[Birding-Aus] Birdline NSW Weekly Update

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Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 25 Mar 2012.

Sun 25 Mar	Kermadec Petrel, Buller's Shearwater, Buller's Albatross Pelagic off Port Stephens Highlights of today's Port Stephens pelagic was a single Kermadec Petrel, 2x Buller's Shearwaters and an unexpected 2, possibly 3 Buller's Albatross. Mick Roderick et al
	Osprey Boat Harbour, Kurnell Osprey (1) flying towards Cronulla along dune line. The bird was carrying a fish in typical head-first fashion. Pursued by three Australian Ravens. Midday. Greg McLachlan
	Musk Lorikeet Greenwich Musk Lorikeets have appeared in good numbers in flowering eucalypts in some suburban streets in Greenwich [e.g. cnr of Gore and King William Sts] The immature Black-faced Monarch is still around, and has joined a mixed feeding party of 'locals' [including Golden Whistlers, Brown Gerygones, Silvereyes and Brown Thornbills. I'm not sure if the last are locals. Ted Nixon
	Little Lorikeet Boronia Park Shops, Gladesville Whilst working this morning I heard the calls of Little Lorikeets and was quite pleased to observe a pair flying across Pittwater Rd in a NW direction. Lots of lorikeet sp. around at the moment due to good flowering in blue gums and ironbarks. My 4th species of lorikeet for Gladesville within 2 weeks. Max Breckenridge
Sat 24 Mar	Black-faced Monarch Greenwich [Lower North Shore, Sydney] An immature bird silently feeding under the canopy in a patch of rain forest, Gore Creek. Further along the track, an immature and either a female or another immature Satin Bowerbird. Ted Nixon
	Nankeen Night Heron Ash Island Newcastle Flushed the Night Heron just past Bittern corner Tony & Stephanie Dawe
	Double-banded Plover Long reef 4 Double-banded Plovers, the first I've seen there this season, the highlight of a late afternoon trip to Long Reef today. Otherwise the usuals, although a large flock of Turnstones and several P Golden Plovers colouring up nicely. Only thing notable offshore was a large number of Gannets Robert Griffin
	Magpie Geese 8 Mile Creek swamp, south of Wanganella, Deniliquin district. There was a pair of Magpie Geese out at the 8 Mile Creek swamp today; an uncommon occurrence in this district. Philip Maher
Fri 23 Mar	Powerful Owl Botanic gardens, Sydney. Superb view of one the birds with open eyes, and preening in the ficus tree near the entrance to Government House. Lower down towards dusk. Bryon Wright
	Common Noddy Flat Rock, Ballina Common Noddy(2) immature? resting on Flat Rock this afternoon, along with a few hundred Crested, Common & Little Terns. Also Wandering Tattler(2), Ruddy Turnstone, Whimbrel, Sooty Oystercatcher, & my first Australian Gannet for the season. Steve McBride
	Powerful Owl Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Powerful Owl (2) One owl clutching the remains of a flying fox very high in a fig tree near Government house and the other in a nearby Erythrina tree. Jenny Stiles
	powerful owl Waterfall end of Irrawong Track Warriewood 10am this morning there were a pair of powerful owls perched close together in "cheesewood tree" near the horse paddocks at the waterfall end of the Irrawong track, Warriewood. Adrian Dick and Peter Kelly
Thu 22 Mar	Sooty Owl Sun Valley Calling around 9 pm. Cloudy, still night after light rain this afternoon. Matthew Stephens
	Spangled Drongo Vista Street Greenwich At 5.45pm this afternoon a spangled drongo was being harrassed by noisy miners in the shrubs at the end of the street. Judy Clark
