May 22, 2005
CASSIN'S SPARROW!
This Central Valley mega-rarity was found by Ed Pandolfino in eastern Sacramento County today. The bird had been singing and 'skylarking' in the early morning. By the time Marcel Holyoak and I arrived in the early afternoon, only a Horned Lark or two was singing and bird activity was low. However, within half an hour of arriving we spotted the bird sitting quietly on the fence, allowing us to get some reasonable record shots. At one point we even got a couple of phrases of sub-song. The bird appeared somewhat drabber than its illustration in Sibley, although most of the diagnostic features are evident in the photographs (distinct throat stripes, eye-ring, spotted appearance to upperparts). Thanks for a great find Ed!
May 20, 2005
Playing catch-up
I did a good job of seeing most of the spring migrants before swanning off to Oz. The three outstanding 'regulars' I was missing were Swainson's Thrush, Olive-sided Flycatcher and Western Wood-Pewee. I took care of the Swainson's yesterday morning in the rain, and couldn't believe my luck this morning when Steve Hampton pointed out a Western Wood-Pewee and Olive-sided Flycatcher sitting in the same tree!
While trying to relocate the Olive-sided for Joan, we came across another pewee, which plumage-wise displayed some characteristics of Eastern (entirely orange lower mandible, prominent wing-bars). Unfortunately it didn't call (the only definitive way to tell these two apart), so guess we'll never know...
This Great Horned Owl was keeping a beady eye on us.
May 18, 2005
Oz trip part 10 - Centennial Park
I had a few hours in left in Sydney before heading back to the US, so I decided to check out Centennial Park. This is an excellent site to get acquainted with many of the more common Australian waterbirds including Australasian Grebe...
... Grey Teal...
Darter...
... and Purple Swamphen.
It's also one of the easier places to see Musk Duck, though it took me some time to find this one!
The feeding frenzy attracts a variety of scavengers...
... including Silver Gull.
This Little Pied Cormorant was happy to pose (and preen) for the camera.
The ubiquitous Willie Wagtail.
One of the biggest surprises of the morning was when a large flock of c. 60 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos descended noisily to feed on the pine cones. My Sydney bird book informs me they are 'uncommon nomads frequenting steep timbered country' - is this an unusual sighting for this urban park?
These birds are pretty big - note size comparison with Australian Raven.
The ecological equivalent of a Crossbill?
All in all a fantastic trip. I logged about 220 bird species (most of which were new), some incredible marsupials and wonderful scenery. Will have to save up for the next trip!
Oz trip part 9 - Mission Beach
As you can imagine, I was pretty satisfied with all the birds I'd seen so far, so was more than happy to kick back and relax in the wonderful Sanctuary Eco-Lodge near Mission Beach. Set on a hill surrounded by rainforest, a short walk gets you to a beach you can have completely to yourself...
... well, not completely. While walking down to enjoy the sunrise I was thrilled to see a Beach Stone-Curlew at close range.
Doesn't look too pleased with me, does it?
To burn off all the delicious food we'd been eating, we decided to take a sea kayaking trip to Dunk Island, about 11km roundtrip.
Our guide Atalanta was very knowledgeable about the local wildlife, including birds, and we had great views of Mistletoebirds on the island. She also pointed out a Green Ant's nest woven out of leaves.
The sea is very clear and shallow here, so we spent the best part of an hour snorkelling around the reef.
Back in Sanctuary, we discovered that a White-lipped Tree Frog had moved into our cabin.
I thought it best to evict him, but when we returned from dinner, there were two of them in the room! I then decided it wasn't such a bad idea to leave them be - after all, they might eat any creepy crawlies which ventured in during the night! We were also lucky enough to spotlight a Striped Possum right outside the cabin.
A trip to the bathroom was always interesting - a variety of colourful moths were usually on display...
... as was this leaf-mimic cricket.
Sanctuary sunrise.
