Hi Keith,
As far as I can tell thus far there have been no reports of WwTrillers in the Hunter either. In the lead-up to the Twitchathon I have been searching for both Songlarks / Bushlark in their usual haunts and have come up empty-handed. There was one report of Rufous Songlark from near Sandy Hollow about a month ago but this has been the only one to date. I have spent a lot of time in their usual spots recently without anything.
We might have more success in the extreme west of the valley, around Goulburn River NP, this weekend. (fingers crossed)
I did think that I heard Stubble Quail around Morpeth recently, but it was windy and possibly a trick of wishful thinking. One thing that is noteworthy is that I counted 17 Banded Lapwings near Morpeth on Sunday. Why would these guys be here in numbers yet so many others that prefer to be “west” absent?
To add to your absentee list (migrant-wise), there has been no sign of Whiskered Terns either. White-browed / Masked Woodswallows have barely been reported in NSW, let alone in sub-coastal areas.
There have been no Red-kneed Dotterel or Pink-eared Duck (aside from one rogue bird on an inaccessible dam) either, since pretty much Dec 27 2009. Native-hens same (and there were numerous here pre-NYE).
At least you guys have had a Wood Sands or two!
A few people have commented to me about raptors and when I think about it, it’s been a long time since I’ve even seen a Brown Falcon in the Hunter (though I’m sure they’re here, but surely in lesser numbers).
It will make for an interesting Twitchathon.
Mick
Sorry, to clarify that’s a Rufous Fantail down Coachwood Glen, Megalong Valley.
………………………………….. Arwen Blackwood Ximenes Lawson, Blue Mountains, NSW arwenbx@hotmail.com
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Hi Carol Leanne had one down Coachwood Glen in a pre-twitch recce recently.
Cheers, Arwen
………………………………….. Arwen Blackwood Ximenes Lawson, Blue Mountains, NSW arwenbx@hotmail.com
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Mark et al,
Looks like it might stay that way for a while. The rainfall outlook for Nov – Jan from the BOM looks rather damp across most of the country. It looks like we are in for a full la niña event and according to the NOAA web site it will likely continue into our Autumn (see http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.pdf The sea surface temperature chart there certainly looks interesting) which will make for an interesting summer’s birding in most of the country, with a lot of birds where they should not be and not where they should be.
Might be a chance to make a killing in the Wellie market in the Alice, Mark.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
I guess the picture emerging from these posts neatly illustrates why species absence is just as important as presence from the point of view of understanding our unique nomadic avifauna on a wider landscape level. Atlas records form this year are going to be very interesting! As Chris says, we have got your birds out here in the wet Red Centre and they are having a lovely time! As I look out my window in Alice the clouds are gathering again so you non-desert birders might not get them back for a while yet… Mark Carter DesertLife: Bird Guiding, Wildlife Surveys & Consultancy in Australia’s Red CentreT ++61 (0) 447358045mark@desertlife.com.auhttp://www.desertlife.com.auABN 31234450010
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Simon et al,
Interesting comment about the Banded Lapwings. Perhaps they are gathering in numbers around Morpeth (in the Hunter Valley) because the habitat they use there (and around Windsor I beleive) are turf farms, or turf farm edges, which are maintained to be short grass! Maybe it’s worth checking maintained areas such as grass runways etc?
All of these “inland” reports mention the majority of birds we’re missing here in the Hunter – ie not just migrants but Pacific Herons, Yellow-billed Spoons etc.
I have another question to the list – where are the Latham’s Snipes?
Mick
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Interesting reading about these species.
We’ve just returned from a week in inland NSW. We travelled from Sydney to Broken Hill, down to Mildura, then back to Sydney.
We saw plenty of Brown Falcons on the way, they were probably the 2nd most numerous Raptor on the trip, although we didn’t see our 1st one till after Orange.
White-browed and Masked Woodswallows were plentiful, especially in the Mallee country south of Broken Hill. In one 100 metre stretch we had more than 50 White-browed Woodswallows, including juveniles begging.
White-winged Trillers were everywhere, again in Mallee country.
We saw Red-kneed Dotterels in a number of lakes around Broken Hill and about 20-30 Whiskered Terns at Fiveboughs at Leeton. Native hens were seen at a few places, although the actual number of birds was quite low.
