foresttwitcher
Virtually unknown member
Looking forward to both...
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Exploring Sydney - and further afield. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MKinHK
- Start date
Looking forward to both...
MoMoBoy124
New member
Awesome stuff Mike, especially loving that whipbird shot.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Thanks Pete - I see you found the report already, but here's the the link to my Melbourne trip for others who may be interested.
Many thanks Ian. If you liked this Whipbird pic, then you may enjoy this series of a super-friendly Eastern Whipbird at Bobbin Head around this time last year.
Patch birding in Northbridge - September 2023
And what a good month it's been! It started with finding both Tree Martin, which I'm pretty sure breeds somewhere nearby and Fairy Martin over the area of bush at the eastern end of the golf course known as Monkey Rocks, on 28th August, as well as Red Wattlebird in the banksias around the golf course ponds and with a couple of Coot, six Dusky Moorhens five Australasian Grebes, a pair of Pacific Black Ducks and a White-faced Heron. The walk down to the coastal path delivered Spotted Pardalote and a pair of Brown Thornbills carrying nesting material. A Little Black Cormorant was perched on one of the wrecks in the bay.
On the morning of 1 September my first Black-faced Cuckooshrike on the patch flew over the forest in front of my house. I've seen them pretty regularly ever since. That same evening I was pleased to hear and record a Southern Boobook at Clive Park, which apparently close to where pro-environment Prime Minister Bob Hawke used to live. I also heard it two more times much closer to home in the middle of the month.
On 9th September I had my first flock of 11 Topknot Pigeons - one of my favourite Aussie birds - that trundled over the golf course and stayed around for three or four days. They reminded me of the flock that completely surprised me in Cremorne, as I'd never expected to see them in an urban setting.
I also had ten the next day during a record 46 species day, as I walked the boundary anti-clockwise, going past the school and west as far as the Old Incinerator Cafe (recommended)and down through Flat Rock Creek, Tunks Park and back home via the golf course ponds. Additions to my Northbridge list included my first Fan-tailed Cuckoo , Pacific Koel and Channel-billed Cuckoo (all heard only , and the latter two are not on the eBird list) , a Galah by the cafe, Eastern Yellow Robin and Willie Wagtail at the boundary of Flat Rock Creek and Tunks Park, and a fine pair of Hardheads, for which there are few records on the North Shore, on the largest golf course pond. I also picked up my first patch first Little Wattlebird on the wooded slope on the way up to the ponds from Tunks Park.
The peak of this purple patch was the next morning, which started with my first Northbridge Tawny Frogmouth perched in an alley and being harassed by a in inquisitive Pied Currawong. A quartet of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos may have been the same birds I'd seen at Harold Reid Reserve a few weeks earlier. A pair of Long-billed Corellas foraging on a nearby fairway was another nice addition, even if they are considered feral in Sydney.
The absolute stars were two different Baillons Crakes on the golf course pools. The first was flushed by a golfer who's ball had skipped on the water at the edge of the pond before landing in the grass on the edge and I got very brief views as this tiny bird flew up and landed by a dying football.
The second was on the small pond in the dip below the club house. It was foraging on floating vegetation and was not at all concerned by the presence of either me or the dogs, even when Tilly my three-legged favourite tried to walk out on it and I had to drag her back on shore, bashed, mud-covered and smelly. The resulting pix are something of a miracle as I was holding two dogs on leads and trying to squat on my haunches without falling over and managing the rising pain before my knees broke forever!
These birds are part of a major influx of crakes across Sydney and the East coast and seem to have presaged the start of a good season for inland species crossing the Blue Mountains as the interior heats up and dries out in this El Niño year. More on this influx will follow in some of my next posts.
The final recent piece of patch gold was a completely unexpected White-winged Chough that I heard and then tracked down in the tiny Woodham Park on yet another dog walk. With no bins or camera I recorded and them got some poor video of it being harassed by a gang of Noisy Miners in a treetop. There is one previous record in Northbridge ten years ago by fellow birder Murray Lord, but its another sign that Northbridge is well worth watching!
Cheers
Mike
Many thanks Ian. If you liked this Whipbird pic, then you may enjoy this series of a super-friendly Eastern Whipbird at Bobbin Head around this time last year.
Patch birding in Northbridge - September 2023
And what a good month it's been! It started with finding both Tree Martin, which I'm pretty sure breeds somewhere nearby and Fairy Martin over the area of bush at the eastern end of the golf course known as Monkey Rocks, on 28th August, as well as Red Wattlebird in the banksias around the golf course ponds and with a couple of Coot, six Dusky Moorhens five Australasian Grebes, a pair of Pacific Black Ducks and a White-faced Heron. The walk down to the coastal path delivered Spotted Pardalote and a pair of Brown Thornbills carrying nesting material. A Little Black Cormorant was perched on one of the wrecks in the bay.
On the morning of 1 September my first Black-faced Cuckooshrike on the patch flew over the forest in front of my house. I've seen them pretty regularly ever since. That same evening I was pleased to hear and record a Southern Boobook at Clive Park, which apparently close to where pro-environment Prime Minister Bob Hawke used to live. I also heard it two more times much closer to home in the middle of the month.
On 9th September I had my first flock of 11 Topknot Pigeons - one of my favourite Aussie birds - that trundled over the golf course and stayed around for three or four days. They reminded me of the flock that completely surprised me in Cremorne, as I'd never expected to see them in an urban setting.
I also had ten the next day during a record 46 species day, as I walked the boundary anti-clockwise, going past the school and west as far as the Old Incinerator Cafe (recommended)and down through Flat Rock Creek, Tunks Park and back home via the golf course ponds. Additions to my Northbridge list included my first Fan-tailed Cuckoo , Pacific Koel and Channel-billed Cuckoo (all heard only , and the latter two are not on the eBird list) , a Galah by the cafe, Eastern Yellow Robin and Willie Wagtail at the boundary of Flat Rock Creek and Tunks Park, and a fine pair of Hardheads, for which there are few records on the North Shore, on the largest golf course pond. I also picked up my first patch first Little Wattlebird on the wooded slope on the way up to the ponds from Tunks Park.
The peak of this purple patch was the next morning, which started with my first Northbridge Tawny Frogmouth perched in an alley and being harassed by a in inquisitive Pied Currawong. A quartet of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos may have been the same birds I'd seen at Harold Reid Reserve a few weeks earlier. A pair of Long-billed Corellas foraging on a nearby fairway was another nice addition, even if they are considered feral in Sydney.
The absolute stars were two different Baillons Crakes on the golf course pools. The first was flushed by a golfer who's ball had skipped on the water at the edge of the pond before landing in the grass on the edge and I got very brief views as this tiny bird flew up and landed by a dying football.
The second was on the small pond in the dip below the club house. It was foraging on floating vegetation and was not at all concerned by the presence of either me or the dogs, even when Tilly my three-legged favourite tried to walk out on it and I had to drag her back on shore, bashed, mud-covered and smelly. The resulting pix are something of a miracle as I was holding two dogs on leads and trying to squat on my haunches without falling over and managing the rising pain before my knees broke forever!
