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!

Plains Wandering in Deniliquin - Part One

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently joined a gathering of bird-photographers in the small NSW town of Deniliquin.

Before I get to that though, a couple of updates from Canberra - the Australasian Bittern I wrote about last time attracted a lot of attention, including some more from me. I made another trip out to the pond to try and relocate it a few days later, and was successful not only in finding it but in getting a photograph! (Albeit a distant and grainy one).

Australasian Bittern

The photo seemed to be the tipping point for Ashwin, Josh, Max and Nathan, who took a road trip down from Sydney the following day. They cruised past my house (and didn't pick me up) in their haste to see the bird, and then they dipped on it.

"There's nothing in that pond", they said. "Canberra's terrible for birding!", they said.

And as if to prove their point, they stopped at Rowes Lagoon near Collector, NSW, on their way home and flushed several Australasian Bitterns.

I felt somewhat put out that they were dissing my city (without even having dropped by to see me on their way), so I was immensely pleased when two hours later, a report came through the COG chatline of a male Australian Little Bittern at the same pond where the Sydney Siders had spent the whole morning.

Being the gentleman that I am, I immediately put on my smug face, and spent some time laughing down the phone at them.

As soon as I hung up though, I knew that I'd need to see the Little Bittern, or I'd be even more of a joke than them. So I gathered Stanley Tang (who happened to be in Sydney for the month), and together we hit up the pond.

Stanley's bus arrived at half past one, meaning we got to the site at 2pm. His bus home was at 5pm, meaning we had to leave the site at 4.30pm, a window of just 2.5 hours. We searched, and then we waited, for two hours.

Disappointed, we were taking a break from scanning the reedbeds when my mother, who was doing a lap of the pond, flushed a tiny bird with big yellow wing patches from the tiniest, most isolated clump of reeds in the whole pond - where we hadn't even thought to look, considering the (comparatively) huge reedbed on the far side.

We saw it land in the dense reeds on the far side of the pond, and we rushed over in the vague hope of getting another fleeting view of the bird.

When we arrived, we had to wait an agonizing almost-half-a-second to see it - sitting halfway up a reed stem, right out in the open, not 5m away from us. It stayed there obligingly, climbing slowly up the reed for almost a minute, before making a short flight to the center of the reedbed.

 

Australian Little (Black-backed) Bittern

So that made two bitterns in just one week - and as you'll read in the next post, that would be significant.

Anyway, back to the Deniliquin campout.

The trip was planned as a meet-up for the members of the fantastic Feathers and Photos forum, one of the (if not the very) best Australian bird photography forums.

The trip had been in planning for some time - at the start, I think it was Josh and David Stowe's idea. Unfortunately, Josh soon had to pull out, due to his parents insisting he attend a party for a cousin's 21st. While it was nice for his cousin, it was a bit inconvenient for Simon and myself, as Josh was going to be our lift out to Deni. Scrambling to rearrange, we both happened to ask David, his being the only other car passing vaguely in my direction.

He very kindly agreed to take me (and Simon), and not only that, he offered to try and borrow a Canon 600mm lens for me to use during the trip!!

Astounded by this generosity, I joined forces with David, Simon, and forum member Fatih Sam on a chilly (for my standards, Simon complained at length about how freezing it was - the cons of living by the coast!) Friday morning (the 27th of June), and set off.

I really enjoy road trips, even more so if birding is involved. fleeting views of birds from the vehicle, often followed by swift ID arguments ensure the hours in the car are never boring. Before long, we'd had a slightly-too-close encounter with a pair of Crimson Rosellas, and seen various raptors and a large flock of starlings.

Simon keeping the trip-list

Just before I go on, essentially all the short-range (basically all the non-bird photos) were taken with my phone, so apologies for that.

Eventually we we pulled into Wagga Wagga - and just before we reached the township, we noticed a big, wheeling flock of birds in the distance. Quickly, we pulled off down a small side-road and managed to get underneath them.

They turned out to be feral pigeons, forming an aerial bait-ball in reaction to the attentions of a pair of Peregrine Falcons. The falcons were directly above us as we pulled up, but as we tumbled out of the car, they disappeared, and the pigeons settled in a nearby eucalypt.

Even though we didn't get to photograph the falcons, the stop did give me the chance to take first-looks at the monstrous 600mm in Dave's hands. And also discover that the lens hood screw was slightly broken.

