Birdline North Queensland Weekly Update

Birdline North Queensland Published sightings for the week ending 5 Oct 2014. Sat 4 Oct Eastern Grass-Owl Cavallaros Road, west of Ingham TNQ Female Eastern Grass-Owl (Tyto longimembris) spotted at edge of cane field about 9.30pm. Another seen distantly. Tony Ashton Wed 1 Oct Spotted Whistling-Duck Keatings Lagoon Conservation Park, Cooktown Two birds present. Dave Houghton via Keith Fisher Bar-tailed Godwit Coquette Point Two Bar-tailed Godwit feeding at sunrise on sand flats. First sighting for the season. Yvonne Cunningham Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Coquette Point Ten Sharp-tailed Sandpiper feeding on sand-flats Coquette Point, near Innisfail. 1st returns. Yvonne Cunningham Tue 30 Sep Rufous Owl Lake Koombooloomba Road, Ravenshoe Rufous Owl was a by-product of the ( Little Red) Southern Boobook hunt. Flew in across the moon and settled briefly while Southern Boobook was being called. Location suggests it to be r. queenslandica but seems more rufa by coloration and facial markings. Jean & Paul Newman Southern Boobook Lake Koombooloomba Road Ravenshoe Southern Boobook race lurida. Very pleasing result after a long night of searching for this species. Night birds seemingly very active being picked up regularly in vehicle lights but hard to pin down. Much credit goes to our great friend Del Richards for his suggestion to try this area. Jean & Paul Newman Sun 28 Sep Spotless Crake Abattoir Swamp (Julatten) Single bird flushed from under the boardwalk Doug Herrington Sat 27 Sep Little Kingfisher Bamaga–Muddy Bay 10 43S 142 33E 1′ Cell, Queensland, AU 1 Little Kingfisher In same area as seen recently on seaward side, northern extent of reachable mangroves. Able to get very close at times (15m) and watched it feeding actively for about 10 minutes while it stayed comfortable and quite visible at all times. Occasional calls. Clearly race pusillus (PNG, Torres Strait Islands and extreme north Cape York) with some blue extended to upper breast but not the broken blue breast-band of race ramsayi (seen further south in cape York and across NT and it’s islands). At one stage an Azure KF was sitting happily on the same mangrove prop root. Calls seem to be quite different when you hear both together. Rob Reed