Raptors return at Cowra

The demise of raptors from eating poisoned rodents in the recent mice plague was widely reported. It has felt that raptor numbers were down. So it was good to see more than the usual number during the recent Cowra Woodland Bird Program weekend.

At the Cowra water treatment plant there were Brown Falcons on both sides of the road, then a Whistling Kite flew over. Further out of town I saw this Black-shouldered Kite making its own contribution to keeping mice numbers down. And at the Cowra Common a Brown Goshawk made a low pass, followed by the sight of seven raptors in a slow and very high spiral over the prison camp area. When I checked the photos later they were all Black Kites, which fitted with a nearby sighting of 19 Black Kites in the one tree!

A low pass from this Brown Goshawk, at the Cowra Common, Cowra, New South Wales.

Brown Falcon at the Cowra water treatment plant.

This Black-shouldered Kite is helping the land-owner keep the mice population at bay.

Via Lake Wallace

The trip to Cowra for the Cowra Woodlands Bird Program from Sydney through the Blue Mountains always involves a stop off at Lake Wallace, just past Lithgow. The lake is good spot for a rest and lunch as well as a reliable site for water birds. Numbers of water birds were low last month but still a very worthwhile visit.

The spectacular Great-crested Grebes are usually present at Lake Wallace.

As are Australian Wood Ducks.

And Purple Swamphens, in the reeds at Lake Wallace.

Wandering Whistling-Ducks

Wandering Whistling-Ducks are sometimes seen in northern New South Wales but are more common further north. So it is something of a surprise that large numbers of Wandering Whistling-Ducks have arrived in Pottsville, northern New South Wales. Yesterday over 70 were to be seen on a small pond close to the Cudgera Creek in west Pottsville.

Strange lodgings - Bush Stone-curlew

Locating all the Bush Stone-curlews in Byron Bay as part of the monitoring program is a major effort. Some have chosen strange places to hide.

The two Bush Stone-curlews have chosen an open storage shed as their winter quarters.

Coraki Lagoons

Beef and dairy farming dominate the plains that border the Richmond River between Casino and Coraki in Northern New South Wales. The original bush cover is represented by a few remnant stands and some roadside and riverside trees. There are many ponds and horseshoe lagoons, formed as the river meandered across the plains. Last week these had good populations of water birds, with woodland birds in the surrounds.

But the highlight was the sight of a Black Falcon. After hearing a strange and unknown call, the falcon emerged from high in a nearby tree, completing several tight circles and the chance of a photo.

Black Falcon photographed near Coraki in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, the large, easily visible feet, confirming its identity.

Wallum Development in June

Its now near the end of June and the volunteers protecting one of New South Wales north coast last Wallum heathlands are still there, guarding the entrance to the site. It should be our elected politicians who protect Australia’s heritage for future generations. One day!

The June bird survey again found a wide range of amazing birds with over 40 species counted. This month it was the little pardalotes that took centre stage.

Often seen in the highest branches of flowering gum trees, the Striated Pardalote is only 10 cm long but bats above its weight with spectacular coloring and a clear and loud call.

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.

Byron Hinterland rural estates

The Byron Bay rural, rainforest and mountain hinterlands provide refuge for the rich and famous as well as those seeking a gentle and grounded lifestyle. Amongst the rural properties many seek to restore and regenerate the original rainforest cover, most of which was removed for farming last century. Some estates are large with several hundred hectares replanted; some are managed by teams of gardeners. Others are smaller, created by the labor of nature enthusiasts. The Byron Bird Buddies survey a number of these estates to monitor their progress as they to return as havens for rainforest birds.

The highlight from a survey conducted this week was the sight of this Noisy Pita in a very successful replanted rainforest. In 1942 this land was a treeless dairy farm, as shown on surveillance photos taken during the Second World War. There are still enormous tree stumps within the regenerated forest, a reminder of the relentless clearing that took place long ago.

In the estate’s garden a group of six female Regent Bowerbirds were feeding, further proof of the quality of the bush nearby.

Red-browed Finches are regularly seen along the road-sides and clearings in the bush, more usually in the grasses than in this tree on the edge of the replanted area.

