Hawks Nest September 2014 - Part 1, 20th and 21st September

Hawks Nest is situated on the northern side of Port Stephens, NSW, and is an area which I regularly visit. Not only is it a beautiful area, with stunning views out to offshore islands and looming headlands, it is also full of wildlife, boasting hundreds of bird species as well as a vast variety of other critters. This blog was written daily, whilst I was in Hawks Nest, and it serves to describe my trip and hopefully privide the reader with some knowledge of the area, specifically the birdlife which inhabits it.

20/09/14

We departed from Sydney at around 1pm. The trip was quite uneventful in regards to raptors with only one Whistling Kite flying around near the bridge over the Hawkesbury River to keep us entertained. After a quick snooze I was woken by my parents as we passed Lenaghan’s Swamp, although sadly none of the raptors from last year’s bonanza were present. With Leonard Cohen’s voice keeping us company, we rumbled over the railway tracks and into Hexham Swamp for the first real birding of the trip. Superb Fairy-wrens were abundant and Welcome Swallows, Australian Magpies and Straw-necked Ibis were all observed. A distant White-bellied Sea-eagle was a most welcomed sight. A group of 3 Great Egrets and 5 Royal Spoonbills flushed from the side of the track near a section of swamp. After reaching the T-intersection with a couple of White-fronted Chats calling around us, we turned left and headed down towards where the Buff-breasted Sandpiper was seen in January (see: LINK). Alas there was no buffy, but a distant flock of 30-40 Curlew Sandpipers was a nice surprise as the migratory wader season is only just beginning. Black-winged Stilts, Pacific Black Ducks, Australian Ravens, Magpie-larks, Swamp Harriers, White-faced Herons, Black Swans, Grey Teal and couple of Torresian Crows were seen as we drove down the track.

Distant Swamp Harrier over the swamp

An Australian Pipit briefly crossed the track. Some White-breasted Woodswallows were hanging around on the track and within the mangroves which was very nice to see. On reaching the end of the trail, a pair of Mangrove Gerygones were calling quite loudly, intermingled with Little Grassbirds and the raucous alarms of Masked Lapwings chasing off anything that ventured onto their patch.

Before the drive, I had emailed Mick Roderick to enquire about rumours of a nesting pair of Black-necked Storks on the swamp and he gave me coordinates of the probable nest tree. Alas it was too far away for bins and we could not make anything out. Whilst we were stopped to attempt to find the storks, some Fairy Martins flew low over the road around us. A loud incessant wader-like call came from behind us, and as we turned to look, a slim bird with sharp wings and a straight bill, with legs projecting past the tail zoomed in and landed about 10m in front of us in the swamp. I immediately got bins on it and confirmed it to be a Marsh Sandpiper. Whilst this species is not too uncommon in the height of the wader season, they are only just arriving at this time of year. Some overwintering birds had been noted this winter, which this bird may well have been, however it looked quite ragged, skinny and worn out and could well have been a returning migrant. The bird fed briefly in the shallow water before again taking flight and calling, heading further into the swamp. A Spotted Harrier appeared in the distance ahead of us before circling out of view, its long tail, flight and dark primaries all seen clearly in the warm afternoon light.

On our way back to the gate, we drove past a group of about 15 cattle which were roaming from a nearby farm. One of them took about 5 minutes to move off the road, despite numerous attempts to remove it including the car horn, yells, revs and slamming of doors. It eventually got scared off when dad accelerated at some pace towards it before promptly slamming on the breaks. Hundreds of Fairy Martins could be seen high in the sky, gathering before returning to their roosts.

