Wednesday, April 25, 2012

WINGELLO VILLAGE LIFE INTERVIEW

My thanks to Michelle Hrlec for broadcasting her interview with me on her blog talk radio show Wingello Village Life last Sunday afternoon. She and I went for a walk near Gambells Rest in Morton NP last week, on a pristine Autumn morning, and I rambled on about anything and everything to do with birds and birding. Michelle asked interesting questions on migration, weather, magpies etc. You can hear our discussion at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wingello-village-life - click on Episode 6. I hope you enjoy it. LJ, Anzac Day 2012

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

IN HIDING

I'm surprised I'm yet to unearth the following birds in Bundanoon: Brown Falcon, Australian Kestrel (seen one at Exeter), Straw-necked Ibis (I've seen many at Moss Vale), Grey Currawong (seen them at Penrose), White-winged Chough (seen them at Penrose)... Where are you hiding?

LJ, April 11 2012.

Friday, April 6, 2012

SUMMER/AUTUMN BIRD RECORDS FOR BUNDY

Below are a few Bundanoon bird sightings worth noting (in reverse chronological order) from this year. Rainbow Lorikeets were around a lot more than in past years. Gang-gangs Cockatoos and Wedge-tailed Eagles turned up regularly. A Weebill was a great record. Repeat visits to the swamp by Ferndale Reserve proved fruitful (I was doing this mainly for writing purposes; I recently entered the Voiceless Writing Prize with a long essay on Bundanoon)... a Latham's Snipe turned up on one occasion. Unfortunately, the Crescent Honeyeaters I heard near Bonnie View in Nov/Dec 2011, were not heard again. So, have a read below - it's a bit repetitive! I've now found 135 species in Bundanoon.

6.4.12
Home - waves of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters heading north, 1 Gang-gang Cockatoo
Oval area - 2 Peregrine Falcons (high up)
Ferndale Swamp - 1 White-eared Honeyeater (heard)
Old Wingello Rd - 1 White-throated Treecreeper (scaling a telegraph pole: an amusing first for me: I guess it's just another tree to a WTT)

2.4.12
Bonnie View - 1 White-eared Honeyeater heard calling on escarpment to east (first time I've heard one here), Pilotbird (heard)
Beauchamp Cliffs - 1 Superb Lyrebird
Home - 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles, 1 Lewin's Honeyeater, an Eastern Yellow Robin (heard nearby; closest to home it's ever been)

26.3.12
Home - 1 Rainbow Lorikeet

25.3.12
Ferndale Swamp - 1 White-eared Honeyeater (back, after months away; there must be some altitudinal dispersal with the local birds), 1 Azure Kingfisher (!), many Grey Fantails, 1 White-throated Gerygone (sticking around?), Grey Shrike-thrushes (bathing and eating worms on the ground)

24.3.12
Home - 6 Varied Sittellas flying over (a rarity), 7 Yellow-rumped Thornbills flying over (unusual), Lewin's Honeyeater (first time in the backyard)
Penrose Rd - 4 Gang-gang Cockatoos (always good to see these beauties)
Ellsmore Rd - 1 Wedge-tailed Eagle (low, heading west, over paddocks)

23.2.12
The Gullies Rd - 1 Rufous Fantail (such active things; that rufous is so striking), 6 Grey Fantails

21.3.12.
Bonnie View - 2 Chestnut-rumped Heathwrens (I prefer the name Hylacola, really; these birds are notoriously difficult to see; my view of one was fleeting; the other was heard making a scrubwren-like trill), 10 White-throated Needletails (arcing high over southern gullies), Pilotbird (heard, I've not seen one yet in Bundy), Superb Lyrebird (heard)

15.3.12
Home - 7 Gang-gang Cockatoos (a cracking number - one rarely sees this no. together)

11.3.12
Home - 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles, a few Rainbow Lorikeets

10.3.12
Ferndale swamp/Bundanoon Sewage Works - 2 Gang-gang Cockatoos, 1 juv. Azure Kingfisher (!), circa 9 Black-fronted Dotterels (the most I've ever seen together, anywhere), 2 Buff-rumped Thornbills (seen now and again), many Red-browed Finches (inc. immatures), 5 Yellow-rumped Thornbills

27.2.12
Home - 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles

24.2.12
Home - 1 Gang-gang Cockatoo (heard)

11.2.12
Ferndale swamp - 1 Weebill seen in the scribbly gum mid-storey on outskirts of oval (Australia's smallest bird; my first Weebill in the Southern Highlands!), 3 Dollarbirds, 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters

4.2.12
Home - 4 Little Ravens (a lot) and 2 Australian Ravens
Ferndale swamp - 1 Australian Reed-warbler, 1 Dollarbird
Quarry Rd - 1 Dollarbird in a paddock
Birchwood Rd - 1 Wedge-tailed Eagle

28.1.12
Home - 2 Gang-gang Cockatoos

26.1.12
Echo Point - 1 Gang-gang Cockatoo (heard), 2 Superb Lyrebirds (heard)
Anzac Parade - 1 Rainbow Lorikeet
Home - 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles

24.1.12
Bundanoon Club - 2 Rainbow Lorikeets

23.1.12
Home - 1 Rainbow Lorikeet

21.1.12
Home - 3 Gang-gang Cockatoos

20.1.12
Bundanoon Pool - 2 Gang-gang Cockatoos

19.1.12
Ferndale swamp/sewage works - 1 female Australasian Shoveler (on swamp water), 1 Dollarbird, 1 European Goldfinch (on ground, sipping water from a puddle; these are seen infrequently)

17.1.12
Ferndale swamp - 4 Dollarbirds (2 of which were dipping momentarily into water), White-necked Heron (sunbathing, with open wings), 1 White-throated Gerygone, a few Dusky Woodswallows, 1 Olive-backed Oriole, Tree Martins, c.20 White-throated Needletails, 2 Leaden Flycatchers, Sacred Kingfishers

16.1.12
Ferndale swamp - 2 Red-browed Treecreepers (the first time I've seen them there), 1 White-throated Gerygone, male Leaden Flycatcher (!)

15.1.12
Ferndale swamp - 1 Latham's Snipe (tremendous stuff: my first record for Bundy: it would've recently flown in from Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan), 1 Leaden Flycatcher, 4 Dollarbirds
Blue Gum Rd - 2 Dollarbirds

7.1.12
Home - 2 Gang-gang Cockatoos

8.1.12
Ferndale swamp/sewage works - I think I MIGHT have seen a Baillon's Creek disappearing into reeds, but I wasn't sure; Dusky Woodswallows, White-necked Heron, 3 Hardhead (unusual)

6.1.12
Grey Gum Lane area - 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles, hunting, falling into stoops

4.1.12
Morton NP (near Gambells Rest) - 1 Australian Owlet-nightjar (heard)

1.1.12
Home - 2 Rainbow Lorikeets

LJ, April 6 2012