These birds are part of a major influx of crakes across Sydney and the East coast and seem to have presaged the start of a good season for inland species crossing the Blue Mountains as the interior heats up and dries out in this El Niño year. More on this influx will follow in some of my next posts.
The final recent piece of patch gold was a completely unexpected White-winged Chough that I heard and then tracked down in the tiny Woodham Park on yet another dog walk. With no bins or camera I recorded and them got some poor video of it being harassed by a gang of Noisy Miners in a treetop. There is one previous record in Northbridge ten years ago by fellow birder Murray Lord, but its another sign that Northbridge is well worth watching!
Cheers
Mike
Last edited:
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Northbridge Patch Birding
1 & 2 October 2023
More additions to the new patch over the last couple of days included a female Satin Bowerbird and a less exciting Spotted Dove during a walk over to Harold Reid Reserve where 'd previously seen Owlet Nightjar and Tawny Frogmouth with Murray Lord. It was a roasting hot day and I hoped that the birds would take shelter in the cool and sheltered valley bottoms.
The Satin Bowerbird flew up into a tree above me at the edge of Warners Park, showing the scalloped belly for a couple of seconds before disappearing into the forest. The same area held a couple of typically raucous Channel-billed Cuckoos and a Brown Goshawk flew into the tree above me as I tried to push in an Eastern Whipbird and a female Golden Whistler as well as a couple of Brown Thornbills and the usual White-browed Scrubwrens and Variegated Fairy Wrens. A fine Eastern Bearded Dragon Was sunning itself on a roadside rock as I climbed up to Castle Crag, and I enjoyed both Little and Red Wattlebirds in the micro reserve above the next contour road.
Sugarloaf Creek was disappointingly quiet, but I did once again score a fine Grey Goshawk before dropping off the ridge to that valley bottom. More female Golden Whistlers and a pair of Eastern Yellow Robins were my limited reward in the valley bottom and indeed for the remainder of my walk around the upper loop of Harold Reid reserve, with the notable exception of a young Lace Monitor in the picnic site. The Spotted Dove - my 73rd species for the District of Willoughby flew up from the roadside as I headed homeward.
Monday morning was rather better. The temperatures had dropped some 20 degrees as the wind swung from west to south and the birds were keen to be seen on a significantly cooler morning. I started well with Eastern Whipbird, Little and Red Wattlebirds across the valley from home and more Channel-billed Cuckoos, which even out-scream the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos when they're chasing each other about. It always seems a bit incongruous as these long-winged, long-tailed smooth-flying birds let out this jurassic shriek that builds and builds in intensity and volume. A pair of Chestnut Teals were newly in on the golf course ponds where a third Hardhead - a young male - had joined the pair that's now been there for 3 weeks.
My first walk for a month or so along the Wreck Bay Walking track below the golf course revealed a singing female Rufous Whistler (no pic) - grey above and dusty pale below with diagnostic fine streaks on the belly, and as I cam out and walked back up towards the ponds a pair of Olive-backed Orioles perched nice and low allowing a dodgy iPhone record shot, and bringing my total for Northbridge to a solid 75 species in a shade over 2 months. Not bad at all compared to the 44 I managed in over a year at Cremorne.
Cheers
Mike
1 & 2 October 2023
More additions to the new patch over the last couple of days included a female Satin Bowerbird and a less exciting Spotted Dove during a walk over to Harold Reid Reserve where 'd previously seen Owlet Nightjar and Tawny Frogmouth with Murray Lord. It was a roasting hot day and I hoped that the birds would take shelter in the cool and sheltered valley bottoms.
The Satin Bowerbird flew up into a tree above me at the edge of Warners Park, showing the scalloped belly for a couple of seconds before disappearing into the forest. The same area held a couple of typically raucous Channel-billed Cuckoos and a Brown Goshawk flew into the tree above me as I tried to push in an Eastern Whipbird and a female Golden Whistler as well as a couple of Brown Thornbills and the usual White-browed Scrubwrens and Variegated Fairy Wrens. A fine Eastern Bearded Dragon Was sunning itself on a roadside rock as I climbed up to Castle Crag, and I enjoyed both Little and Red Wattlebirds in the micro reserve above the next contour road.
Sugarloaf Creek was disappointingly quiet, but I did once again score a fine Grey Goshawk before dropping off the ridge to that valley bottom. More female Golden Whistlers and a pair of Eastern Yellow Robins were my limited reward in the valley bottom and indeed for the remainder of my walk around the upper loop of Harold Reid reserve, with the notable exception of a young Lace Monitor in the picnic site. The Spotted Dove - my 73rd species for the District of Willoughby flew up from the roadside as I headed homeward.
Monday morning was rather better. The temperatures had dropped some 20 degrees as the wind swung from west to south and the birds were keen to be seen on a significantly cooler morning. I started well with Eastern Whipbird, Little and Red Wattlebirds across the valley from home and more Channel-billed Cuckoos, which even out-scream the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos when they're chasing each other about. It always seems a bit incongruous as these long-winged, long-tailed smooth-flying birds let out this jurassic shriek that builds and builds in intensity and volume. A pair of Chestnut Teals were newly in on the golf course ponds where a third Hardhead - a young male - had joined the pair that's now been there for 3 weeks.
My first walk for a month or so along the Wreck Bay Walking track below the golf course revealed a singing female Rufous Whistler (no pic) - grey above and dusty pale below with diagnostic fine streaks on the belly, and as I cam out and walked back up towards the ponds a pair of Olive-backed Orioles perched nice and low allowing a dodgy iPhone record shot, and bringing my total for Northbridge to a solid 75 species in a shade over 2 months. Not bad at all compared to the 44 I managed in over a year at Cremorne.
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
NorthBridge Patch Birding
6 October 2023
Another patch birding post in quick succession because yesterday I absolutely obliterated my previous top score of 46 species in recording 54 species within the boundary of Northbridge. This was not without some effort - I walked 12.5km over full nine hours between 0700 and 1600. I kicked off with Eastern Whipbird, Laughing Kookaburra, Noisy Miners, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Rainbow Lorikeets calling in the valley, and both Crested and Rock Pigeons flushing out of a nearby garden. An Australian Raven flew over calling as I walked up to the golf course ponds (2) where a fourth Hardhead was with three already present and the pair of Chestnut Teals were foraging against the far bank, while the usual Dusky Moorhens, Australasian Grebes, Pacific Black Ducks and Maned Ducks were in faithful attendance. Red Wattlebirds, Welcome Swallows, a Pied Butcherbird and a couple of Little Corellas were other regulars on show, and three Australian Figbirds touched down in a bare tree as a White-faced Heron flew off and a pair of Masked Lapwings strutted across the fairway by the lower pond, before I headed through the woods on the eastern edge of the site (3) where a male Australian Brush Turkey picking over the top of his mound watched me carefully before I carried on down the path.
