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Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 1 Official Newsletter of Illawarra Birders Inc. No. 017 December 2012 www.illawarrabirders.org Flying the Flag - Waders reveal their secrets Cairns - observing birds in their eclipse plumage Thorny Thornbill ID questions answered Plus news, trip reports, sightings and more...

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Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 1

Official Newsletter of Illawarra Birders Inc. No. 017 December 2012

www.illawarrabirders.org

Flying the Flag - Waders reveal their secrets

Cairns - observing birds in their eclipse plumage

Thorny Thornbill ID questions answered

Plus news, trip reports, sightings and more...

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 2

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Welcome to the latest edition of Illawarra Birding! We hope that you are enjoying our programme of fieldtrips and events. Since our last Newsletter many of you had a great trip to Capertee valley which was report-ed to be a great success. In addition to our normal programme of field activities we hosted a visit by Bird-Life Southern Highlands and took them to Lake Illawarra, Tallawarra Ash Ponds and Mt. Kembla, aproductive day in a wide range of habitats. Our 2012 Twitchathon team the Gong Gang had a successful 24hours of twitching, seeing 150 species and raising a significant amount for bird conservation. Any furtherdonations will be gratefully accepted!

Illawarra Birders were represented at the October BIGnet meeting, where one of the main talking points wasthe surprise resignation of BirdLife Australia CEO Graeme Hamilton. We also attended the conservationofficers’ forum prior to the main meeting. BirdLife Australia asked for input from BIGnet members abouthow we consider the relationship between the organisations should work and how the affiliation processshould operate; a submission has been sent to the board of BirdLife Australia.

Our next indoor meeting is fast approaching, by now you should have cast your vote in our web based photocompetition as the results will be announced at this meeting. The committee has held a planning meeting tosketch out our programme for next year. We are planning to visit the Canberra area,the Hunter estuary, Lake Cargelligo as well as having a full programme in the Illa-warra. If you have any ideas for places to visit then please let us know.

All of us on the Committee would like to thank you for all your support over the pastyear and would like to wish you a Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year!Martin Cocker, President

Cover Photo: A festive Red-capped Robin

Seventeen club members attended the weekend camp atBrymair, a working cattle property in Capertee Valley.For some of us accommodation was in the rustic Shear-er’s Quarters while others camped under the eucalyptsnearby. Capertee Valley has been classified by BirdLifeInternational as an Important Bird Area because it is themost important breeding site for the endangered RegentHoneyeater. It is also the world’s second largest canyon

– wider than the Grand Canyon but not as deep. TheValley follows the Capertee River and sandstone cliffsdominate the escarpment. Martin and I have made twoprevious trips to look for Regent Honeyeaters but wereunlucky both times. This time we had booked localbirding guide Carol Proberts to take the group on a

guided tour of the local birds and although we knewthere were no guarantees, expectations were high.

For those of us whoarrived on Friday af-ternoon the week-end got off to anexcellent start with awalk at GenowlanBridge where wefound a StripedHoneyeater feedingchicks at the nest, a Restless Flycatcher sitting on thenest and the holy grail, a young Regent Honeyeaterfeeding on the mistletoe in a Casuarina at the edge of theriver. On our return to Brymair we found several otherclub members had arrived and had started birding on thesite. A Pallid Cuckoo sat patiently on a wire enabling allto get great views and a pair of Little Black Cormorantswere seen performing a courting display on the dam.Other birds seenregularly on theproperty includedRufous Whistler,White BrowedBabbler, JackyWinter (right) andBrown-headedHoneyeaters.

CAPERTEE VALLEY WEEKEND CAMP 19 - 21 October PENNY POTTER

Pallid Cuckoo

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 3

That night we prepared the first of our share meals in akitchen absolutely bursting with food. It soon becameobvious that we could have fed an army! An eveningspotlight walk produced no birds but dozens of very vocalfrogs.

The next morning half the group went out with CarolProberts while the rest of us went to Capertee NationalPark. It was a warm day and we were pleased to bird alongthe banks of the Capertee River in the shade wherepossible. We found White-throated Gerygone, Buff-rumped Thornbill, and a pair of Turquoise Parrots flewthrough. While we sat on the banks having morning teawe watched the Rainbow Bee-eaters hawking on the otherside, and an Azure Kingfisher flew upstream. Most amaz-ing of all was a Black-fronted Dotterel (below) standing onthe side of the road shading three eggs. The ranger had puta traffic cone next to it to prevent it being run over and allwere able to get good views as we each drove slowly by.

We returned to Brymair for lunch and soon the other‘team’ returned bursting with tales of success: a family ofPlum-headed Finches posing nicely for photos, SpeckledWarbler, Masked and White-browed Woodswallows,Fuscous, Black-chinned, Painted and Regent Honeyeaters,and a flushed Painted Button Quail. We couldn’t wait forour turn the next day!

That afternoon a group of us drove to Dunns Swamp, acamping and picnic area on the headwaters of the Cudge-gong River near Rylestone. There we found Little Lori-

keets, Rockwarblerand a pair of sa-cred Kingfishersfeeding young at ahollow in a Euca-lypt. In the eve-ning we enjoyedthe second of ourshare meals – an-other culinaryfeast.

On Sunday morning our group set out eagerly with Caroland had soon enjoyed most of the same sightings thatgroup ‘A’ had seen the previous day, as well as somePainted Snipe - only the second time they had ever beenseen in the Valley. Sadly there were no good views ofPlum-headed Finches for us but we did manage to findDiamond Firetail, Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo and a pair

of Hooded Rob-in. Rufous Song-larks (left) wereeverywhere.While looking forPainted ButtonQuail we foundnumerous ‘plate-lets’ indicatingtheir presence inthe vicinity andalthough wedidn’t see theButton Quail we

did find a Spotted Quail thrush which was just as exciting.

All too soon it was time to go home. It was a memora-ble weekend with fantastic birding and great social ca-maraderie. Many thanks are due to Carol Probets for herbirding expertise.(And special thanks are due to Penny who organised the wholeevent which proved a great success- Ed)

Darter at Dunns Swamp

Regent Honeyeater

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 4

Ass

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CAN A COMPUTER IDENTIFY A BIRD?The Cornell Lab is also developing a pioneering birdID software tool that combines artificial intelligencewith input from real-life birdwatchers. The aim of theproject called Merlin is to produce an online "wizard"to help people identify birds quickly and providethem with further information.The website includes several activities you can takepart in to build their bird ID database. Warning -these activities can become addictive; make yourselfcomfortable and go tohttp://www.allaboutbirds.org/labs/

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and NationalGeographic Birds of Paradise project website will belaunched in December '12. The website will have some50 videos of Birds of Paradise. It is the result of 8years and 18 expeditions to New Guinea and Australia.Cornell Lab scientist Ed Scholes and National

GeographicphotojournalistTim Lamansucceeded incapturingimages of all 39species in thebird-of-paradisefamily for the

first time ever. You can sign up for notification ofwhen the site is fully on line - and see an amazingtrailer - at http://www.birdsofparadiseproject.org/

NEW BIRDS OF PARADISE WEBSITE

Illawarra Birders have had a close associationwith the Garden, having conducted manyguided walks and workshops there. We havenow become corporate members of theFriends of Wollongong Botan-ic Garden. The Friends aim tofoster interest in the activitiesand development of the Gar-den through bi-monthly meet-ings, newsletters, displays,guided tours and outings. Theyalso have a propagation team growing plantsfor sale, and run the Frogs Hollow TradingPost and Information Centre. For more de-tails see here .