There were plenty of fruiting trees around the hilltop lodge, affording eye-level views of Figbirds...
... and splendid Wompoo Pigeons.
I must have been a bit sweaty, as this butterfly kept returning to my hand (ID anyone?)
There were some truly enormous spiders around...
... and this Praying Mantis kept thwarting my attempts to photograph it by continually landing on me!
One of the most spectacular insects of the Wet Tropics must be the huge Cairns Birdwing.
Goodbye Cairns.
Oz trip part 8 - Yungaburra
We arrived in the pretty town of Yungaburra too early to check in to our hostel, so naturally we went birding! We drove to an overlook of Lake Tinaroo and immediately saw 2 lifers - a Comb-crested Jacana...
... and a Cotton Pygmy-Goose.
This Buff-banded Rail appeared at the roadside too.
The staff at our hostel informed us of a nearby stream which had Platypus. We sat by the riverside for the last hour of daylight, during which time I picked up Fairy and Brown Gerygones, and Scarlet and Dusky Honeyeaters. Eventually Andrew spotted the vegetation moving on the bank directly opposite us and voila! Our first Platypus snuffled its way past us in the stream - amazing!
The next morning I got up early to see what birds I could find in town. It was a good morning for pigeons: Bar-shouldered Doves and introduced Spotted Doves were to be expected....
... but I also spotted a few Brown Cuckoo-Doves (looking more red than brown in the early morning light) and a White-headed Pigeon.
Next up we visited Lake Barrine, where a flowering shrub in the car park was attracting Ulysses Butterflies (you should see them with their wings open!) and an Olive-backed Sunbird.
The best bird to appear on the rainforest walk was a Chowchilla with a powder-blue eyering. We were also able to get up close and personal with a Brush-turkey. Not very pretty, are they?
Lake Eacham is also well worth a visit.
It's possible to see many fish and turtles in the perfectly clear waters, and we spotted this male Water Dragon basking by the boardwalk.
Our hostel, On the Wallaby, runs wildlife-spotting canoe tours on nearby Lake Tinaroo. We opted to do both the day and night tours. The day tour was great, affording excellent views of Azure Kingfishers, Nankeen Night Herons and other waterbirds. We were lucky enough to see a Brown Goshawk take a Figbird, and this smart Grey Goshawk even sat around for long enough to be photographed.
The highlight, however, had to be the mammals. We spotted an Echidna snuffling along the water's edge, and even more amazingly, a Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo sitting out in the open in broad daylight!
Note the red eyes in this photo (this is how you usually pick them up with a spotlight at night)...
... and the impressively long tail.
We used ochre from the wet rocks to try some aborigine-style face painting. This was Andrew's attempt to make me look like a warrior - are you scared yet?
In the evening we popped out for another attempt to spot a Platypus - no luck this time, but just as we were about to leave, I heard a 'woof-woof' from the far bank. Unconvinced this was a dog, I replied 'woof-woof'. After a few minutes of woofing dialogue, a Barking Owl flew across the river towards us (thank heavens, as Andrew thought I'd gone barking mad, har har). Night canoeing was serene - the stars were phenomenal (it's really easy to see the Milky Way here), we saw two possums (Coppery Brushtail and Ringtail sp) while surrounded by the sound of frogs, insects and Australian Owlet-Nightjars.
Next day we drove to the Crater via Bromfield Swamp, and were pleasantly surprised when a party of 5 Sarus Cranes flew directly in front of the car. Disappointingly, most of the trails around the Crater were closed, but I had fun watching these two Grey Fantails battle it out in the car park.
En route to the coast we stopped off at the panoramic Milaa Milaa lookout...
... and took a swim at the Milaa Milla Falls.
If academia fails, I could always get a job in the shampoo commercials!
Pretty light at Ellinjaa Falls.