Having passed through Wagga, we pulled over again to look at some Black-faced Woodswallows (a lifer for Simon), and as we did so we noticed a pale white bird perched on the fence wires. "Is that a &$^#%* Ground Cuckoo Shrike!?" I exclaimed, forgetting myself in excitement.

Ground Cuckoo-shrike

It was, as it turned out, a Ground Cuckoo-shrike. And soon, 5 more flew down the fenceline towards it.

This was my second sighting of GCS, the first being a very flighty pair north of Alice Springs last February. Compared to those birds, which barely let us within 50m, these were amazingly tame, allowing us within just 20m or so.

The Black-faced Woodswallows were nice, too.

Black-faced Woodswallows

A lone Emu seen wandering the paddocks near the Cuckoo-shrike spot

We continued on our way, and eventually arrived at the campsite in the bustling metropolis of Deniliquin. We spent half an hour greeting other F&P members, and erecting the Emperor of Tents that David had brought for the three of us to share. It was enormous - three rooms, and Simon and I fit comfortably in one of them. To give you some idea, both of us are over 6 foot (Simon considerably so), and it wasn't cramped in the slightest.

The Campground

With the tent set up, and most of the F&P members assembled (Including one of the Melbournian members of Australian Young Birders, Owen Lishmund, who Simon and I knew from Facebook but had never met), we set off on a walk down the river beside the camp.

Sunset over the river

Pausing to enjoy brief views of an Azure Kingfisher flitting around in the dead branches on the bank, we explored the area of woodland bordering the river. Striated Thornbills, Weebills, White-plumed Honeyeaters and Buff-rumped Thornbills put in appearances, along with numerous Brown and White-throated Treecreepers. A pair of Little Eagles overhead kept us looking up, as well as several Whistling Kites.
Despite these interesting passerines (and non passerines), the attention of the group was primarily drawn by a beautiful trio of Australian Pelicans, which sat high on a dead branch in the gorgeous evening light.

Pelicans trying to dissuade a new bird from landing on their perch

...And failing.

This led to an argument with the newcomer...

...Which soon led to an all-out brawl.

Away from the rest, these two enjoyed the last rays of the setting sun.

Dispute over.

This was my first taste of using the *rather* stunning Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II lens. Compared to my little 100-400mm, this thing was a monster, weighing about 3 times as much as my normal set up, and lifted to my eye, extending about 60cm off my face. Just to give you an idea of how massive it is, here's a shot of Owen holding it:

 

Handling the weight was a serious learning curve, and I'm amazed I got any shots at all on the first evening!! This was my view down the viewfinder...

We stayed with the Pelicans until the sun set, before retiring for our first night camping.

The next morning, we were treated to another huge gesture of generosity. Phillip Maher, who we had organized to take us on a Plains Wanderer tour that evening, offered to take our group out birding during the day as well. We started the morning in a stretch of eucalypt and low saltbush beside a road, somewhere near Deniliquin. I should apologize, at this point, as I'm terrible with directions and I honestly have no idea where we were for quite a lot of the trip!

We spent a few hours at this spot, chasing the many Superb Parrots (a lifer for many), Grey-crowned Babblers, Bluebonnets, Spotted and Striated Pardalotes, and numerous other birds.

Upside-down male Superb Parrot

After a while, we crossed the road into an area of revegetation, which I think Phil was managing. We followed the calls of White-winged Fairy Wrens to a small clump of saltbush, and managed very quick views of them, and slightly better views of a male Variegated Fairy-wren.

 

Feathers and Photos members on the hunt 

Owen, who seemed a bit distracted, suddenly shouted MAJOR MITCHELLS!!!!! Following his finger, I could make out two specks of white in the distance, and on inspection of photos a few seconds later, they were indeed Major Mitchell Cockatoos. The rest of the group weren't in quite such a rush as us, having all seen Majors before, but they were lifers for Simon and Owen - so we jumped the fence, and sprinted back across the grass flats towards the area we had been in previously.

Unfortunately, though we searched for some time, the Majors had well and truly disappeared by the time we arrived. Even more unfortunately for Owen, who copped a piece of wire to the shin whilst running. As we paused to catch our breath, Fatih (who had sneakily wandered off from the group a while beforehand) emerged from the trees in front of us, and calmly remarked that he got good views of the Majors as they flew past.