MAKE FRIENDS AT THEWOLLONGONG BOTANIC GARDEN

Photos from our recentWetland Bird Id workshop atLake Illawarra have beenuploaded onto ShellharbourCouncil’s Facebook page -thanks to Cath Blakey forarranging this. See them allhere.

On 6th December IllawarraBirders will be presenting afurther talk on birdidentification to Bushcare andCommunity Garden Volunteers.

WETLAND BIRD WALK

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This is your chance to get your photos in the digital editionof the Pizzey & Knight field guide. Publishers Gibbon

Multimedia are looking for photos of birds(mostly rare ones, but there are still a fewregular species missing) and birding loca-tions. Sound recordings of birdsong arealso required. No payment is involved (un-less you are contributing on a large scale)but contributors will receive full acknowl-edgement and a complimentary PC Edi-tion. For full details go tohttp://www.gibbonmm.com.au/ and clickon ‘Contribute’.

PIZZEY & KNIGHT WANT YOUR PHOTOS! HOT OFF THE PRESS…Two excellent new volumes you may wish to addto your collection…Waders : the Shorebirds ofAustralia. David Hollands andClive Minton. BloomingsBooks, 2012. Provides a com-prehensive account of all 80Australian species.

Birds of Prey of Australia: A FieldGuide Stephen DebusA complete reworking of the classicguide to Australian raptors.

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 5

CONSERVATION NEWS: CASSOWARIES UNDER DEVELOPMENT THREAT

A $1.4 billion project thought to be Queensland'sbiggest ever tourism venture could have a disas-trous impact on the local cassowary population.

The Ella Bay integrated tourism and residential commu-nity, to be built near Innisfail, south of Cairns, was ap-proved by Queensland's coordinator-general on 20th

November.Under the EPBC Act (seebelow), approval is still re-quired from the federalgovernment. The proposalis for a 4.5-square-kilome-tre cattle property to betransformed into three re-sorts, four residential pre-cincts, a retail village, an18-hole golf course and acassowary research and ed-ucational centre.Cassowary Coast Alliance (CCA) member Liz Gallie,who lives in nearby Mission Beach, says the project willbe disastrous for cassowaries that roam and feed in thearea. "I just can't believe that they are looking to put5,000 people - a township - in the middle of a WorldHeritage area," she said. "Bringing a development intocassowary territory is totally unacceptable. The CCAplans to lobby federal Environmental Minister TonyBurke who has a month to approve the project.

Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman AndrewPicone stressed the area's environmental importance,adding it was also a nesting ground for sea turtles andhome to marine species. "We have serious concernsabout the impact that this will have on endangered spe-cies," he told AAP.Premier Campbell Newman says the developer, Satori

Ella Bay Pty Ltd, will have to meet 38conditions, including strict environ-mental guidelines. The proposal wasfirst floated by the state governmentseven years ago.State Development Minister JeffSeeney said he believed environmen-tal concerns, particularly for casso-waries, had been "well and trulytaken into account". "There is fenc-ing to stop them crossing the road

indiscriminately in areas where they might be endangeredand then there is crossings for them so they can crossunder the road in a safe manner," Mr Seeney said. Seven‘fauna underpasses’ and 25 ‘escape gates’ along a fencedaccess road into the property have been proposed to pro-tect cassowaries and other animals. However, the devel-oper's own report into other cassowary crossings in theregion found they were not well used.Sources: NineMSN, AAP, Courier-Mail

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On 28 November 2012 an alliance of more than 35 environmentalorganisations (including Birdlife Australia) delivered to the FederalEnvironment Minister Tony Burke more than 10,000 petition signa-tures protesting against proposals to hand control of national envi-ronmental powers to state and territory governments. And on 27November 2012 33 leading environmentalists including Sir DavidAttenborough wrote to the Prime Minister voicing their oppositionthe proposed changes to the EPBC Act.

There is still time to voice your support for the ‘Places you love’campaign if you have not done so already (see our October issue).This is important as environmental protection in Australia is facinga major challenge from the states and big business. Without Federalintervention, we would now have oil rigs in the Great Barrier Reef,the Franklin River would be dammed and Shoalwater Bay (an Im-portant Bird Area in Central Queensland) would be a coal termi-nal. Over 85% of people surveyed have expressed support forretaining existing environmental protection. To have your say, goto http://placesyoulove.org/take-action/. You can also showyour support by uploading photos of the places and wildlife youlove at http://placesyoulove.org/upload-files/

Fresh legal action has just been launchedto stop Woodside's $35 billion Kimberleygas hub project at James Price Point, nearBroome. The WA Supreme Court hasbeen asked to overturn the state govern-ment's second attempt at compulsory ac-quisition of the site and rule the $1.5bncompensation deal negotiated with theKimberley Land Council invalid.

The controversial gas hub project wasgiven a "strict conditional" go-ahead fromWestern Australia's Environmental Pro-tection Authority in July. The decisionwas rooted in controversy when it wasrevealed that four of the five EPA boardmembers had to be tood aside because ofconflicts of interest.The new action alleges the governmentfacilitated an abuse of the federal courtprocess in its dealings over James PricePoint. Full story here .

Source: The Australian

KIMBERLEY GAS HUB CHALLENGE

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 6

Earlier in the year I was birding at ShoalhavenHeads and photographed some of the waders there.It wasn’t until I got home and looked more closelyat the photos that I noticed some leg flags on one ofthe Bar-tailed Godwits (pictured). After a bit ofGoogling I tracked down an email address forreporting flagged waders, and duly notified mysighting. Next day I received a reply confirming thatthe godwit had been flagged at the Yatsu Tidal Flat,Narashino, in Tokyo Bay, Japan – a stopover pointsome 7,923km away (but still a long way south of itsSiberian breeding grounds).

I started keeping an eye out for any signs of a legflag and a few weeks later at the same location wassurprised to see a flagged Caspian Tern. I didn’t rea-lise these birds were also being flagged; I sent anoth-er email to the same address and was advised thatthe bird was flagged as a chick at Clonmel Island,near Port Albert,Victoria, a distance of 549km.

So who is conducting this research? The Austral-asian Wader Studies Group (AWSG) was formed in1981 as a special interest group of BirdLife Australiato coordinate studies of waders in Australia andthroughout their migration routes. Its aim is “to en-sure the future of waders and their habitats in Aus-tralia through research and conservation programsand to encourage and assist similar programs in therest of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and net-work of shorebird sites.” It monitors shorebirdpopulations and migration both in Australia andoverseas by a programme that includes counting,leg banding and colour flagging.

So what has the leg-flagging revealed? Australianflagged waders have turned up in 17 countries rangingfrom Papua New Guinea and Singapore to Siberiaand even Alaska.

New ZealandThere is a huge interchange of Red Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits between eastern Australia and NewZealand. Many of these records relate to birds whichhave spent their first year in Australia and latermoved to become summer residents of New Zealand.It is also a reflection of the high level of activity andexpertise of New Zealand wader watchers.

Hong Kong - JapanA much wider variety of flagged Australian wadershave been seen in Hong Kong, where the Mai PoMarshes are a mecca for wader enthusiasts; the domi-nant species is Curlew Sandpiper. Sightings in Japanalso relate to a good variety of species with Sanderlingbeing the most numerous.

China Mainland & KoreaKorean sightings are dominated by Bar-tailed God-wits and Great Knots, where almost the whole popu-lation of these species gathers in the Yellow Searegion on northward migration. The surprisingly lownumber of flag sightings in China is a reflection of thelarge coastline, the difficulties of getting close to wad-ers along it, and the relative lack of experienced waderwatchers. Taiwan has been especially active in flagreporting and here Red-necked Stints dominate, al-though there is a very wide spread of species.

