Hi birding-aussers,
Some of you may know – especially if you follow us on Twitter or Facebook – Ruth and I have spent this year chasing Tim Dolby’s VicTwitch record. Last year Tim managed to see 345 species in Victoria (excluding pelagic trips). This year Ruth and I have seen 380 species in Victoria (including pelagic trips – about 366 excluding pelagic trips).There are a number of species that we have not yet managed to see, but there are still 18 days left of this year!
Following is the list of species from the Victorian list that we have not seen this year. We certainly don’t expect to see them all, but we’re both taking the last two weeks of the year off and intend to devote ourselves to getting as many of the remaining species as possible.
We would appreciate any assistance with finding any of these species. If anyone has reasonably recent sightings of any of them, could you please let us know?
Thanks in advance!
Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria
King Quail
Indian Peafowl
Common Pheasant (unsure if this is on the Victorian list)
Grey-headed Albatross
Sooty Albatross
Light-mantled Sooty Albatross
Southern Fulmar
Kerguelen Petrel
White-headed Petrel
Mottled Petrel
Cook’s Petrel
Gould’s Petrel
Salvin’s Prion
Flesh-footed Shearwater
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Little Shearwater
Cape Gannet
Little Bittern
Black Bittern
Osprey
Letter-winged Kite
Baillon’s Crake
Australian Bustard
Oriental Plover
Inland Dotterel
Semi-palmated Plover
Sandpipers and Allies
Terek Sandpiper
Little Stint
Long-toed Stint
Red-necked Phalarope
Australian Pratincole
Oriental Pratincole
Plains-wanderer
Australian Painted Snipe
South Polar Skua
Long-tailed Jaeger
Masked Owl
Red-backed Kingfisher
Crimson Chat
Ground Cuckoo-shrike
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I’m sure the BOCA group that camped at Yanac North in October saw bustards out close to the SA border. Or at least it was alleged the farmer had been seeing them. I could put you in contact with Bernie Fox & Sue Hayman-Fox, who hosted the campout, as they would know the details. Is anyone on birding-aus who was on that campout?
“. Baillon’s Crake – worth trying Banyule Flats – but you may need to get wet. I’ve done this several times. Also Blue Lake Reserve at Ocean Grove, Lake Wendouree, Mill Park Lakes.”
Tim, have you actually seen a Baillon’s Crake at any of these places this season? Peter Fuller may be right that the reason we aren’t seeing them is because water levels are too high, but I’m wondering if they just aren’t around.
There have only been 3 Vic Birdlines for them since February, and 2 of those were in the far north of the state. It’s true they’d be hard to see with these high water levels, but surely if they were here in normal numbers there’d be a few more sightings than that.
Peter Shute
Thanks Tim!
I can see the possibility of 385 – but 390?!? There again, I never believed we’d get to 380!
Is Indian Peafowl “officially” on the Vic list I wonder? It appears on the Eremaea list for Victoria – but I don’t know how “official” that is!
The possible species that I can see us getting:
Baillon’s Crake Crimson Chat Little Bittern Masked Owl Red-backed Kingfisher
That being said, I never would have believed that we would have seen Spangled Drongo, Double-barred Finch, Striated Heron and even Elegant Parrot at the start of this year.
By the way, you do know that this is all your fault, don’t you?!?
Paul
Thanks!
We’ve probably spent more time on Bustards and Masked Owls than any other species. In fact, we were driving the roads immediately south of Big Desert for most of this past Sunday scanning all the paddocks for Bustards. I know that they have been sighted in April of this year, by two of the Parks Rangers, so I’d rate the sightings as reliable.
Time permitting, we will definitely try again before the year is out.
Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria
Little bittern – has been reported calling at Reedy Lake in the last couple of weeks. Osprey – Last heard a report from Cape Otway in June….long shot now. Ballions Crake – gotta be some wetlands in vic that haven’t been totally filled. You might find a little or long-toed stint at the same place! 😉
“birding-aus@vicnet.net.au” Sent by: birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au
Hi Paul,
Well done to you and Ruth! 366 / 380 !! Wow, what a great effort! When I did my first VicTwitch in 2006 I said that anybody who gets over 350 would have to go ‘totally sick’. Considering the total that you’ve got, ‘totally insane’ is a far more apt description.
Looking at your list I reckon you’ve still got a realistic chance at seeing:
. Baillon’s Crake – worth trying Banyule Flats – but you may need to get wet. I’ve done this several times. Also Blue Lake Reserve at Ocean Grove, Lake Wendouree, Mill Park Lakes.
. Crimson Chat – I saw one this year on the Meridian Track at northern Wyperfeld in Sept, so there’s a few about. Of course it is worth trying Goschen & Lake Tutchewop. We didn’t see them on the Twitchathon, but that was over a month ago. Also a couple of km down Trinita Rd and near Shearers Quaters in Murray Sunset National.
. Little Bittern – recently seen Hirds Swamp, and worth a night time trip to Mill Park Lakes or Eastern Treatment Plant, where, if they are about, you should hear them.
. Masked Owl – another Gippsland trip again, again! I’ve also had a report near the Cape Otway Lighthouse (a few km before the lighthouse in the areas where all the Koala’s hang out) and, of course, behind Lorne.