Artificially darkened to show the number of birds, Fairy Martins flocking

After crossing the rails once more, a party of 20 Red-browed Finches were seen feeding on the grass of a nearby backyard.The drive from Hexham to Hawks Nest included a few sightings of Black-shouldered Kites along the road and another Sea-eagle, as well as a black cat near the Hawks Nest/Tea Gardens turn off. A White-necked Heron was seen on a farm dam on the way in, as well as a small party of honeyeaters feeding on some lerps which included Eastern Spinebills, Little Wattlebirds, White-naped Honeyeaters and 5 or 6 Scarlet Honeyeaters, at least 3 of which were resplendent males. We entered the town and headed straight to the river, where at leat 60 Cattle Egret were roosting in a mangrove on the opposite bank along with numerous Australian Pelicans, Little Black Cormorants, Australasian Darters, Little Pied Cormorants and Silver Gulls in the waters nearby. We arrived at the house and settled in with the warming sound of a Australian Koel and small groups of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets whizzing around heading to their roosts for the night. After dinner and a game of Scrabble, I took my parents out to find a Southern Boobook. One bird was eventually located, calling at the top of a eucalypt in Kurrawong Avenue.

Boobook bum - it wouldn't turn around!

21/09/14

I woke at 7am to the mournful and persistent calls of Australian Koels, with all variations on their normal call included. I knew I wouldn’t get to sleep so I grabbed my bins and sat up in bed looking out the window. Spotted Pardalotes, Little Wattlebirds, Red Wattlebirds, Rainbow Lorikeets, Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Noisy Miners, Eastern Rosellas, Satin Bowerbirds, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Pied Butcherbirds and Grey Butcherbird were all seen an heard. The bowerbirds are resident in a little covered residence in Kurrawong Avenue and are abundant around this area. A group of three Topknot Pigeons rose from the Koala Reserve, and flew low down for about 50m before presumably coming to rest. I quickly texted Julian as this bird has been eluding him for some time, and now I have seen them from my backyard in Glebe and in Hawks Nest. He wasn't particularly fond of me for the rest of the day... 

If this species are present in the town, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if there is a fair bit of fruit around as I have only seen them four or five times in the area. Hopefully I’ll get onto some fruit doves too!

After breakfast, I went out to look for the topknots that had flown by earlier down near the koala reserve. I decided that I’d have a peek into the Swan Bay Track, rather than skirt the edge of the reserve, hoping to glimpse the pigeons. As it turned out, this was a good choice as I soon came across a group of Satin Bowerbirds, a pair of Sacred Kingfishers, numerous Silvereyes and various other honeyeaters including a small party of Scarlet Honeyeaters. White-throated Gerygones were calling loudly, and responded well when I mimicked their call, coming right down low to get a good look at me. 

White-throated Gerygone refusing to look at me

A male Golden Whistler called loudly but only allowed brief views before disappearing deeper into the bush. Brown, Striated, and Yellow Thornbills were abundant in the understory, middle story and canopy, and Spotted Pardalotes called loudly from high up in the eucalypts. A single Brown Honeyeater briefly flashed across the path calling. I could hear Bar-shouldered Doves, Common Bronzewing, and a single Wonga Pigeon calling from the forest floor, although they refused to be seen. A couple of pairs of Eastern Whipbirds also sung out from the shrubs on the floor, but they too refused to cooperate. I heard the familiar croak and chattering of a Dollarbird, which I quickly got my bins and my camera onto, as it is quite early in the season for them to be returning from their migration up north. After getting reasonable ID photos of the Dollarbird, 

Dollarbird

I proceeded to a small fork in the track. I took the the right hand track, which led me down an overgrown sand trail which eventually loops back onto the main track. I had only just taken the turn when a loud Accipiter call rang out from a set of gums to my left. I looked across and a male Brown Goshawk flushed from the trees slowly gaining height until it was out of sight. Surprisingly, none of the other birds reacted to its presence and only started making alarm calls once a second bird, this on a female, was well on her way up on a nearby thermal. After watching both of them circle out of sight, I proceeded down the track a little further. 

Male Brown Goshawk

I happened across a swarm of native wasps, however they appeared uninterested in me, and more so in the nectar they were extracting from the nearby flowering shrubs. Nearby to these wasps, I found a clutch of small purple flowers which I photographed. If anyone who reads this knows what they are, please don't hesitate to comment!! Myall Lakes National Park is renowned for its display of wildflowers in the spring and I am hoping that we will be able to get down to the old gibber track where not only are there Turquoise Parrots, Southern Emu-wrens and Masked Owls, but there is also supposed to be a stunning array of native wild flowers at this time of year. 