Overall , water birds were few and far between. There was water everywhere, Fiveboughs is a lake rather than a swamp, we needed gumboots just to get to the hide.
The inland is certainly alive at the moment, it’s a magnificent sight to see so much water around.
Cheers Brook
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Jen & others I have never seen WTP so birdless. As part of our Twitchathon preparation we have had two visits to the Werribee Treatment Plant over the lat week. and whilst we saw some great birds, the numbers were way down. We also struggled to find a musk duck (normally very common) and we had to search long & hard, scanning the much smaller flocks of waders, to find a few sharp-tailed sandpipers. Not a single avocet . We, too, wonder where the waders have gone. I can understand that, with dams, lakes & swamps full, the waterfowl are elsewhere, but the lack of waders is surprising. I can only hope that they are elsewhere. It is shaping up to be an interesting birding summer judgimg from the posts coming in. Philip Jackson
Hi all,
It was a beautiful day in Melbourne today so I took myself down to the WTP. Normally this place is bank to bank water and shorebirds but so far this spring it has been empty. Black Swans abound with strings of downy young following them across the ponds but that is about all.
Today I saw one hardhead, one musk duck, two hoary-headed grebe, 2 black duck, one grey teal, a few chestnut teal and a hundred or so pelicans. There are a couple of thousand red-necked stint, a few hundred curlew sandpiper, half a dozen greenshank and a note at the hide said said there were five great knot at the spit. Werribee is EMPTY.
I know all the waterbirds are in the inland but what about the waders? Has anyone seen LARGE numbers of waders anywhere?
cheers
Jenny
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There are more Rufous Songlarks in the far south west of NSW than have been present for the last four springs. I haven’t been out much (have been working in Queanbeyan) but there is the odd White-winged Triller and I heard a Stubble Quail at Yanga NP near Balranald last weekend (and there are plenty of large wheat crops for them to hang out in). Also heard Budgerigar there but didn’t see them. I have yet to record a White-browed or Masked Woodswallow yet this season, but I may not have travelled in the right country yet (usually get them by early-mid September). The Eremophila longifolia is just starting to flower and it will be interesting to see if any Black/Pied Honeyeaters turn up. The locusts are hatching and this may also attract a few insectivores as well, but hopefully not too much carnage from the spraying results. Cheers, Peter
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Hello Carol and everyone
I agree, when I was last in the valley 9/10 October, we heard two Rufous Songlarks at the Genolan Bridge area but I can’t recall any near the cottage on Brymair, Dunville Loop, or elsewhere. They are usually so insistent and loud everywhere! and one hears them as driving along the roads.
Rufous Fantails, we had 3 at Saltwater Creek, Old Bar, just south of Taree on 29 September. I guess as other people have suggested, the birds are out west taking advantage of the drought breaking and abundant choice of food and breeding sites.
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I saw a Rufous Fantail the weekend before last in Garigal National Park (Killara).
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Hi Mick.
Similar experience in SE Qld, very few Pallid Cuckoos, WW Trillers, waterfowl, crakes or quail, hardly any harriers. Might be an idea to move your ‘twitchathon’ location to Alice Springs (I think that’s where they’ve all gone, judging by recent reports!)
Tom
On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 9:48 PM, Mick Roderick < Mick.Roderick@environment.nsw.gov.au> wrote:
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In the Capertee Valley last week I saw a few Singing Bushlarks and heard one Stubble Quail, but many of the other migrants do seem to have been drawn further inland. We’re seeing very few White-winged Trillers, I haven’t found a Painted Honeyeater yet this season (they usually arrive in mid-Sept), and not a single White-browed or Masked Woodswallow. Rufous Songlarks are present but not in anywhere near the numbers they are in some years, and no Brown seen.
As for ducks, the Lithgow sewage ponds have been completely devoid of Pink-eared for some months now, and more recently the Blue-billed Ducks have disappeared.
Mick’s comment regarding the Banded Lapwings is interesting. Consistent with this we had an unexpected sighting of 4 Banded Lapwings on Aarons Pass Road just south of Pyramul on 17th October with a Follow That Bird group. This is in the tablelands in the region south of Mudgee.
Up here in the wet forests of the Blue Mountains, strangely I have not recorded a single Rufous Fantail this season. Have others been seeing them? They must be around somewhere.
Cheers,
Carol
At 10:48 PM +1100 27/10/10, Mick Roderick wrote:
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