	Spotted Harriers The Escort Way, Cudal (W of Parkes turnoff at the monument) 3 Spotted Harriers perched in exotic garden trees right beside the farmhouse at 8.30 am this morning (went outside to check out a different begging call). In last few months have occassionally seen single birds quartering paddocks adjacent to the Escort Way and 2 weeks ago followed a pair from this road S along Gavin's Lane. Rosemary Stapleton
Wed 21 Mar	Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Bundanoon (Morton National Park) 2 birds heard at Bonnie View - brief view of one. CRHs are always so hard to get extended views of... it's most frustrating. Other birds of note in area: Pilotbird, Superb Lyrebird, Wedge-tailed Eagle & 10 White-throated Needletails. Lorne Johnson
	Sooty Oystercatcher Freshwater Beach 1 individual observed hanging out with the seagulls at the beach Kat Chesnut
	Powerful Owl Sun Valley Has been calling regularly over the past week or so. Matthew Stephens
	Masked Owl Explosives Reserve, Castle Cove, Large pale morph Masked Owl calling then seen at 22:20 during Willoughby wildlife survey. Chris Charles, Liz Powell, Narawan Williams & surveyors
	Rainbow Bee-eater Orange Flocks of Rainbow Bee-eaters moving north from 19 March to 21 March, flock sizes estimated between 30 to 60+ birds. Neville Schrader
	Woodfield Avenue, Bundeena, Royal National Park Channel-billed Cuckoo One bird heard calling this morning around 9.00am. Parent calling to its young to pack its bags and head north perhaps? Deryk Engel
Tue 20 Mar	Spotted Harrier Kanoona, south of Bega, NSW Reported to Far South Coast Birdwatchers with photos. First seen and photographed by Roger Heffernan on 11 March taking off from lovegrass having landed briefly in paddock. Seen again on 20 March by Nalda Heffernan in same location. Previously record of one bird in Kanoona area in November 2002. Barbara Jones (FSCB)
	Powerful Owl Woodfield Avenue, Bundeena, Royal National Park One bird currently calling out the front of my house. Time is 22.25. Deryk Engel
	Musk Lorikeet Macquarie Park, Sydney Musk Lorikeets have now re-appeared for the third year in a row at Macquarie Park. I heard the distinctive calls and saw them feeding in the canopy of some trees in Fontenoy Road, one of their usual places to visit. Frank Valckenborgh
	White-throated Needletail North Parramatta Observed three birds from the bus, low (about 20-30m) sweeping towards the north ahead of a rain front. At the intersection of Macarthur Rd and Victoria Rd. (This obs. was published as it is getting towards the end of the time that Needletails are with us, most depart by the end of March -AKM Moderator). Ákos Lumnitzer
Mon 19 Mar	Freckled Duck Swamps to the north of Wanganella, Deniliquin district Ten Freckled Ducks were observed on an ephemeral swamp north of Wanganella. A lot of waterfowl spp. have returned to the Hay Plain swamps after the fantastic rainfall the area has recently received. Philip Maher
	Painted Honeyeater, Australasian Bittern Mayrung district, North-East of Deniliquin. An immature Painted Honeyeater was observed in grey mistletoe (Amyema quandong)) on boree (Acacia pendula) in the Mayrung area. The last Painted Honeyeater sightings in the Deniliquin area were in mid December 2011. Also out at Mayrung was an Australasian Bittern in a rice crop. Philip Maher
	Ground Cuckoo-Shrike Griffith Airport 4 Ground Cuckoo-shrike observed at Griffith Airport today. One bird flew by initially, calling, and was then followed by three more which were being harassed by Magpies. David Parker
Sun 18 Mar	Rainbow Bee-eater flock Kurrajong Heights On 18/3/12 at 13:30 I was alerted by the persistent calling of Rainbow Bee-eaters in a group of around twenty flying 50+ meters high - easy to identify from shape, flight pattern and trilling calls that were constantly made. It appears that they were on their way north. Ákos Lumnitzer
