Bristol to Kagu ? (1 Viewer)

[chowchilla]

Great stuff Larry.

Sorry to hear that P&K let you down with the pelagics (I've not used it for them yet....); as far as the Noddies go, when I visited Michaelmas Cay (offshore from Cairns) I saw thousands of Common Noddies and only a handful of Black Noddies amongst them. Whether this is a reflection of their relative abundance in the area I really couldn't say...

If you take a trip out there July/August you will almost certainly see Common as they nest throughout the year, but maybe not Black as they don't start nesting again until the Spring. Certainly worth the trip for the snorkelling!

According to Harrison's 'Seabirds', Black Noddy has a whiter and more extensive cap than Common (Brown) Noddy; sharply demarcated lores and longer bill. The underwing is different in having a uniform colour without darker margins; Common has the darker margins to underwing which is otherwise paler. Common appears 'two-toned' at sea whereas Black overall looks a more uniform colour. Black is also a smaller bird.

Hope that helps a bit!

 

[halftwo]

You made it Larry,
And it sounds lie you picked up a bagful while at sea - particularly gripped by a flock of all three likely Frigates - everyone I've been close enough to (in four eastern countries) was a Lesser!
Can't help you with the id. on the noddies - I saw lots of Commons off Cairns - but had close (even perched) views. You saw them & have the same book as I do - so no point in me venturing a guess. Try some pelagic websites & email them. (spookily, before I read your post I was doing some studying of same for when I get to Brisbane - very impressive Spp list they have too).
Are you heading N or S now?
H

 

[Larry Sweetland]

H - Planning to head north after we finally settle on which 4X4 to buy. Just corrected last post to reflect that dork-features (ie me) now reckons his Short-tailed Shears were Providence Petrels. Someone needs to go to seabird id remedial classes!

 

[birdboybowley]

Larry - keep an eye on where the car you buy was registered. If it's in a different state to the one you're buying it in, you may have huge headaches to register it your name - meaning getting another rego (bit like road tax/MOT) done! We had huge probs when we bought the Moomin in WA as it was registered in Vic - we spoke to every department in both states, even got a justice of the peace to sign the documents then found out that wasn't good enough and we'd have to re-register it in our names in WA (which has more stringent clauses than the rest..has to have an immobilizer etc etc) so we thought bollocks - it had rego for another 9 months, we'd be selling it in 4 and back in Vic anyways, so the guy we bought it off said it was fine to eventually sell it 'as him'...
So basically don't buy a car that's been rego'd in WA!! We didn't bother with insurance as the rego'd basically gives you 3rd party liability but I know some people did get personal insurance just in case!
Some great seabirds....says in my fieldguide that 'Snowy' is the commenest 'Wanderer' in Oz waters
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[Larry Sweetland]

Thanks for the advice Ads, it's been a headache deciding what to go for as there's a bit of choice in Sydney at the mo. I think we're going for a more expensive option (a nissan patrol that also takes LPG) from a dealer, that included guaranteed buyback and cover if stuff goes wrong etc, but cars is cars in the end:eek!:

Off to meet Jason, who we met at the Gurney's Pitta site, for a beer later (he's the other guy in the Mr Dai's boat trip pic).

 

[halftwo]

You are probably right to change it Larry - I refer you to this site which I found most useful.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/palliser/pelagic/jun-stat.html

Providence petrel shown as 100% likely for June.

H

 

[birdboybowley]

That sounds good...just watch out on the buy-back price promises..we heard from a load of different people about being ripped off big-time after they were only given a fraction of what was promised due to wear and tear issues and that sort of crap. Read the small print very carefully mate!

 

[chowchilla]

That sounds good...just watch out on the buy-back price promises..we heard from a load of different people about being ripped off big-time after they were only given a fraction of what was promised due to wear and tear issues and that sort of crap. Read the small print very carefully mate!

Yep, I know from bitter experience that Aussies can be very pedantic over red tape which basically means 'small print'. Know exactly what you are signing up for...

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Thanks guys. Not much to report, but we did make it to Manly today, so a few more common (but nevertheless pretty rediculous-looking to the European eye) Aussie birds to add to the trip list, and a few other birds including White-bellied Sea-Eagle , Yellow-nosed Albatross and plenty of New Holland Honeyeaters (is it possible to ever see too many of them?)

818 White-plumed Honeyeater
819 Willie Wagtail
820 Crested Pigeon
821 Tree Martin
822 Red Wattlebird
823 White-faced Heron
824 Little Wattlebird
825 White-browed Scrubwren
826 Brown Goshawk
827 Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike
828 Laughing Kookaburra

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Sydney

Made it to Centennial Park and Bondi today, so a few more species appeared. Wouldn't swear that the waterbirds in the park were'nt present as a result of introduction at some point though, but at least they could fly, unlike the ducks in the Botanical Gardens. As well as the new ones listed below, there were plenty of Purple Swamphens (sometimes split ?) and other common species like the delightful Magpie-Lark andWillie Wagstaff. The first fairywrens of the trip were even more stunning than I remembered. This country really is indescribably awesome.