Approximately 150 Topknot Pigeons were counted, in large flocks too-ing and fro-ing across the sky, then roosting in the taller trees. Topknot Pigeons feed on the seed of the introduced Camphor Laurel trees; a species that filled the void that followed as dairy farming became uneconomic.

A Brown Thornbill, seen in many different habitats in the Byron and Northern Rivers NSW region.

Byron Wetlands in May

April’s high rainfall continued into the first two weeks of May and the wetland ponds are full, covering the mud-flats that would normally attract shore or water birds. This has left the wetland mainly in the hands of its forest and woodland inhabitants, still plenty to see.

White-headed Pigeon numbers are increasing in the Byron Shire, along with the Topknot pigeon, as their favourite food source, the introduced Camphor Laurel continues to thrive here.

One of many White-browed Scrubwrens in the wetlands. The northern Scrubwren has a more yellow belly than those further south.

A Yellow Thornbill, a less common visitor here. This bird has taken up residence close to the Wetland meeting rooms.

This young White-bellied Sea-eagle, still sporting its juvenile livery, has been seen several times on K Pond.

Grey Fantails were everywhere across the wetland park; some thirty plus counted.

A young Superb Fairy-wren showing a very fluffy mantle.

A Forest Kingfisher watching for insects in a section burnt out by the recent fire. These burnt trees are still surrounded by shallow black water ponds which have grown in the recent rain. In the fires they burnt despite having their feet in water.

Underneath, the presence of a Little Pied Cormorant shows there is life in these jet black waters.

Still lots of Golden-headed Cisticolas to be seen in the reed beds; with many opportunities for close up photos.

Two Black-shouldered Kites were patrolling the large pond, labelled K Pond.

This Shining Bronze-Cuckoo shows how the species got its name, shining brightly in the late Autumn light.

One of four Eastern Whip-birds, evidently involved in some sort of romantic tangle, had the air cracking with raucous calls and defiant displays.

Spangled Drongo, quietly watches the whipbirds go by.

A rainbow blesses the Byron Wetland, hopefully to be followed with some dry weather!

Bush Stone-curlew Monitoring Program

Bush Stone-curlews are endangered in New South Wales. In the Northern Rivers region these birds are monitored and protected where necessary. After an elaborate courtship dance the Bush Stone-curlews nest on the bare ground, laying one or two eggs. The eggs hatch after 30 days but the chicks take another nine weeks before the are able to fly.

During this period the young are especially vulnerable to disturbance and predation by foxes, cats and dogs. Fencing around nest sites and awareness programs are being organised during the spring to summer breeding season.

This Bush Stone-curlew was photographed at 2:00 in the afternoon outside a corner shop in the Arts - Industrial Precinct in Byron Bay, New South Wales.

Byron Bay Wetlands in April

More photos from the wonderful Byron Bay Wetlands. More than 220 species of bird have been recorded since the Wetlands were created and counts at the Byron Bird Buddies surveys are regularly in the 70 - 100 species range.

A very vocal Tawny Grassbird in one of the extensive reed beds of the wetland.

Grey Teals add a calming touch to proceedings, photographed from the bird-hide.

The Eastern Great Egret is easily disturbed and takes off, identified by the crook in the neck while flying.

Two Superb Fairy-wrens, part of a large family moving through the undergrowth.

A Striped Honeyeater preening itself, singing its unusual call.

The Pheasant Coucal, looking like an ancient aircraft on take-off.

A Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, another Cuckoo still present in Byron Bay late in April, or perhaps and early arrival?

Rainbow Bee-eaters add a splash of colour.

This Restless Flycatcher is a regular near the carpark at the wetland.

Fan-tailed Cuckoo, the third cuckoo seen on the day’s survey.

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin

Chestnut-breasted Mannikins are found in the north and the east coast of Australia. They are often seen in the Northern Rivers New South Wales region; in the grasses around coastal wetlands as well as more inland grasslands or rushes near to water.

The adult Chestnut-breasted Mannikin sports a very distinctive plumage with a chestnut bib underlined in black.

Younger birds are plainer although the bird on the right is showing the black line that will underline its chestnut breast.

March visit to Flat Rock Ballina

Flat Rock is a small headland shaped patch of horizontal rocks north of Ballina in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. It has a constant population of terns and cormorants and acts as a gathering place for shore birds.