Flying the FlagLeg-flagging Waders

Martin Potter

Flagged Bar-tailed Godwit at Shoalhaven Heads

Flagged Caspian Terns

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 7

Southern AsiaThe low number flag sightings from many countriesof southern Asia may partly reflect the inaccessibilityof wader areas in those countries and the lack ofwader specialists. However data suggests it mainlyderives from the fact that most species fly over thisarea without stopping on both northward andsouthward migration (e.g. northwest Australia toChina non-stop, and vice versa).

AlaskaAll records from Alaska, USA, relate to a single spe-cies – the Bar-tailed Godwits which visit the eastcoast of Australia.

Please watch out for leg flags on waders. The morethat are seen and reported, the greater the value. Allthe effort that is being put into flagging the birds isonly effective when they are sighted and theirlocation reported.

LEG-FLAGGING FAQ

Doesn’t leg flagging harm the birds?This question has caused heated and sometimesacrimonious debate on forums such as Birding-Ausand elsewhere. For an anti-flagging viewpoint, seehttp://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/birding-aus/2011-08/msg00063.htmlA detailed rebuttal has been posted by Clive Minton;the following extract relates to the leg-flagging ofRed-necked Stints:“Data was analysed for three marking periods (be-tween 1978 and 2004)… In the first period birds wereonly given metal bands. In the second period manyalso had flags (flagging in Victoria commenced in1990). In the third period almost all carried a flag (aswell, of course, as a metal band). The annual survivalrates for all three periods were similar. They showedthat three out of every four Red-necked Stints suc-cessfully returned to the banding area after complet-ing their migration to their Northern Hemisphere

breeding grounds (a 24,000km round trip). This is thelevel of survival rate which would be expected for aspecies of this size based on wader survival rate analy-ses carried out elsewhere in the world. It stronglydemonstrates that flagging birds does not prejudicetheir survival and that a high proportion, even of thissmall species, returns successfully from migrationeach year.”

For the full text of the posting, go tohttp://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/birding-aus/2011-08/msg00067.html

Who is Clive Minton?Dr Clive Minton is generally ac-knowledged as one of theworld’s leading authorities onmigratory waders. He himselfmigrated from England to Aus-tralia in 1978. He introducedthe technique of cannon-nettingto the Victorian Wader StudyGroup, which became one ofthe most active banding groupsin the world. He was alsoinstrumental in the formation of the AustralasianWader Studies Group of which he was foundingchair, as well as in the establishment of Broome BirdObservatory. Since the early 1980s he has led regularwader study expeditions to north-west Australia.Amongst many other honours, in 2001 he was electeda Member of the Order of Australia for 'services toornithology, particularly in the study of migratorywading birds in Australia'.How do I report leg-flag sightings?Go to http://www.awsg.org.au/reportform.php

What is a flyway?Flyways are broad corridors used by migrating birds.For waders eight flyways have been identified aroundthe world. Threeflyways are impor-tant for migratorywaders in the AsiaPacific region. Thewaders we see inthe Illawarra pri-marily use the EastAsian-AustralasianFlyway (see map)which includes 22countries.

Pied Oystercatcher at Wombarra (flagged at Werribee, VIC before 2003)

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: Mick

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Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 8

What is JAMBA? And CAMBA?? And ROKAMBA???An MBA is a Migratory Bird Agreement. There is little point in us trying to protect waders if they are not alsoprotected in the other countries they travel through and breed in. There are nine bilateral agreements (ieagreements between two particular countries) for migratory bird conservation in the East Asian AustralasianFlyway, involving 7 countries. Australia has agreements with a) Japan (Japan/Australia Migratory Bird Agree-ment), b) China and c) the Republic of (South) Korea.What is the Ramsar Convention?The Ramsar ‘Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat’ is one oftwo world-wide agreements which are relevant to the conservation of waders. It is an international treaty forthe conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, designed to prevent their progressive loss now and in thefuture. The convention was developed and adopted by participating nations at a meeting in Ramsar, Iran on 2February, 1971, and came into force on 21 December,1975. In the East Asian-Australasian Flyway 15 of the 22countries in the Flyway have signed the Ramsar Convention.The other world-wide agreement is the Bonn ‘Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Ani-mals’, an international treaty concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale. The Con-vention was signed in 1979 in Bonn, Germany and came into force in 1983; there are over 100 member nations.

This endangered Sandpiper is a native to FrenchPolynesia. Unlike other species of Sandpipersthat migrate great distances the Tuamotu, or

Titi as it is locally known, is a full time breeding resi-dent of the islands and atolls of the region. It is be-lieved that at least six species of Sandpiper evolvedhere; most of these became rare after the arrival ofthe Polynesians but after the Europeans came withtheir introduced stowaways such as black rats and catsonly the Tuamotu sur-vived.

The first specimen wascollected on Cooks lastvoyage in January 1778and became part of theSir Joseph Banks collec-tion. It was painted byWilliam Ellis, but was lat-er lost. Approximatelyonly one thousand birdsremain; they are onlyfound on four rat free orpartially rat free atolls andare under direct threatfrom the accidental colonisation of rats from otherislands in the group. They are also endangered byincreased seawater inundation from wind drivenswells. Habitat destruction due to the increased culti-vation of coconuts has also had an impact on thisspecies.

This bird is unlike any other Sandpiper in that it feedson nectar and it has been discovered that the birds

tongue is forked. It is believed that this adaptationallows it to obtain nectar more efficiently. The Tua-motu is not a bird of the intertidal areas but feeds insemi-open vegetated areas. It feeds on small inverte-brates, some vegetation and nectar; breeding pairsinhabit small territories of around 20 x 30 metres.The breeding season is between April and June. An-other of this bird’s strange habits is that it will nestboth in trees and on the ground; only a scrape is

made and is lined withcoral and shell debris. TheTuamota only lays twoeggs unlike its northernrelatives that lay four. Theeggs are white with purpleto violet blotches.

There is a low survival rateamong the chicks that dohatch as many die fromstarvation. Overcrowdingis a major problem as suit-able breeding areas arescarce; predation by landcrabs also takes its toll.

Like many island birds, the Tuamotu is now endan-gered but conservation work is being carried out toprotect this species from extinction. Plans are beingdrawn up to eradicate rats from other islands in thearea and reintroduce the Tuamotu in the hope thatthey may increase their breeding success.

ReferencesBirdlife International Fact Sheet; Shorebirds - an identification guide to the wad-ers of the world; Wikipedia

BIRDS OF THE WORLD - TUAMOTU SANDPIPER TERRILL NORDSTROM

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Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 9

What we are hoping to achieve with our website is to provide somewhere members can go for informationabout the club, what’s on and when, as well as other activities the club may be involved in.

We also wanted to create a website that can be used as a resource for local and visiting birders, giving infor-mation about the birds of the area and places to see them. So go to www.illawarrabirders.org !

When you first come to the page under the header is the Twitchline phone number. Please use this numberif you see something unusual. Once reported the sighting will be immediately ‘tweeted’ to all birdwatchersthat follow our club on Twitter (subject to any ethical considerations). If you are not on twitter but would beinterested in receiving SMS alerts instead, please contact myself or any of the committee to help you out.

We then move to the navigation area:

Home Tab

· Home – This brings you to our home page which gives you the latest current activities and a bitabout the Illawarra.

· Forum – A great place to discuss bird sightings and anything birding with other birders.