	Red-necked Avocet, Masked Lapwing Goran Lake, 30 km south of Gunnedah NSW 2380 About 500 Red-necked Avocets are still present at Goran Lake (as reported earlier). A peculiarity during this visit to Goran Lake was that there were also round about 500(!) Masked Lapwings foraging in a large mudflat (recently dried-up section of the Lake). They were scattered over the area, so hard to document in a photo. Attached PART of the Avocet population resting on a contour bank (in total there may be about 3 to 4 times as many). Michael Dahlem
	Rufous Fantail Petersham (Inner West, Sydney) In a Lilly-Pilly in a small garden attached to a block of units right on a main drag ( 43-45 Livingstone Rd). Ted Nixon
	Wandering Whistling ducks Belmore River ( Nr Smithtown) nsw. One Pair with 12 Ducklings. Bellengen Birders per Allen Hamilton
	Grey Goshawk Wolli Creek Regional Park (inner west, Sydney) Two Grey Goshawks seen soaring just over the treetops along the track that follows Wolli Creek in Earlwood. This is the second time I have seen them at this site. Also present were at least two Brown Goshawks, and at point I had four goshawks above my head - great to see these birds of prey in the inner city. Alistair Poore
Sat 17 Mar	Pacific Bazas (2) Oatley Park Almost a year since I saw 3 Pacific Bazas in the same area near the oval. Last year's sighting was the first in Oatley Park since I began observations in1973. In adjacent Lime Kiln Bay wetlands, I saw a pair of Yellow Robins and 3 Rufous Fantails and a Grey Fantail. Also, many Golden Whistlers. Dave Koffel
Fri 16 Mar	Rufous Fantail 'Kooragindi', Koorawatha...near Cowra Single Rufous Fantail in a ack Cypress forest. Lovely views. Didn't hang around for long......many kms to go for northern migration ? (agreed : Moderator ) John French & Fiona Lumsden
	Ringed Plover, Oriental Plover, Wandering Tattler Norfolk Is. 2899 Richard Holdaway, John & Sue O'Malley

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Birdline NSW

Published sightings for the week ending 1 Apr 2012.

Sun 1 Apr	Blue-winged Parrot Bimbi State Forest, near Weddin Mountains Blue-winged Parrot (5) Seen 2.45 - 3.30 pm at the 'corner' of Nowlans Road in Bimbi State Forest Callitris/eucalypt woodland where the SF adjoins pasture. Three of the birds were first seen roosting in the top branches of a dead tree and at least two more were in the high foliage of the adjacent eucalypt. Periodically 2 or 3 or the whole group would wheel out of the trees fly about and then return. Blue wing clearly seen on perching birds. Quite a lot of calling so there may have been more than 5 here. This area currrently has a thick grassy understory with seeding grasses and yellow thistles. Many Double-barred Finches and quite a few few Firetails here also. Kim and Geoff Larmour
	Rose Robin, Scarlet Honeyeater, Varied Sittella Royal National Park (Wattle Flat) Although not exactly rare at Wattle Flat I spotted my first Rose Robin for the year. This is the earliest I have observed them at Wattle Flat. Other species highlights included Scarlet Honeyeater and Varied Sittella. Greg McLachlan
	White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo, Dollarbird, Diamond Firetail Kyffins Reserve, Mulwala Highlights from the reserve this morning were a sub-adult White-bellied Sea-eagle and a late staying Dollarbird. The latter species is usually gone by early March. A Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo and Fan-tailed Cuckoo were also seen, odd timing for both birds, perhaps on migration. An immaculate Diamond Firetail feeding on native grass seeds was also a nice way to round off the morning. Michael Ramsey