This adult Red-necked Stint has started to gain the red coloration of its breeding plumage. By June-July the red coloration will have extended across its neck and face and upper parts of its back.

A group of Little Terns are dwarfed by the larger birds of the colony.

There were a dozen Little Terns on the rocks at Flat Rock, mingling with a large number of Crested Terns and a few Common Terns. This bird sports its adult breeding plumage.

The chase was on and this Crested Tern with fish in mouth takes evasive action to avoid a further group of five terns wanting to share in the catch.

About twenty Ruddy Turnstones were seen.

Byron Bay Wetlands Snapshots

Byron Bay Wetlands in the Northern Rivers region New South Wales is part of the Byron Integrated Management Reserve, an advanced sewage treatment system that has created a natural habitat for both flora and fauna. This week’s visit resulted in sightings of 49 bird species and the photos below.

This Golden-headed Cisticola flew into a nearby bush then onto the reeds below for a close up photo session.

A Restless Flycatcher was in a group of trees adjacent to the wetland’s “Interpretive Centre”. The centre consists of a meeting room with facilities and is used by the Byron Bird Buddies for community presentations about the region’s bird life and guided tours of the wetlands.

It was a very busy group of trees with this female Rufous Whistler, plus the birds in the next four photos plus Yellow Thornbills, Willie Wagtails, Brown Honeyeaters, Olive-backed Orioles, Rainbow Bee-eaters, Lewin’s Honeyeaters and Silvereyes!

The male Rufous Whistler.

A White-throated Gerygone, a bird that is more often heard than seen, with its tinkly descending trills.

This Eastern Yellow Robin was making its “fire alarm” call.

A flock of Red-browed Finch moved through the trees.

This Black Swan photographed against some angry clouds signalled a return to the rain that has persisted in the Northern Rivers area for the last four months.

Goonengerry Survey

Goonengerry National Park in New South Wales Northern Rivers district is another of the magic sub-tropical forests on the mountains that surround the ancient Mount Warning volcano. A survey count of 39 species included Logrunners, Varied Sittellas, Emerald Doves as well as eight threatened Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves and six Albert’s Lyrebirds.

Surveyors deftly avoided contact with this local resident coiled in the middle of an overgrown bush track.

This Brown-headed Emerald Dove, glowing in the early morning light on the road at the park entrance.

Hiding in the foliage were two Eastern Crested Shrike-tits, an uncommon visitor to this national park.

Wallum Development threatens nature's "Prime real estate"

This week’s survey of bird species shows again that the planned Wallum Development is in the centre of an outstanding area for wildlife. A total of 44 species were recorded including the Glossy Black-Cockatoo, listed as vulnerable in New South Wales. Also of interest was the presence of “platelets” (see photo below) indicating that Painted Button-quail are using the area.

During the week came the news that the Byron Shire Council has issued authority to proceed with this development of the Wallum Sand Heath and will not contest the decision of the Northern Region Planning Panel. While understanding the council’s short term thinking to avoid a costly and difficult court battle, these costs would soon be overshadowed by the costs of maintaining another development on flood prone land and the irreversible loss of outstanding biodiversity.

Many species of honeyeaters were feeding, incuding the Noisy Friarbird, Little Wattlebird, Noisy Miner, Brown Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Lewin’s Honeyeater and the White-cheeked Honeyeater seen here.

Four Grey Fantails were seen in total.

“Platelets” are the circular feeding marks left by the Painted Button-quail. As the forage for seeds and insects amongst the leaves they spin on alternate legs, leaving this very characteristic pattern.

Some 25 Little Wattlebirds were seen feeding on nearby banksias.

A Rainbow Lorrikeet, always around when the pickings are good!

Locals protest in hope the Wallum Sand Heath can still be saved.

Little Black Cormorants at Broken Head

Standing in the water near the rocks at the Broken Head end of Tallow Beach, Northern Rivers, New South Wales, I was watching a single Little Pied Cormorant quietly fishing in shallow water. It was presumably taking advantage of an onshore current feeding the northerly current that runs along the beach. And then the Little Black Cormorants arrived!

Small birds at Tallow Creek

Some days the small birds turn up in force and today was one of those days. The best area to see them was around the old sewerage treatment ponds, between the camping ground and the bridge across Tallow Creek (at Byron Bay, New South Wales).