Wreck Bay Walking Track (4) was birdy, holding both Rufous and Golden Whistlers, the former a different bird with more rufous underparts than the one seen a few days previously, four Australian King Parrots my first Eastern Spinebill for a month or so, a nest building Black-faced Cuckooshrike, a couple of Red-whiskered Bulbuls, good numbers of both Brown Thornbills and Brown Gerygones, a gang of White-browed Scrubwrens and Variegated Fairywrens and a pair of Crimson-browed Firetails.
The best birds were four Sacred Kingfishers - which were the only addition to my patch list. The first of these was a bird hanging front of a nest hole in a tree ant nest, which disappeared before I could photograph it.
A second bird called several times from a snag little further round and I was then delighted to see two birds on a branch together which posed nicely in the sunshine. Ten Australian Ibises were foraging in the mud in the bay and four Little Black Cormorants and a Little Pied Cormorant were hunting fish in the shallows as a Silver Gull loitered in the hope of a mugging.
The peace of Tunks Park was shattered by a Channel-billed Cuckoo taking exception to the attentions of a Pied Currawong and as I arrived at the beginning of Flat Rock Creek shortly thereafter an Eastern Yellow Robin called from the Northbridge side close under the bridge tower, a Lewin's Honeyeater bombed past in response to a pish, a pristine male Superb Fairywren popped out of the reeds. A little further in I enjoyed a small flock of Silvereyes coming down to forage on the ground, including this exceptionally bright individual. I was pleased to find a Red Wattlebird nest near the top of Flat Rock Gully before Walking past the Shore school and down the Sailor's Bay Track.
As I looked down to see how many Eastern Water Dragons were on the rocks around the water fall a Brown Goshawk flew over followed shortly by a female Satin Bowerbird that brought my birds to a tense 49 species. While I was delighted break my record the thought of falling just short then started to nag at me, although I was almost immediately distracted by a protracted treetop scrap between a pair of Channel-billed Cuckoos and an in turn watchful and ferocious pair of Pied Currawongs that were determined to see off the massive interlopers. A Pied Buthcherbird nest did nothing to boost my score, but seeing the black-capped and fluffy-browed younger bird poke its head out over the side of the ridiculously exposed nest - especially given the presence of both Pied Currawongs and Chanel-billed Cuckoos was another highlight of an excellent day.
Having seen a couple of Little Wattlebirds in a small park in Castlecrag a few days earlier I left Northbridge in pursuit of the elusive 50th bird, and duly scored, enjoying eye-level views and a reasonable shot to commemorate the moment. A little further on, and still technically in Castlecrag, I head the rather plaintive call of a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, and was delighted when a gust of wind blew up the branch it had been sitting on so that its head rose for a moment above a rooftop I could not see over. Dropping back into the forest I headed for the mouth of the creek in the hope of finding a Striated Heron. I couldn't find one despite searching the mangroves, but surprised myself by finding an adult Pied Cormorant hunched on a rock on a leaf-covered slope some 50 metres into the forest. A male Spotted Pardalote pished in right in front of my nose and a final Sacred Kingfisher perched beautifully for its portrait.
On the way home I made a detour to see a staked out Tawny Frogmouth, and a quick scope of the yellow flowering tree across the valley allowed me to claim a Little Wattlebird from Northbridge itself. Almost unbelievably an Olive backed Oriole was in the same flowering tree and two minutes later three Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flew past my place and down the valley, calling softly. my 54th and final species was a flock of eight Topknot Pigeons that had the immaculate good taste to drop into a pine tree just 30 metres away, delivering my 54th and final species of an excellent day!
Cheers
Mike
6 October 2023
Another patch birding post in quick succession because yesterday I absolutely obliterated my previous top score of 46 species in recording 54 species within the boundary of Northbridge. This was not without some effort - I walked 12.5km over full nine hours between 0700 and 1600. I kicked off with Eastern Whipbird, Laughing Kookaburra, Noisy Miners, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Rainbow Lorikeets calling in the valley, and both Crested and Rock Pigeons flushing out of a nearby garden. An Australian Raven flew over calling as I walked up to the golf course ponds (2) where a fourth Hardhead was with three already present and the pair of Chestnut Teals were foraging against the far bank, while the usual Dusky Moorhens, Australasian Grebes, Pacific Black Ducks and Maned Ducks were in faithful attendance. Red Wattlebirds, Welcome Swallows, a Pied Butcherbird and a couple of Little Corellas were other regulars on show, and three Australian Figbirds touched down in a bare tree as a White-faced Heron flew off and a pair of Masked Lapwings strutted across the fairway by the lower pond, before I headed through the woods on the eastern edge of the site (3) where a male Australian Brush Turkey picking over the top of his mound watched me carefully before I carried on down the path.
Wreck Bay Walking Track (4) was birdy, holding both Rufous and Golden Whistlers, the former a different bird with more rufous underparts than the one seen a few days previously, four Australian King Parrots my first Eastern Spinebill for a month or so, a nest building Black-faced Cuckooshrike, a couple of Red-whiskered Bulbuls, good numbers of both Brown Thornbills and Brown Gerygones, a gang of White-browed Scrubwrens and Variegated Fairywrens and a pair of Crimson-browed Firetails.
The best birds were four Sacred Kingfishers - which were the only addition to my patch list. The first of these was a bird hanging front of a nest hole in a tree ant nest, which disappeared before I could photograph it.
A second bird called several times from a snag little further round and I was then delighted to see two birds on a branch together which posed nicely in the sunshine. Ten Australian Ibises were foraging in the mud in the bay and four Little Black Cormorants and a Little Pied Cormorant were hunting fish in the shallows as a Silver Gull loitered in the hope of a mugging.
The peace of Tunks Park was shattered by a Channel-billed Cuckoo taking exception to the attentions of a Pied Currawong and as I arrived at the beginning of Flat Rock Creek shortly thereafter an Eastern Yellow Robin called from the Northbridge side close under the bridge tower, a Lewin's Honeyeater bombed past in response to a pish, a pristine male Superb Fairywren popped out of the reeds. A little further in I enjoyed a small flock of Silvereyes coming down to forage on the ground, including this exceptionally bright individual. I was pleased to find a Red Wattlebird nest near the top of Flat Rock Gully before Walking past the Shore school and down the Sailor's Bay Track.
As I looked down to see how many Eastern Water Dragons were on the rocks around the water fall a Brown Goshawk flew over followed shortly by a female Satin Bowerbird that brought my birds to a tense 49 species. While I was delighted break my record the thought of falling just short then started to nag at me, although I was almost immediately distracted by a protracted treetop scrap between a pair of Channel-billed Cuckoos and an in turn watchful and ferocious pair of Pied Currawongs that were determined to see off the massive interlopers. A Pied Buthcherbird nest did nothing to boost my score, but seeing the black-capped and fluffy-browed younger bird poke its head out over the side of the ridiculously exposed nest - especially given the presence of both Pied Currawongs and Chanel-billed Cuckoos was another highlight of an excellent day.
