Byron Bay Wetlands Survey

Last week’s survey at Byron Bay Wetlands in the New South Wales Northern Rivers region showed the wide range of birds this reserve attached to Byron’s sewerage works attracts. 81 species were counted with representation in a wide variety of bird groups. Raptors included a Grey Goshawk, Whispering Kite, Swamp Harrier and Sea-eagle. Water birds included a Spotless Crake, Glossy Isis, Pink-eared Ducks and Black-fronted Dotterels. Sacred, Forest and Azure Kingfishers were sighted. A highlight was the large number of Little Grassbirds out in the open.

I went back to the wetland two days later to photograph the Spotless Crake seen on the survey. This time there were two more crakes in the reeds nearby.

This Sacred Kingfisher was in the same place two days after the survey on one of the grassy walkways through the melaleuca lined ponds.

There were many Little Grassbirds to be seen on the edges of the larger ponds.

Around a dozen Black-fronted Dotterels were feeding on the mudflats.

This Great Egret lifts for a better view from the top of the tree at the right.

Goonengerry National Park

Goonengerry National Park is one of several national parks in the “Tweed Caldera”, part of the ancient Mount Warning volcano in far north New South Wales. Parts of this area form the “Nightcap Range Important Bird Area”, designated because of the population of Albert’s Lyrebirds, Pale-yellow Robins, Paradise Riflebirds, Green Catbirds, Regent Bowerbirds and Australian Logrunners.

Goonengerry Falls plunge into an enormous gorge.

The Varied Sittella is an infrequent visitor to the park which falls on the boundary of the ranges of the Orange-winged and White-headed sub-species. As the name Varied Sittella suggests there are many variations in the appearance of this species.

Two sociable park inhabitants; the Eastern Yellow Robin and Grey Fantail.

Grey Fantail feeding from ground on one of the parks well maintained trails.

Booyong Flora Reserve

The “Big Scrub” of New South Wales once extended over 75,000 hectares of rich volcanic soils emanating from the ancient Mount Warning volcano; to Lismore, Ballina and on to Byron Bay. Ninety nine per cent of the Big Scrub’s lowland subtopical rainforest has been cleared with only tiny remnants remaining. The Booyong Flora Reserve is one of these, a 16 hectare reminder of the previously luxuriant forest. Its canopy is formed by White Booyong - a flowering rainforest tree with prominent buttresses, giving the reserve its name - and Red Cedar, White Beech and fig trees.

There were many birds calling but few showing themselves in the dark understory of the Booyong Flora Reserve. This Brown Gerygone was one of a small flock seen near a giant fig tree in the reserve.

This Lewin’s Honeyeater was calling along with Brown Cuckoo-Doves, Wonga Pigeons, Torresian Crows, Eastern Yellow Robins, Whipbirds and Figbirds. There were a number of calls I did not recognise. The reserve is home to a rich selection of rainforest species including Fruit and Emerald Doves, Logrunners, Catbirds, and Cicadabirds.

Breakfast at Flat Rock, Ballina

A huge swell assaulted the Ballina, NSW coast yesterday together with a cold southerly wind, the first as winter comes closer. The resident bird population was lying low but a few individuals found their breakfast close to the rocks.

Crested Terns and Pied Cormorants on Flat Rock shelter from wind and the large surf nearby.

A Silver Gull feeds on fresh crab.

Surfing the wild waves has rewarded this Pied Cormorant with a hearty breakfast.

A not so fresh fish provides a large feed for this Silver Gull.

Byron Bay Wetlands

The Byron Bay Wetlands form part of Byron’s 100ha Integrated Water Management Reserve, the area’s sewerage treatment process. The constructed wetlands and malaleuca/banksia woodlands are accessed by a large network of well maintained walking tracks. A printed birdlist for the site lists 227 species including migratory birds, water birds as well as honeyeaters and thornbills. Permanent or short-term site access is easily obtained from the Byron Shire Council.

This Azure Kingfisher was waiting by a roadside ditch on my arrival at the Byron Bay Wetlands.

There are a large number of ponds providing a range of wetland types, some with large areas of water, some with mudflats, and others with extensive reed beds. In this pond are Australian White Ibis, Great Egrets, a Glossy Isis, Purple Swamphens, and Eurasian Coots.

Smaller birds were well represented including this Willie Wagtail, Thornbills, Striated Pardalotes, Grey Fantails as well as Golden-headed Cisticola and other reed dwellers.

A Scarlet Honeyeater feeds on malaleuca blossom in one of the extensive planted malaleuca groves.

Wandering Tattler

I could see the silhouette of a small bird in the distance on the rocks at Broken Head, Northern Rivers region NSW. It looked like a Tattler, an unusual bird to me. So which one? The more common Grey-tailed Tattler or the uncommon Wandering Tattler? Back home looking at photos it was hard to tell. I was leaning towards the rarer Wandering Tattler.

The main evidence was the brow line which went as far as the eye, unlike the longer brow line of the Grey-tailed Tattler. I read that the nasal groove of the Wandering Tattler extended two thirds of the bill length, and longer than the Grey-tailed, but the photos did not show this clearly. Also that the Wandering Tattler was a more consistently plain grey but not being able to make any comparison this did not help.