Oz trip part 7 - Atherton Tablelands
Armed with some excellent gen provided by Ron from Kingfisher Park Birdwatcher's Lodge, we spent a couple of mornings exploring the drier country of the Atherton Tablelands (since the Wet Tropics was experiencing a prolonged wet season, was good to escape the rain!). Our first destination was the Mount Carbine area. On East Mary road I managed to grab a shot of this Brown Falcon (my only one of the trip) though the car window before it dashed off.
Driving pretty much to the end of West Mary Road we located a party of at least ten Australian Bustards.
The reservoir at Mount Carbine held an excellent variety of waterbirds, including my lifer Wandering Whistling Duck and the distinctive Pink-eared Duck.
The landbirds were also pretty good, with Little Friarbird, Blue-winged Kookaburra and this pretty Striated Pardalote all showing well.
Heading south to Mount Molloy, we had great views of this Great Bowerbird tending his bower. I was surprised to learn that these birds happily set up home in people's front yards!
Squatter Pigeon was easy to see around the school, as was the distinctive Blue-faced Honeyeater.
A walk along the causeway at Lake Mitchell provided excellent birding.
Landbirds here included Grey-crowned Babbler, Double-barred Finch, Fairy Martin, a pair of Black-faced Cuckoo Shrikes....
... Pied Butcherbird....
... and this fairy-wren. Given its location and the lack of blue in the tail, I assume this must be a female/eclispse male Red-backed Fairy-wren.
Aren't Blue-winged Kookaburras great?
There were some huge termite mounds here.
The best waterbird was a Black-necked Stork (or Jabiru) foraging relatively close to the road. I think the former is a misnomer; surely Glossy-necked Stork would be better!
On the way out a group of Black-fronted Dotterel flew onto the causeway.
We also had stunning views of this Agile Wallaby, who came quite close to us before bounding out of sight.
Heading south we picked up Nankeen Kestrel, Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo and Pheasant Coucal around Mareeba.
A detour to Granite Gorge is well worth a visit for the tame Mareeba Rock Wallablies.
This one looked pretty chilled.
Why feed from the hand when you can go straight for the bag?
The birding was also good, as we finally got prolonged looks at a perched Azure Kingfisher.
The parrot flock here included the distinctive Pale-headed (Eastern) Rosella...
... and Red-winged Parrot.
Oz trip part 6: Daintree, Cape Trib, Julatten
En route to our lodgings at Kingfisher Park, we stopped off at Hartley's Crocodile Farm, where we were greeted by this enormous Golden Orb Spider.
The boat tour was good value, yielding my lifer Leaden Flycatcher and Black-chinned Honeyeater, as well as great looks at a Nankeen Night Heron (apparently these birds are attracted to scraps left over from the croc feeding).
Here comes the croc...
... if I'd known he could jump that high, I might not have got in the boat!
Steve Irwin wannabe.
Baby Koalas are seriously cute!
Next day we had an early start for a Daintree River tour with Chris Dahlberg. Although the Great-billed Heron was a no-show (it showed the day before and the day after), we saw a good mixture of species including my only Dollarbird, Shining Flycatcher and Topknot Pigeons of the trip. On a brief walk out of Daintree we had stunning views of this White-bellied Sea-Eagle...
... and Forest Kingfisher.
We spent the rest of the day driving up to Cape Tribulation. In between rainshowers I didn't have much chance for photography, but at the Cape itself we bumped into this immense Lace Monitor...
... and a pair of Orange-footed Scrubfowl posed for the camera.
These birds build an enormous nest-mound!
The epiphytic ferns growing from the trees were particularly nice here.
On the way back we struck birding gold. Andrew gasped and slammed on the brakes as a pair of Southern Cassowaries wandered past the car. I just had time to grab a couple of shots through the car window before the birds disappeared into the forest. What a bird!
Back at Kingfisher Park, I went spotlighting for Lesser Sooty Owl and marsupials. While I only managed to hear the former, I had great views of a couple of Striped Possums, and even managed to digiscope this Long-nosed Bandicoot!