We were hoping to go on a pelagic from Wollongong next weekend but it's fully booked :-C, so best booked in advance that one!

829 Black Swan
830 Grey Butcherbird
831 Hardhead
832 Pacific Black Duck
833 Australasian Darter
834 Silvereye
835 Yellow Thornbill
836 Superb Fairywren

 

[chowchilla]

Made it to Centennial Park and Bondi today, so a few more species appeared. Wouldn't swear that the waterbirds in the park were'nt present as a result of introduction at some point though, but at least they could fly, unlike the ducks in the Botanical Gardens. As well as the new ones listed below, there were plenty of Purple Swamphens (sometimes split ?) and other common species like the delightful Magpie-Lark andWillie Wagstaff. The first fairywrens of the trip were even more stunning than I remembered. This country really is indescribably awesome.

We were hoping to go on a pelagic from Wollongong next weekend but it's fully booked :-C, so best booked in advance that one!

829 Black Swan
830 Grey Butcherbird
831 Hardhead
832 Pacific Black Duck
833 Australasian Darter
834 Silvereye
835 Yellow Thornbill
836 Superb Fairywren

Yep, the pelagics are generally booked up pretty early...

I'd love to see a Willie Wagstaff. Are they anything like Willie Wagtails?:king:

 

[birdboybowley]

Larry,
Pretty sure I've read that the Oz race of swamphen, melanotus, has been split into Australasian (ooh, imaginative!), with ssp bellus of the SW, now being Western Swamphen. (Along with the Grey-necked/headed of Asia)
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[Allen S. Moore]

Purple swamphen

Larry,
Pretty sure I've read that the Oz race of swamphen, melanotus, has been split into Australasian (ooh, imaginative!), with ssp bellus of the SW, now being Western Swamphen. (Along with the Grey-necked/headed of Asia)
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Interesting, this. I was surprised by how easy it was to see purple swamphens in Australia (well, in SE Queensland, anyway) when I was there 2 years ago. Although I have seen them on 6 of my holidays in Spain (mostly Ebro Delta) they are always more wary there. BTW, what else would you call an antipodean species or sub-species apart from Australasian?!
Allen

 

[Larry Sweetland]

I'd love to see a Willie Wagstaff. Are they anything like Willie Wagtails?:king:

Isles of Scilly's your best bet, both are pretty distinctive.

Ads or Anyone, know which authorities have already gone with the swamphen split? I gather quite a few spp would come out of it, maybe even 3 on this trip alone. Odd that they're more wary at Ebro Delta too Allen, cos I'm pretty sure they're introduced at that site!

Just one more to add today, a couple of smart Australian Pelicans at very close range.

837 Australian Pelican

 

[Allen S. Moore]

Isles of Scilly's your best bet, both are pretty distinctive.

Ads or Anyone, know which authorities have already gone with the swamphen split? I gather quite a few spp would come out of it, maybe even 3 on this trip alone. Odd that they're more wary at Ebro Delta too Allen, cos I'm pretty sure they're introduced at that site!

Just one more to add today, a couple of smart Australian Pelicans at very close range.

837 Australian Pelican

I think that purple swamphens actually returned to the Ebro Delta themselves (mid 1990s?), although they have also been re-introduced to some other sites in NE Spain.

Australian Pelicans are good to see, aren't they? I saw my first on the Swan River in Perth 2 years ago. I pointed them out to my (non-birding) children, and my daughter said, "It can't be a pelican - they're only in zoos."

Good luck with the rest of your time in Australia. I'll be back there myself in October (2nd holiday).

Allen

 

[chowchilla]

Isles of Scilly's your best bet, both are pretty distinctive.

Ads or Anyone, know which authorities have already gone with the swamphen split? I gather quite a few spp would come out of it, maybe even 3 on this trip alone. Odd that they're more wary at Ebro Delta too Allen, cos I'm pretty sure they're introduced at that site!

Just one more to add today, a couple of smart Australian Pelicans at very close range.

837 Australian Pelican

I know that the South-Western bellus subsp. is more sedentary; the other populations often disperse well inland after heavy rains in the interior. I would assume that 2 species is your lot in Aus. I'm not sure if the split is that widely accepted yet though...

 

[Larry Sweetland]

more Sydney

It's taking us a while to get going frustratingly enough. Car and bank stuff causing delays. We've been pikifying our 4X4 (made bed base today and sorted some bedding from charity shops etc), but still haven't actually bought it yet. Sydney's so far been considerably more expensive than we expected, with the cost of living higher than the UK, unlike on my previous visit several years ago. I guess we better stop wingeing and get used to it.