Illawarra Birders Tab

· About us - Just a bit about the aims of the club· Contact us - as it says· Membership - Application and info about joining· Birding ethics – These are the unofficial rules to birdwatching· Twitchers corner – Well worth a visit. This is a spot where you can share your numbers. It is not to

be taken too seriously as can be seen by the webmaster languishing near last place. So don’t be bash-ful and keep me company. We all have to start somewhere.

Photo Index Tab

· Alphabetical full – This is a photo index of all the birds found in the Illawarra in alphabetical or-der.

· Taxonomic full - This is a photo index of all the birds found in the Illawarra in taxonomic order.· Alphabetical menu – This is the list separated into smaller pages so if you have a slower connec-

tion it would be easier to view this way· Taxonomic menu - This is the list separated into smaller pages so if you have a slower connec-

tion it would be easier to view this way· Dragonflies – As supplied by Chris Brandis, a photo index of all the dragonflies and damselflies

of the Illawarra

Our website - A User’s Guide Dave Rower

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 10

Links Tab Contains links to other clubs and birding organisations.

Bird Lists Tab· Illawarra List – The full list of all birds recorded in the Illawarra.· Brochure – A supplement to our ‘Illawarra Birds’ brochure, giving details of where to find the birds

featured in the brochure.

Activities Tab· Programme 2012 (2013) – The current year’s programme of club activities.

Old Newsletters· Yes it’s all the old newsletters (see Members’ Area for recent newsletters).

Walks Tab· This is still under construction. When finished each walk will be viewable in satellite or map view

and you will be able to download the gpx file into your gps. (If this sounds like gobbledegook, seeme!)

Members Area TabLog in with your password; if you don’t know your password , email me!

· Newsletters – The latest newsletters· Illawarra checklist – A file which enables you to compile your lifetime Illawarra and Australia bird

lists - find out how many species you have seen!· Committee – Your committee and their contact details.

Finally under the navigation bar is a link to our Photo comp.

If you have any bird photos to add to the photo ID pages we would love to have them. Also any feedbackabout what else you would like to see on the webpage or any changes required - please let me know as thisis an ongoing project and we always want to improve it.

Dave [email protected]

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 11

This series is about the little brown birds of the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands areas.Part 1 described the field marks of the four Thornbills that occur in all of those areas: the Brown, Striated,Yellow and Yellow-rumped Thornbills. It divided these four species into two groups: those with streakedbreasts, and those with plain breasts.

In our area, there are only two thornbills with streaked breasts: Striated Thornbill and Brown Thornbill. Toconfirm the identity of a thornbill with a heavily streaked chest, look at the FACE.

Note: some birders classify thornbills by eye colour, the red-eyed or dark-eyed thornbills in one group (egsee http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=686) and the pale-eyed thornbills (egsee http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=688).

General information

Little Brown Jobs By Jill Molan

Brown Thornbill Striated ThornbillAcanthiza pusilla Acanthiza lineata

Feature (named for its distinctively streaked crown and face)

Overall colour Generally brown,paler underparts Olive-brown back, paler yellowish underparts

Eyebrow None Distinct pale eyebrow

Cheeks Plain, no markings Dark streaks on pale cheeks

Crown Plain Pale fine streaks on rufous forehead crown, nape

Forehead Rusty scallops Pale fine streaksEye Red Grey

Brown Thornbill Striated Thornbill

Distribution Endemic to eastern and south easternAustralia including Tasmania Endemic to south eastern Australian mainland

Movements Sedentary Sedentary

Longevity(from bandingdata)

Over 17 years 5 months(HANZAB Vol 6 p. 423)

Over 15years 7 months(HANZAB Vol 6 p. 538)

Bird

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Part 2 - Seek the Streaks

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 12

Martin PotterBrown Thornbill Striated Thornbill

Habitat Mid storey High

Prefers areas with good ground andshrub cover

Outer foliage of middle and upper canopy and barkof tall trees

Wide range of habitats – forest, wood-land, heath, riparian Mainly eucalypt forests and woodland

Food Mostly insectivorous, by gleaning Mostly insectivorous, by gleaning

Behaviour In ones or twos or small family parties In small flocks of up to 20, quickly following eachother from treetop to treetop

Responds readily to pishing, buzzingor other noises

Seems to completely ignore pishing and othernoises

Voice andCalls

Melodious warble, also scolding callsand mimicry especially near the nest

High pitched tssisst tssisst or ‘Zit call,’ softer thansimilar Yellow Thornbill call. Often heard beforeseen.

ReferencesHiggins, PJ & Peter, JM 2002 HANZAB (Handbook of Australian New Zealand & Antarctic Birds) Volume 6.Simpson, K & Day, N 2004 Field guide to the birds of Australia, 7th edition, Penguin.Graeme Chapman website http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/search.php?task=doit

On 22 November a Shooters Party bill to ex-pand the state's duck hunting program passedthrough parliament, making the Game Coun-

cil the sole authority for granting licenses. The changesstrip the National Parks and Wildlife Service of its rolein the licensing process, a move the opposition saidgives the Game Council too much power. But NSWPremier Barry O'Farrell says his government has noplans to overturn a long-held ban on recreational duckhunting in the state.

Under current laws, hunting is onlyallowed on farms for pest mitigation.Despite the government backing thebill - in return for the Shooters' sup-port of ports privatisation - MrO'Farrell said the government wouldnot overturn a 1995 ban on recre-ational duck hunting. "The 1995ban on duck hunting is one of thegreat pieces of Carr (government)spin," Mr O'Farrell told reporters."In Labor's last year in office, 2010-2011, (it) set a quota of more than 100,000 ducks onprivate land - something like 52,000, 53,000 of thoseducks were shot. Duck hunting on private land has ex-isted since Bob Carr claimed that duck hunting hadended in NSW."

Mr O'Farrell took credit for restricting the ShootersParty bill with a series of government amendments, in-cluding the creation of a new Game Bird ManagementCommittee to set quotas and determine what species of

bird can be hunted and where. Questioned about thedeal with the Shooters Party over the government'sleasing plans for Port Botany and Port Kembla, MrO'Farrell said: "We're working with the upper housewe have."

During the debate on the bill, the opposition's envi-ronment spokesman Luke Foley said Labor supportedthe current system of hunting by farmers for pest miti-gation, but the shooters' bill was "a bridge too far. Ifrecreational shooters play a part in a legitimate mitiga-

tion effort, we don't see a problemwith that. We don't believe the regula-tory arrangements contemplated by(the Shooters Party) are balanced."

Shooters Party MP Robert Brownsaid the bill simply removed the redtape involved with the licensing sys-tem. "The current system is inefficientwith two licensing systems running inparallel," he told parliament. GreensMP John Kaye blasted the govern-

ment for backing the duck hunting bill in return forthe Shooters Party vote on its ports privatisation bill,which passed through parliament late on Wednesdaynight. "(The government) is absolutely happy to tradeoff animal welfare in order to get its legislationthrough this chamber," he said.

Sources: AAP, Prime7, Yahoo.com  For more detailsclick here or here . For an update on the 2013 Victorianduck hunting season, click here .

DUCK HUNTING IN NSW - NEW LEGISLATION CHANGES

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 13

DescriptionThe Macquarie Rivulet Arboretum runs along theSouthern bank of a length of the Macquarie RivuletEast of the Princes Highway. It is a very easy walk,slightly over one kilometre on a sealed footpaththrough well maintained lawns and gardens.