The next morning I went out to enjoy the rich birdlife around the grounds of Kingfisher Lodge. My guilt at dragging Andrew (a non-birder) to stay at a birdwatching lodge was eased somewhat when I bumped into a newly-wed who had taken his non-birder wife there on their honeymoon! Birds seen, but not photographed around the grounds included a mass of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets and a Great Bowerbird at a fruiting tree, Noisy Pitta, 3 species of Monarch, Pale Yellow and Grey-headed Robin.
Emerald Doves and Red-browed Finches came in to enjoy the glut of food.
McLeay's Honeyeater was a frequent visitor to the birdbath.
Shortly after the McLeay's left, this bird flew in to drink. At first I assumed it must be a funny honeyeater, so imagine my surprise when it turned out to be my first Victoria's Riflebird!
Oz trip part 5: Cairns
Poor old Andrew isn't a birder, so the next two mornings I left him to have a lie-in while I birded frantically about town. I don't quite know how he managed to sleep through the din from the roosting Metallic Starlings and Rainbow Lorikeets!
On the first morning I headed to the Centenary Lakes and Flecker Botanical Gardens. Several birds were sunning themselves on the wires, including Helmeted Friarbird, White-breasted Woodswallow, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike and Welcome Swallow.
This bare tree held my lifer Brahminy Kite,...
... an alert-looking Osprey...
and a wing-drying Darter.
I also encountered this scary-looking critter - anyone know what it is?
Around the Lakes I saw a Little Kingfisher which never stayed put for long enough to be photographed. This Sacred Kingfisher was much more obliging.
A small flock of Pied Imperial-Pigeons was still around.
It seems like Peaceful Doves have filled the niche of House Sparrow as under-table scavenger here!
In the afternoon the tide went out, revealing what makes Cairns so attractive to birders...
The acres of exposed mud here attracted a good variety of herons (including Striated Heron, Intermediate and Eastern Reef Egrets), Royal Spoonbills and a loafing Australian Pelican flock.
It's also quite fun watching the Mudskippers propel themselves overland with their fins.
It must be hard work carrying such a big bill around!
There were still a reasonable number of shorebirds about, though mostly a little far out to photograph. The bigger blob is a Lesser Sandplover, and the smaller one is a Red-necked Stint.
I was lucky enough to bump into local birder John Seale, who informed me that the shorebirds would be closer in on the incoming tide at dawn the following day, and pointed out roosting Nankeen Night Herons in trees along the Esplanade. After dark, I went to investigate the wailing noise from outside the hotel, which turned out to be my lifer Bush Stone-curlew. It's amazing what you can do with a torch, digital camera and scope!
The next morning came and indeed the shorebirds were much closer! The prettiest of the bunch were this Red-kneed Dotterel...
... and Black-fronted Dotterel.
One mixed flock of Great Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits contained a Grey-tailed Tattler and this Curlew Sandpiper.
This picture illustrates just how flexible the Barwit's bill is.
Other shorebirds present included Whimbrel, Pied Oystercatcher and this whopping great Far Eastern Curlew.
On another hot tip from John I visited a flooded field on the south edge of the city, where I rapidly connected with these beautiful Rainbow Bee-eaters.
Intermediate Egrets foraged in the field along with 3 species of ibis and Magpie Geese.
I don't often see geese in treetops!
My quarry here was Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and I enjoyed close-up views of this adult in pristine summer plumage.
On the way back to town I bumped into this sleepy-looking Bush Stone-Curlew...
... and a flock of (introduced) Nutmeg Mannikins.
Oz trip part 4: Michaelmas Cay
Our flight arrived in Cairns shortly after 11pm, and we were up at 7 the next day for our Great Barrier Reef adventure. We chose to visit Michaelmas Cay and Hastings Reef on a day tour with SeaStar cruises for snorkelling and a couple of introductory dives. In spite of a very rough crossing (one of the crew fell overboard!), the shallow waters around the reef are mercifully calm. The first sighting of Michaelmas Cay is memorable - a swarming mass of 20,000 screeching seabirds constantly circling the small white-sand island.