Eventually the others caught up to us, and we were treated to very nice views of the usually-flighty Bluebonnets, before we got back on the road.

Simon getting his first taste of lens envy

A few minutes later, we had to make a stop for a stunning (and very tame!) Brown Falcon, perched on a fencepost by the roadside. He switched fenceposts a couple of times while we took turns photographing him from the car, but in general he was very settled, and allowed us to get very close.

The next site Phil took us to was a narrow laneway, bordered on either side by flowering eucalyptus of some description. While not as productive as the last spot, we all got decent views of Striped and White-plumed Honeyeaters, among the usual suspects. a Jezebel butterfly with what appear to be its pupae also drew some attention.

Jezebel

Being mid-afternoon by this stage, we made one final stop before returning to camp - the local rubbish tip. Black Kites, Whistling Kites, and a few Black Falcons swarmed over the piles of rubbish, picking off scraps to eat in the air (or hunting the other birds in the case of the falcons). Many Australian White Ibis, a single Restless Flycatcher and Welcome Swallows were also present.

We headed back to camp to prepare for what we hoped would be an epic evening.

Lunchtime!

As we were sitting in the tent eating lunch (and avoiding a small patch of rain that happened to be drifting over), we were discussing the camera gear of choice for the night. Simon opted to stick with his point-and-shoot, Owen with his Pentax and Sigma 150-500, me with the 7D and 600 - and then Dave chimed in, saying he was planning to use his 5D mark III with the 200-400mm lens he borrowed from Canon for the trip.

Slightly surprised, I wasted no time in cheekily asking whether I could borrow his 1D X for the evening, if he was using the 5D3. To my amazement, he said yes!!!

This turned out to be fantastic news for Owen as well as myself - with Dave using the 200-400, his 500mm (mark 1) had been free - but Owen had been unable to ask to borrow it, as his body was Pentax and not compatible. With my 7D thus freed up, Dave offered him the 500mm. As we left the tent to pack the car, the grins on our faces had to be seen to be believed.

Phil met us at the campsite in the evening, and it was with great anticipation that we set out. On the way out to the private property he was taking us to, out on the Hay Plain, we were able to enjoy an absolutely stunning sunset (of which I sadly have no photographs, as I was equipped only with a long lens). The habitat of the plain is just that - it's a plain. There is little to no vegetation more than 40cm high, so the whole place is very flat: perfect for sunset viewing. A quick stop at a Banded Lapwing nesting site brought me my first lifer of the trip, and watching the young chicks bumble along after the parents was certainly a trip highlight.

Adult Banded Lapwing

A pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles circled in the distance as we reached our starting point, and we waited eagerly for dark.

In the interests of preparing any future visitors to the area who happen to be reading this, we were eager to get going for two reasons: Firstly, obviously, because we were super psyched for some Plains Wanderer action. But secondly (and at that point in the evening, primarily) because it was *&%(&^ freezing. Bitterly cold. If hell were to freeze over, it probably wouldn't take cold much colder than that.

Okay maybe that's an exaggeration.

Whatever, it was very, very, very cold, and the lack of windbreaks didn't help. Although Phil was with us, he was reluctant to begin the tour without the presence of the property owner, who was running late. The rest of us huddled in the cars, watching the last specks of sunlight disappear from the enormous sky.

Eventually, after a phone conversation with the property owner, Phil set out. Falling into line alongside his car, the rest of us (two other cars) began scanning the plains with our spotlights, looking for movement among the short grass.

Ready to go!

And in no time at all, boom! A male Plains Wanderer was ducking and weaving in the beam of Phil's headlights!

We were all extremely excited, and gathered round him (he had calmed down, to the point of being very obliging for photographs). I was torn between admiring the stout little guy, and admiring the sheer beauty of the 1D X. It functioned like a dream in my hands, almost with a mind of its own - although it felt VERY weird (coming from a 7D) being able to crank the ISO up to 1600 with no negative effects in terms of noise.

Back to the Wanderer though. Before, I used the word 'stout' to describe him, and I think that's the perfect word for the male PW. Plainsies are very plover-like, showing their close relation to the wader family in their behaviour and jizz. They run very upright,  standing tall at intervals to peer indignantly at you - a pose I managed to fluke a shot of. I definitely got clearer shots of him after he moved into the open, but the head-on stare is my favourite, it really carries a sense of what these little lads are like.