How to Get ThereThere is a car park at each end of this walk, the first islocated directly behind the garden centre at the North-ern end of the airfield (Darcy Dunster reserve). If ap-proaching from the North follow the F6 and once yougo under the bridge at Haywards Bay get into the rightlane. Take the Illawarra Highway turn off to AlbionPark and go around the roundabout, use the right laneon the roundabout as the turn into the garden centreis approx. 50m from the exit of the roundabout to theright. Continue past the garden centre entrance andthe road leads into the car park.From the south follow the highwaythrough Albion Park Rail, once youcome to the roundabout immediatelybefore the road becomes the F6 turnleft and prepare to take the right turn.This car park is gated and is locked bythe council of an evening, there is how-ever ample room to safely park a vehi-cle outside of the gate. If you arecoming from Albion Park you shouldalready know where the garden centreis.The second car park is accessed byturning off the Princes Highway on to Creamery Rd(Left if accessing from the North and Right from theSouth). Follow the road all the way to the end andturn left on to Koona St. Keep following this road, itlooks like it is going to end but keep going - the roadwill just turn into Shearwater Blvd. Eventually you willbe faced with a choice - don’t follow the road arounda left hand turn, going straight into the little car park.

Walk DetailsThis walk is used by pushbike riders avoiding the traf-fic in Albion Park Rail, so beware when getting backon to the footpath after looking at something interest-ing. It is also very popular for walkers. This has servedto habituate some of the birds to people, giving goodopportunities for some close up viewing.

For the purposes of this description I am going to startfrom the Garden Centre (Western) end, if you are go-ing to start from the Shearwater Blvd (Eastern) endplease start reading from the bottom.

The car park has a nice picnic area and is immediatelyadjacent to the river. It is well worth a look with Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, European Goldfinch, CrestedPigeon and Red-browed Finch almost always there.Walking towards the highway you will pick up the foot-path and go under the road bridge. At the right time ofyear Welcome Swallows nest under this bridge and of-fer an excellent view of them feeding their young. Onthe other side of the highway the arboretum starts, theEucalypts are semi mature and there are some goodAcacias providing cover and food to Honeyeaters, Ro-sellas, Fairy Wrens and Thornbills.

Further along you will notice a third access from Rivu-let Cres, I have purposely omitted thedirections to this road as it is quitepossibly the worst access to any roadanywhere. Further on the path goesunder the rail bridge and once underthat there is a paddock to the rightwith trees that have been used by aWhite-bellied Sea Eagle to eat itscatch. Other raptors use this area tohunt, such as Black-shouldered Kiteand Nankeen Kestrel. At the Easternend of the agistment there is a damwhere, if approached cautiously, Pa-cific Black Duck, Black-fronted Dot-terel, Chestnut Teal and Royal

Spoonbill can be observed quite closely.For the length of this walk it is worthwhile keeping aneye on the river for Cormorants, Pelicans, Darters,Ducks, Striated Heron & Azure Kingfisher. The North-ern bank is lined with Casuarina trees that attract Cock-atoos. There are a few picnic tables along the length ofthe walk that allow you to sit and enjoy a nice cup oftea at the same time.

This is one of my favourite walks. Shellharbour Councilhas done an excellent job on the amenities, lawns andgardens. I am looking forward to adding to my list onthis site as the seasons change and the trees becomemore mature.Photo: Little Black Cormorant by the Macquarie Rivulet

Macquarie Rivulet Arboretum by Paul Nesbitt

ILLAWARRA BIRDING HOTSPOTS

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 14

SIGHTINGSMusk Duck 1 17-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Ponds Illawarra Birders

Freckled Duck 8 30-Nov-12 Saleyard Ponds, Berrima Road, Moss Vale Ponds Terry Dunlea

Pink-eared Duck 7 30-Nov-12 Saleyard Ponds, Berrima Road, Moss Vale Ponds Terry Dunlea

Tawny Frogmouth 1 13-Nov-12 Illawarra Fly, Robertson Rainforest Martin & Penny Potter

White-headed Pigeon 3 27-Oct-12 Farmborough Heights Suburban Andrew Wood

Topknot Pigeon 3 4-Nov-12 Windang Estuary, Lake Illawarra Overhead Illawarra Birders

Topknot Pigeon 6 10-Nov-12 Shoalhaven Heads Overhead Illawarra Birders

Topknot Pigeon 4 14-Nov-12 Fig Trees, Belmore Basin, Wollongong Urban Peter Parker

Australasian Darter 1 1-Oct-12 Wollongong Golf Course Wetland Martin Potter

Australasian Darter 9 24-Nov-12 Hooka Point, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Lorraine Pincus

White-necked Heron 2 20-Nov-12 Purrah Bay, Kanahooka Overhead Martin Cocker

Striated Heron 1 24-Nov-12 Berkeley Boat Harbour, Lake Illawarra Ponds Martin Cocker

Little Egret 1 4-Nov-12 Purry Purry Bay, Primbee Estuarine Illawarra Birders

Nankeen Night-Heron 1 29-Nov-12 Sandon Point, Tramway Creek Creekside Jill Molan

Glossy Ibis 1 17-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Ponds Illawarra Birders

Straw-necked Ibis 50 14-Oct-12 Princes Highway, Gerringong Rural Martin & Penny Potter

Royal Spoonbill 3 26-Oct-12 Lake Illawarra Estuary Estuarine Lorraine Pincus

White-bellied Sea-Eagle 1 17-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Ponds Illawarra Birders

Whistling Kite 1 28-Oct-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Wetland Gong Gang*

Whistling Kite 1 17-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Ponds Illawarra Birders

Collared Sparrowhawk 1 15-Oct-12 Purry Burry Point Woodland Martin Potter

Brown Goshawk 1 28-Oct-12 Windang Estuary, Lake Illawarra Overhead Martin Cocker

Brown Goshawk 1 16-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Overhead Martin Cocker

Grey Goshawk 1 28-Oct-12 Robertson Lookout Rainforest Gong Gang*

Grey Goshawk 1 18-Nov-12 Orient Point Overhead Richard Brown

Spotted Harrier 1 Juv 25-Nov-12 Roadside Paddock, Gerringong Rural Chris Brandis

Swamp Harrier 1 14-Oct-12 Coomonderry Swamp Wetland Martin & Penny Potter

Swamp Harrier 1 28-Oct-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Wetland Gong Gang*

Swamp Harrier 1 17-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Ponds Illawarra Birders

Swamp Harrier 1 23-Nov-12 Purrah Bay, Kanahooka Marsh Martin Cocker

Nankeen Kestrel 1 14-Sep-12 Wollongong Golf Course Coastal Martin Potter

Australian Hobby 1 28-Oct-12 Windang Estuarine Gong Gang*

Peregrine Falcon 1 28-Nov-12 Princes Highway Bulli Roadside Perch Martin Potter

Buff-banded Rail 1 28-Oct-12 Wollongong Botanic Garden Parkland Gong Gang*

Buff-banded rail 1 1-Nov-12 Wollongong Botanic Garden Park Illawarra Birders

Buff-banded rail 1+4Chicks 27-Nov-12 Wollongong University Park Penny Potter

Baillon's Crake 1 28-Oct-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Wetland Gong Gang*

Black-tailed Native-Hen 1 21-Nov-12 Saleyard Ponds, Berrima Road, Moss Vale Wetland David Bourne

Beach Stone-curlew 1 17-Oct-12 Orient Point Estuarine Richard Brown

Pied Oystercatcher 10 28-Oct-12 Why Juck Bay, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Martin Cocker

Pied Oystercatcher 2 4-Nov-12 Windang Estuary, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Illawarra Birders

Pied Oystercatcher 2 26-Oct-12 Bevans Island, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Lorraine Pincus