Purple flowers

After photographing the flowers, headed back down the track the way I had come, encountering Satin Bowerbirds, New Holland Honeyeaters and Brown Thornbills. A goshawk called again and I looked up to see the female flying very much like a large pigeon, with big flaps from cupped wings, overhead. I had never seen this flight before, and was wondering if it was burdened by a weakened wing or was perhaps holding heavy prey. However, a group of 8 Topknot Pigeons followed about 10m behind, flying with a very similar style to the goshawk, and appeared quite similar in size. I noted that there were no alarm calls made as the goshawk passed overhead, and I wonder if perhaps it was using the topknot flock to remain unseen by its prey below? I know that Grey Goshawks have been known to intermingle with Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Corella flocks in order to camouflage and get closer to their prey before being noticed… perhaps Brown Goshawks may do the same when the opportunity arises. I slowly walked back to the start of the track, encountering only a group of Superb Fairy-wren and another, if not the same pair of Sacred Kingfishers. 

Sacred Kingfisher

Blue-faced Honeyeaters could be heard nearer to the house, and I looked up to see three Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flying slowly and gracefully above the rooves of the nearby houses.

My parents and I headed to Dead Man’s Dunes from where we planned to walk to Dolphin Rock, at about 11am. To get there, simply drive on the road up to the main (Bennett’s) beach, and turn right, following the tarmac and subsequently the dirt track until you reach a wide open dirt carpark. Sadly the main attraction of this area, the huge dunes, have been mostly mined and removed for developers to use the sand to maintain the bay front at Winda Woppa. Hopefully the sand will eventually return and build the dunes up once more, but for now it is a shadow if its former self. The view from the rise of sand we were standing on was still exquisite, with Yacaaba Headland covered in yellow and white blossom, looming ahead of us, and the great sweeping curve of the northern Myall Coast drawing our eyes all the way to Dark Point, and more distantly Seal Rocks. The sea was surprisingly calm and the waves were decent, but not exceedingly rough. Sadly the forecast for the swell and wind from Friday predicted stronger winds and larger seas, so the pelagic I had booked on was cancelled, gotta love weather forecasts!

The view of Yacaaba headland and offshore Cabbage Tree Island  (breeding island for Gould's Petrel), Boondelbah (sticking out of the end of Yacaaba) and Little Island, in the gap between them

Silver Gulls, Australian Magpies, Little and Red Wattlebirds, New Holland Honeyeaters, Superb Fairy-wrens, a pair of Crested Terns, Welcome Swallows and other common species were all visible from the rise. Later in the season, this is a reliable spot for Rainbow Bee-eaters, often observed at the intersection between the 4WD cross-over from the beach to the bay and the walking track, about 1/3 of the way to Yacaaba. Also visible however was a looming dark cloud, with rain beneath it, somewhere towards Stockton. We decided walking down to Yacaaba and Dolphin Rock would not be such a fantastic idea and instead opted for a drive to Hole in the Wall, within Myall Lakes National Park.

Once we were on Mungo Brush Road, we discovered that the speed limit has been reduced from what used to be 100km/h through the national park, to 80km/h. This is more reasonable given the width of the road, and the proximity to decent bushland which holds numerous mammals, reptiles and birds, which often stray onto the road. Very little was observed until we reached Hole in the Wall Picnic Area, a small elevated picnic spot with sparse views of Broughton Island and the long beach from Sandy Point to Seal Rocks. Looking out to sea, two Australasian Gannets, and immature and an adult were circling and diving on occasion, accompanied by a few Silver Gulls and a juvenile Crested Tern. Sadly no whales were seen.

Distant Gannet

Walking down onto the beach, thousands of dried Blue-bottles could be seen to stretch for miles up and down the beach, a result of a recent storm. A lone Great Knot, a returning migrant, flew in from the north and briefly alighted on the beach, feeding briefly in the wash o the swell, before flying again southwards, presumably towards Port Stephens and maybe further south to Stockton where small numbers often spend their summer. This was only the second time I've encountered one in the Port Stephens region.