The most numerous species by far were Brown Noddy and Sooty Tern, with smaller numbers of Crested and Lesser Crested Terns dotted amongst them.
On the beach, a single Masked Booby was sitting amongst the Brown Boobies.
Offshore I spotted a couple of Bridled Terns and a lone Frigatebird sp, but was unable to find any Black Noddies. As the day warmed up we decided it was time for a spot of snorkelling.
We also attempted our first ever dive (well, actually all you have to do is breathe and an experienced guide literally holds your hand through the whole experience). We saw many amazing, colourful fish up close: unfortunately my ID skills of reef fish are pretty much non-existent, and the only fish I recognized was Nemo!
Leaving the Cay.
Next stop was Hastings Reef for a second dive. If you look closely at the centre of this picture you might be able to make out a feeding flock of Black-naped Terns!
For this dive I decided to invest in a disposable waterproof camera. It didn't work so well at greater depths (lower light and those little fish can move pretty fast!), but produced some pleasing results in the shallows. Going down...
Best moment of the dive was watching this Green Turtle swim serenely by.
Some of the clams here were pretty huge!
To finish up, here are some pictures of the few fish species I did manage to photograph. Anyone care to ID them for me?
Oz trip part 3: Blue Mountains
From the coast, we drove up the picturesque Kangaroo Valley to reach the Blue Mountains. The Kookaburras at our lunch spot weren't too shy!
A brief stop at Fitzroy Falls produced another female Superb Lyrebird. She seemed completely unconcerned by our presence.
In Katoomba we did the scenic clifftop walk to the Three Sisters.
Along the way we spotted another Satin Bowerbird (a male), Australian King Parrot and Striated Thornbill. New Holland Honeyeaters abounded...
... as did these noisy Red Wattlebirds.
The Blue Mountains are apparently named after the blue haze given off by the eucalypts, much in evidence over the Jamieson Valley.
An afternoon drive up the beautiful Capertee Valley was very worthwhile.
Much of the drive was very quiet until we came across a watering hole which was teeming with activity. Parrot visitors included Eastern and Crimson Rosellas, Musk Lorikeets and this flock of Red-rumped Parrots.
Yellow-tufted, White-naped and White-plumed Honeyeaters (below) all came in to drink.
One each of Dusky Woodswallow...
... and Olive-backed Oriole remained high in the treetops.
Lots of finches were around, including a single Double-barred, a flock of Plum-headed...
... and this beautiful Diamond Firetail.
Next day we drove back to the coast, having lunch in glamorous Bondi Beach before flying up to Cairns, where the birding really got good...
Oz trip part 2: south to Jervis Bay
On leaving Sydney we drove south through the Royal National Park, my first introduction to Australian rainforest. I didn't have to walk very far to get one of my target species - this female Satin Bowerbird was foraging in the picnic ground!
We walked the island loop trail at the south end of Lady Carrington Drive - this shady trail was great for birds but pretty hopeless for photography! Birds seen along the trail included Eastern Whipbird, White-throated Treecreeper, Rose Robin, Large-billed and Yellow-throated Scrubwrens, and Brown Thornbill. This Eastern Yellow Robin was enjoying its grub.
The most spectacular birds we saw here were a pair of Superb Lyrebirds. Despite the barrage of varied vocalizations and tail-cocking from the male, the female remained immune to his charms. A few of the male's tail plumes are visible in the forground of this picture.
We continued southwards to the beautiful Jervis Bay area. Being a weekday in the low season, we had this fantastic beach to ourselves!
In the Booderee National Park, we encountered our first marsupials - an Eastern Grey Kangaroo and this Black (or Swamp) Wallaby.
