef this morning. Pleased to report good numbers of these two relatively uncommon species. Henry Coleman and Stanley Tang Thu 11 Dec Great Crested Grebe, Swamp Harrier, Whiskered Tern, Black Swan Lake Hiawatha, Yuraygir National Park 8 Grebes floating on water, Harrier in air over edge of Lake, 37+ Terns flying low over Lake. Grebes had been absent for some time and had been observed a few days earlier by Russell and Matt Templeton. Solitary Black Swan on Lake possibly same bird observed by Russell in ocean off Wilsons Headland a few days earlier. Rare on Lake. Greg Clancy & Russell Jago White-throated Needletail, Brush Cuckoo, Wedge-tailed Eagle SW of Wilsons Headland, Yuraygir National Park 35+ Needletails over, Cuckoo heard calling, adult pair of Eagles flying north (not common so close to the coast) Greg Clancy & Russell Jago Lewin’s Rail Wolgan Valley (2km before resort entrance) I was in the Wolgan yesterday desperately trying to find Regent Honeyeaters, which have not been seen in the Capertee for a few months. I did not find any Regents, but I did find quite a bit of roadside / paddock Yellow Box trees in blossom and some of trees were dripping with small HE’s (e.g. Fuscous, White-naped). Worth checking out if anyone is out that way and after going through the Capertee as well yesterday, I’d think that Regents are more likely to be in the Wolgan). I heard a Lewin’s Rail calling from a weedy drainage line off to the north of the road about 2km short of the Emirates Resort entrance where there are some Yellow Box trees on the left side of the road (the bird would have roughly at -33 13 15s / 150 11 9e). These birds seem to turn up in the most random / marginal places so I wasn’t overly surprised but I thought the record would be of interest. I note that Lewin’s Rail isn’t on the list of birds in the Capertee birding brochure, so they’re probably scarce in this type of landscape. Mick Roderick Tue 9 Dec Musk Lorikeet Greenwich Several Musk Lorikeets back in Greenwich after an absence of several months, feeding in eucalyptus blossom near the Infants’ School on Greenwich Rd. Ted Nixon Indian Ringneck, breeding Red-whiskered Bulbul Township of Burrumbuttock, northwest of Albury A single Indian Ringneck has been free living in and around the township for almost three months. In the last two weeks, it has been observed on multiple occasions associating closely with a pair of Australian King Parrots. Other noteworthy species seen in this location over past three days are a lone Black-tailed Native Hen, breeding pair of Red-whiskered Bulbul, flock of ~18 White-browed Woodswallow, Shining Bronze Cuckoo, pair pf Black-fronted Dotterel, Dollarbird, Great Egret, pair of Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Rufous Songlark with fledgling. David M Watson Crested Shrike-tit Riverside Park, Riverside Rd, Chipping Norton A pair was located building a nest in the top of a planted red gum sappling this morning. Only my 4th sighting of them at Riverside this year despite more than 40 visits. David James Caspian Tern Deeban Spit Port Hacking 1 Caspian Tern with 18 Eastern Curlews and 2 Pied Oystercatchers at high tide. Julie Keating Glossy Black-Cockatoo (23) Kings Tableland, Wentworth Falls Glossies are fairly common along Kings Tableland however I have never seen this many before. Twenty-one birds were together on power lines and roadside trees near the Air services tower along Tablelands Road, and I saw another two later eating casuarina seeds in heath. About a dozen of the birds were still present an hour later. Mark Ley Mon 8 Dec Pilotbird Bellawongarah – private property A Pilotbird has been here calling everyday since the 8th. This is the first one heard or seen since 24/12/2011, when they were resident here for at least 5 years. Would be interested to hear if anyone else has records from the past 12-24 months on Berry Mountain. Carla Jackett Brolga Levenstrath Rd Levenstrath. nr Grafton 6.00pm One Brolga on flat below house. Warren Thompson Sun 7 Dec Blue-billed Duck Killalea Conservation Reserve A pair of Blue-billed Duck, a Musk Duck, several Clamorous Reed-Warblers, many Black Swans and Coots, and a Swamp Harrier about Killalea Lagoon during the late morning. Further south a Topknot Pigeon, Brown Goshawk, Nankeen Kestrel, Dollarbirds, Satin Bowerbirds, Eastern and Crimson Rosellas; near Minnamurra Beach a female Leaden Flycatcher, Black-faced Monarch, Golden Whistler, Fan-tailed Cuckoo and 4 White-throated Needletails as we’ll as the usual coastal bush birds. Robert Griffin Glossy Black Cockatoo Lot 15, Kingfisher Road, Port Macqarie Not sure how long they were around for but spied one bird with its back to me so I clearly saw the tail. It flew off with another a few minutes later so I got a better look. Around 8.30am. Nikala Sim Sat 6 Dec Rufous Scrub-bird, Crested Shrike-tit, Musk Lorikeet Surveyors Creek Gully, Gibraltar Range National Park Scrub-bird heard calling (also on December 5), Shrike-tit and 2+ Lorikeets heard calling. Greg Clancy Wandering Whistling-Duck Windang A pair of Wandering Whistling-Duck seen immediately west of Picnic Island, Windang (Lake Illawarra), in the early afternoon. Also in the vicinity 3 Caspian Tern, many Bar-tailed Godwits, several Eastern Curlews, a pair of Pied Stilts, a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and an Osprey. Robert Griffin Fri 5 Dec Little Eagle, Crested Shrike-tit, Red-browed Treecreeper, White-throated Treecreeper Dandahra Picnic Area, Gibraltar Range National Park Pale morph Little Eagle over forest opposite Gibraltar Range house, 1+ Shrike-tit calling and 5 Red-browed Treecreepers (3 adult females, 1 adult male and 1 immature male) caught and banded. Photos shows adult female and juvenile male. One adult female White-throated Treecreeper retrapped. Had been banded on 23 August 2013. . Greg Clancy, Wendy & Alan Pilkington Glossy Black-Cockatoo Platypus Picnic Area, Gibraltar Range National Park Three birds adult male, adult female and third bird with yellow ruff probably an immature female, feeding on fruits (cones) of Oak Allocasuarina rigida on roadside. Greg Clancy & Alan Pilkington Wed 3 Dec Gang-Gang Cockatoo Bellawongarah- Private property 12 Gang-gangs observed over most of the day feeding and preening in eucalypts. 5 male juveniles noted. All birds not seen well as foggy weather. The highest number seen here at one time. Carla Jackett