We were in a fairly negative mood when we finished doing stuff today and headed out to Maquarie point with a couple of beers, but being a birder solved that when a pair of Chestnut Teal floated by off the point. I somehow dipped this species last time, so this was my first lifer since arriving here. This helped me appreciate the lovely sunset over the opera house, with all the Grey-headed Flying-foxes drifting by.

I've been having trouble finding anything other than vague site gen in general for NSW, so specific spots described in Ads Bowley's thread, eg for Eungella Honeyeater and Black-breasted Buttonquail will hpefully be invaluable. Anyone got directions to a good spot for Spotted Quail-Thrush for example ? Got some detailed directions to Barren Grounds though from a trip report by Gruff Dodd (Cheers Gruff if you read this!). I think I must be missing something, because trip reports I've found seem to assume everyone knows the site directions, (or they use guides). We bought a book by Bransbury on where to watch birds in Aus, but it's frustratingly vague for stuff that might actually need a book to find it, though useful for general ideas of national parks to go to etc. I can definitely feel the kind of trip coming on where we just end up driving straight past known sites without knowing they're there.

838 CHESTNUT TEAL

 

[chowchilla]

It's taking us a while to get going frustratingly enough. Car and bank stuff causing delays. We've been pikifying our 4X4 (made bed base today and sorted some bedding from charity shops etc), but still haven't actually bought it yet. Sydney's so far been considerably more expensive than we expected, with the cost of living higher than the UK, unlike on my previous visit several years ago. I guess we better stop wingeing and get used to it.

We were in a fairly negative mood when we finished doing stuff today and headed out to Maquarie point with a couple of beers, but being a birder solved that when a pair of Chestnut Teal floated by off the point. I somehow dipped this species last time, so this was my first lifer since arriving here. This helped me appreciate the lovely sunset over the opera house, with all the Grey-headed Flying-foxes drifting by.

I've been having trouble finding anything other than vague site gen in general for NSW, so specific spots described in Ads Bowley's thread, eg for Eungella Honeyeater and Black-breasted Buttonquail will hpefully be invaluable. Anyone got directions to a good spot for Spotted Quail-Thrush for example ? Got some detailed directions to Barren Grounds though from a trip report by Gruff Dodd (Cheers Gruff if you read this!). I think I must be missing something, because trip reports I've found seem to assume everyone knows the site directions, (or they use guides). We bought a book by Bransbury on where to watch birds in Aus, but it's frustratingly vague for stuff that might actually need a book to find it, though useful for general ideas of national parks to go to etc. I can definitely feel the kind of trip coming on where we just end up driving straight past known sites without knowing they're there.

838 CHESTNUT TEAL

I recently read Sean Dooley's "The Big Twitch", (where he became the first birder to see 700 species in Aus in one year) and Spotted Quail Thrush was a species that eluded him until October of the year in which he was pursuing his goal.

It actually ended up being one of the very last South-Eastern species he saw, so elusive did it prove, as site after site let him down. He eventually saw it in the Barrambogie Ranges, in N.E. Vic, but the area was burnt out in a massive bush fire shortly thereafter... A number of formerly reliable sites for any number of species can be destroyed this way; often with deliberately set fires.

 

[Gavin Haig]

I've been having trouble finding anything other than vague site gen in general for NSW...

Hi Laz. Glad you both arrived safe and sound. Haig junior mkII (Baz) is currently holed up at some flat in Bondi, the aged Ps live in Chatswood, and my sis lives in Turramurra. If they were all rabid birders you'd be laughing. Sadly my peculiar enthusiasms never rubbed off on any of them. Come to think of it, they all ran away to the other side of the globe....

Anyway, surely you had Chestnut Teal at Staines?? It's on my list!

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Ah. Ok then I'll not be too miffed if I don't see a SQT. Gavin and the rest of the Backwater Birding crew though ought to be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for not clinching Chestnut Teal on ther Axe this year. You're slacking guys I'll keep an eye out for the giant Barry too.

Yesterday we took a train from King's Cross to Woolaware (1hr) on the southern edge of Botany Bay, and found a small lake on the other side of Captain Cook drive from the golf course. We saw the first 2 Galahs of the trip (or could they have been giant flying marsh mallows?), and 2 Royal Spoonbills with a large flock of Australian White Ibises. The only waders were 3 Pied Oystercatchers. The pond has some good looking crake habitat around it , but we couldn't really give it much time. 2 Black Swans were nice.

Today was really windy so did a bit of seawatching off Watson's Bay. Quite a few Black-browed Albatrosses were scrutinised, convincing me that it was a Campbell Albatross that we saw from the ship on the last morning after all. Armchair tick. Not sure quite how split it is. Lovely Eastern Rosella up there too. Busting to get out of Sydney for the birds, but having fun too.

839 Campbell Albatross
840 Galah
841 Royal Spoonbill
842 Pied Oystercatcher
843 Eastern Rosella