Having seen a couple of Little Wattlebirds in a small park in Castlecrag a few days earlier I left Northbridge in pursuit of the elusive 50th bird, and duly scored, enjoying eye-level views and a reasonable shot to commemorate the moment. A little further on, and still technically in Castlecrag, I head the rather plaintive call of a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, and was delighted when a gust of wind blew up the branch it had been sitting on so that its head rose for a moment above a rooftop I could not see over. Dropping back into the forest I headed for the mouth of the creek in the hope of finding a Striated Heron. I couldn't find one despite searching the mangroves, but surprised myself by finding an adult Pied Cormorant hunched on a rock on a leaf-covered slope some 50 metres into the forest. A male Spotted Pardalote pished in right in front of my nose and a final Sacred Kingfisher perched beautifully for its portrait.
On the way home I made a detour to see a staked out Tawny Frogmouth, and a quick scope of the yellow flowering tree across the valley allowed me to claim a Little Wattlebird from Northbridge itself. Almost unbelievably an Olive backed Oriole was in the same flowering tree and two minutes later three Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos flew past my place and down the valley, calling softly. my 54th and final species was a flock of eight Topknot Pigeons that had the immaculate good taste to drop into a pine tree just 30 metres away, delivering my 54th and final species of an excellent day!
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Pitt Town Lagoon, Bushell's Lagoon and Fred Caterson Reserve
16 September 2023
This post has a been a good while coming, owing to some very good local patch birding in the meantime and forgetting to put a card in my camera before heading out for the day. Thankfully I had my shiny new scope and managed a few phone-scoped images. I was privileged to join Veeraj and Raghav Sharma for a day checking out two of the best wetland areas in the Richmond Lowlands, both of which are among the top ten birding sites in New South Wales. Our first stop was Pitt Town Lagoon, where we joined forces with Edwin Vella, a shallow reed-fringed lake that is about 750 metres long and 400-500 metres wide, and is the birdiest place I know in Sydney. Our eBird list of 61 species can be found here.
The top birds here were two Aussie ticks - a Common Greenshank that eventually came close enough for us to confirm it wasn't a Marsh Sandpiper, and while we were tracking it against the far bank, some 500m from the watchpoint at X, one and possibly two Australian Spotted Crakes, larger than Baillon's Crake and showing white undertail sides instead of Baillon's finely barred tail appeared from time to time amongst the waterside reeds.
These good birds came against a decent background of waterbirds that included Australian and Straw-necked Ibis, solitary Yellow-billed Spoonbill and White-faced Heron, Great and Cattle Egrets, a flight of 35 Australian Pelicans, 300-odd Chestnut Teals, a few each of Grey Teals and Pacific Black Ducks all four species of cormorant and Australasian Darter a couple of Australian Shovelers, Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes, Dusky Moorhen, Australian Swamphen, Coot, Buff-banded Rail, a calling Spotless Crake that declined to show.
Other waders included 30-odd Masked Lapwings, half a dozen Black-fronted Dotterels, a couple of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and a slipperily elusive Red-kneed Dotterel on one of the central islands. Birds onshore included Bright-capped Cisticolas, Australian Reed Warblers and a couple of Little Grassbirds, a calling Brown Quail and a party of Crimson-browed Finches. A couple of quartering Swamp Harriers and a flyby Whistling Kite joined this lovely Black-shouldered Kite as the only raptors.
After retreating to the car to escape the heat we headed for Bushell's Lagoon a short distance as the crow flies but considerably further if you drive.
This is a long bending multi-segment lake with a causeway across the middle that allows good access both to the water and to areas of farmland on either side of the lake. We started well when Veeraj found a Tawny Frogmouth day-roosting just a metre above the ground. Sticking with camouflage as its tactic it allowed for some great shots without moving anything more than an eyelid.
The tall hedge-lined lane down to the water held Double-barred Finches and Nutmeg Manakins and an Australian Pipit was in a meadow where it opened up. Australian Reed Warblers pished in at the edge of the lagoon causeway and smaller numbers of a similar range of waterbirds to Pitt Town Lagoon Were on show. The key birds for me were a first Intermediate Egret patrolling the shallow lily-fringed edge a rufous-tailed passerine that landed in front of me on the path beyond the causeway It looked wrong for a Reed Warbler and after a few tense minutes revealed itself as a female Rufous Songlark that refused to allow a photo. Wilting in the heat of a burning hot day we headed back uphill to the car collecting White-plumed Honeyeaters anda couple of Eastern Rosellas. EBird checklist
We left the lowlands via Scheyville National Park where Veeraj had a stakeout for Weebill and White-throated Gerygone. We had frustrating treetop views of the former and heard but untickable views of the latter. A return trip beckons…
As we headed back through Castle Hill a Topknot Pigeon landed in a roadside garden and a Maned Duck family puttered along a residential driveway before a late afternoon visit to Fred Caterson Reserve produced the outstanding highlight of the day when Veeraj showed me a fabulous young Powerful Owl and its parents loafing in the top of a gum tree. It turns out they were pretty hardcore parents, as Veeraj told me he'd witnessed the male kill an Australian Raven that had overstepped the boundary in mobbing the youngster!
In closing many thanks to Veeraj, Raghav and Edwin for another fine trip to the west.
Cheers
Mike
16 September 2023
This post has a been a good while coming, owing to some very good local patch birding in the meantime and forgetting to put a card in my camera before heading out for the day. Thankfully I had my shiny new scope and managed a few phone-scoped images. I was privileged to join Veeraj and Raghav Sharma for a day checking out two of the best wetland areas in the Richmond Lowlands, both of which are among the top ten birding sites in New South Wales. Our first stop was Pitt Town Lagoon, where we joined forces with Edwin Vella, a shallow reed-fringed lake that is about 750 metres long and 400-500 metres wide, and is the birdiest place I know in Sydney. Our eBird list of 61 species can be found here.
The top birds here were two Aussie ticks - a Common Greenshank that eventually came close enough for us to confirm it wasn't a Marsh Sandpiper, and while we were tracking it against the far bank, some 500m from the watchpoint at X, one and possibly two Australian Spotted Crakes, larger than Baillon's Crake and showing white undertail sides instead of Baillon's finely barred tail appeared from time to time amongst the waterside reeds.
These good birds came against a decent background of waterbirds that included Australian and Straw-necked Ibis, solitary Yellow-billed Spoonbill and White-faced Heron, Great and Cattle Egrets, a flight of 35 Australian Pelicans, 300-odd Chestnut Teals, a few each of Grey Teals and Pacific Black Ducks all four species of cormorant and Australasian Darter a couple of Australian Shovelers, Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes, Dusky Moorhen, Australian Swamphen, Coot, Buff-banded Rail, a calling Spotless Crake that declined to show.