A trip out to the lighthouse didn't produce a Bristlebird, but we did see many Australasian Gannets zooming along the impressive coastline.
One of the most productive spots of the park for birds was the Booderee Botanical Gardens. This Crimson Rosella was feeding in the car park.
The lake in the gardens held a good selection of waterbirds, including a Musk Duck and these Chestnut Teal.
A Wedge-tailed Eagle obligingly soared over the lake for us.
Of the forest birds seen, the highlight was obtaining close views of a Bassian Thrush, an excellent introduction to the enigmatic Zoothera genus!
In Nowra we stopped at the Animal Park for the obligatory Koala patting...
... and kangaroo feeding.
The park was full of birds (Lewin's Honeyeater, Spotted Pardalote, Eastern Spinebill, Silvereyes), but the biggest surprise was when the endemic Rockwarbler (or Origma) almost landed on my foot! I managed just one crappy record shot before it flew off.
May 17, 2005
Oz trip part 1: Sydney
In the week before leaving Australia I was averaging less than 6 hours sleep a night since I'd been frantically booking hotels, reading up on the birdlife and mammals, trying to get various pieces of work tied up as well as birding in any spare second I had. When my flight to Sydney departed SFO at 10:30pm, I was sound asleep before the plane had even left the tarmac! It's amazing how fast a 14 hour flight can pass you by when you sleep for 7 of them...
Around 7am local time I met up with Andrew (who had been working in Canberra for a month) and we headed for central Sydney. Rather refreshingly, the first bird I saw was a lifer - a Silver Gull (at most airports I usually get House Sparrow or Starling as the first trip bird). From our hotel we walked north through Hyde Park towards the Botanical Gardens and the Sydney Opera House. Along the way I encountered a steady stream of lifers - a cacophony of screeching Rainbow Lorikeets, Noisy Miners and Common Mynas. The wasted years of my youth spent watching Aussie soap Neighbours paid off, as I was instantly able to ID this Australian Magpie on call!
Silver Gulls and Australian White Ibis were literally trash birds.
The Sydney Botanical Gardens are an excellent place to get acquainted with some common SE Australian species including Crested Pigeon, Pied Currawong and Magpie-Lark.
It's also good for waterbirds such as Masked Lapwing,...
Australian Wood Duck...
and Pacific Black Duck.
This young Little Black Cormorant took a liking to Andrew's shoelaces!
It must also rank as one of the easiest places to see Buff-banded Rail - we encountered this one foraging along the footpath.
I enjoyed a close encounter with a feeding flock of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. On the first day I was full of superlatives about these birds (magnificent, prehistoric...). By the end of the trip I wished they would all shut up!
Bungee Cockatoo.
A huge roost of Grey-headed Flying Foxes were another highlight of the Botanical Gardens.
I think this one's a boy :-)
The iconic Opera House.
We took a ferry over to Taronga Zoo, which offers an excellent introduction to Australian fauna, as well as a few wild birds (we saw Crested Tern and Pied Cormorant on the ferry crossing, plus wild Laughing Kookaburras around the enclosures). There's also a great view back to downtown Sydney.
Penguin sp.
Next day we took the ferry to Manly and walked around North Head for amazing views of Sydney Harbour (note New Holland Honeyeater top left).
In addition to the honeyeater, we saw many Little Wattlebirds and this vocal Australian Raven here.
On our last night we had dinner (kangaroo and emu!) in the revolving restaurant in the Sydney Lookout, enjoying more panoramic views of the city.
Australia!
I've just returned from a mind-blowing 2.5 weeks in Australia. In my jet-lagged state I find it hard to recall all the best parts of this trip, but they include swiming alongside a Green Turtle, marsupials galore (including Platypus, Echidna and a very obliging Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo) and of course a bunch of amazing birds - if pushed I'd have to say 2 Southern Cassowaries were the highlight. Obviously I have a ton of photos to wade through and upload - watch this space...
