WTNT report 2015/16.

White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) Report for 2015/16 Season.

Well October is nearly here and many in the north will make their first observations of Needletails during this month. The first sightings have already been sent in.

This past season the weather was back to normal and the needletails spread out more in their normal fashion, reducing the flock size to the lowest ever.

The 3,051 reported sightings are 76 more than finally received last season. Thank you all very much for this extra effort.

The first report I have for the season was from Victoria, when Eileen Collins saw 7 birds at Chiltern 5th Sep. Often the last birds are seen in Vic but not very often are the first birds seen there.

The first report from Qld was of an unspecified number of birds seen at Chambers by Bushell, 20th Sep. The first seen in NSW, were 20 birds at Ponto Falls, seen by Ann Breeze 22nd Sep. The first reported sighting for Canberra, were of 2 birds at ANU 7th Oct. observed by Viv. Rolland. The first birds seen in Tasmania were 2 birds seen by John Goldie. The first sighting from South Aus. was made by Carl Doubikin 24th Jan. SA had only 2 sightings last year but 13 this season, of which 4 were made by my wife and I

There were 0 (0 previous season) reports from the NT this season. There was 1 record from WA (1 last year) – a single bird at Exmouth, 13 (2) records from SA, 42 (34) from ACT, 40 (64) from TAS, 843 (766) from Qld, 485 (505) from Vic, & 1590 (1535) from NSW.

Whereas last year three flocks of 2,000 birds or more were recorded, none of that size were recorded this season. There were only three sightings of a thousand or more birds.

The average flock size this season was 30. This compares with 42 for the previous year. Both these figures are lower than the mean of 52 for the decade 2000-2010.

A paper on the decline of this species was published in Australian Field Ornithology last year, so if you are interested to see more of what we have learnt from your collective observations, check this paper out.

OK so who reported the most Needletail sightings this season? If you live in a city most of your sightings are going to come while driving, away from home. If you live in the forest, you will see them more often around home. If you live in the forest and deliberately go outside throughout the day to look for Needletails, then you will see lots more. That’s where Irene lives and that is what she does. So once again the top recorder for the season was Irene Allan, making 123 sightings, a few less than she did last year. Irene has made an important contribution to understanding the bird’s behaviour and numbers. If you reported just one sighting however, that is also an important contribution, as 209 of this seasons sightings were lone reports from persistent reporters. That is a significant proportion of the seasons sightings. So please keep them coming. Steve McBride reported 92 flocks, Paul Griffin 62, Mike Tarburton 58, Adrian Dick 56, Jenny Stiles 49, Ian Kerr 47, Sarah Beavis 39, Dwaine Laxdall & Jack Winterbottom 38, David Charley 35, Adam Fawcett 34, Chris Attewell 33, Mattaniah

Popovic 32, Peter Barrand 29, Chris & Felicity Healey 26, Greg McLachlan & Matt Stanton 25, Grant Brossie & Kay Pointer 21, & Sue Lee 20. If you want to see who reported less than 20 flocks, you can see that in the following list.

Thanks again to all those who have taken the trouble to send me your sightings. It does not matter whether you sent in 1 report or more than 100, they are all useful in helping determine the WTNT population status and defining other aspects of their behaviour. Remember to check out the big Picture in Australian Field Ornithology. If you do not receive this useful journal you can download just this paper from the very bottom of this web page: www.swiftsoftheworld.info/spplist.htm

A big thank you is due to local bird club officials who have forwarded sightings from their members – very much appreciated.

Thank you & happy swift watching in the coming season.

Mike Tarburton

I thank all these contributors:

ABERNETHY, Ben (5), ADAMS, D. (2), ADAMS, Jack (8), ALEXANDER, Peter (15), ALLAN, Irene (123), ALLEN, Andrew (4), ALLEN, Richard (1), ALLISON, John (3), ALLSOP, Jen (4), ALLSOP, John. (10), AMBROSE, Stephen (5), ANDERSON, David. (10), ANDERSON, Matt (1), ANGUS, Glen (3), ARMISTEAD, Rod (1), ANTAM, Frank (6), APRENDE, Lili (1), ARMSTRONG, Doug (5), ASHBY, Richard (2), ASHTON, Tony (2), ATTEWELL, Chris, (33), AVERY, David (2), AXEN, Len & Jackie (12), AYRES, Mark (4), BAKER Bruce & Penny (1), BARKER, Potta (3), BARNES, Chris (19), BARRAND, Peter (29), BARRY, (1), BARWELL, Graham (1), BAWDEN, Tim (7), BEAVIS, Sarah (39), BECKER, Freddie (1), BECKER, Ron (7), BELLING, Neil (1), BENHAM, Lewis (2), BENNETT, Mark (5), BENSON, Alan (2), BENSON, Ian (23), BENSON, Liz (1), BERZINS, Leo (4), BIELEWICZ, Julian & Fay (1), BISCHOFF, Tony (7), BOOTH, Cliff (18), BOTROS, Mario (1), BOYD, Glen (9), BOYLE, Sheila, (2), BRANDIS, Chris (10), BRANNAN (1), BRECKENRIDGE, Max (9), BREEZE, Ann (1), BRIDGEMAN, Will (2), BRINDLEY, Tony (1), BROOKS, Paul (6), BROSIE, Grant (21), BROWN (Chris (1), BROWNE, Celia (2), BRUCE, Niel (8), BUGEJA, Vince (1), BULLEN, Lin (1), BURCHER, Paul (6), BURDO, Alex (1), BURWELL, Chris (10), BUSHELL (1), BUTTERFIELD, Martin (4), CACHARD, Martin (4), CALDECOTT, Keith (1), CALLAWAY, Ryu (1), CANNON, Pippy (2), CAREY, Mark (1), CARLSON, Ashley (11), CARPENTER, Carole (2). CARSON, Nick (18), CARTER, Mark (1), CARY, Nicolas (1), CASBURN, Jean (2), CASSALLS, Richard (6), CASTILLON, J. (2), CASTLES, Graham (1), CHARLEY, David (35), CHEERS, Michael (2), CLANCY, Greg (6), CLAREY, Isaac (2), CLARK, Kathy (3), CLARK, Rae & Margaret (12), CLARKE, Rohan (2), CLARKE, Thomas (5), CLAYTON, Mark (2), CLELAND, Evan (11), CLOGS, Jan (2), COCKERELL, John (3), COGHLAN, Nigel (2), COLLINS (2), COLLINS, Eileen (1), COMAN, Frank (2), COOK, Bob (1), COONEY (1), COOPER, Dick (2), CORMIER, Renee (1), CORRICK, Andrew (1), COSTELLO, Kathy (4), COUSENS, Gary (1), CRAIG, Markus (3), CRAVEN, Phil (2), CRAWFORD, Alan (2), CRAWFORD, Liz (13), CRAWFORD, Matthew (1), CULICAN, Jo & Matt (5), CUNNINGHAM, Steve (1), CURRAN Cheryl & Paul (1), CURSON, Clive (4), DAHLEM, Michael (6), DALEY, C. & Michael (3), DALIMORE, Richard (5), DALY, Gus (2), DANIEL, Kate (1), DARK, Jill (1), DASHPER, Stuart & Jono (1), DAVIDSON, Steven (11), DAVIS, Lyn (1), Eileen (1), DEANS, Brian (2), DESPOT, Peter (2), DICK, Adrian (56), DICK, Karen (1), DOECKE, Nathaniel (3), DOOLEY, Sean (1), DOUBIKIN, Carl (1), DOUBIKIN, John L. (3), DOUGHERTY, Robert (13), DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Penny (2), DRAKE, Alistair & Carmen (3), DRISCOLL, Colin (4), DRUKER, Jacob (2), DUFF, Robyn (1), DUNGLISTON, Sandra (2), DUNNE, James (1), EARL, Hedley & Irena (1), EASTON, Clive (1), EATON, Scott (1), EDVARDSON, Martin (3), EDWARDS, J&P (2), EGGINS, Darryl (1), ENGEL, Deryk (4), ETHERINGTON, Rohan (2), EVERIST, Peter (2), EWERS, Glen (2), EWIN, Peter (2), EWING, Rowan (1), EZZY, Len & Chris (4), FARLEY, Belle (2), FAWCETT, Adam (34), FAZIO III, Victor (1), FELSTEAD, Mike (12), FERGUSON, Elizabeth (2), FIELD, Liz (1), FINLEY, Eric (1), FISHER, Keith & Lindsay (11), FITZPATRICK, Gio (1), FITZSIMONS, James (1), FLEMMING (4), FLETCHER, Tom. (2), FLUMM, Dave (37), FORD, Val (1), FOTHERGILL, (4), FOWLER, D. (1), FOWLER, Valerie (1), FRANKS, Rick & Felicia (8), FRASER, Duncan (2), FRAWLEY, Matthew (1), FREEMAN, Paul (1), FRENCH, John & Allan (1), FRIESEN, Jude (5), FRY, Adam (2), FULLER, Richard (15), FUNNELL, Dominic (1), GALLIENNE, Sandra (15), GARDNER, Rod (47), GATES, Geoff (1), GAUDION, Rob (1), GERMECH, Oakley (3), GIBSON, Jesse (2), GIBSON, Tony (9), GILFEDDER, Mat. (21), GILL, Norton (5), GILLANDERS, Alan (1), GOLDIE, John (4), GOODYEAR, Gavin (5), GORDON, Meg (2), GORDON, Sam (1), GORTA, Simon (8), GOURLEY, Terry (2), GRANT, Murray (7), GREGORY, Chris (2), GREGORY, Phil & Sue (1), GREINER, Samantha (1), GRIFFIN, Paul (62), GRIMSHAW, P. (1), GROSS, Steve (1), GULLY (2), GWYTHER, John (3), HADLEY, John (5), HALL, Beth (3), HAMILTON, Robert (2), HAMON, Margaret (3), HARRIS, Debbie (2), HARRIS, Richard (2), HARTLEY, (1), HARTSHORN, Angus (6), HATTINGH, Tanya (4), HAVENS, Maria (1), HAWKINS, Liz (11), HAYES, Linda (1), HAYES, Simon (1), HAYNE, Curtis (2), HAYWOOD, Bryan (5), HEALEY, Chris & Felicity (26), HEFFERNAN, R. (5), HEMSLEY, Roz (2), HENDERSON, Sandra (7), HENSEN, Bas (28), HERMES, Neil (1), HERRINGTON, Doug (9), HETHERINGTON, Scott (8), HEWETT, Judith (1), HIBBERD, S. (1), HILL, (1), HILLER, Lewis (2), HINGSTON, Andrew (2), HINZE, Matt. (5), HIRSCH, Catherine (3), HOBERN, Donald (1), HOCKING, Doug. (2), HOLLIDAY, Steve (4), HOLLIE, David (2), HONEYMAN, Mike (2), HOOK, Richard (1), HORLER, Peter (2), HORWOOD, (2), HOSKEN, Graeme (1), HUDD, Julia (14), HUDSPITH, Nerida (1), HUMPHREYS, Keith (1), HUNT, Steve (2), HUNTER, Alexander (1), HYDES, (1), ILLES, Carol & Andrew (1), INGLIS, Jim & Ros (6), INGWERSEN, Dean (1), JACOBSON, Paul (4), JACKETT, Carla (4), JACKETT, Nigel (2), JACKSON, Luke (3), JACOBSON, Paul (1), JAMIESON, Katrina (12), JENKIN, Richard (1), JENSEN, Andy (43), JENSEN, Paul (6), JOHNSON, Brian & Meg (2), JOHNSON, Tom (1), JOHNSTONE, Richard (2), JONES, I. (1), JONES, Angela (1), JONES, Barbara (3), JONES, Donald (1), JONES, Kalang (1), JONES, Paul (5), JORDAN, Richard (5), KANE, Joy (1), KARPLUS, Elisabeth, (2), KAVENEY, Tom (1), KAYE, Stephen (1), KEARNS, Michael (3), KENDALL, Thomas (6), KENNA, J.I.. (3), KENNEDY, Simon (2), KERR, Ian (47), KIERSLEY, Jan (1), KING, Des (6), KING, Robert (1), KINGSTON, H. (2), KNIGHT, Laurie (5), KOOISTRA, John (4), KRAJEWSKY, Heidi (1), KUHL, Mike (1), KYTE, Robert (2), LA MAY, Valerie (4), LAMB, Russ. (14), LANDON, David (1), LARMOUR, Kim & Geoff (5), LASHKO, John & Sue. (1), LATTAWAY, Jude (9), LAWS, Peter & Don (1), LAWSON, Ben (6), LAXDAL, Dwaine (38), LAYTON, John (1), LEACH, Elliot (12), LEE, Sue (20), LEONARD, John (2), LESTER, David (3), LESTER, Paul (14), LEWIS, George (8), LEY, Mark (11), LIGHTFOOT, P.V. (2), LINDSAY, Kurtis (11), LINNANE, Scott (5), LISHMUND, Owen (1), LISTER, Marie (3), LONERGAN, Noel (1), LOOS, Tanya (1), LUMNITZER, Åkos (6), LYNCH, Paul (5), MACKERAS, Alison (1), MACNAMARA, Tony (1), MANDERSON, Liam (5), MANNING, H.E. (4), MANNIX Steve (1), MARCHINI, Bobbi, (1), MARCOVIC, Nikola (1), MARKOVINA, Nicola (1), MARTINEZ, Chris (1), MASON, Tiffany (4), MASTERS, Gavin (21), MAURER, Golo (3), McBRIDE, Steve 92), McCART, Roger (1), McCASKILL, Duncan (1), McCONNELL, Pat (16), McDONALD, Robert (1), McHATTEN, Jason (1), McKANE, Eula (1), McKAY, Greg (1), McKAY, Greg (1), McKAY Shaun (2), McKEON, Daniel (5), McLACHLAN, Greg (25), McNAUGHTON, (2), McQUINN, Barry (3), McRITCHIE, Bernie (1), MEADOWS, Clive (8), MELROSE, Christine (1), MELVILLE, Alan (1), MELVILLE, ANDREW (1), MERRETT, Steve (1), MIDDLETON, Kathy & Graeme (12), MILBURN, Peter (1), MITCHELL (3), MITCHELL, Steve (3), MINTERN, Tim (1), MOFFAT, Bob (14), MOORCROFT, Heather (1), MOORE, Euan (1), MORGAN, Peter & Bev (8), MORLEY, Craig & David (4), MORRIS, Alan (27), MORRIS, Tim (11), MORRISON-JONES, Kalang & Milo, (12), MORRISON, Laurie (8), MORRISON, N&J (4), MOSS, Josan (1), MOUSLEY, H. (1), MULES, David (1), MURPHY, Liam (2), MURRAY, Phil (49), MURRAY, Stephen (10), MUSTAFA, James (7), MUTTON, Troy (2), NAUMANN, Andrew (9), NEADER, Dennis (1), NEILL, Greg (1), NEUMANN, Julie (1), NEWLING, Greg (2), NEWMAN, John (2), NEWTON, Helen (1), NIAS, Ray (13), NICHOLAS, Richard (1), NICHOLLS, J.A. (3). NICKHOLDS, Tim (6), NILAND, David (4), NISBETT, Alison (2), NOBLE, Michael (2), NORDSTROM, Terrill (3), NORRIS, Tim (3), NORVICK, Martin (1), O’BRIEN, Martin (1), O’CONNOR, Graeme (3), O’CONNOR, James (2), O’HARA, Adrian (15), O’MALLEY, Pat. (4), OLLEY, Jan (2), OLSSON, Johan (1), ORMELLA, Raquel (1), OSBORN, Paul (1), PALMER, David (2), PARK, Geoff. (1), PARKER, David (2), PASCOE, Scott & Jenny (4), PASCOE, Scott & Jenny (4), PATERSON (3), PAXTON, John (1), PEAKE, James (1), PEARSON, Greg (2), PEARSON, John (2), PEDERSEN, Matt. (4), PENDAVINGH, Daniel (4), PENLINGTON, Phil. (5), PENNY, D&J. (4), PERRIN, Christian (1), PESCOTT, Trevor (1), PHILLIPS, Gary. (8), PICKERING, Stuart (2), PIERCE, Ed (1), PLEIZIER, Jon (2), PLUMB, J. (1), POINTER, Kaye (21), POINTER, Margaret (3), POOL, D. (1), POPOVIC, Mattaniah (32), PORT, Christina (5), POSSINGHAM, Hugh (4), PRATT, Thane (5), PRESTON, Ivor (4), PRICE, Robyn (1), PRITCHARD, Ann (1), PROWSE, Owen (4), PROWSE, Stephen (2), RAMAGE, Therese (4), RAMSEY, Michael (9), REED, J. (4), REID, Colin & Robert (14), REIDY, John (4), REYNOLDS, Ivan & Sandra (1), RICHARDSON, Allan (12), ROBERTS, Don (1), ROBERTSON, Phil (1), ROBINO, Janet (1), ROBINSON, D.L. (2), ROBINSON, Tim (2), RODERICK, Mick (9), ROFF-MARSH, Finn (13), ROGERS, Alan (1), ROLLAND, Viv.