Exploring Sydney - and further afield. (3 Viewers)

[MKinHK]

Northern Beaches: Dee Why and Long Reef
30th June 2024



Either side of my seawatches I made two visits to my regular spots at Dee Why and Long Reef. The big highlights of the first visit (eBird list here) were a trio of Royal Spoonbills that were helpfully flushed out of the river by a Swamp Wallaby bounding along the grassy bank, and landed on the mud just round the corner from the spot in the SE from where I was viewing the lagoon. I was able towrope down to the level of the mud, sneak up to the corner and wait for them to make their way towards me, which they did as if following a well rehearsed script. This meant that I got some lovely imitate shots as they foraged in the shallow water, coming to within 15 or so metres, before slowly turning round and heading back the other way. The first and second pix show the red bindi spot in the centre of the fore crown of the adult and the final shot of the bird preening shows the black primary tips of an immature bird that is common to all old world spoonbills.




Even better, they attracted a couple of Australian Ibises that with their customary boldness came even closer, perfectly showing what their long curved bills are really intended for by twisting their heads to poke under the edges of rocks, and displaying the black lace bustle to beautiful effect.



From Dee Why Lagoon I moved to a waterlogged Long Reef golf course where I confirmed that the Musk Duck had finally moved on, but two Little Grassbirds were still occupying the reeds on the southern fringe. It was in fact pretty quiet, but I did enjoy the Pacific Black Ducks dabbling in a puddle on a fairway, and this White-faced Heron, which came up out of thank grass on the edge of the big lawn to perch helpfully on a railing.



The real highlight here was a trio of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos that were feeding in a banksia nearby. Heavily wind-blown, the feathers round the bill had puffed up like a big scarf pulled right up to the nose. I always love getting close to these imposing birds - the largest parrots in Sydney.



Cheers
Mike

 

[Rick Wright]

Thank you for another fine report. Could I ask your opinion of this bfg:

Australian Good Birding Guide: NSW-ACT | aus-birding-guide

This is the first of a series of books describing hundreds of exciting birdwatching locations in Australia. Our NSW Good Birding Guide is arguably the most comprehensive compendium of the birdwatching sites in the State available to date.For each site, at the minimum, the access details, habitat...

www.australian-good-birding-guide.com

It's even more expensive here in the US. Do you recommend it for visitors?
Thanks—

 

[MKinHK]

I've never seen or heard of it Rick - It looks like a self-published limited print run book. I presume the eye-popping price is an indicator that it might be pretty good.

 

[MKinHK]

Northern Beaches: Long Reef Aquatic Reserve
6th July 2024





Following my third seawatch on Saturday 6th July, I headed down to Long Reef to catch the low tide and get out on the rock platform to check out the overwintering waders, and the roosting gulls, terns and cormorants.

Three Grey-tailed Tattlers working the newly exposed seaweed on the northern edge of the shelf eventually came really close as the rising tide pushed them further onto the rock platform. With he light coming form the northwest I struggled to get shots that did not put a shadow across the face (a big no-no according to my Hong Kong photographer mates) but persistence eventually paid off, and it was great to watch them hunt for crabs among the seaweed-scape. I know its not a word, but I challenge you to find a better one!




There were also ten or so Red-necked Stints, three Ruddy Turnstones and half a dozen Double-banded Plovers, two of which were coming into summer plumage, showing the curious bi-coloured breast band.



I also enjoyed the antics of Pied Cormorants the which are always pretty relaxed allowing a close approach - and grandstand view of their querulous interactions. And how much fun is this set of a Pied Cormorant being coached on his approach, followed by a happy dance from coach and pupil after he absolutely nailed the landing !




Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

Sydney Olympic Park Wader Roost
8 July 2024



Taking break from the coast I headed over to Sydney Olympic Park for the first time in well over a year to look for Red-necked Avocet, which I have long thought would take some serious beating as the best-looking wader in Australia. I parked at the archery range where I'd seen my first NSW Red-rumped Parrots in June 2022, shortly after connecting with no less than 35 Red-necked Avocets. I briefly saw one pair of Red-rumped Parrots on one of the nesting boxes, but with the light due to fade fast on this midwinter afternoon I headed over to the wader roost, adding a Striated Heron on the rubbish dam across the creek and an Australasian Grebe foraging amongst the ribs of one of the wrecks in the bay that i initially misidentified as Hoary-headed Grebe, which can often be found here.