Other waders included 30-odd Masked Lapwings, half a dozen Black-fronted Dotterels, a couple of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and a slipperily elusive Red-kneed Dotterel on one of the central islands. Birds onshore included Bright-capped Cisticolas, Australian Reed Warblers and a couple of Little Grassbirds, a calling Brown Quail and a party of Crimson-browed Finches. A couple of quartering Swamp Harriers and a flyby Whistling Kite joined this lovely Black-shouldered Kite as the only raptors.
After retreating to the car to escape the heat we headed for Bushell's Lagoon a short distance as the crow flies but considerably further if you drive.
This is a long bending multi-segment lake with a causeway across the middle that allows good access both to the water and to areas of farmland on either side of the lake. We started well when Veeraj found a Tawny Frogmouth day-roosting just a metre above the ground. Sticking with camouflage as its tactic it allowed for some great shots without moving anything more than an eyelid.
The tall hedge-lined lane down to the water held Double-barred Finches and Nutmeg Manakins and an Australian Pipit was in a meadow where it opened up. Australian Reed Warblers pished in at the edge of the lagoon causeway and smaller numbers of a similar range of waterbirds to Pitt Town Lagoon Were on show. The key birds for me were a first Intermediate Egret patrolling the shallow lily-fringed edge a rufous-tailed passerine that landed in front of me on the path beyond the causeway It looked wrong for a Reed Warbler and after a few tense minutes revealed itself as a female Rufous Songlark that refused to allow a photo. Wilting in the heat of a burning hot day we headed back uphill to the car collecting White-plumed Honeyeaters anda couple of Eastern Rosellas. EBird checklist
We left the lowlands via Scheyville National Park where Veeraj had a stakeout for Weebill and White-throated Gerygone. We had frustrating treetop views of the former and heard but untickable views of the latter. A return trip beckons…
As we headed back through Castle Hill a Topknot Pigeon landed in a roadside garden and a Maned Duck family puttered along a residential driveway before a late afternoon visit to Fred Caterson Reserve produced the outstanding highlight of the day when Veeraj showed me a fabulous young Powerful Owl and its parents loafing in the top of a gum tree. It turns out they were pretty hardcore parents, as Veeraj told me he'd witnessed the male kill an Australian Raven that had overstepped the boundary in mobbing the youngster!
In closing many thanks to Veeraj, Raghav and Edwin for another fine trip to the west.
Cheers
Mike
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Northbridge patch tick no 77 appeared today in the form of a Great Cormorant that flew over the house during the second day of strong southerly winds. These followed some incidental dog walking birds the day before - seven fine Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos enjoying a morning feed, just my second ever Australasian Darter, another overflyer, that caught my attention while sitting on the grass with my junior dog Tilly in the afternoon, and a Southern Boobook calling on an evening walk with Poncho my other dog just 100m from home.
Cheers
Mike
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Northbridge Patch Birding
21 October 2023
Delighted to pick up patch tick numbers 78 and 79 in the same week as Tuesday's Great Cormorant. My 44th bird of the day was a Square-tailed Kite (proper old school record shots below) that drifted over from Castle Crag as I was watching a Australian Pelican that was soaring to gain height and my 45th was a Brown Quail that was calling ( a rising "weeeeeep") just below my house during the afternoon.
I saw it shortly after I came home from a walk around the usual sites. The golf course highlights was three Pacific Koels, which seemed to be targeting Red Wattlebirds for outsourcing their childcare, and the title image Little Pied Cormorant which came up nicely against the light shortly after catching a prawn-like thing.
Wreck Bay forest track held 5 Sacred Kingfishers and a nicely posing female Maned Duck and a Sulphur-crested Cockatoos feeding next to the path. Tunks Park was quiet (must do better!) and Flat Rock Creek held both Variegated and Superb Fairy Wrens including a pristine male Variegated Fairy Wren doing a weird branch-sliding display like a South American manakin.
The evening dog walk took us to the only major patch of habitat I hadn't covered - Sailors Bay Creek, where Poncho decided we would across the exposed mud to Northbridge Baths. It turned out to be a pretty good decision as we found three Silver Gulls, a foraging Striated Heron and a Brown Goshawk carrying prey that infuriated the pre-roost gatherings of Rainbow Lorikeets and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos.
Cheers
Mike
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Northbridge patch birding
22 October
A morning dog walk over to Castlecrag was initially pretty slow as Poncho and I (Tilly's still recovering from sickness) explored a little further east along some of the winding trails that connect a number of micro reserves. We didn't see much initially, except for a cheerful party of Red Wattlebirds and a Channel-billed Cuckoo chuntering to itself as I came down the steps below The Haven amphitheatre. My bird of the day appeared in Castlecrag marina carpark, where a flash of white in the wing of a bird flying out of the top of a Sydney Red gum did not have the usual white tailband of a Pied Currawong and as is floated back confirmed itself as my first Dollarbird, and patch tick number 80, continuing an excellent run this week.
22 October
A morning dog walk over to Castlecrag was initially pretty slow as Poncho and I (Tilly's still recovering from sickness) explored a little further east along some of the winding trails that connect a number of micro reserves. We didn't see much initially, except for a cheerful party of Red Wattlebirds and a Channel-billed Cuckoo chuntering to itself as I came down the steps below The Haven amphitheatre. My bird of the day appeared in Castlecrag marina carpark, where a flash of white in the wing of a bird flying out of the top of a Sydney Red gum did not have the usual white tailband of a Pied Currawong and as is floated back confirmed itself as my first Dollarbird, and patch tick number 80, continuing an excellent run this week.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Mt Annan Botanic Gardens
22 September 2023
News of a Red-backed Kingfisher at Mt Annan Botanic Gardens had me heading back out west where I'd scored so well with the Swift Parrots back in May. That had been a long and challenging search but this was the polar opposite - the Red-backed Kingfisher was the first bird I saw as I came through the gate! (1) It was perched up on a branchless sapling by the nearest water - Lake Gilinganadum (2). Making my way along the bund of the lake I was able to get to within 25-odd metres without disturbing it, and managed some decent shots and video of this distinctive visitor from the Red Centre of Australia. Indeed so rare is it that my riding mate Murray Lord, who's lived most of his life in Sydney has never seen one closer that 400km inland!
It performed beautifully for well over an hour, hunting from the original tree and others that were even closer, giving tremendous views of its eponymous red rump, which is a key distinguishing feature from the much commoner Sacred Kingfisher which has now taken up residence for the summer around Northbridge. I also enjoyed the wispy black crown feathers which look all too similar to the thinning hair of a middle aged man as the white under feathers shone through as the wisps were blown in the wind!
A number of other good birds had also been reported. I didn't see the immature male Red-capped Robin, but was delighted to eventually connect with a fine pair of male White-winged Trillers that were foraging on the island at the second lake (3).
I also enjoyed a typically dapper White-plumed Honeyeater go turning into a fuzzball as it dried off after a wash close to where a White-faced Heron was patrolling the shallows.