Male Red-backed Fairy-wren at Tallow Creek, Byron Bay in New South Wales. There were several large families, some fifteen birds seen, of Red-backed Fairy-wrens moving through the area.

The female Red-backed Fairy-wren lacks any colours of the male and in fact with its brown tail is the plainest of the Fairy-wrens.

A non-breeding male on its way to adulthood.

Numerous Red-browed Finches were present. Two Double-banded Finches moved too quickly for a photo.

The Superb Fairy-wren is always a popular subject for a photo.

A small flock of White-browed Scrubwren was feeding in the lower tree branches..

Byron Bay Wetlands and the October bush-fire

Byron Bay Wetlands appear to have escaped relatively lightly from the October bush-fire that burnt from Byron Bay to close to Brunswick Heads in October 2023. The fire impinged mainly on the western side of the reserve and did not affect the wetland area directly.

Close to the wetlands, the fire did not crown and was a relatively cool burn.

Bird and species numbers do not seem to be affected as shown by post-fire bird surveys on Birdata. This male Varied Triller was close to the fire area.

The fire skirted the eastern fringe but did not affect the eastern ponds.

Several Cicadabirds were calling including this female in the Malaleuca swamps.

This male Cicadabird was photographed at Brunswick Heads, close to the northern extreme of the fire.

Half way on its journey to Brunswick Heads the fire passed through this wetland at Tyagara, burning right down to the waterline.

Wallum Development

The Wallum Development at Brunswick Heads, New South Wales, once more illustrates Australia’s totally inadequate planning and environmental protection laws. Putting aside that the site concerned is declared Flood Prone by the Byron Bay Council, this planned development would destroy a unique Northern Rivers coastal habitat, a significant area of Wallum Sand Heath, and should have been stopped many years ago.

The Wallum Development is a housing subdivision to be built within a patch of Wallum Sand Heath, one of the last remaining in northern New South Wales. It would be adjacent to endangered Coastal Swamp Oak forest and the Sclerophyll forests that line nearby Simpson’s Creek, shown above. The whole development area and surrounds is categorised as “High Environmental Value Vegetation (2023)” on the Byron Bay Council Web Map.

The development area itself is Flood Prone, as designated by the Byron Bay Council and as shown on the web map. The category of Flood Prone is a zone based on the hypothetical “Probable Maximum Flood”, calculated from historic Bureau of Meterology data; data that does not take climate change into account! Future floods could well exceed this level.

The published plans state that many mature trees are to be removed and that the Wallum Sand Heath will be built on. Wallum Sand Heaths form on acid sandy soil with a high water table. The signature plant is the Wallum Banksia and it is home to several specialised Wallum frogs that have adapted to acid waters and soils. Unfortunately as can be seen above the heath has been slashed to a low level, a sad act of destruction. Given the chance though, this important heathland could eventually recover.

In the fenced-off area at the end of Omega Cresent, many different types of birds were seen in a very old and large gum tree. These included Rainbow Bee-eaters, Magpie Larks, Willie Wagtails and four White-winged Trillers, with a female and male shown here, high up in the canopy.

The tree referred to above is the one on the right. It must be hoped that this tree is not one of the trees listed for removal in the development plans. Ancient trees of this size provide priceless habitat for wildlife and cannot be replaced by new plantings.

The whole area is teaming with life; rich in plants, animals and bird population. This Varied Triller was photographed at the cul de sac at the end of Omega Cresent. A pair of Leaden Flycatchers were nesting nearby. Cicadabirds were calling. Swamp Oaks in the area provide food for endangered Glossy Black-Cockatoos.

The vegetation is of high quality but also beauty. The destruction of coastal habitat the length of Australia’s east coast of Australia makes remaining patches just so valuable.

The are a large number of hollows and nesting sites for birds and animals. The hollow shown could be suitable for a small bird; maybe for the Sacred Kingfisher that was calling nearby.

This young Lewin’s Honeyeater was being attended to by two watchful parents. There were many signs of birds breeding.

The beauty of this coastal bush is seen in the taller trees and the undergrowth. Even more important is the need to protect outstanding areas of biodiversity at a time when Australia must reverse its trajectory of habitat destruction. The Wallum Development should be stopped immediately; the area is an obvious candidate for a managed program of restoration and protection.