	Australian Painted Snipe Drain Lane, Mulwala With some persistence, luck and perhaps some good karma I found three birds this morning in a large shallow wetland at the southern end of the road. At first I had two birds in view about 15 metres from the road, they were rooosting quietly by some tussocky grasses then another bird then revealed itself. The group appeared to be two immature males and an immature female who was a little darker and more coloured around the neck and breast than the males. This species was recorded about this time last year in 2011 around Coreen and Balldale areas 30km to the north east. Michael Ramsey
	Intermediate Egret, Spotted Harrier, Australian Spotted Crake, Banded Lapwing Collendina, Corowa A nice selection of birds were recorded at a wetland filled after recent heavy rains by Bolinda Glen Road. Collendina is between Corowa and Mulwala in southern New South Wales. Michael Ramsey
	Black Kites,Black-winged stilts, Black-tailed Native- hens & Glossy Ibis Bourke NSW (Floodwaters) There are a PLETHORA of birds of all descriptions on the left side of the road as you drive in to Bourke from the Nyngan direction. There is floodwaters laying all along the sides of the road..70+ Glossy Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, White-necked Herons galore, Great Egrets, Little egrets 100's of Grey Teal, 100+ Black winged Stilts (too many to count), all next to the main road, Black Kites 50+ sitting on the road, and next to the road in one area and Whistling kites...its like a David Attenbourough doco out here after all the rains, its teaming with life...If your heading in this direction, make sure you stop in Bourke, and explore in and around the bushland too. Kirri Hardy
Sat 31 Mar	Whiskered Tern, Plumed Whistling Duck, Glossy Ibis Mother of Ducks Lagoon, Guyra Over 25 Whiskered Terns, 5x Glossy Ibis, 4x Plumed Whistling Ducks, 3x Black-tailed Native-hens, ands 1000s of Swamphens, Coots and Moorhens and a single Musk Duck and Latham's Snipe Curtis Hayne
	Red-capped Robin Boundary Rd Reserve, Bathurst, NSW I saw this Red-capped Robin yesterday afternoon while exploring the Boundary Road Nature Reserve at the base of Mount Panorama. I have never seen a Red-capped Robin before Tim Bergen
	Australasian Shovelers, Musk Duck and many Australasian Grebes Little Llangothlin Lagoon Nature Reserve, Guyra 1000s of Australasian Grebes (even flying and they seldom fly), spotted 2 Black winged Stilts (there are no shallow marshy areas around here so they just have to wade in on the edges of deep places), over 50 Australasian Shovelers and Pink-eared Ducks, a single Great-crested Grebe, 16 Musk Ducks, Spotted and Striated Pardalotes were calling, Never seen so many Crimson Rosellas (over 40 were seen), a flock of 20 Buff-rumped Thornbills, and Golden headed Cisticolas,, Little Grassbirds and Clamorous Reed Warblers were also heard/seen around the Lagoon, 100s of Black Swans and many White throated Gerygones, Grey Fantails and King Parrots. Curtis Hayne
	Red-necked Stint with leg Flags Long Reef Marine Reserve A single Red-necked Stint showing 3 different coloured leg flags was seen this afternoon. (The AWSG has subsequently advised that the Stint was banded in Bohai Bay, China in 2009) Mark Young
	Peregrine Falcon Devlin's Creek Reserve, Beecroft 2 Peregrine Falcons seen flying over Austral Ave. Steve Edwards
Fri 30 Mar	Noisy Friarbird Hyde Park Reserve, Hartley Approx 80+ birds heading north (quite low) over a 15 minute period whilst we were birding on the northerly side of the gorge. Unusual observation for this site John French, Fiona Lumsden, Mark Ley & Richard Beggs.