Pied Oystercatcher 6 26-Oct-12 Lake Illawarra Estuary Estuarine Lorraine Pincus

Pied Oystercatcher 12 25-Oct-12 Orient Point Estuarine Richard Brown

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 15

Hi everyone, many thanks for all your sightings some of which are detailed above. The birding scene continues to bea busy one with many unusual sightings being recorded throughout the State as well as in our own area. Apart fromlast month’s Beach Stone-curlew there are continued reports of Painted Snipe, Topknot Pigeons, Glossy Ibis, Needle-tails, Pink-eared and Freckled Duck some of which have been seen in our area. At this time of the year there aremany juvenile birds dispersing away from their home territories so be prepared for the unusual! Notable sightings inour area have been Sanderling and Little Tern at Lake Illawarra estuary, Glossy Ibis at Tallawarra, a Noisy Pitta heardcalling at Scarborough and Woodswallows at Bellawongarah. As the evening thunderstorms roll in that is the time tolook out for Swifts and Needletails following the storm fronts.Good Birding! Martin Cocker

Sooty Oystercatcher 7 4-Nov-12 Windang Estuary, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Illawarra BirdersBlack-winged Stilt 20 4-Nov-12 Purry Purry Bay, Primbee Estuarine Illawarra BirdersRed-capped Plover 6 4-Nov-12 Windang Estuary, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Illawarra BirdersBlack-fronted Dotterel 6 17-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Ponds Illawarra BirdersAustralian Painted Snipe 4 30-Nov-12 Saleyard Ponds, Berrima Rd Moss Vale Ponds Terry DunleaBar-tailed Godwit 1 26-Oct-12 Puckeys Reserve Estuarine Martin PotterBar-tailed Godwit 30 31-Oct-12 Purrah Bay, Kanahooka Estuarine Martin CockerBar-tailed Godwit 120 4-Nov-12 Why Juck Bay, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Illawarra BirdersBar-tailed Godwit 350 4-Nov-12 Lake Illawarra Estuary Estuarine Martin CockerBar-tailed Godwit 50 26-Oct-12 Picnic Island, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Lorraine PincusWhimbrel 1 17-Oct-12 Orient Point Estuarine Richard BrownEastern Curlew 5 4-Nov-12 Why Juck Bay, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Illawarra BirdersEastern Curlew 3 26-Oct-12 Picnic Island, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Lorraine PincusGrey-tailed Tattler 2 28-Oct-12 Lake Illawarra inlet South Estuarine Gong Gang*Grey-tailed Tattler 2 4-Nov-12 Windang Estuary, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Illawarra BirdersGrey-tailed Tattler 1 10-Nov-12 Shoalhaven Heads Estuarine Illawarra BirdersCommon Greenshank 2 28-Oct-12 Why Juck Bay, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Martin CockerGreat Knot 3 17-Oct-12 Orient Point Estuarine Richard BrownGreat Knot 1 10-Nov-12 Shoalhaven Heads Estuarine Illawarra BirdersRed Knot 4 4-Nov-12 Lake Illawarra Estuary Estuarine Martin CockerSanderling 1 25-Nov-12 Lake Illawarra Estuary, South Side Estuarine Paul NesbittRed-necked Stint 2 4-Nov-12 Windang Estuary, Lake Illawarra Estuarine Illawarra BirdersSharp-tailed Sandpiper 30 17-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Ponds Illawarra BirdersKelp Gull 1 26-Oct-12 Lake Illawarra Estuary Estuarine Lorraine PincusKelp Gull 1 29-Oct-12 Orient Point Estuarine Ian JackettKelp Gull 2nd Year 1 4-Nov-12 Sandon Point, Bulli Estuarine Martin PotterYellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo 3 26-Oct-12 Barrack Heights Suburban Lorraine PincusChannel-billed Cuckoo Pair 5-Nov-12 Balgownie Suburban Joeanne KatsikarosPallid Cuckoo 1 27-Nov-12 Croom Reserve Woodland David BourneFan-tailed Cuckoo 1 26-Oct-12 Barrack Heights Suburban Lorraine PincusBrush Cuckoo 1 28-Oct-12 Killalea State Park  Forest Gong Gang*Dollarbird 1 28-Oct-12 Farmborough Heights Suburban Andrew WoodDollarbird 4 16-Nov-12 Tallawarra Ash Ponds, Yallah Bush Martin CockerNoisy Pitta Heard 24-Oct-12 Scarborough Forest Kim MauteRed-browed Treecreeper 1 13-Nov-12 Illawarra Fly, Robertson Rainforest Martin & Penny PotterGreen Catbird 1 1-Nov-12 Wollongong Botanic Garden Rainforest Illawarra BirdersSouthern Emu-wren 2 28-Nov-12 Barren Grounds Heathland Gong Gang*Australasian Figbird 4 14-Nov-12 Belmore Basin, Wollongong Urban Peter ParkerWhite-fronted Chat 1 14-Oct-12 Shoalhaven Heads Estuarine Martin & Penny PotterScarlet Honeyeater 1 14-Nov-12 Woonona Urban Martin & Penny PotterMasked Woodswallow 100 26-Oct-12 Bellawongarah Overhead Carla JackettRose Robin 1 28-Oct-12 Mount Kembla Lookout Rainforest Gong Gang*Leaden Flycatcher 1 28-Oct-12 Killalea Coastal Gong Gang*Fairy Martin 3 27-Oct-12 Dunmore Rural Carla Jackett

* Gong Gang = our Twitchathon Team, David Bourne, Alistair Lethbridge & Martin Potter

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 16

Activities for December and January Sunday 2 December, Wader Survey8.30am Leader: Martin Cocker. Mobile 0418 429 132Meet under the pines by Windang Surf Club. A count that is part of the national “Shorebirds 2020” programmethat will include: Windang Estuary, Why Juck Bay, Purry Burry Point. Bring morning tea.

Tuesday 4 December, Evening Meeting – Coniston Community Centre7.30pm – Members EveningOur end of year social evening. An opportunity for you all to give a short presentation to your fellow members- a recent trip away or overseas, some photos you would like to share, some facts about your favourite bird, abirding book you have read - anything birding related! Please contact Martin Cocker on 0418 429 132 if youwould like to book a time. Also our Christmas festivities, a monster raffle, the results of our Photo Competi-tion and lots of social activity.

Thursday 6 December, Lunch Time Walk in Botanic Gardens12.30-1.30pm Leader: Martin Potter Mobile No 0408 226 213Lunchtime bird walk. Meet at the Discovery Centre. Use the nearby car park at the end of Madoline Street,but you must obtain a parking pass from Discovery Centre staff and display it on your vehicle.

Sunday 9 December, Field Trip: Orient Point9.00am Leader: Martin Cocker. Mobile 0418 429 132Travel south to Nowra over Shoalhaven River, then turn left onto Greenwell Point Road through Worrigee,Brundee and Pyree where you turn right to Culburra Beach and Orient Point. At Culburra Beach continuenorth on Prince Edward Avenue. At the Orient Point Sports Ground turn left into Park Row and park. We willthen continue in convoy around the locality. Bring food and refreshment for the day.

Sunday 16 December, Atlassing at Croome8.30am Leader: Martin Cocker. Mobile 0418 429 132.An atlas survey of this IB adopted site, about 2 hrs duration. Meet at the oval car park at the end of the TennisCourt Entrance on Croome Road, Albion Park Rail.

Sunday 6 January, Wader Survey8.30am Leader: Martin Cocker. Mobile 0418 429 132Meet under the pines by Windang Surf Club. A count that is part of the national “Shorebirds 2020” programmethat will include: Windang Estuary, Why Juck Bay, Purry Burry Point. Bring morning tea.

Thursday 10 January, Lunch Time Walk in Botanic Gardens12.30-1.30pm Leader: Martin Potter – 0408 226 213 Details as above.