There were just two Red-necked Avocets amongst the 61 Pied Stilts and 34 Bar-tailed Godwits at the wader roost, where the other highlights were a flock of 18 Australian Shovelers, which was a record count anywhere for me. Other good birds were a solitary Caspian Tern, three Royal Spoonbills and a Buff-banded Rail calling from cover to the left of the hide, while as ever I enjoyed photographing the Black Swans, which I don't think get the adulation they deserve.I also watched a Little Pied Cormorant make quite a meal of removing the legs from a hapless crab before swallowing it.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MJB]

Northern Beaches: Long Reef Aquatic Reserve
6th July 2024

View attachment 1592883



Following my third seawatch on Saturday 6th July, I headed down to Long Reef to catch the low tide and get out on the rock platform to check out the overwintering waders, and the roosting gulls, terns and cormorants.

Three Grey-tailed Tattlers working the newly exposed seaweed on the northern edge of the shelf eventually came really close as the rising tide pushed them further onto the rock platform. With he light coming form the northwest I struggled to get shots that did not put a shadow across the face (a big no-no according to my Hong Kong photographer mates) but persistence eventually paid off, and it was great to watch them hunt for crabs among the seaweed-scape. I know its not a word, but I challenge you to find a better one!

View attachment 1592751 View attachment 1592752
View attachment 1592532View attachment 1592753

There were also ten or so Red-necked Stints, three Ruddy Turnstones and half a dozen Double-banded Plovers, two of which were coming into summer plumage, showing the curious bi-coloured breast band.

View attachment 1592756 View attachment 1592757

I also enjoyed the antics of Pied Cormorants the which are always pretty relaxed allowing a close approach - and grandstand view of their querulous interactions. And how much fun is this set of a Pied Cormorant being coached on his approach, followed by a happy dance from coach and pupil after he absolutely nailed the landing !

View attachment 1592878 View attachment 1592879
View attachment 1592880 View attachment 1592881

Cheers
Mike

Rather than apologise for devising a new word, claim 'seaweedscape' as a neologism! (Junk the hyphen!) 'Neologism' is one of the key words English dictionaries have their search engines scan the net for...
MJB

 

[MKinHK]

The Hills and Scheyville NP
13 & 20 July 2024

A couple more visits out west included a quiet morning failing to again see the Spotted Quail Thrushes I saw a few weeks previously with Veeraj at Sackville in The Hills. Despite missing the quail thrushes I had an enjoyable couple of hours with some nice woodland birds I don't see too often in Northbridge, with the highlights being a Grey Shrikethrush and a well-behaved White-throated Treecreeper that pished in close and foraged for lerps in an old branch hole. Commoner birds included Grey Fantail, Eastern Yellow Robin, Striated and Brown Thornbills and Eastern Spinebills.



A whistlestop tour of Kangaroo Swamp, Longneck Lagoon, Pitt Town Cemetary and a random pond on the Dural Road produced Wedge-tailed Eagle, Whistling Kite, and three Wandering Whistling Ducks at Kangaroo Swamp,a bumper crop of at least eight Jacky Winters, Restless Flycatchers in a couple of spots, a Aussie Darter preched at the base of a dessicated tree trunk sticking out of the water and a pair of Red-rumped Parrots exploring a similar stump just a few metres away in Longneck Lagoon.



The random pond held a mixed flock of Australian and Straw-necked Ibises and a Plumed Egret, plus a pair of Red-rumped Parrot at a nest hole in a tall tree across the road.



An extra bonus on the way home was a White-headed Pigeon hanging upside down in a fruiting roadside tree aand looking up to check out the traffic as it came past, while another picked fruit from the grassy verge below.

A week later an abortive trip to the Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains that was blown out by gale-force winds and rain delivered a solitary male Rose Robin, a few Eastern Rosellas and Crimson Rosellas and Veeraj's impressive 16th consecutive dip of Grey Currawong and a male Scarlet Robin near Blackheath.



On the way back to town we drove through the Richmond Lowlands starting at Pugh's Lagoon, where a couple of Azure Kingfishers and 9 Nankeen Night Herons added some gloss to the day list, which we supplemented by 30-odd Cattle Egrets and a Nankeen Kestrel on Edmonds Lane, before adding a Royal Spoonbill, two Great Egrets, Two Pacific Herons, at least a dozen White-faced Herons at Cuppits' Lane, and with the light fading as we headed past Windsor Turf a hunting Australian Hobby took off from a roadside fence post. We were subsequently gut punched to learn the that a Black Falcon was found in the same area the next day. Such is birding.



Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

Return to Cremorne Point
15 July 2024

As I was chauffeuring Carrie to a lunch in Cremorne I decided to stay and make use of the time for my first return to Cremorne point sinc we'd left alomost a year earlier. My main target was the Tawny Frogmouth, whic was happily hunkered down in exactly yher same crook of the exactly the same tre as when I'd last seen it.