	Hooded Plovers & Double-banded Plovers Burrill Lake Entrance/Ulladulla Four adult Hooded Plovers with 2 juveniles in tow, along with four Double-banded Plovers and twenty odd Red-capped Plovers at the entrance to the Lake. Interestingly there's flocks of Silver Gulls varying from 500 and up to 800+ at the entrance also. I've seen up to a 100 or so here at times but never in these numbers ever. Do gulls migrate north in autumn some years? bob rusk
Thu 29 Mar	Northern Mallard Lake Conobolas, Orange Northern Mallard (3) all males. Neville Schrader
Wed 28 Mar	Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Royal NP Exactly 100 Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos flying east, c. 4.30 p.m., just north of Curra Moors Management Trail. [Two Chestnut-rumped Heathwrens on track; earlier, one observed south of Wattamolla.] Ted Nixon
	Little Corella Doll's Point, Botany Bay, Sydney No fewer than 180 Little Corellas lined up on power lines, cnr of Clareville and Minton Aves. Good location, next to 'Foodies Deli/Cafe'. Ted Nixon
	Yellow-nosed Albatross Mistral Point, Maroubra First Yellow-nosed Albatross of the year was seen today, plus 1 Black-browed Albatross, 1 Arctic Jaeger and about 8 Pomarine Jaegers. David Mitford
	Regent Honeyeater Bogee, Capertee Valley 3 Regent Honeyeaters feeding in Box Mistletoe (Amyema miquellii) in the Bogee region of the Capertee this morning (on Glen Alice Rd just south of the southern intersection with Dunnville Loop Rd). This is despite there being a large amount of White Box blossom at the same site and in the northern part of the valley (north of Glen Alice). 3 present at 0900; a single bird later around midday. 6 White-throated Needletails flew over during the latter observation. Mick Roderick
	Powerful Owl Allenby Park, Allambie Heights NSW Entering on the fire trail from Derna Crescent, Allambie Heights, crossed the creek at the bottom of the hill and turned right. Short way along the boardwalk after the waterfall one Powerful Owl adult on a Coachwood branch over the creek. Rae Lister
Tue 27 Mar	Grey Goshawk Mount Panorama, Bathurst Single bird being harassed by Noisy Miners on the south-western side of the mount (in the grounds of the old Sir Joseph Banks Nature Park). The bird was seen at around 9.45am. Approximate location (from Google Maps): -33.4586, 149.5527. Ray Mjadwesch
	Grey Goshawk Berry At 3:50pm, I drove past a Grey Goshawk perched on a reasonably low branch on a dead tree just north of Berry village. Appeared to be an adult. Carla Jackett
	Restless Flycatcher Mt Annan One bird at the Australian National Botanic Gardens at Mt Annan early afternoon. I rarely see these birds - not sure why! (They are uncommon to rare, autumn-winter Visitors to the Sydney region and probably to the Southern Highlands as well - AKM Moderator). Lorne Johnson
	Beautiful Firetail Glenbrook A single bird seen on the Euroka Walking Track in Blue Mountains NP at Glenbrook. A rare bird in the lower Mountains. Colin Scouler
Mon 26 Mar	california quail Towradgi Beach. One male observed near the three banksias behind the life guard tower. Michael Crosland
	Peregrine & Black Falcons Scone Two Peregrine Falcons and 2 Black Falcons attacking a large flock of Rock Doves in the main shopping centre.One Peregrine caught a Rock Dove in mid-air and the 2 Black Falcons teamed up to pluck a rock dove off the top of a chimney on a hotel. Greg Newling
	Turquoise Parrot Forestville Very good views of a female Turquoise Parrot in bushland at the end of Cook st, Forestville this morning. The bird came into the area with a Crimson Rosella. I watched the bird for around 10 minutes, and heard it call. Dion Pou via Kurtis Lindsay

Powerful Owl Woodfield Avenue, Bundeena, Royal National Park

One bird heard calling at 1.00am this morning. Deryk Engel
Sun 25 Mar	Crested Shrike-tit, Golden Whistler, Restless Flycatcher McMahons Park, Kurrajong While surveying the bush re-gen area at McMahons Park we saw some nice bush birds including a Crested Shrike-tit and a pair of Golden Whistler which gave good views. A Restless Flycatcher was heard and an unidentified accipiter was harassing the local bell miners. Mark Fuller, Peter Mobbs and McMahon Park bushcare group