Blue-bottle carnage

Great Knot dodging the waves

Calling quits on the ‘seawatch’, we headed back to the car, observing Superb Fairy-wrens, Brown Thornbills, New Holland Honeyeaters, Australian Ravens, Little Wattlebirds hanging around the carpark. An old, abandoned Satin Bowerbird bower is situated in the scrub behind the carpark, and numerous diggings, presumably of bandicoots, are present in the sand around the picnic area. In the past, I have observed numerous dingoes, on occasion with pups, as well as a variety of other birdlife, including Swamp Harriers, Sea-eagles, Topknot Pigeons, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Arctic and Pomerine Jaegers, at this site.

We turned left at the exit to Hole in the Wall and headed back towards Hawks Nest. We stopped at a large pond slightly south of Duck Hole Fire Trail which mum had spotted on the way to Hole in the Wall. On arrival we flushed two Pacific Black Ducks from the water as well as a few Water Dragons which were sitting low down near the water. Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Superb Fairy-wrens, Brown Thornbills and Australian Ravens were calling in the surrounding area. The highlight however was the deep ‘caw-caw’ of a Forest Raven. We found it perched at the top of a dead stringybark, and it proceeded to fly to the far side of the pond and take a short bath, before flying off. 

Forest Raven

We headed back to Hawks Nest after this brief stop, encountering a few species en route. The highlight was a Brush Bronzewing which was flushed from the side of the road about 10m ahead of us. It briefly landed in a tree about 5m off the road, providing short, but ample views to note its brown back and wings, bluish underside, dark eye-stripe and stubby build. This species occurs throughout the national park, and I have seen them along the tracks closer to the town, off Mungo Brush Road, but I am yet to get a decent look at one sitting still for a prolonged period. We passed the shops and headed down to The Anchorage, a small muddy inlet from the Myall River, which leads to a large lagoon surrounded by mangroves. To get there, simply drive past the shops and continue along the main road, going straight past the roundabout, and taking the 'right-hand' turn at the fork near Jimmy's Beach Caravan Park. Continue until the carpark near a children's playground. From the carpark, we took the track behind the playground and walked past the mangrove and casuarinas to a small sand hill, which we crossed to reach the beach, on the inside of Port Stephens. This beach extends all the way from Yacaaba to the river mouth to the north of Corrie Island. Having walked only 30m along the beach, we encountered the first dolphins of the trip. Two of them, one right on the shoreline, one about 20m out, were herding fish, and proceeded to feed on them right in front of us. The close one kept them pushed up against the shoreline, and followed up with fast dashes through the apparent school (which we couldn’t see due to the incredibly murky water). It came right in to the shoreline, often appearing as though it would beach itself. The further dolphin chased the fish through a wave, becoming completely airborne at one point and eventually ended up herding them in to the shallows as the other had done. All of this took place right on the shoreline, <5m from where we were standing. Once the fish had either escaped, or were eaten, the dolphins moved off and were eventually seen entering the river.

Dolphin re-entering the water

SPLASH!

Getting pretty close..

Way too close!!

We proceeded up the beach, towards the mouth of the river.

View looking towards Corrie Island and the mouth of the river

A Whistling Kite circled distantly, and a few Crested Terns and Silver Gulls frolicked in water nearby. As we neared the mouth, Red-capped Plovers, which can be seen at this site all year round and have bred nearby, showed themselves, scampering along the beach, camouflaging amongst the scattered debri of sponge, seaweeds, drift wood and litter.

View looking back towards Yacaaba and southern Port Stephens

Debris.... there's a few plovers in here somewhere...

There we go!

 The tide was quite low, although getting higher, and some small sandbanks still remained between the river mouth and Corrie Island. I have crossed onto Corrie Island by wading across the sandbank once before, but it is not an ideal way to reach the island due to the high risk of stepping on something you don’t want to (I narrowly missed a stingray and flathead last time). Another issue with this method of crossing is that the sandbank only remains whilst the tide is almost completely out, providing only a small period of time before the sandbank is too deep for it to be of much use in crossing the river. Low tide is also quite a risky time to cross as the water is quite murky, and murky mouths of rivers aren’t exactly the safest places to wade through. Regardless, I did not go for a wade this time, and chose instead to observe what birds I could on the sandbank, with my binoculars. 3 Pied Oystercatchers, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Red-necked Stints, and two Eastern Curlews occupied the closer bank. A single Pied Cormorant was dosing on the sand less than 10m away from me as I scanned the sandbank, so I took a couple of shots of it.