Male Plains Wanderer, giving the camera the death-stare

A slightly less dignified pose

Reluctantly, we left him to his nightly business, and continued on our search. Soon, we stopped again - this time for a non-bird.

The Fat-tailed Dunnart is one of the most adorable Dasyurus marsupials I've had the pleasure of meeting. We spotted him easily, despite his tiny size, thanks to his escape method of taking enormous leaps across the open plain towards the nearest saltbush. We managed to catch up with him (they can go extremely fast!!) just before he reached his hiding place. Noticing our presence, he took about a minute of rest cowering in some low vegetation, giving us just enough time for a couple of shots, before taking off again and clambering into his bushy safe haven.

Fat-tailed Dunnart

 

And so we continued across the frigid plains. It was now my turn to stand in the backseat, half inside the car, half sticking out the sunroof, to spotlight. And it. Was. Cold. Yes. I'm a wuss.

Luckily it paid off though. Within a short period of time, we had both male and female Stubble Quail in the spotlight. Considering how hard these are to see well in the day, it was a pleasure to be able to approach them quite closely at night, and get decent photographs. In the case of the male, it was just a little too close. Having frozen in the spotlight beam, he suddenly found himself at the center of a semi-circle of big lenses. He started walking in circles (just to be clear, we did leave him ample space to walk away from us), and appeared quite disorientated. He furthered this impression by walking straight towards me.

Male Stubble Quail

As he approached too close for the 600mm to focus, I took it down from my eye to watch him, wondering how close he would come.

At a meter, he was showing no signs of stopping.

At 60cm, I said "Hey!"

At 30cm, I said "Oi, Watch out!"

Clearly he wasn't listening though, because a second later he walked facefirst into my knee. He stumbled backwards with a somewhat surprised expression, shook his head, walked around me, and took off into the night.

The next half hour was similar. We found another Fat-tailed Dunnart, and another (possibly the same) male Plains Wanderer, an opportunity we took to get some slightly clearer shots.

More male Plains Wanderers

As we piled back into the cars, Phil set off only to immediately slam on the brakes - a second Plains Wanderer had been lurking just outside the spotlight beam, and this time it was the female!!

Plains Wanderers are a curious species. They look like Quail (a tiny bit), have the sexual dimorphism and breeding behaviour of Button-quail, and are most closely related to waders (I remember reading somewhere that they're closest relatives are South American Seed-snipe, but I've no idea if that's true). Anyway, the female is the larger and more spectacular of the pair - and this girl did not disappoint.

The stunning female Plains Wanderer

Unfortunately, realising that she'd been spotted, she bolted for the nearest clump of grass, and tucked herself down at the base of it, making good photos all but impossible. After a few minutes, she started to regain some of her nerve, and poked her head out. A few minutes more, and she was happily standing to one side of the clump, allowing for some really nice - "my flash just died", said Owen from somewhere in the dark to my left.

It was actually my 430ex II flash, which I'd left on the 7D for him to use - so I immediately swapped him the 580ex flash that Dave had lent me, and carried on flashless for a while.

In a way, I'm really glad I did - because with the 1D X's amazing low-light capability, I was able to take some shots without any flash at all, and I think they're among the best I took of the female.

Female Plains Wanderer - spotlight only, no flash

Satisfied, most of the group started to head back to the cars. Dave, Fatih and I stayed on for a few minutes longer, Dave hoping to capture some video footage now that there were suddenly 15 less people around. The female relaxed, and eventually moved right out into the open, allowing for some really awesome shots before we left her to it.

Ecstatic, we headed out to a different part of the property to look for some other species, namely Inland Dotterel, which had been recorded relatively recently at the site. Unfortunately, despite an hour's driving around, we dipped on them. It was sort of made up for though with a beautiful pair of Tawny Frogmouths (roosting at night!), a Brush-tailed Possum, and another Fat-tailed Dunnart - which proceeded to chase me for 50m across the plains. I can now add "chased by Dunnart" to my list of life achievements, right next to "headbutted by Quail".

Tawny Frogmouths

Tired, chuffed, and some of us with very cold hands (from holding the spotlight out the window), we started the journey back to camp.

As we lined up to pay and thank Phil and his wife Patricia for their excellent guidance, we were treated to yet another pleasure - "Shall I meet you here in the morning?" enquired Phil.