So off to summon expert help from the Australian Bird Identification page on Facebook. And agreement it was a Wandering Tattler. Also some further support: Birdata Explore showed a Wandering Tattler at nearby Ballina less than a week ago.

Wandering Tattler on the rocks at Broken Head, Northern Rivers NSW.

This picture clearly shows the shorter brow line but it is hard to make out how far the nasal groove extends down the bill.

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.

South Coast Birds Last Week

Spotted Turtle-Dove

Nankeen Kestrel

Satin Bowerbird

Grey Butcherbird

Grey Teal family at Centennial Park

The Duck Pond at Centennial Park in Sydney has been deserted by many of its usual residents; for example not one Hardhead was counted at the last survey - normally the count might be over one hundred. However there are still a few ducks present including this Grey Teal family. And a few days ago a party of six Plumed Whistling Ducks stayed overnight, en route to who knows where.

Grey Teal family feed at the Duck Pond, Centennial Park, Sydney.

Centennial Park Summer Surveys

Thursday’s survey of the Duck Pond, Randwick and Busby ponds in Centennial Park, Sydney confirmed that the water birds are still extremely scarce in the eastern suburbs. Counts of individual duck species of one or two were made where over one hundred is the norm for these ponds. Presumably they are still enjoying the rain and floods; reports from colleagues of thousands of waterbirds seen out west are reassuring. After the surveys we checked the regular residents and found one of the two Powerful Owls, the nesting Tawny Frogmouths and Common Koels.

Male Common Koel

Female Common Koel

The male Tawny Frogmouth sits on the nest while the female stands guard nearby and provides food. One of the two chicks can just be seen at the bottom of the male’s front on the left.

A moment later the chick has opened its mouth in hope of food. It is an impressive size for such a small bird!

D'Aguilar National Park on the North-West of Brisbane

D'Aguilar National Park protects 36,000 ha of the D’Aguilar Range’s vast bushland. It has sub-tropical rainforest and eucalypt woodlands set in a rugged backdrop of rivers and gorges. There is easy access from the city, especially to the Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre on the shores of the Enoggera Resevoir, a back up water supply for the city.

This Bush Stone-curlew was part of a family of three feeding in the car park at Bellbird Grove in D’Aguilar National Park.

Not far from the parklands of Bellbird Grove were a selection of bush birds, including this Lewin’s Honeyeater.

This Brown Thornbill was seen near to the Bellbird Grove carpark.

About a kilometer along the Araucaria Walk at Enoggera Resevoir, a large group of Bell Miners were calling.

In the same area there was a pair of Olive-backed Orioles and also Lewin’s Honeyeaters..

And this Noisy Friarbird was feeding nearby in a patch of Lantana.

There were several Eastern Yellow Robins feeding on the walking track at various stages along the Auracaria Trail.

Minnippi Parklands in Brisbane

A worthwhile place to visit in central Brisbane is the Minnippi Parklands and the areas surrounding. They are located on Bulimba Creek which flows into the Brisbane River near its mouth in Moreton Bay. The Parklands contain one of the few remnant lagoons of this area, with woodlands, mangroves as well as open fields used for sport and paths for running and cycling.

The Minnippi Parklands are home to many species of water birds and woodland birds. This Sacred Kingfisher was active on Bulimba Creek near the the head of the lagoon.

Among the waterbirds was this Cattle Egret, evidently regular visitors to the Minnippi Parklands.

Bulimba Creek is tidal shown here with the tide coming in.

An Australian Hobby was patrolling the creek line, hawking then using this high tree as a vantage point.

A family of Australian Hobbys were using the high-tension power pylons as their super-high lookout. I spotted three birds at one time, working from the pylons. This bird was feeding on a captured bird judging by the shower of feathers beneath it. They may be using the crude nest to the left, Hobbys usually use the old nest of other raptors.

A wide range of bush-birds were around, this Spangled Drongo was chasing insects in the woodland bush.

A female Rufous Whistler photographed close to Bulimba Creek.

This Common Tree Snake, about one metre long, was crossing one of the concrete paths in the Parkland.

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.

Seals and their habits

A group of seals is seen regularly around Red Head peninsula on the New South Wales South Coast - most often drifting near the rocks with their fins erect to adjust body temperature. Recently, and for the first time, I saw several seals basking on the rocks, and also some signs that they may have been feeding on seabirds.

The seals at Red Head have previously been identified as Australian Fur Seals.

This is the rock on which the following photographs were taken, all within a few metres of each other at the flat ridge near the top of the rock.

Remains of a seabird, its body largely eaten.

A hollow about 75 cm diameter forming a ‘‘nest” lined with feathers. A nice size for a resting seal?

Deposits - regurgitated or scats? with a high content of feathers.

Another seal resting.