I was also happy to see that Variegated Fairywren had become established. In the years earlier I'd only seen a single male a couple of times right out at the point, so the family party of four or five birds hopping in and out of a thick stand of lantana was a welcome additon to the resident avifauna.




I was happy to see a nice range of cormorants on the roost tree, Little Pied, Little Black and Pied Cormorants, and a male Australasian Darter.



Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

Willoughby / Northbridge Patch birding
July 2024 and first year review

The highlights of the month were my first patch Australian Hobby (107), that whipped over the golf course at high speed on 16 July, a second Great Egret foraging along the edge of the big pond on the golf course on 19th July, and a surprise winter record of a Sacred Kingfisher on 15th July in the mangroves onthe northern edge of Harold Reid reserve and my first perched Collared Sparrowhawk on 26th after a couple of swiftfly-bys over the course of the last year. There was a minor flurry of parrot activity, with a couple of Long-billed Corellas appearing on the golf course for a couple of days, followed closely by five Galahs, in additon to the usual winter fly-bys from the ever wonderful Yellow-tailed black Cockatoos. I did see a couple in a tree above the path at Mowbray Park, but unfortunately lacked the time to try for a shot.



Other significant moments were the first Little Black Cormorant on the golf course rather than in the watrs below. This turned out to be the first of a flurry that peaked at the dend of the month with peaked four Little Black and two Little Pied Cormorants. The pic is not great, but it will serve as a record shot for this unexpected overload of cormorants for such a small pond.

More to come

 

[MKinHK]

Willoughby & Northbridge in July 2024 continued ...



A busy second half of the week meant I was timed out from completing my last post, so here's the rest of it ... First up, a couple more Galah shots - their plumage is too gloriously outrageous to ignore for long! The pic above showes the view looking west over Northbridge Baths, the marina and the mudflats, mangroves and woods at the mouth of Sailor's Bay Creek. A few weeks back I was again down at Northbridge Baths and from the green walkway I had an Osprey on the oposite bank and an adult White-bellied Sea Eagle, which dropped into the creek to sccop a fish from the surface among the moored boats.



Some two weeks after the end of the month one of the Little Pied Cormorants and three of the Little Black Cormorants remain in residence.



I only managed record shots of the Great Egret, which I subsequently saw again a couple of weeks later and the two Long-billed Corellas (which were again on the golf course last week) , as well as a mere smudge of a Southern Boobook I fluked on a neighbouring rooftop during an evening dog walk.



I enjoyed more cooperation from the resident female Hardhead, which looked rather beautiful under the shadows in the back of the small pond next to the cricket nets on the Oval. I saw that sh'e attracted a male a couple of days ago, but since there was no sign this morning I wonder if he's tempted her away to make little Hardheads somewhere else.



I'll close with two pix of Australia's most mocked birds - an Australian Ibis - aka Bin Chicken - which flew into the ponds one evening, an Australian Brush Turkey that had no notion that the Mowbray Park running track should be used by anyone but himself at all! and a view across the river from Mowbray Park to Lane Cove National Park on the basis that I do claim birds that appear across the river that are still visible frm my side. In short, if I can see or hear it from inside the Willoughby boundary I'll have it!




Now, with a beautiful sunny afternoon ebbing away outside I'm off birding, so more later.

Cheers
Mike

 

[MKinHK]

The first year in Northbridge
August 23 - July 24

Rather than repeat everything I've writtenin previous posts I'll provide links (as a personal quick reference index) and some highlights, lowlights and deep ornithologal analysis. Not really I have no idea how to do that !

First post - August 2023
Northbridge Castlecrag & Harold Reid Reserve part 1 and part 2
Northbridge Patch birding September 2023
Northbridge Patch birding 1 & 2 October, 6 October, 21 October, 22 October, 27 October 29 October
Northbridge Patch Birding November 23, Part 2

 

[MKinHK]

A bit shocked to discover I've not made an update since mid-August.

Submission in support of Northbridge Golf Club



However I did put in a response on a public consultation in support of Northbridge Golf Club, which runs the course where I walk my dogs several times a week.. Along with the forested Sailors Bay Creek which my home overlooks this is the heart of my patch, and the freshwater ponds provide interest on a daily basis - including a pair of Masked Lapwings that are anxiously protecting a single chick.

While I haven't yet heard the outcome of the consultation the golf club has already begun exploring how to obtain a sustainability accreditation, and is planning to offer public bird watching tours and use their golf carts and tracks to give elderly and disabled folks access to the course which is built around some beautiful Sydney Red Gum woodland. I have. meeting this week to discuss these ideas with the club board, so watch this space ...

Cheers
Mike