Walking up through the woods towards to Herbarium I was delighted to find a White-winged Chough nest that was scope-able from the path and Iove the enjoying the footage of two different adults coming to the nest to feed their importunate chicks. I also enjoyed the pair of Australian Ravens that dropped down for a drink at a path side pool, allowing me to capture the purple and green sheen on different parts of their shiny black plumage. A pair of Satin Bowerbirds did not quite hang around long enough for a picture.
Other bits and pieces included a Little Eagle floating over the ridge, Hardhead and Royal Spoonbill on the upper lakes, a Baillon's Crake that showed in the reeds on my way out.
This mob of Grey Kangaroos that bounced away over the ridgeline provided a fine farewell to a successful and enjoyable day.
Cheers
Mike
22 September 2023
News of a Red-backed Kingfisher at Mt Annan Botanic Gardens had me heading back out west where I'd scored so well with the Swift Parrots back in May. That had been a long and challenging search but this was the polar opposite - the Red-backed Kingfisher was the first bird I saw as I came through the gate! (1) It was perched up on a branchless sapling by the nearest water - Lake Gilinganadum (2). Making my way along the bund of the lake I was able to get to within 25-odd metres without disturbing it, and managed some decent shots and video of this distinctive visitor from the Red Centre of Australia. Indeed so rare is it that my riding mate Murray Lord, who's lived most of his life in Sydney has never seen one closer that 400km inland!
It performed beautifully for well over an hour, hunting from the original tree and others that were even closer, giving tremendous views of its eponymous red rump, which is a key distinguishing feature from the much commoner Sacred Kingfisher which has now taken up residence for the summer around Northbridge. I also enjoyed the wispy black crown feathers which look all too similar to the thinning hair of a middle aged man as the white under feathers shone through as the wisps were blown in the wind!
A number of other good birds had also been reported. I didn't see the immature male Red-capped Robin, but was delighted to eventually connect with a fine pair of male White-winged Trillers that were foraging on the island at the second lake (3).
I also enjoyed a typically dapper White-plumed Honeyeater go turning into a fuzzball as it dried off after a wash close to where a White-faced Heron was patrolling the shallows.
Walking up through the woods towards to Herbarium I was delighted to find a White-winged Chough nest that was scope-able from the path and Iove the enjoying the footage of two different adults coming to the nest to feed their importunate chicks. I also enjoyed the pair of Australian Ravens that dropped down for a drink at a path side pool, allowing me to capture the purple and green sheen on different parts of their shiny black plumage. A pair of Satin Bowerbirds did not quite hang around long enough for a picture.
Other bits and pieces included a Little Eagle floating over the ridge, Hardhead and Royal Spoonbill on the upper lakes, a Baillon's Crake that showed in the reeds on my way out.
This mob of Grey Kangaroos that bounced away over the ridgeline provided a fine farewell to a successful and enjoyable day.
CheersMike
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
More patch gold this morning as my regular dog walk around the golf course produced an Aussie lifer Latham's Snipe on the largest pond, and a rather scruffy White-cheeked Honeyeater (patch tick 82) in the tall shrubs next to the pond. The same area held an immature Coot, ten Maned Ducks, the enduring pair of Chestnut Teals and four Pacific Black Ducks.
I was chuffed to grab a a proper old school record shot of the Latham's Snipe on My iPhone as it flew past.
Cheers
Mike
I was chuffed to grab a a proper old school record shot of the Latham's Snipe on My iPhone as it flew past.
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Northbridge Patch Birding
29 October 2023
Another excellent morning birding from home as I headed down Sailors Bay Creek and then along a new track to Sailors Bay Park above Castlecrag Marina. A Striated Heron was in the mouth of the creek and a male Spotted Pardalote pinged about in the treetops above. It had been otherwise pretty quiet until a Rufous Fantail (patch tick 83) unexpectedly pished in and had the good manners to stay still long enough for a couple of photos.
I had been keen to go back to the Sailors Bay Park where I'd see the Dollarbird the week before. There was no sign of the Dollarbird but a parakeet feeding on the thick bunches of white blossoms in the top of the trees turned out to be the first of seven Little Lorikeets (84), showing broad red faces when they looked down from stuffing their faces while hanging upside down. I was only able to count them when they were spooked and flew a quick lap before settling back on the buffet.
I'm doubly thankful to the Little Lorikeets because as I was looking ups white -bellied bird flashed across the crown of another tree and eventually settled to reveal itself as a female White-winged Triller (85) and my third patch tick of the day.
It was soon joined by an elegantly pied male and both flashed around the tops for a couple of minutes before disappearing without trace. In a period of almost constant activity a Scarlet Myzomela (86) appeared next to the male Pied Triller and as it dropped into a tree behind me a White-cheeked Honeyeater called and was one of two birds that zipped around the tops of a couple of banksias before also disappearing at high speed. I was also chuffed to find two more splendid males feeding on a red bottlebrush along The Rampart close to where I photographed the Eastern Water Dragon the previous weekend.
Other good birds included a Sacred Kingfisher that I eventually figured out was loitering because it was breeding in a tree ant nest and a male Pacific Koel that dropped into a fruiting tree to gorge itself between bouts of calling.
It beggared belief to have seen four patch ticks in little more than an hour, and became outrageous when a pair of Black-faced Monarchs (87) appeared in a tree above me as I came back down the path towards the creek and home, giving me the full Michelle in a morning's birding.
I did however come back to earth with a bump this evening when I got an email from a couple I met which showed that Powerful Owls had nested in the hole in which I'd photographed a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo on the way home! They must still be around, but are obviously shyer than the birds that had been so approachable at Fred Caterson Reserve a couple of weeks back.
Cheers
Mike
29 October 2023
Another excellent morning birding from home as I headed down Sailors Bay Creek and then along a new track to Sailors Bay Park above Castlecrag Marina. A Striated Heron was in the mouth of the creek and a male Spotted Pardalote pinged about in the treetops above. It had been otherwise pretty quiet until a Rufous Fantail (patch tick 83) unexpectedly pished in and had the good manners to stay still long enough for a couple of photos.
I had been keen to go back to the Sailors Bay Park where I'd see the Dollarbird the week before. There was no sign of the Dollarbird but a parakeet feeding on the thick bunches of white blossoms in the top of the trees turned out to be the first of seven Little Lorikeets (84), showing broad red faces when they looked down from stuffing their faces while hanging upside down. I was only able to count them when they were spooked and flew a quick lap before settling back on the buffet.
I'm doubly thankful to the Little Lorikeets because as I was looking ups white -bellied bird flashed across the crown of another tree and eventually settled to reveal itself as a female White-winged Triller (85) and my third patch tick of the day.
It was soon joined by an elegantly pied male and both flashed around the tops for a couple of minutes before disappearing without trace. In a period of almost constant activity a Scarlet Myzomela (86) appeared next to the male Pied Triller and as it dropped into a tree behind me a White-cheeked Honeyeater called and was one of two birds that zipped around the tops of a couple of banksias before also disappearing at high speed. I was also chuffed to find two more splendid males feeding on a red bottlebrush along The Rampart close to where I photographed the Eastern Water Dragon the previous weekend.