Rose Lagoon

Rose Lagoon is a small wetland near the intersection of the Hume and Federal Highways in New South Wales, not too far from Goulburn. To the east is the very much larger Lake George. This lagoon is reported to periodically support large numbers of waterbirds, including Australasian Bitterns, crakes and rail. Last week there were very few water birds present, presumably due to their western migration to take advantage of the current floods on the inland rivers.

A solitary Black Swan in the extensive reed beds a Rose Lagoon. Other than some Musk Ducks, a couple of Coots and a handful of Purple Swamphens the waters were desserted.

Mother and young Musk Ducks travelling in tandem at Rose Lagoon, not far from the John Edmondson VC rest area.

A Brown Thornbill photographed close to the rest area..

Cowra Woodland Birds Program Spring 2022

The consistent rains of the past three years set the scene for the 2022 spring bird count. Flooding of the Lachlan river did not directly affect proceedings but it was wet underfoot and some survey sites were inaccessible due to washed out roads. Bird numbers were up again after the previous years of drought. And farm crop yields are again expected to be high, as long as the ground isn’t too wet for harvest.

A highlight was the numbers of Superb Parrots present. On one site we saw a flock of eight and four of the eight sites surveyed had Superb Parrots. The numbers have definitely rebounded and there was talk as to whether they would retain their status as vulnerable in New South Wales given their success. This bird was photographed feeding at the Seed Orchard at Back Creek Reserve Road.

This Grey Shrike-thrush was calling early in the morning at the Cowra Holiday Park and seen later in the day on the old railway line behind the camp. Species seen at this site included Grey and Rufous Fantails, Rufous Whistlers, Noisy Friarbirds, Peaceful Doves, Double-barred and Red-browed Finches, Yellow-rumped Thornbills, a Dollarbird, a Black-shouldered Kite as well as introduced sparrows, blackbirds and starlings.

This Rufous Whistler offered some good opportunities for a photo, staying in the one tree for about fifteen minutes.

We saw several Black-shouldered Kites over the weekend. There was one ranging over the Common, in the centre of Cowra just to the north of the Japanese Gardens.

These Peaceful Doves were enjoying the early morning sun on the old Cowra rail line.

Dollarbirds had just arrived from the north and were seen on two sites over the weekend.

Back to the Landing Lights Wetland

With the forecast for rain later this week the best thing to do was to head out in the sunshine on Tuesday to have a better look at the Landing Lights Wetland, near Sydney Airport. This very productive site has quite a reputation and it proved a very worthwhile visit.

There were a number of Golden-headed Cisticolas calling and it looked like some nest building was underway.

Also calling was this Australian Reed-Warbler.

A feature of the site is the number of small birds including this Yellow-rumped Thornbill.

The honeyeaters were represented by a number of Brown Honeyeaters and there were also White-plumed Honeyeaters around.

A Yellow Thornbill, difficult to photograph as they prefer to frequent the tops of trees.

Also calling and making the briefest of appearances, the Buff-banded Rail.

The Cuckoos Arrive

We heard the first Koel calling in our area of Sydney about two weeks ago and since then a number of cuckoos have arrived. At Bendalong on the NSW South Coast there have been several Channel-billed Cuckoos, as well as Common Koels. A first Fan-tailed Cuckoo was sighted nearby. On the Bendalong headland there was a group of around six cuckoos squabbling and calling; from fleeting glimpses, the trilling and chorus of descending calls they were identified as Shining Bronze-Cuckoos. The very poor picture below appeared to confirm this identification.

What appears to be a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo sighted at Bendalong on the NSW South Coast. It was one of a group of six squabbling and calling together.

Latham's Snipe arrives at Centennial Park

Birdwatchers celebrate the arrival of the first Latham’s Snipe after the long flight from Japan and mainland Asia. The Snipes head north during the Australian winter to breed. They return for the Australian spring and summer, first returners arriving late in August to early September. Their flight time from Japan can be as short as three days! They are found in the vegetation and on the shore around wetlands such as found in Sydney’s Centennial Park, feeding on both plant material and worms, spiders and insects.

This Latham’s Snipe was the first sighted back in Sydney’s Centennial Park after returning from the northern hemisphere breeding season. It was seen in the park’s “Duck Pond” which as expected from the name usually supports large numbers of ducks: Pacific Black Ducks, Hardheads and Grey Teal as well as regular visits from Pink-eared and Freckled ducks. This year nearly all the ducks have gone, presumably to the flooded areas in the west of NSW.

Landing Lights Wetland near Sydney Airport

I made my first visit to the Landing Lights Wetland near Sydney Airport last week. These wetlands are one of the few remnants of saline wetland on the Cook River that flows into Botany Bay. The site contains threatened salt-marsh ecosystem and is under restoration by the Bayside Council and many volunteers. Both mangroves and weeds have been removed to encourage the salt-marsh. The site attracts a variety of water birds, migrants and others with over 150 species listed on the Ebird list. On my short stay I saw Chestnut Teal, Black-winged Stilts, White-faced Herons, many Red-browed Finches, New Holland Honeyeaters as well as magpies, starlings, white ibis and Magpie-larks.

The later afternoon light casts impressionistic hews over these Chestnut Teal at Landing Lights Wetland near Sydney Airport.