Thinking About Birds

October 2024

21 October

I did my monthly visit to the Warrah Trig area. Although it was a cool overcast day, the bird activity was remarkably low and there were hardly any honeyeaters. However, the morning started really well, with me hearing a Brush Bronzewing not long after I arrived, and soon afterwards a Lewin's Rail. The rail called for a long time and also it was responding to the call playback which I eventually tried. I did some bush-bashing in an attempt to see it, but that caused it to go silent. About ten minutes later the calling started up again - and then while listening to that, I saw a second bird dash across a small gap in the vegetation quite close to me. I finished up at Patonga where there were two Australian Brush-turkeys wandering around and one of the Masked Lapwing pairs had a small chick.

19 October

Three of us did the Ash Island survey, as part of the monthly Hunter Estuary surveying by HBOC members. We had Far Easten Curlews in small numbers at three locations, also a solitary Bar-tailed Godwit at Fish Fry Flats. Other shorebirds were Pied Stilts (a group of 86 birds) and three Red-capped Plovers. We had long look at a Buff-banded Rail, which flushed from our feet and landed 20m away, at a spot where it thought it was out of sight. All the waterbirds were only present in smallish numbers, but overall we managed to record 51 species for the morning (across all the guilds).

18 October

I walked from Woy Woy to home via the Brisbane Water path. There were three Bar-tailed Godwits on the sandbank, along with three Caspian Terns and a pair of Australian Pied Oystercatchers plus the usual large congregation of Australian Pelicans. There also were about 50 Black Swans - a big increase in numbers after several months with few or none. I saw a group of three Long-billed Corellas, and then a fourth bird a bit later. My very last sighting was a Buff-banded Rail - right where I've seen one a few times previously.

14-16 October

Three of us did the quarterly Martindale Valley surveys, camping at the far end of the valley. We recorded 117 species - a great result. Highlights for me included Hooded Robins, White-browed Babblers, White-winged Trillers, Varied Sittellas, Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters. At night there were a couple of Southern Boobooks calling regularly (the others also heard a White-throated Nightjar). At the wetlands I heard a Spotless Crake and later an Australian Spotted Crake.

11-13 October

Seven of us went to Broughton Island for a three day visit - yet another one of our quarterly visits. Ross and I climbed to Pinkatop where we tidied up around the various nest boxes plus inspected them. We found five Gould’s Petrels - there were pairs in two of the nest boxes and a solitary bird in another of them. We saw a Peregrine Falcon whizz by while we were there; also we had Whistling Kites, White-bellied Sea-Eagles, Swamp Harriers and Ospreys flying around. The Tawny Grassbirds were displaying and vocal, the Golden-headed Cisticolas less so but by no means unobtrusive. We had Red-browed Finches at the hut, and also a Willie Wagtail that had been colour banded on a visit about a year ago. The night finished by listening to calling Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. We continued our surveying and banding work for the next two days. Sooty Oystercatchers seemed not to be breeding yet and we were struggling to find many until I found 17 of them on Providence Beach at an intermediate tide. There were a couple of sightings of Eastern Reef Egrets - they weren’t plentiful. We heard Pheasant Coucals several times and there was probably more than just a pair. I spent much of Sunday trying to get views of colour bands or the band numbers of some of the Tawny Grassbirds - with only moderate success.

10 October

I went up to the Gloucester Tops for the day, with my main purpose being to check out some of the “probables” from the Rufous Scrub-bird surveys of a couple of weeks ago. I visited 9 such sites, and I was able to confirm the presence of two scrub-birds. Most of the other sites did not seem to be in suitable habitat. There weren’t a lot of other high altitude specialists, apart from Crescent Honeyeaters at one stage. I also heard Black-faced Monarchs at several locations - we only had them around the campsite (ie at much lower altitude) a couple of weeks ago.

9 October

It was somewhat of a busy day. In the morning I surveyed a couple more of my Brisbane Water NP sites (which were quiet) and then went to the Pearl Beach arboretum. Despite noisy tree felling operations on site, the birding was OK, with the highlight being a group of five Satin Bowerbirds feeding together. I also had a Channel-billed Cuckoo fly-by. Then I packed and headed north, with my first stop being the Wyong Wetlands. It was drizzling most of my visit but I soldiered on. I was delighted to see some Latham’s Snipe (six, in total) despite the high water level. I also had some White-breasted Woodswallows and Fairy Martins, and a solitary Long-billed Corella. I had to drive to Anna Bay then, to collect the keys for the Broughton Island trip. On my way back I called in at Stockton Sandspit. Fortunately it was still high tide and so I found lots of shorebirds - Far Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Pacific Golden Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Red Knot and Red-necked Stint. There also was a nesting Australian Pied Oystercatcher and a large accumulation of Australian Gull-billed Terns (my count was 56 of them).

In the evening I went to the HBOC meeting, which was a special event to celebrate 25 years of Hunter Estuary surveys. It all seemed to go well. There was a massive attendance - 75-80 people and it was standing room only. Apart from organising the speakers (ten of them), I did the wrap-up presentation.