Pied Cormorant 1

Pied Cormorant 2!

Pied Oystercatchers and a Bar-tailed Godwit

Further out, on the island itself, a large flock of Crested Terns roosted. Some godwits were scattered over the banks of the island, but nothing else new was noted. As we reached the point, 6 more Red-capped Plovers flew across to the sandbank with the oystercatchers, and a pair of stints followed. We turned back and walked over the low grass growing in the middle of the peninsula. A single Australian Pipit flushed from the grass and was later seen scrambling over the scattered seagrass on the shoreline, with some plovers and stints.

Pipit

A flock of 12 Bar-tailed Godwits now occupied the area where we had first seen the plovers, and looking back at the sandbank, it was now devoid of birds. We walked slowly back towards where we had entered the beach, but were interrupted by distant views of what appeared to be an immature White-bellied Sea Eagle battling with an Eastern Osprey high up above the bay. We watched the spectacle for some time, noting only after reviewing my photos that the osprey was holding a fish, which the young sea-eagle was attempting to steal. The osprey’s mate flew from the nest in Tea Gardens, which was visible at the time and together, both ospreys managed to outmanoeuvre and tire out the sea-eagle enough so that it gave up.

Osprey vs Sea-eagle

And again...

And again!

A different osprey, from the Corrie Island nest was later seen carrying a fish towards the island. The abundance of ospreys in this area is quite astounding, with at least three pairs occupying Tea Gardens, Corrie Island and Swan Bay – and those are just the pairs I have observed!

Osprey with fish

A pair of Galahs came in to land on the sand while the sea-eagle passed overhead, flushing an Eastern Curlew from the beach in the process. Despite it being only late September, most of the wader species are back in small numbers. A distant flock of around 30 Topknot Pigeons was seen as well. At one point they looped, split and dived, before reforming as a Peregrine Falcon, circled above them.

Galah

Eastern Curlew in flight

I found a nice looking dead tree on the beach and took some alright shots of it.

Tree

We briefly stopped by the lagoon that was mentioned before and located a single Eastern Curlew, Little Egret, Sacred Kingfisher, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Figbirds, Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Welcome Swallows, Yellow Thornbills, Kookaburras and some Superb-fairy Wrens. From here we continued along the track back towards the playground, and reached the intersection between a track up to an abandoned development site on what used to be a small bunch of sand dunes, and the main track. Here a group of 4 Variegated Fairy-wrens including a stunning male were not too shy (but successfully avoided my camera), and some Brown Thornbills foraged with them. 5 Pied Butcherbirds were found around the picnic area near the playground and three Sooty Oystercatchers were feeding on the dykes out in the middle of the river. Numerous Australian Pelicans roosted on the dykes as well as paddling in the shallows hoping for a feed from a nearby fisherman.

Channel-billed Cuckoo

Australasian Figbird

Little Egret

Pied Butcherbird

We stopped briefly at the first little bay in the river, situated about 50m from the carpark, which is a hotspot for tattlers in season. However, none were present, perhaps due to the incredibly low tide, but I did hear young kites calling, and was able to locate a nest in one of the tall Norfolk Island Pines further along the road, of Whistling Kites.

Whistling Kite nest

From here, we took a quick trip up to the main beach, encountering a flock of feeding Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoos, then we whizzed over the bridge to grab some food... and of course check out the Osprey nest! The birds pictured below are the same two that were involved in the battle with the Sea-eagle earlier in the day.

View from the surf life savers club

Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo on a banksia

Ospreys have very good reception in their crib!

We returned home after this stop, and were treated once more to the calls of Koels as dusk set in. I finish today’s entry, accompanied by the warm sound of a Southern Boobook calling from about 100m away.
Hopefully I'll be able to write up the rest of this report soon, before school takes over... I hope you enjoyed the read! If you are planning on visiting the area, I'm always happy to help out so don't hesitate to email simon.gorta98@gmail.com! Until next time!