(2), ROMANE, Sa (2),ROPER, Marion (3), ROSS, Chris (11), ROSSOW, Lee (3), ROWER, David & Michelle (1), ROWLINGS, Phil (1), RUDDER, Ashwin (1), RUDDER, David (2), RYAN, Geoff (3), RYAN Thomas (2), SAMSON, Ian (1), SARNA, Julie (15), SAWYER, Peter (2), SAWYER, Ron (2), SCHMIDT, Tom (2), SCHROEDER, Debbie (1), SCHULZ Wayne (7), SCHULZ Anna (2), SCOBIE, Michael (1), SCULLY, Ollie (1), SEITZ Luke (2), SEMMENS, Bob (11), SHANLEY, Peter (1), SHARO, Michael (1), SHAW, Greg & Georgie (1), SHELLEY (1), SHELLEY, Luke (1), SHELLEY, Phil (12), SHERRING, Ken (3), SHINTON, Chris (13), SHURCLIFF, Kath (1), SILVEIRA, Charles (1), SIMKUS, Elizabeth (4), SIMMONDS, Jeremy (1), SIMONS, Peter (2), SLACK, Phil. (1), SLEEP, Denis (1), SLINGO (1), SMALLWOOD, (2), SMART, Jim (3), SMEDLEY, Alastair & Karen (5), SMITH, Alastair (8), SMITH, Dennis (4), SMITH, Elaine (1), SMITH, Gary & Judy (3), SMITH, Jennifer (2), SMITH, Laurie (1), SMITH, Ross (29) SONNENBURG, Roy (2), SPENCER, Andrew (2), SPICER-BELL, Jon. (7), SPILLANE, Nicole (4), SPRY, Jenny (3), STANTON, Matthew (25), STARR, Simon & Sandra (1), STEELE, (1), STENMAN, Katarina (5), STENZEL, Errol (1), STEVENS, Graeme (2), STEVENS, Warren (1), STICKLEN, Eric (2), STILES, Jenny (49), STRONG, Michael (5), STRONG, Tim (12), STRYCKER, Noah (2), STUART, Alan (4), SULIVAN, Luke (1), SWAN, Roy (11), SYMMONS, Chris (1), SZUCS, Lorand (2), TACON, Jillian (1), TAGGART, Rob. (1), TALBOT, Nick (5), TANSEY, Joy (2), TARBURTON, Mike (58), TARBURTON, Shirl (5), TARRANT, Marie (20), TARRANT, Tom. (2), TAYLOR, Sue (2), TEH, Julian (1), THOMAS, (1), THOMAS, Lee (1), THOMPSON, Warren (1), TIERNEY, Peter (3), TIMS, Gregor (9), TRANTER, Ged. (6), TREILIBS, Rose & Vern (3), TULLOCH, Ayesha (3), TURIN, Jake (1), TURNER, David (1), TURNER, Dick (3), TURTON, Ian (1), VALENTINE, Peter (5), VANDERGAAST, Jay (3), VEERMAN, Philip (1), VICKERS, Dave (3), VICTOR Fazio III (1), VINICOMBE, Matthew (1), WAKEFIELD, Els & Ed (4), WALDON, D. (1), WALDON, G (1), WALKER, Andy (4), WALKER, Robin (6), WALLACE, Rowena (1), WALSH, Jayden (5), WALSH, Stephen (2), WALTER (1), WARD, Cameron (3), WARDROPE (1), WARREN (15), WATERMAN, M. (3), WEATHERLY, Richard (1), WEBBER, Jordan (2), WELLS, Dezmond (1), WHARTON, Joan (5), WHITEHEAD, Sally & Derek (8), WHITFIELD, Brett (1), WHITING, Jack (7), WHYLIE Brooke (1), WHYTE, David (1), WHYTE, John (2), WICKER, Falk (2), WIGNALL, Wayne (2), WILESMITH, Wendy (1), WILEY, Chris. (1), WILK, Kathy (15), WILLIAMS, Daniel (1), WILLIS, Michael (2), WILLOWS, Roger (2), WILSON, Glen (3), WILSON, Ignatius (1), WILSON, Tom. (31), WINTERBOTTOM Jack (38), WITTEN, Lew (2), WOOD, Michael (11), WOODBINE, Anthony (1), WOODING, Lois (1), WORCESTER, Jack (4), WORSELDINE, Reuben (11), WRIGHT, Merryl (2), WRIGHT, Robert (2), WYLLIE, Patrick (2), ZEALEY, Joan (2), ZNIDERSIC, Liz (2)

Here are the number of observations from each source – and of course there are many sightings reported in more than one location. Sources are:

Bellingen Birders per Richard Jordan (5), Biocache (7), Birding-Aus (24), BLAtlas (822), BLEG & The Chat per Chris Healey (43), BL Mornington Pen. (2), BL Yarra Valley & Lyrebird Tales (2), Birdline & Birdline rejects thankfully sent on to me (68), Birds WA (1), BQ (7), Cairns Birds (3), Canberra Birds (12), Direct (1600), e-Bird (1080), FSCB-Barbara Jones (29), Geelong Field Nats (5), Hunterbirding (41, The Twitcher per Alan Morris (60),

Mike Tarburton