. Red-backed Kingfisher – let’s hope a bird or two turns up near Rutherglen. During the Twitchathon my team thought we may have heard one at the You Yangs, but didn’t have time to follow up.
. Australian Pratincole – at Terrick2 I reckon there’d bound to be one or two in grasslands along Bendigo Creek at the moment.
. Long-toed Stint – one is bound to turn up at the Conservation Pond (north-east corner) before NYE.
. Australian Painted Snipe – best Hird Swamp and Kerang Lakes generally, and I assume you’ve gone for the pair at Tree Swamp and Ganers Swamp near Corop.
Also possibly:
. King Quail – if you’re willing to do a French Island thing i.e. near Long Swamp and along Link Road.
. Inland Dotterel – you would need to plan a night-time search of the chenopod shrublands at Ned’s Corner. I’ve seen them there at night (at 3:00am in the morning, after returning from an unscheduled trip the Mildura Hospital!) along Ned’s Corner Rd.
. Australian Bustard – I’d give up on Australian Bustard near Southern Wyperfeld, and that way you might actually see one! For example Greg Oakley in 2006 saw one near Kerang.
. Cape Gannet – I’m not sure what the current status of Cape Gannet at Portland.
. Also also Indian Peafowl, there are a few places in Vic where Indian Peafowl are found (such as bordering Newlyn Res). You could go and see them and add them to a supplementary list i.e. not your final official/final List. For example last year I had 10 species I’d “seen” but didn’t include (some for obvious reasons) including Great-winged Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Plumed Whistling-Duck, Indian Peafowl (Newlyn Res), Sooty Owl, Mandarin Duck, Wandering Albatross, Southern Giant-Petrel, Common Diving-Petrel and Little Stint.
. And the odd rarity might turn up – last year if you remember we had Eastern Yellow Wagtail and Hudsonian Godwit.
My advice for you and Ruth – you still have plenty of time to go totally crazy (and see up to 390)!
Cheers,
Tim Dolby
Hi Paul,
Well done to you and Ruth! 366 / 380 !! Wow, what a great effort! When I did my first VicTwitch in 2006 I said that anybody who gets over 350 would have to go ‘totally sick’. Considering the total that you’ve got, ‘totally insane’ is a far more apt description.
Looking at your list I reckon you’ve still got a realistic chance at seeing:
. Baillon’s Crake – worth trying Banyule Flats – but you may need to get wet. I’ve done this several times. Also Blue Lake Reserve at Ocean Grove, Lake Wendouree, Mill Park Lakes.
. Crimson Chat – I saw one this year on the Meridian Track at northern Wyperfeld in Sept, so there’s a few about. Of course it is worth trying Goschen & Lake Tutchewop. We didn’t see them on the Twitchathon, but that was over a month ago. Also a couple of km down Trinita Rd and near Shearers Quaters in Murray Sunset National.
. Little Bittern – recently seen Hirds Swamp, and worth a night time trip to Mill Park Lakes or Eastern Treatment Plant, where, if they are about, you should hear them.
. Masked Owl – another Gippsland trip again, again! I’ve also had a report near the Cape Otway Lighthouse (a few km before the lighthouse in the areas where all the Koala’s hang out) and, of course, behind Lorne.
. Red-backed Kingfisher – let’s hope a bird or two turns up near Rutherglen. During the Twitchathon my team thought we may have heard one at the You Yangs, but didn’t have time to follow up.
. Australian Pratincole – at Terrick2 I reckon there’d bound to be one or two in grasslands along Bendigo Creek at the moment.
. Long-toed Stint – one is bound to turn up at the Conservation Pond (north-east corner) before NYE.
. Australian Painted Snipe – best Hird Swamp and Kerang Lakes generally, and I assume you’ve gone for the pair at Tree Swamp and Ganers Swamp near Corop.
Also possibly:
. King Quail – if you’re willing to do a French Island thing i.e. near Long Swamp and along Link Road.
. Inland Dotterel – you would need to plan a night-time search of the chenopod shrublands at Ned’s Corner. I’ve seen them there at night (at 3:00am in the morning, after returning from an unscheduled trip the Mildura Hospital!) along Ned’s Corner Rd.
. Australian Bustard – I’d give up on Australian Bustard near Southern Wyperfeld, and that way you might actually see one! For example Greg Oakley in 2006 saw one near Kerang.
. Cape Gannet – I’m not sure what the current status of Cape Gannet at Portland.
. Also also Indian Peafowl, there are a few places in Vic where Indian Peafowl are found (such as bordering Newlyn Res). You could go and see them and add them to a supplementary list i.e. not your final official/final List. For example last year I had 10 species I’d “seen” but didn’t include (some for obvious reasons) including Great-winged Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Plumed Whistling-Duck, Indian Peafowl (Newlyn Res), Sooty Owl, Mandarin Duck, Wandering Albatross, Southern Giant-Petrel, Common Diving-Petrel and Little Stint.
. And the odd rarity might turn up – last year if you remember we had Eastern Yellow Wagtail and Hudsonian Godwit.
My advice for you and Ruth – you still have plenty of time to go totally crazy (and see up to 390)!
Cheers,
Tim Dolby