Other good birds included a Sacred Kingfisher that I eventually figured out was loitering because it was breeding in a tree ant nest and a male Pacific Koel that dropped into a fruiting tree to gorge itself between bouts of calling.
It beggared belief to have seen four patch ticks in little more than an hour, and became outrageous when a pair of Black-faced Monarchs (87) appeared in a tree above me as I came back down the path towards the creek and home, giving me the full Michelle in a morning's birding.
I did however come back to earth with a bump this evening when I got an email from a couple I met which showed that Powerful Owls had nested in the hole in which I'd photographed a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo on the way home! They must still be around, but are obviously shyer than the birds that had been so approachable at Fred Caterson Reserve a couple of weeks back.
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Richmond Lowlands - 4 November 2023
My visit to Richmond Lowlands on a rainy 4th November is long overdue a write-up. I went without much hope or expectation of fluking the pair of Australian Painted-snipes that had been seen a couple of weeks earlier, but the are holds a number of other potential lifers, so was well worth the visit. It started well with a group of six White-winged Trillers in a large Silky Oak on the northern edge of Richmond at the junction of Francis St and Onus Lane (1). Thereafter I dropped out of the town and down onto the floodplain, through a mix of sports fields, poorly drained paddocks with occasional linear ponds that were presumably former meanders of the Hawkesbury River, and turf farms. I walked a clockwise loop north to the river along Powell's Lane (2-4), followed the river east along Edwards Road (4-6) and came back via Cornwells Lane (7) and the sports fields along Bensons Lane (8).
Zebra Finches and Yellow Thornbills and another White-winged Triller were in the roadside bushes along Onus Lane, and as I turned the corner (2) a flock of 30-off Little Corellas were shouting up a storm in a horse paddock, and as I came round the other side of the field two Long-billed Corellas were snuggled together in a copse of tall trees and a family of Maned Ducks were huddled next to the fence.
The duckweed-choked creek in a field that held a bunch of yearling Angus cattle held two pairs of Grey Teals, a couple of Black-fronted Dotterels, Australian and Straw-necked Ibis and three or four Cattle Egrets in the grass, a Royal Spoonbill patrolling the edge, sleeping Australian Pelican down the end and three or four Australasian Darters in the waterside willows. The avenue a little further on held an unexpected feeding flock of Helmeted Friarbirds, but the real quality the day came when I turned on to Edwards Rd and immediately found a Horsefield' Bronze Cuckoo perched in the top of a low tree. Having recorded it and confirmed the ID I was surprised to find a second cuckoo perched just a metre or so away, which looked rather different but presumably was the same species. Any insights would be most welcome. The same tree also held a fine male and a couple of female Scarlet Myzomelas.
A little further along I was perplexed to hear a singing Rufous Songlark in the trees of a fallow meadow just as a Brown Songlark flew off and landed on a distant fence-post. It turned out the Rufous Songlark had stayed nearby, but never really wanted to show itself. But better was to come when a distant blob in the heat haze eventually morphed into my first Pallid Cuckoo. Substantially larger than the Horsefields, it was foraging from knee- and waist-high perches above the same unmanaged paddocks. A second bird allowed close approach that provided terrific walk-away scope views after getting some decent shots and even some video.
Shortly afterwards I was drenched to the bone by a solid thirty minute rainstorm at a stage where there was absolutely no cover. the only upside was watching an unidentified long-necked turtle marching across the turf alongside the road. It was clearly the day for it as I saw another one some 45 minutes later. I eventually took shelter in the lee of two monster diggers that were parked on the side of the road where Cornwell's Lane merged into Bensons Lane.
This turned out to be a terrific spot, which held some 36 Banded Lapwings on a turf field, while two White-winged Trillers, a couple of Rufous Songlarks and at least three and possibly four Brown Songlarks bounced in and out of the low trees and along the fence lines. Songlarks are funny birds, long-legged pipit-like creatures that are supposedly related to locustella Warblers. Brown Songlarks have a flamboyant song flight, which they leapt into with great gusto once the rain had reduced to a fine misty drizzle.
As I headed back to Richmond a White-faced Heron hunted on a waterlogged corner of a turf field, a few more Banded Lapwings increased the number to 47, which included one obvious young bird, a scattering of Black-fronted Dotterels were also enjoying the poor weather and a couple of Galahs were foraging on the last sports field. The eBird list, which came to a very respectable 75 species is here.
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Australian Painted-snipe twitch
Pitt Town Lagoon, 2 December 2023
Australian Painted-snipe is one of the most sought-after species by Sydney birders. I've dipped on two, was unable to join an overnight twitch for a big group near Armidale and was not able to search for a pair that turned up in Canberra while I was there. So when my friend Veeraj contacted me to tell me he'd found one at Pitt Town Lagoon - I changed my plan to go to Long Reef with first-time birder Harry- and we headed over the next morning. Veeraj had found the bird on the drained-down fringe of the lagoon and we arrived to the sight of four birders apparently walking on water.
The lagoon which is extremely shallow, had dried out almost completely about two weeks ago. But a couple of days of heavy rain had left a sheet of a couple of inches of water sitting on the cracked mud which was safely walkable and we headed out to for excellent views of a young female Australian Painted-snipe loafing in full view on one of the small islands. Having had my birthday just a few days earlier this was an excellent birthday present! Even better for Harry - it was almost the first bird he looked at in what must be one of the best ever starts to a birding career!
Other good birds on the lagoon included a Baillon's Crake pottering around close to a comparatively humungous Australian Swamphen, around 25 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, three Red-capped Plovers, a couple of Silver Gulls (pretty scarce here), plus the padding of three Black-fronted Dotterels, 50-odd Pied Stilts and 30-odd Masked Lapwings and 50-odd Grey Teals.
Other bits and pieces included a Whistling Kite, an adult White-bellied Sea Eagle and the resident Black-shouldered Kite on its regular bare sapling. Bright-capped Cisticolas were everywhere and a couple of Red-browed Finches and an Australian Pipit popped up on the fence, while a trio of Eastern Rosellas, a Crested Pigeon and a White-faced Heron adorned various trees.
A 90-minute visit to Richmond Lowlands delivered the expected half-a-dozen Brown Songlarks and a three invisibly calling and frustratingly untickable Stubble Quails in the rough pasture at Richmond Rise, plus a Sacred Kingfisher, a dozen Zebra Finches, five Red-browed Finches three Yellow Thornbills and two Yellow-rumped Thornbills in the roadside trees. 20-odd rufous-capped Fairy Martins and a half dozen Welcome Swallows made sorties from overhead wires and an Australian Pelican and 70-odd Straw-necked Ibises were a fine aerial addition. The last bird of the day was a handsome male White-winged Triller that dropped briefly onto the fence line.
Cheers
Mike
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Northbridge Patch birding
November 2023
I've had a few good days on the patch over the last month or so, and wish I'd written them up at the time when the excitement of finding good birds is fresh. Today was absolutely epic, but because it would spoil the narrative to talk about that first ... I will go back to the beginning anyway.