	Barred Cuckoo-Shrikes Newmas Road Dam, Woolgoolga 6 to 10 Barred Cuckoo-shrikes, including immatures, 25 to 27 March, in large fig tree (fruiting) near the Dam. adult & immature Mannikins feeding in the grass closer to the dam edge. Female Koel, Figbirds, White-breasted Woodswallows and a Black-shouldered Kite also in fig. Dick Cooper
	Eastern Shrike-tit & Honeyeaters Nepean River Walk, Penrith near Jack Williams Drive. About 8am Lewin's & Yellow faced Honeyeaters seen (abt 8 of each) Two New Holland Honeyeaters also seen in same area. Several Yellow Thornbill's seen along pathway. One Eastern Shrike-tit seen in tree's on eastern side of walkway. The metal grate bridge area is damaged & is out of action, partly covered by water. River still running very fast. Gordon Kelly
	Shy Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Peregrine Falcons Mistral Point, Maroubra A variety of sightings this afternoon at Maroubra including a Shy Albatross; 3 Black-browed Albatross; many Pomarine and Arctic Jaegars; and a pair of Peregrine Falcons that flew low over Mistral Point, along the beach and then harrassed every bird in sight over the rifle range including a flock of magpies (several had narrow escapes) and a Black-shouldered Kite. Robert Griffin, Graham Buchan
Sat 24 Mar	Beach Stone Curlew, Double Banded Plovers Farquar Inlet (Old Bar) Beach Stone Curlew, 57 Pacific Golden Plovers, 18 Double Banded Plovers seen within the Tern sanctuary and at the mouth Mike Kuhl
Fri 23 Mar	Australasian Shoveler Deep Creek, Ulmarra 1 male , 1 female in mixed flock of ducks Warren Thompson/ Greg Clancy
	Magpie Goose Crows Nest Swamp, Tucabia Five birds including two sitting on nests. Warren Thompson/ Greg Clancy
	Royal Spoonbill,White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis. Deep Creek, Ulmarra Feeding in mixed flock on Deep Creek. 212 Straw-necked Ibis,485 White Ibis and 313 Royal Spoonbills. Note. One possibly hybrid Straw-necked ibis will be subject of later seperate report. Warren Thompson/ Greg Clancy
	Jacana Ulmarra Total 8 Deep Creek - 4 including 1 young. Callaghans Lane - 1. Cherry's Lane - 1 Pacific Highway North of Ulmarra- 2. Warren Thompson/ Greg Clancy
	Australasian Grebe Deep Creek Ulmarra One adult Austarlasian Grebe with one very small young Warren Thompson/ Greg Clancy
	Black-necked Stork Deep Creek Ulmarra Two sub adult males seen one one wetland and one sub adult male seen on nearby wetland. Warren Thompson/ Greg Clancy
	Black-necked Stork Finflayson's Lane Ulmarra 1Male, 1female standing on nest. Maureen O'Shea had previously seen female carrying nesting material to nest. Warren Thompson/ Greg Clancy
	Plumed Whistling Duck Watkins Lane Ulmarra 1000 plus plumed whistling-duck on dam wall. Good number for this location. Warren Thompson/ Greg Clancy
	Spotted Harrier Levenstrath Rd. Levenstrath via Grafton 2.30pm seen working along a drain line adjacent to freshly slashed paddock. Not commonly seen in this location. Warren Thompson
Thu 22 Mar	Common Sandpiper Rock platform at Mystery Bay, south of Narooma, South Coast A single Common Sandpiper was observed on the rocks at Mystery Bay feeding with 3 Pacific Golden Plovers and 11 Sooty Oystercatchers. Common Sandpipers are rarely reported in Eurobodalla Shire. Alan Morris
Tue 20 Mar	Australian Shelduck Dairy Swamp, Tuggerah (restricted Access) A female Australian Shelduck was present at the Pioneer Dairy Wetlands, 19-20 March 2012, co-incidentally at the same time that they were being reported at Hexham Swamp, Newcastle. This is the 5th Central Coast record, and the first record since 26/1-13/2/2007, when 4 were present at the same location. Alan Morris and Vicki Barnes (photographer)
	Powerful Owl Levenstrath Rd. Levenstrath via Grafton 3.15am heard calling from trees near house. (Moderator Note: Powerful Owls are more regularly heard at this time of year. Powerful owl calling reports will be forwarded to Birds in Backyards Powerful Owl Project but wont usually be published on Birdline.) Warren Thompson