I’m new to this list, so I hope this is an appropriate post. Can anyone recommend any “must-see” birding locations between Sydney and Orange in early December? I will be in NSW for one week—first time ever in Oz—then and looking for tips on how to maximize my birding time, while visiting family in the Orange area. You can respond off-list at rowoth@sbcglobal.net. Thanks! Jim Rowoth Stockton CA USA
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D’oh! I meant to send that off privately. Oh well. In any case, I hope that others have managed to give Jim some tips on the Sydney-Orange route as I don’t know it at all.
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I gotta say, that’s the best response to an RFI ever! Well done. Bill On 28/09/2014, at 7:37 AM, David Adams < dpadams@gmail.com> wrote:
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On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 12:15 PM, Jim Rowoth < rowoth@sbcglobal.net> wrote: Hello, I’ll leave it to others to give you specifics on Sydney to Orange but thought I’d write with some general orientation points. I grew up in the US and used to live in Santa Cruz county, so I can remember what it’s like to encounter the birds of Australia for the first time. Wow! The birds here are fantastic and apart from raptors, owls, and shorebirds are pretty much *entirely* different to the birds of North America. There are lots and lots of families here that you don’t have there and vice versa. Some names look the same, like “robins” and “babblers”, but they’re not the same. There are more affinities between here and Asia than anywhere else, but even there, the families are pretty different a lot of the time. There’s a lot of good news about your first week of birding in Aus: * Parrots! Best place on earth for parrots. There are more kinds in South America, but good luck seeing them. Here they’re everywhere, in huge varieties and are often visible. * Honeyeaters. Another huge, lovely and highly variable family – one of our dominant groups. * Abundance and variety. Birds here are pretty much everywhere – they’re just in the landscape. People in the countryside with no interest in birds can still rattle off detailed observations and life histories for dozens of species. Just because they see the birds all of the time. Yeah, you should have a great time. Fair warning: Heading inland in high season summertime is likely to be stinking hot. Coming from Stockton, you should already know how to deal with that: dawn and dusk, sheltered places and riverine habitats. Ah, here in Aus flowering trees are a much, much, much bigger deal for birders than in the US. There are many species (perhaps particularly the inland species) that are entirely nomadic. They can be anywhere in a huge range, depending on where resources are to be found. So, you’ll have a thousand birds of one kind because the right gum (eucalypt) tree is in blossom, and then not see them again for a year. Australia does not have the same regular series of seasons as the countries of the northern hemisphere. Backing up for a second, be wary of range maps in field guides as they often depict where a species *might* be found. There may be a fairly small population somewhere in a huge territory, rather than “these birds are distributed within this area evenly.” With only a week, you’ll probably have your hands full just figuring out all of the “common” birds you see. (I love “common” birds. They’re only common when you’re in the right place!) Hey, keep your eyes peeled for Apostlebirds, one of the all-time great Aussie birds. They’re pretty exclusively inland/dry-country birds and travel around in little gangs. They works as a team to take care of the nest and raise the young. Very playful, very smart. Their in a tiny family with only one other Australian member, the White-winged Chough (no relation to the Choughs of Europe and Asia, they’re in with the Crows/Ravens.) Out in that country I think you should also get Babblers (the Aussie ones are great!) good parrots (they’re all good, to be fair) and one of the more cryptic Bowerbirds….but I don’t know Orange….and bird distributions can be remarkably variable over short distances here. If you’re looking in to field guides, a few suggestions: * There are four major general paper guides and people seem to recommend the one they start out with. With that said, this one is the best 😉 http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Birds-Australia-9th/dp/0732291933/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411853230&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Field+Guide+to+the+Birds+of+Australia Nothing is as good as, say, your Sibley guides but Pizzey is probably about as good as your Nat Geo…although bigger. For an entirely new local with new families, I think paper guides are great as they give you something to flip through to try and narrow down what you’re seeing. If you like digital guides, there are two available: Pizzey https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/pizzey-knight-birds-australia/id714625973?mt=8 Morcombe https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/michael-morcombe-david-stewart/id539890367?mt=8 I gave you the iTunes links as these are the versions I use (and because you seem to be writing from a Mac), but both apps have Android versions. The apps are both good but I end up using Pizzey more often. Still, the sound collections are different and either guide is decent. I’ve never been in love with Morcombe’s illustrations (others like them fine) and Pizzey has decent photos as well as good plates…so I guess that’s why I use it more. In any case with only a week, you may be just as happy with a paper guide. Oh, books, etc. are far cheaper in the US than here. For example, that Pizzey paper guide that’s around $US 25 at Amazon retails here for $AU 45 + shipping. Lucky for you, the $A is slipping down, making Australia cheaper to travel in with $US. It’s anyone’s guess, but the pundits say the $A has a lot more room to fall. (I’ve seen the $US buy from .48 $A up to 2.02 in 12 years. That’s pretty extreme! The $A is something like the world’s 4th most traded currency as speculators love it. Makes things a bit tough at times when you live here.) Anyway, there’s some background and good wishes. I think Australia is a wonderful country for visiting birders and hope that you have a great time. Enjoy the Kookaburras! Another communal/nest-helping species with the most wonderful call. They’re also the world’s largest Kingfishers, so you have to love them. Let me know if you have follow-up questions or want any info on mammal guides.
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