Another Byron Hinterland estate

Drive inland 30 minutes from Byron Bay township and you find yourself on winding roads through beautiful rainforest. This week’s Byron Bird Buddies survey was at another bush regeneration estate, reclaimed from land that had been cleared many years ago for dairying and growing bananas. The variety and quality of the new forest is impressive, the result of 30 plus years of toil. The estate abuts the Goonengerry national park and we were rewarded with the call of an Albert’s Lyrebird nearby.

Very difficult to spot, these two Tawny Frogmouths adopt a branch-like pose that enhances their camouflaged coats.

A shaft of sunlight shines on this meticulously crafted spider web.

The sun was also shining on this beautiful Rufous Fantail.

The Brown Cuckoo-Dove is often heard adding to the background serenade of the rainforest with its characteristic ‘oo-wupp” call.

Leaden Flycatcher's nest washed away

At the start of last week we saw this pair of Leaden Flycatchers putting the finishing touches to a nest, about three metres above the waters of Tallow Creek in Byron Bay New South Wales. Later it looked like the birds were taking turns sitting on the nest.

Today, after two day of storms and torrential rain there is sadly no sign of the nest, presumably washed off its perch.

Male Leaden Flycatchers

Female Leaden Flycatcher

More migratory birds at Ballina

As September comes to an end, numbers of migratory birds at Ballina in New South Wales Northern Rivers region are increasing. Groups of shorebirds can be found at many of the town’s numerous rocky shores, estuaries and river banks.

Ballina has to be a hot spot for this iconic and perilously endangered group of birds. It might be even more spectacular with more protection from people and dogs for the birds and the areas they feed in.

A group of around thirty shore birds was seen at Lake Chickiba in Ballina; a well known gathering spot. This Pacific Golden Plover was one of a dozen of these colourful birds.

One of a group of Curlew Sandpipers at Lake Chickiba. The third migratory species seen there were Sharp-Tailed Sandpipers. Also present was a Royal Spoonbill, a Little Egret, Australian White Ibis, and a Mangrove Gerygone was calling.

At Flat Rock, Ballina the numbers of all species had increased, with 20 or so Red-necked Stints milling around.

There were more Ruddy Turnstones at Flat Rock, Ballina.

Two Tattlers keeping company at Flat Rock, Ballina. Again, distinguishing between the Grey-tailed and Wandering Tattler is difficult. The one on the right appears to be the rarer Wandering Tattler while the jury is still out for the bird on the left.

Hidden amongst 200 plus Crested Terns was this Common Tern (highlighted), the first of this species I had seen. The first Common Terns from northern Asia arrive in Ballina in September, with numbers swelling to a peak in December/January.

The Common Tern, visitor from the northern hemisphere, arrives in Ballina.

Migratory birds return

August is the month that migratory birds begin to return to Australia after their long journey to Siberia. Many of these birds can be seen on beaches in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Ballina is a hot spot for migratory birds.

This Ruddy Turnstone has just returned from its migration north to Siberia, flying great distances without a stop. It was photographed at Flat Rock at Ballina, feeding to regain weight and condition after a long and exhausting trip.

Weighing between 25 to 40 grams, the tiny Red-necked Stint has also just returned from Siberia. Stints move rapidly across the rocks, feeding on molluscs and crustaceans.

The Curlew Sandpiper is recognised by its curved bill. Another long distance traveller refuelling at Flat Rock Ballina. Numbers of Curlew Sandpipers have declined sharply since the 1980s.

These Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were feeding at the Byron Bay Wetlands. Sharp-tailed Sandpipers are the most numerous of the migrants found in both freshwater and saline wetlands.

Back to Tallow Creek

I decided to return to Tallow Creek at Suffolk Park in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. A previous visit of a couple of hours photographing around sunset resulted in a number of close ups of interesting birds and some very good evening lighting (Link to “Tallow Creek at Suffolk Park “). The walkway to the bridge that crosses the creek takes you through creek-side reed beds for close ups of reed birds and finches. The sporadic trees provide for close ups with clear space behind that give a nice blur to the background of the photo. This latest trip proved equally fruitful with the photos below.

The Beach Stone-curlew is seen in New South Wales from the Manning River northwards. However sightings are rare and the species is now regarded as critically endangered.

Photographed from the Tallow Creek bridge, a Little Pied Cormorant attests to the food available in the “Intermittently Closed and Open Lagoon” that the creek flows into. The category “Intermittently Closed and Open Lagoon” refers to the outlet to the sea which at times is closed for months.

Welcome Swallows and Tree Martins flutter constantly across the water of the lagoon. They often rest in a small tree at the end of the bridge; this provides a convenient place to photograph them.

A Tree Martin, possible a younger bird?

A small bird in another tree turned out to be a Striated Pardalote, another bird seen regularly at the lagoon. The heavy black marking across the eye and red spot on the wing indicates it could be of the northern Striated Pardalote race, the so called Black-headed Pardalote.

It was a surprise to see this young Mistletoebird, evidently another bird frequently seen at this site.

This Brown Thornbill was feeding in the middle branches of a medium sized tree.

I was pleased to see that the White-breasted Woodswallows sighted on the previous visit were still around. I counted fifteen birds present in total, similar to previous.

This Golden-headed Cisticola chose a helpful tree branch to pose for this photo.

The White-cheeked Honeyeater is common in the area, supplanting the New Holland Honeyeaters seen further south.

A Darter stretches out over a re-habilitated sewerage treatment pond close to Tallow Creek.

Tallow Creek at Suffolk Park

Suffolk Park is a suburb of Byron Bay on the North Coast of NSW. The Tallow Creek estuary forms the southern border of the Arakwal National Park and it is home to a wide variety of bird-life.

The Chestnut-breasted Mannikin is rarely seen in Sydney but becomes more common as you head northwards to northern NSW. This single bird was feeding, snipping away at seed-heads in the reeds that line Tallow Creek.

A Golden-headed Cisticola, lit up by the last rays of sunlight for the day.

The were some twenty White-breasted Woodswallows on the western side of the creek; some solitary like this bird, and others were gathering along tree branches in close packed groups of three or four.

The Red-backed Fairy-wren is Birdlife’s current bird of the month; another species that can be seen more often as you travel north along the NSW coast.

It is a pleasure to see many Australasian Figbirds, along with a surprising number of Olive-backed Orioles - controlling territory that might more often belong to Noisy Miners further south?

The sun sets over Tallow Creek, this photo taken from the bridge on the walking path and cycle-way that runs through the reserve.