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This has already become an essay,  so I'll end it there for now. Part Two coming shortly (I promise!!)

Julian.

Twitch Updates!

Geez, it's been about two months since I last posted. Doesn't feel like that long!

A couple of interesting things have happened since then.

A few weeks ago, reports started coming in of Regent Honeyeaters at the Chiltern Trail in Ingleside, on the northern beaches of Sydney. It didn't take me long to decide I wanted to go - much like the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, I made up my mind and booked my ticket the night before!

So I caught a bus up to Sydney, and as usual, I connected with Simon outside Central Station. From there, we headed up to Ingleside.

Max, Josh, Ashwin, Henry, and my newish young-birder friend Jayden had all seen the birds either that morning or the morning before - so with high hopes, we set off down the trail, noting a Little Eagle above us.

The Chiltern Trail is a brilliant one for honeyeaters - a mixed heath and eucalypt/banksia woodland blend, we saw a heap of species just within the first few minutes. Scarlet, Fuscous, Yellow-faced, New Holland, White-cheeked, White-eared, White-naped, White-plumed, Eastern Spinebill, Red and Little Wattlebirds, and Noisy Friarbird. But those weren't the ones we were there to see!

We wandered up and down the trail for a short while, until we decided to split up to maximise our chances of finding the elusive Regents.

Almost as soon as I started walking away from Simon, he yelled "REGENT!!" and I had to come running back up the path. I got a very brief view, and then it was gone.

Stoked to have seen it, but disappointed at the brevity of the view, we continued to search - and eventually, we were rewarded with reasonably good views of two birds. They stayed up in the canopy for the most part, but for a few seconds, one landed on an open branch allowing for (very dark, it was in shadow) pictures.

Regent Honeyeater, Chiltern Trail, Ingleside

We finished up, and headed back to Central (via Warriewood Wetlands/Irrawong Reserve for a quick shot at Noisy Pitta, which we heard but didn't see) in time for my 6.00pm bus home.

Just as an update, Stanley Tang and Henry Coleman got the Regents again today, and I think they were in the same place.

A few days later, Simon landed a big one - Noisy Pitta at Sydney Olympic Park, a very unusual occurrence, and one which drew lots of people. Just as well it was so accommodating with allowing itself to be viewed!! I'm super jealous of him. Or I was. Until today.

Today, I had just about finished a long and productive day of doing nothing (instead of revising for my mathematics exam next week) when my email alert went off at 4.08pm. Sadly I wasn't around to see it then, but when I got onto the computer half an hour later, I discovered an Australasian Bittern had been seen at Giralang Pond, not ten minutes from home!!

Begin an anxious hour of trying to convince dad that it was worthwhile going.

Eventually he obliged, and with just 20 minutes of light left in the sky, we set off. We arrived, and I began to search the reedbeds with my scope, hoping against hope that the bittern would be in view.

After five minutes and a quick saunter up and down the bank, nothing.

After 9 minutes, whoosh! As I was walking along the edge of the reeds, a big, dark, stilt-legged, hunch-backed, streaky shape erupted from the reeds just 5 meters or so from me. It did a lap of the pond as I stared at it in awe, and then flew off down the creekline with 4 magpies in hot pursuit.

I snapped myself out of my daze and ran down the bicycle path, following it. I left the path and walked through the long grass towards the thin line of reeds marking the creek, guessing the Bittern would perch among the reeds rather than in the grass. I was right, although again the bird was one step ahead of me, flushing some 30-40m away. It flew across the road, into a small park-style pond, where I was unable to locate it in the denser reeds.

It was almost completely dark, so I left the bird to it and returned to the car - two Bittern species in two years, both in the ACT, both less than 40 minutes from my house!! (The other was the Little Bittern that payed a surprise visit to Jerrabomberra Wetlands around August 2012). I am so pumped!!

Hopefully this will be enough to tide anyone reading over until the next installment of posts - I will be heading down to Deniliquin with Simon, Nathan Ruser, and David Stowe at the end of June, immediately followed by a Brisbane trip for an avicultural convention and some birding with Stanley Tang!! There should be some good posts to come!

And of course, Simon has yet to post his report from his trip to South-western Western Australia - HINT HINT NUDGE NUDGE, SIMON.

Julian :D