Saturday 19 January, Tallawarra Ashponds8.30am Leader: Martin Potter Mobile No 0408 226 213Meet on Yallah Bay Road which leads to the TruEnergy Tallawarra Power Station. It is only accessible fromthe Princes Highway southbound from Dapto. Park on the left hand side about 300 metres from the turn offopposite gate 37. Bring food and drink for the day.

Sunday 27 January, Atlassing at Puckeys Estate8.30am Leader: Martin Cocker. Mobile 0418 429 132Meet in the car park by the Surf Life Club at the end of Elliots Road, Fairy Meadow.

Sunday 3 February, Wader Survey8.30am Leader: Martin Cocker. Mobile 0418 429 132 Details as above.

Tuesday 5 February, Evening Meeting – Coniston Community Centre7.30pm – Jodie Dunn - Details to follow

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 17

Since long before I took up bird watching, I have been anamateur astronomer and as such have always wanted toview a total solar eclipse. Such events always draw largenumbers of local and overseas tourists, so nearly threeyears previously I had booked a unit in Trinity Beach,Cairns, for a week in order to view the eclipse due thereon Wed Nov 14.The trouble with any astronomical event is that for allyour planning, the time in question could be cloudy. Withno control over the weather, booking several days eitherside of the eclipse date meant that at least I could have agood holiday. I was also looking forward to seeing newbird species not encountered in the Sydney/Illawarra re-gion.We arrived on the night of Sunday 11 Nov, time enoughonly to settle into our accommodation and have some-thing to eat. On Monday morning I wandered down tothe beach just before sunrise. There I met several Ameri-cans, Brits and Japanese there for the same reason as my-self; to check the position of the sun for eclipse in twodays time. Totality was due an hour after sunrise. Therewas going to be no trouble seeing it as long as the patchycloud moving around the critical area on this particularmorning wasn’t there in two days.Wandering back to my apartment the bird watching start-ed. There were several Australasian Figbirds (pictured)

sitting on the power lines. In the Illa-warra we have the race vielloti. Farnorth Queensland, however, has therace flaviventris, which has a yellowrather than green front. I saw themoften during the week. Also presentin numbers this morning were White-breasted Woodswallow, also occa-sionally seen in the Illawarra. Most ofthe other birds I was seeing werecommon Australian species, but a

Peaceful Dove seen and heard in a nearby tree was myfirst new bird for trip. The distinctive call of this bird wasvery much a background noise in the area, like the call ofthe Spotted Dove in Wollongong suburbs.After breakfast I settled onto my balcony; notebook, bin-oculars and field guides at the ready. Very soon a flock ofvery active Scaly-breasted Lorikeets flew into nearby trees.These birds can occasionally be seen as far south as Syd-ney; this was also a first sighting for me. Soon after a su-perb white pigeon with black flanks flew in and stayed forsome time, enabling me to get good photos; I soon identi-

fied it as a Pied Imperial Pigeon,a bird of northern Australia.My fourth new bird of themorning soon followed, a smallolive-backed species flittingamong the tropical flowers. Itturned around revealing itsbright yellow front and beautifulblue chin and neck; it had a downward curved beak sim-ilar to an Eastern Spinebill. In my old Simpson and DayI couldn’t see it among the honeyeaters, finally finding itto be a male Yellow-fronted Sunbird (now known as theOlive-backed Sunbird). Unfortunately this beautiful littleguy was too far away and too fast for my camera. Atleast the eyes had it.Late that afternoon I caught a bus into Cairns itself tovisit the esplanade. Club members had advised me thiswas a place I should visit as it is frequented by shore-birds, along with birders observing them. At the south-ern end of the esplanade is a large park with adjacentmudflats, the esplanade itself stretching away to thenorth. The mudflats were indeed populated with many

shorebirds, including Red-cappedPlover, Red-necked Stint, Bar-tailed Godwit and larger birdswith downward curved beakswhich I guessed were Whimbrelsrather than Eastern Curlew. Alsopresent was a large, dark blue her-on-like bird (left). I needed a clos-er look, so nonchalantly strolleddown on to the mudflats, where Iwas able to get some decent shotsof this and other birds. It wasonly when I went back up to the

esplanade proper that I saw the signs, every 20m or so,warning not to go onto the mudflats due to crocodiles.Luckily having not become a croc’s dinner, I continuednorth along the esplanade and came across two localbirders. They told me that the blue bird that could havemade me to be a reptile’s meal was the dark morph ofthe Eastern Reef Egret. They also confirmed thatWhimbrel were present, and pointed out a couple ofbirds that were unfamiliar to me: a Ruddy Turnstone,which stayed long enough for a photo, and a TerekSandpiper, which was not so cooperative. Soon after-wards nearly all the birds flew away en masse as the tidecame in. Not a bad first day of a non-birding holiday:eight new species.Our next day was totally set aside for a wine and foodtour. Waiting for the bus to pick us up, my ever alertbirder’s eyes noticed a pair offinch-like birds under a near-by balcony. Managing a clearphoto, I later identified themas Chestnut-breasted Manni-kin (right). Once the tour

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Words &photosAndrew WoodSun, Sea and Birds

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 18

started, I noticed that the bus-driver and tour guidehad an old copy of a Morecombe field guide tucked inthe pocket at the back of his seat. He wasn’t a birdingexpert, but kept the guide to help identify birds ifasked and was familiar with the more common species.At one stage of the journey he drew my attention to aflock of Sarus Crane as wedrove past an open field. Healso, during a stop at a smallrainforest reserve, pointedout a Wompoo Fruit Dovein an overhead nest (right).This bird has a clearly pho-netic call; say ‘wompoo’ andthat is exactly how it sounds.I managed a half decent pho-to. I was not so lucky withthe Spotted Catbird, a bird endemic to this regionwhich was also calling but didn’t show itself.Our last stop of the tour was for coffee at beautifulLake Barrine. By the lake café hung a long slender nestthat I was told was the nest of an Olive-backed Sun-bird. And right in front of me, out in the open, wan-dered an Australian Brush Turkey. This bird cansupposedly be seen quite often in the bush around MtKeira; I had to travel to Far north Queensland to seeone. Not too shabby a day bird-wise; four new specieswith the manikins, crane, fruit dove and brush turkey –and lots of good food and wine as well.The next day, Wednesday, was eclipse morning. Berna-dette and I did something we’d never previously at-tempted in 27 years together – got out of bed beforesunrise. We joined the hundreds of other eclipse-chas-ers already gathered on this small local beach, andwatched the sun rise into cloud. Higher above the hori-zon the sky was clearer but the swirling cloud made usall nervous. It was some time before the sun reachedan area where we could see the partial phase progress-ing (using special eclipse glasses). As totality ap-proached, the shadow of the moon created an eerieatmosphere. The sky wasn’t dark but somehow differ-ent to dawn or dusk.Anticipation grew as the moon was close to completelycovering the solar disc. But just as the last crescent ofsunlight was still visible, cloud covered the coincidentdiscs of the sun and moon. There was a collective dis-appointed silence among the crowd, but as totalitywould last two minutes, we were still hopeful. Sudden-ly, the bottom half of the totally eclipsed sun appearedfrom the clouds. We put our binoculars up and theblack disc and bright edge due the sun’s corona wasvisible. Then, the whole disc became visible and thebeach became very noisy with cheers. Before totalityended, the cloud had moved across again. By the timethe sun returned the retrograde partial phase was al-ready in progress. The main event was over and thebeach began to clear.