The first highlight was actually back on 29 October when an evening dog walk to Northbridge Golf Course revealed that the Grey-faced Flying Foxes come at dusk to drink from the pond. They do this by flying low over the water and dragging their belly fur across the surface. They then return to a roosting spot and lick the water from their fur. How cool is that! Far more David Attenborough than urban Sydney, and an absolutely brilliant discovery.
On 4 November a White-headed Pigeon that flew over the house just after I got up was a nice no-effort addition. You'll see I've decided to start marking patch ticks in blue.
On 9 November I was happy to find two chicks of a pair of Tawny Frogmouths that had bred a couple of hundred metres to the east
11 November was another good day, with highlights of a walk over to Castle Crag including a flyover flock of 95 Great Cormorants heading northeast, a couple of Galahs on the lawn at Warner's Park, the Sacred Kingfisher (one bird has a broken tip to the upper mandible) pair at Sailor's Bay Park chasing off Noisy Miners that were playing the fool, the Lewin's Honeyeater (above) that I can hear from home posing nicely.
Best of all, I was able to sneak up on a young male Superb Lyrebird that was still growing out its tail singing gently to itself in a quiet corner of the wood. The eBird checklist is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S154173609
Cheers
Mike
November 2023
I've had a few good days on the patch over the last month or so, and wish I'd written them up at the time when the excitement of finding good birds is fresh. Today was absolutely epic, but because it would spoil the narrative to talk about that first ... I will go back to the beginning anyway.
The first highlight was actually back on 29 October when an evening dog walk to Northbridge Golf Course revealed that the Grey-faced Flying Foxes come at dusk to drink from the pond. They do this by flying low over the water and dragging their belly fur across the surface. They then return to a roosting spot and lick the water from their fur. How cool is that! Far more David Attenborough than urban Sydney, and an absolutely brilliant discovery.
On 4 November a White-headed Pigeon that flew over the house just after I got up was a nice no-effort addition. You'll see I've decided to start marking patch ticks in blue.
On 9 November I was happy to find two chicks of a pair of Tawny Frogmouths that had bred a couple of hundred metres to the east
11 November was another good day, with highlights of a walk over to Castle Crag including a flyover flock of 95 Great Cormorants heading northeast, a couple of Galahs on the lawn at Warner's Park, the Sacred Kingfisher (one bird has a broken tip to the upper mandible) pair at Sailor's Bay Park chasing off Noisy Miners that were playing the fool, the Lewin's Honeyeater (above) that I can hear from home posing nicely.
Best of all, I was able to sneak up on a young male Superb Lyrebird that was still growing out its tail singing gently to itself in a quiet corner of the wood. The eBird checklist is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S154173609
Cheers
Mike
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MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Thanks Tom. It's been a while since I've been in Brisbane. Great footage of the quail thrush in the latest blog post on your website.
MoMoBoy124
New member
Great reads Mike, I'm glad you got to see the painted-snipe! Great shot of the pallid cuckoo too, I haven't been so lucky in finding one yet!
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
Thanks Ian. I believe the Pallid Cuckoos don't hang about too long, but it seems there are a few records from the Richmond Lowlands in the last month or so. .. and congratulations on the Plum-headed Finch!
Another attempt to catch up with my Northbridge news...
NorthbridgePatch Birding
November 2023 ... part II.
A bins-free morning walk round the golf course on 16 November finished in style with two Ospreys floating over the Oval, and I got better than I deserved from my slackness as one of the birds circled low overhead allowing my to pick up a couple of dodgy iPhone pix to confirm the tick. This drew me level with the current highest eBird list for the district of Willoughby after just 3 and half months. Its hardly a hotly contested target, but patch birding is generally made fun by such frivolity.
The same day I was a bit late heading into work and was delighted when a wait at the bus stop delivered a feeding flock of White-throated Needletails - also bins-free, but its a species I know well from Cremorne, where I closed the year in style with an unexpectedly good shot of one taking a flying insect, and my time in Hong Kong. For some reason I never posted that pic, so I'll post it here as I shot it on 31 December, and is therefore ineligible for one of my top 5 of 2023.
The very next evening another dog walk along the lower edge of the golf course at dusk delivered my first calling Powerful Owl on the patch. Was able to take a recording, which I upgraded near the same spot a few days later, but the frustration of such a good bird calling unseen was intense!
An early morning walk along Wreck Bay Walking track on 18 November, which passes through the area the owl had been calling from, delivered in others ways as I was delighted to find a pair of Leaden Flycatchers and a nicely showy Dollarbird. The same trail held a couple each of Rufous Fantail and Sacred Kingfisher, a juvenile Eastern Spinebill with a fully salmon-orange underparts provided evidence of breeding success, as did the family party of seven Maned Ducks at the golf course ponds, while a Laughing Kookaburra and an Australian Ibis posed unusually elegantly nearby.
I also enjoyed great views from home of two of the four massive Channel-billed Cuckoos that have been causing carnage in the valley. These included a few flight shots as they lumbered by screeching like banshees.
Cheers
Mike
Another attempt to catch up with my Northbridge news...
NorthbridgePatch Birding
November 2023 ... part II.
A bins-free morning walk round the golf course on 16 November finished in style with two Ospreys floating over the Oval, and I got better than I deserved from my slackness as one of the birds circled low overhead allowing my to pick up a couple of dodgy iPhone pix to confirm the tick. This drew me level with the current highest eBird list for the district of Willoughby after just 3 and half months. Its hardly a hotly contested target, but patch birding is generally made fun by such frivolity.
The same day I was a bit late heading into work and was delighted when a wait at the bus stop delivered a feeding flock of White-throated Needletails - also bins-free, but its a species I know well from Cremorne, where I closed the year in style with an unexpectedly good shot of one taking a flying insect, and my time in Hong Kong. For some reason I never posted that pic, so I'll post it here as I shot it on 31 December, and is therefore ineligible for one of my top 5 of 2023.
The very next evening another dog walk along the lower edge of the golf course at dusk delivered my first calling Powerful Owl on the patch. Was able to take a recording, which I upgraded near the same spot a few days later, but the frustration of such a good bird calling unseen was intense!
An early morning walk along Wreck Bay Walking track on 18 November, which passes through the area the owl had been calling from, delivered in others ways as I was delighted to find a pair of Leaden Flycatchers and a nicely showy Dollarbird. The same trail held a couple each of Rufous Fantail and Sacred Kingfisher, a juvenile Eastern Spinebill with a fully salmon-orange underparts provided evidence of breeding success, as did the family party of seven Maned Ducks at the golf course ponds, while a Laughing Kookaburra and an Australian Ibis posed unusually elegantly nearby.
I also enjoyed great views from home of two of the four massive Channel-billed Cuckoos that have been causing carnage in the valley. These included a few flight shots as they lumbered by screeching like banshees.
Cheers
Mike
