Day: June 30, 2010

We’ve just begun a trip around the Cairns region…we’ll be reporting on the activities, birds and places to see birds and stay in the area. This was a nice added bonus on arrival, as we visited the botanic gardens and had a Little Kingfisher on the freshwater lake. Time to try out the Swarovski digi-scoping set up and a new Canon 550D digital SLR and video camera.

http://bird-o.com/2010/06/30/little-kingfisher/

Watched Cassowary down to a couple of feet today – I will see if I can get that video online tomorrow. A truly amazing if slightly nervy experience, as she took an interest in the end of my lens and paced slowly towards me as I sat on the verandah at at Cassowary House. Far more than I imagined and quite regular occurrence I am told.

Time for bed now…Sooty Owl calling outside.

All the best birding,

Simon.

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I’ve just returned from a trip to Peninsula Malaysia, Borneo and Java and have a few notes for south-east Asian birding enthusiasts. I had done Malaysia before on an extensive trip so was looking for specialties I’d dipped on in the past. Highlights on the peninsula were Rusty-naped Pitta at Frasers Hill (a pair just after the first stream crossing on Bishop’s Trail) and Mangrove Pitta at Air Hitam Dalum, near Penang, where local birder Tan Choo Eng was very helpful. I went to Kuala Gula south of Penang where the reintroduced Milky Storks are free-flying and nesting, but are still being fed; a handful of truly wild birds remain in the area. On Borneo, I spent a week at the Danum Valley Field Centre. Highlights here include a male Bulwer’s Pheasant, a stunning Blue-banded Pitta, Black-headed and Blue-headed Pittas, great views of Bornean Wren-Babbler, a party of Pygmy White-eye, Helmeted Hornbill, Crested Partridge, Brown-backed Flowerpecker, Malaysian Hawk-Cuckoo, Cinnamon-rumped Trogon and Rufous-collared Kingfisher. As I had visited Mt Kinabalu previously, I went to the Crocker Ranger near Tambunan, where nice birds included Bornean and Mountain Barbets, Red-breasted Patridge and Streaky-breasted Spiderhunter. On Java, good birds at Gung Gede Pangrangro included Javan Trogon, Javan Hawk-Eagle, Javan Cochoa, Spotted Crocias, Pink-headed Fruit-Dove, Waterfall Swift, Mountain Serin, Sunda Cuckoo, Salvadori’s Nightjar and Javan Owlet. At Carita I failed to see White-breasted Babbler in three mornings and fear they have all been trapped. This remnant of lowland rainforest is supposed be a reserve but I saw a constant stream of villagers on the track with guns, axes and bird-trapping gear, with the authorities doing zilch to protect the area. I did see Black-banded Barbet, Sunda Scops-Owl, Javan Frogmouth and Javan Sunbird here. At Pulau Dua I had Streaked Weaver, Javan Plover and White-headed Munia, and the first bird I saw at Maura Angke was a Sunda Coucal. Greg Roberts

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There is an interesting article on the evolution of marsupial forelimbs and a discussion as to why marsupial reproduction precluded the development of wings and flippers.

see http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8754000/8754412.stm ===============================

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This afternoon I saw two widely separated pairs of Beach Stone-Curlew on an island in the Maroochy River estuary on the Sunshine Coast. With the cooler weather, the birds are emerging earlier to feed. This species is rare in southeast Queensland and it is encouraging that two pairs appear to be holding fort at this site. With a pair also seemingly firmly established in the Noosa River estuary, the Sunshine Coast is looking like a good place for the species. Greg Roberts ===============================

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Dear Birders, A reminder that Mike Carter is speaking in Sydney this Saturday afternoon at the Building 22 in the Newington Armory (adjacent to the Birds Australia Discovery Centre. The talk commences at 2:00 pm and is followed by afternoon tea. This is a free event for members of BASNA and visitors. The Newington Armory is accessed from Jamieson St Newington and is part of the Sydney Olympic Park. If you go into Google maps and enter “Birds Australia Discovery Centre” it will come up wit a map highlighting the centre.

For the Twitchers among you this is a rare opportunity to hear the master of all Australian twitchers. For the rest of you you can find out that Mike’s interest in birds is far broader than twitching and it is for these reasons that Mike was awarded Birds Australia’s Hobb’s Medal in 2009

I suggest you arrive early and visit the Discovery Centre as EagleCam is up and running and our resident pair of Sea Eagles have an egg and are actively sitting. There is a heap of archived clips of the birds renovating the nest, feeding etc that can be viewed at the centre. .Regards Peter Marsh ============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au

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