As bird watchers, we’ve all seen birds that we knowwe can honestly put a tick on, but would still like tosee better.That’s how Ifelt about thiseclipse. Askme if I’veseen a totallyeclipsed Sun,and I can sayyes; thoughI’m planningfuture trips in the hope of seeing the complete eventin a clear sky from start to finish. Still, the wholeevent was an intense experience on several levels, in-cluding emotional. It’s apparent why it has such aneffect that people travel from all over the world toexperience it, often repeatedly; even a ‘layperson’ likeBernadette was impressed.The rest of that morning I spent exploring a forestedreserve north of Trinity Beach. Peaceful Dove andWoodswallows were prevalent, and again I saw anOlive-backed Sunbird; the female this time with an allyellow front. My only new bird for that day was theHelmeted Friarbird.Thursday was the last full day of the trip and I’dbooked a half day trip to Green Island to do some

snorkeling onthe reef. Dur-ing my lift tothe boat threelarge blackcockatoosflew acrosssome distancein front of the

car. In this part of the world I was pretty sure theycould only be Red-tailed Black Cockatoo; the driverconfirmed this. Again, I saw these birds - the last newones of the trip - but would have liked a better look.Green Island was not great for birds, unless you’re abig Buff-banded Rail fan. Having only previously seenthem singly, this island was heaving with them, oftenwith chicks. The only other bird I saw, apart fromsome common sea birds, was the local race of Silver-eye. The snorkeling, on the other hand, was amazing.I spent several minutes looking down on a GreenTurtle munching away on sea grass, and saw fish spe-cies out of a David Attenborough doco. And ofcourse the coral; so many beautiful types of coral.I would love to revisit this area for a couple of weeksin order to do some more reef exploring and to seemore birds; in four days I saw fourteen new specieswithout really trying. We flew home Friday morning,grateful for the tantalizing view of what we had comefor - a total solar eclipse.

Whimbrel

Brush Turkey

Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 19

All of the IB activities have been continuing apace the last two months. Our main weekend activities: theshort Sunday morning atlassing, half day shorebird surveys and all day field trips have been well attended,including a special event with another group of birders to some of our favourite spots. In addition, we ven-tured out spotlighting one Friday night.

30 September Atlassing CroomeThis forested area adjacent to the sporting complex at Albion Park Rail wasreally alive this spring morning. After negotiating then escaping the crowdedcar park due to a bike-racing event at the main ground, the sanctuary of theforest granted us some great birding. We were greeted on admission by a Fan-tailed Cuckoo. Other highlighted sightings included a Rufous Whistler, proba-ble Swamp Harrier – it was moving very quickly - , a flock of Top-knot Pi-geons and a Shining Bronze Cuckoo.

7 October Wader SurveyI have to admit that I am writing this report well after the event, and, havingnot taken any notes, am having trouble recalling it. Rest assured, we were there and shorebirds were record-ed as we visited all our usual spots, starting at Windang then across to the Windang Is area then on to theusual Lake Illawarra bays and points [it must be middle age setting in].

14 October Atlassing PuckeysPuckey’s reserve adjacent to Fairy Meadow Beach has mainly been disappointing birdwise on previous at-lassing outings. On this occasion, though, there was quite a lot happening. We were treated to a wonderfulshow on the creek as a group of cormorants got together to herd fish. There were also other good sightings,including a Reed Warbler and a Channel-billed Cuckoo calling in thedistance.2 November Spotlighting Stafford Farm TrackA good number of IB members, torches in one hand and binos inthe other, set forth down the Stafford Farm Track off Harry GrahamDrive between Mt Kembla and Mt Keira this very pleasant evening.There was great camaraderie and some great sightings of possums,though the only evidence of birds was the distinctive calls of South-ern Boobooks (Mopokes). That’s the way it goes sometimes.

4 November Wader SurveyThe Bar-tailed Godwits are back. There we were at Purry Burry Bay viewing the first good return of thisamazing migratory species, and then a hovercraft was driven right at them and they scattered. It was almostas if the driver saw us observing them and then aimed at the spot on purpose. Still, binoculars showed therewere large numbers in other parts of the lake, as well as Eastern Curlew and other species. Earlier, on therock shelf near Windang Is, we were treated to a rare sighting of two Grey-tailed Tattler.

10 November Field Trip Shoalhaven HeadsThis long day trip across the local wetlands then on to Comerong Is andback yielded some great sightings. The shorebird population was domi-nated by Pacific Golden Plover, although smaller numbers of other spe-cies such as Bar-tailed Godwit were present as well. There was also aGreat Knot among the throng. On the trek back across the sand be-tween the island and the heads we had a good view of a White-frontedChat and, in the distance, a soaring Whistling Kite. There were even afew Top-knot pigeons resting in a tree near the beach.

17 November Field Trip with Birdlife Southern HighlandsAbout half a dozen of each of IBs and birders from the Southern Highlands took part in the various sec-tions of this full day at some of our favourite spots. Starting at Windang and then over to the Windang Is.side, a highlight for everybody was watching the antics of two Little Tern; whilst members of the highlands

TRIP REPORTS - Various Text & Photos Andrew Wood

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Illawarra Birding December 2012 - 20

group were happy to see the Cormorants, Darters,Oystercatchers; and Red-capped plover and Red-necked stint (pictured right) which were present innumbers on the beach.The next location was the Tallawarra Ash ponds. Onthe 4km walk around these swamps we were treated tofive species of raptor and a large number of water birdslarge and small. A highlight was a single Glossy Ibis, anew bird for me and also, as it turned out, for IB president Martin Cocker.Following lunch at the power station picnic area we drove on to Mt. Kembla lookout. Pragmatically, this farinto a long day, we decided not to take the 5km Ring track and instead headed up the road to the RidgeTrack. Many of the common forest birds of the area were seen and heard, including two Superb Lyrebirdsthat ran across the track. The track itself was mostly uphill and has an extremely steep section which causeda rate of attrition among the attendees which saw four IBs the last to make it back to the car park, everyonehaving headed home after a great day.This was in fact the final day of a great week for me. Starting with the aforementioned Shoalhaven HeadsTrip, I flew the next day to Cairns (see separate report), home on the Friday and then on to this report’sevent on Saturday. Luckily I had Sunday to recover before work on Monday!

ILLAWARRA BIRDERS COMMITTEEMartin CockerNerida HudspithTerrill NordstromLorraine PincusPenny PotterMartin PotterDave Rower

President, Membership/Publicity & Records Officer, [email protected] member, [email protected] President and Conservation Officer, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Illawarra Birding & Education Officer [email protected], [email protected]

Membership: Single $30, Couple/family $35, Senior $25,Student $15. Annual subscriptions due JulyPro-rata rates apply for new members.

Don’t forget to check out our website at www.illawarrabirders.orgFollow us on Twitter here

Photos by M Potter unless otherwise stated

25 November Atlassing BellambiThe report for this event is being written less than an hourafter it finished; so it is good and fresh in my sometimesabsent mind. This morning ten club members and one visi-tor, my son Aaron, were treated to more than forty speciesof bird, including the magnificent sight of a hovering Black-shouldered Kite. This bird also gave us great chances to ob-serve it sitting in open branches on two other occasionsduring the walk. From the top of the sand hill that is part ofthis walk we were also treated to a wonderful view of aperching Dollarbird. Topknot pigeon, which have becomevery common in recent months, were also seen along withmost of the usual small bush birds and finally, a BrownGoshawk was seen hovering in the distance when we werefinishing up for the morning.

This club has so much activity that it’s hard to remember itall; always plenty to get out and do!

Frank Carey sent in this unusual shotby Jim Clark of a Kookaburra yawning