8 October

After a week of misery (due to a bad cold) I ventured out to some Brisbane Water NP sites in the drizzly morning. At the Pearl Caves area, there were two noisy interacting Brown Cuckoo-Doves - I suspect that what I was seeing and hearing was some sort of breeding activity interaction - but I couldn't confirm that they were breeding. And then I heard and then saw a Rockwarbler at almost the same spot. It was exactly where I had seen one last month carrying nesting material; I now am quite sure that they have nested or are nesting there. But, it's not an easy place to watch unobtrusively. I then went to the Coora Swamp area - there was almost no honeyeater activity and I was finding things rather quiet. A couple of Rufous Whistlers were calling, and not much else. However, suddenly a couple of Pheasant Coucals spoke up - they were calling from close by each other and it was probably some sort of breeding interaction. I couldn't lay eyes upon them. And then, a Brush Bronzewing began calling - again, I couldn't track it down. Later, at a second site, I heard another of them.

1 October

In the afternoon I went around to Saratoga to borrow a book (about birds) from a friend. I stopped at a couple of waterfront spots in the Davistown/Saratoga area - I saw a group of 15 Bar-tailed Godwits plus there were 1-2 Australian Pied Oystercatchers at each stop. At Davistown I also had a Long-billed Corella.

September 2024

27 September

I walked home from Woy Woy via the Brisbane Water path. The Australian Pied Oystercatcher count was low - I only found three birds - but Black Swans have returned (only in low numbers though). The only migratory species I found was the White-breasted Woodswallow- a group of three birds.

23-25 September

Ten of us were in the Gloucester Tops for three days, to do the annual Rufous Scrub-bird surveys. We camped at the Sharpes Creek site within the national park. This had some pretty good birds! By day we had all the usual low altitude rainforest types (Australian Brush-turkey, Superb Lyrebird, Golden Whistler etc) plus some more interesting ones - such as Black-faced Monarch, Shining Bronze-cuckoo, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo and Green Catbird. I heard Tawny Frogmouths both nights, and a Masked Owl on the first night. On the second night there was a Greater Sooty Owl and a Southern Boobook. Some of the others actuallysaw the Greater Sooty Owl late on the first night (I was fast asleep at the time).

Up at high altitude, we found 16 Rufous Scrub-birds (I heard seven of those). Other birds I had in the Tops included Olive Whistler (several), Crescent Honeyeater (many), Red-browed Treecreeper (a few) and Flame Robin (a few). The rain event only started after we left - we were so lucky!

20-21 September

After a week of babysitting the grandkids, I headed up to Newcastle. On Friday I did a walk around the Wetlands Centre then had lunch there with James Wilson and Andrea Griffin, and a lovely woman, Margaret, who has decided to sponsor a PhD studentship with Andrea's team. The aim is a project that involved the uni plus the Wetlands Centre plus Hunter Bird Observers Club. Then I went to the NPWS offices in Newcastle, to review the equipment etc that we will use for next week's Rufous Scrub-bird surveys.

15 September

I took the grandkids on a ferry ride from Woy Woy to Davistown and back. It was a diversion for them, with not really any birdwatching opportunities for me - but, I did see a Far Eastern Curlew foraging near Davistown and later, saw a group of 16 Australian Pied Oystercatchers foraging together.

9 September

I did my monthly surveys of the Warrah Trig section of Brisbane Water National Park. As I drove in, a group of five Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos were flushing from the roadside trees - there were another five or more of them just a bit further along. The first 2ha site had good numbers of New Holland Honeyeaters and New Holland Honeyeaters, but not much else. The second site also was quiet but then at the third site I had a family group of three Glossy Black-Cockatoos. It was almost exactly where I had a group of three of them in December last year. The highlight at the fourth site was a flock of four Red Wattlebirds, travelling together. Afterwards I went to Patonga, where there were 30-40 Greater Crested Terns roosting on some of the moored boats and an adult male Satin Bowerbird in the scrub near the playground. As I drove out, there was a Whistling Kite too.

8 September

I bussed into Woy Woy and then walked home via the Brisbane Water path. There was a group of three Caspian Terns on one of the sand islands, with several Great Pied Cormorants and a pair of Australian Pied Oystercatchers. I saw another pair of those later, on the island wih all the Australian Pelicans. There was one large assemblage of Pacific Black Ducks - 38 of them together. I also had a few more of those, and two pairs of Grey Teal. There were a few groups of Little Corellas, and within one of those groups there were two Long-billed Corellas.

6 September

I went to a couple more of my sites in Brisbane Water NP, which were queit although I did see two more Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos. plus there were some Waratahs in full flower. Then I went back to Pearl Beach, and walked through the Arboretum. I saw a total of four Australian Brush-turkeys plus I had very nice views of a pair of Variegated Fairy-wrens. Afterwards I went back to where I had seen the Rockwarbler the previous day, armed this time with my camera. Alas though, the bird did not appear.

5 September

I went to Pearl Beach early morning and walked up to the caves area. One highlight was a White-throated Treecreeper - I don’t find them often locally. But the absolute highlight was a Rockwarbler, which was carrying a feather (that looked to be a breast feather from a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo). Clearly the bird was nest-building but it absolutely did not want to go to its final destination whilstever I was watching. I tried shifting position a couple of times but it wasn’t fooled and eventually I left it to its own devices. Afterwards I went to the Coora Swamp area of Brisbane Water NP. Things had quietened down a lot since my previous visit; in particular there was hardly any honeyeater activity. However, I did see briefly a group of four Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos and heard a Pheasant Coucal. Also, there were several Rufous Whistlers, all newly returned.