Albury trip 13-17/01/10

Albury Trip Report. 13-17/01/10

We arrived at our friend’s property on the west side of Splitter’s Creek at about 1pm after an uneventful drive down from Sydney. Their 30ha property is about 150m above sea level and rests on the side of Splitter’s Creek valley which is about 10km west of Albury.
During our 4 day stay I observed 101 species in the Albury region, which isn’t bad considering it was the height of summer.

Around their property I easily found 2 Red-capped Robins, Weebill, Rufous Whistler and a Western Gerygone in the first hour or so. Over the next few days I also observed: Australian Hobby, Little Friarbird, Rainbow Bee-eater, Restless Flycatcher and heard Brown Treecreeper and Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo.
In Spring it’s a great spot for birding; Red-backed Kingfisher, Painted Buttonquail, White-winged Triller and Crested Shrike-tit were all found not far from the house when I was there in October 08.

A great spot, only 5 mins drive from Splitter’s Creek, is Wonga Wetlands. On 3 visits to the site (morning and afternoon) I recorded 80 species, 72 of them on 1 day.
Surprisingly for the time of year, all the lagoons were full of water unlike back in April when they were all salt-pans… There were good numbers of the more common waterfowl and plenty of interesting species too. The best were: WOOD SANDPIPER (lifer), 5-6 Blue-billed Ducks, 20 Black-tailed Native Hens, Latham’s Snipe, Pink-eared Duck, Collared Sparrowhawk, Aus Hobby, WB Woodswallow, Crested Shrike-tit, WB Sea Eagle and Brown Treecreeper.

For a full list of species for Splitter’s Creek and Wonga Wetlands see http://www.eremaea.com/NewSurveysRegion.aspx?Region=16

All up a good stay with good company and birds!

I highly recommend Wonga for anyone travelling through the area and Chiltern, which I did not visit this time, but have on many occasions before.
Hopefully we’ll spend a week there again in October this year and maybe even Coonabarabran the week before!

Max Breckenridge,
Gladesville, Sydney…

BOZ Outing - Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury 28th

The widely anticipated BOZ outing to the lower Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury was quickly put in doubt by the appauling weather we'd been enduring for the past 3-4 days, but this had made all of us that little more keen to get out of the house and see some birdies.
Most of the group met at Dave's house (Dean, Fatih, Ash and I) so we piled into Dave's Prado and set of into the deluge. We finally arrived at Blaxland maccas after a car trip listneing to Dean's tantilisng stories of grasswren encounters. At maccas we met Mark, Cameron and Brook and after a morning coffee headed further up the misty mountains to Wentworth Falls where we met Grant outside the cafe. Another coffee and we were ready, first stop was King's Tableland where we found both our target species easily. After standing in the rain for a bit looking over the iconic landscape a Beautiful Firetail showed itself and then Grant spotted some Glossy Black Cockatoos on phone lines back down the road. The mist began to roll in, but we managed great views of at least 14 glossys! Most were in pairs and some had young with them, the photographers were having a ball and hopefully made the best of the bleak background.
Our next stop was the Pilotbird site, Murphy's Glen near Woodford. It was a bumpy ride down to the glen, but when we got out of the car at the bottom we heard a Pilotbird calling straight away. It took as good hour to find any though. During this time we saw Red-browed Treecreeper, Beautiful Firetail, Yellow-throated Scrubwren and White-throated Gerygone.
Eventually Ashwin spotted a pair of Pilotbirds in a small clearing and we all waited patiently for them to show, the first one did but was soon scared off by the shutters and flashes of the photographers. Thankfully he wasn't too wary and returned giving us all great views and the 'Pilotbird Paparazzi' some decent shots.
On our way to the Hawkesbury we saw a Peregrine Falcon at Blaxland maccas. Our first stop in the Hawkesbury was the Richmond turf farms. At Onus Lane we were granted permission onto a friendly bogan's field which was full of Stubble Quail and Skylark. After flushing a few quail we were able to surround a male which gave awesome views and camera oppurtunities for Dave.
Around the turf farms we saw both songlarks, a White-winged Triller, Bee-eaters, Brown Quail, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin and the 4 Banded Lapwings.
We then moved onto Pitt Town Lagoon where we saw a good variety of species around the eastern side of the lagoon. Some of the best species we encountered were: Baillon's and Aus Spotted Crakes, Sharpies, Glossy Ibis, Black-tailed Native Hen, Latham's Snipe, Red-kneed Dot, Pink-eared Duck, Shoveler and a Yellow-billed Spoonbill among the Royals. We farewelled Brook here who went to look for a dead Regent Honeyeater he'd seen by the side of the road at Penrith. Did you find it Brook?
Our last stop of the day was Mitchell Park near Cattai where we looked for Cicadabird, Brush Cuckoo and Black Bittern. We only found one of our targets, but saw some other nice birds instead. Dave was able to call up a male Cicadabird heard by Grant and I, we all got great views except Mark and Cameron who left 5 minutes earlier.
Other nice birds around this great spot included: Crested Shrike-tit (H), White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike, Azure Kingfisher, Peaceful Dove, Yellow-tufted Honeyeater and the usual suspects along with a Common Bronzewing on the nest and two male Fallow Deer seen by me.
After the walk back to the cars we were all well and truely birded out, but we had a great day. Meeting new people, new birds and being able to experience the whole day with like-minded, friendly and funny people.
The whole day was enjoyed by all and thanks to everyone for putting up with the weather and Dean and Grant ;) Thanks especially to Dave and Grant for organising the outing and doing most of the driving. Thank you Dean and Grant for your ID and spotting skills and humour. Well done to all the photographers - Dave, Fatih, Brook, Mark and Cameron who persisted in photographing the little buggers and who I know great results will ensue! Oh and thank you Ashwin for spotting those Pilotbirds and your spotting skills in general. The day would not have been complete without you all.
As this outing was such a success what are your thought's on another one maybe around March, Hopefully around the Hunter so we can meet more of our Novacastrian neighbours and farewell the migratory waders at Stockton. I look forward to your thought and photos from the day, thanks all!
Max Breckenridge,
Gladesville, Sydney...
P.S. This is a second copy of the trip report as the first I wrote on the BOZ browser, but it logged me out halfway through so I couldn't submit...
Anyway! I learnt my lesson and this one was a lot easier to write :D

Hawkesbury Area 28/11/09

At 7:30am on a hot Saturday morning Dad and I left home with binoculars, scope, food and high expectations. Driving to Pitt Town first paying double toll charges on the way there, we arrived about 8:45am. We waded/trudged through the long grass leading up to the knoll that looks over the lagoon, praying we didn't meet too many snakes!
As I set up the scope the temperature really started to heat up, but it was bearable enough to find the following species out on the lagoon: a pair of Black-tailed Native Hens strutting about, 4 Glossy Ibis, a Great Egret and the usual array of species. We did come across a snake though, a large Red-belly sunbathing on the edge of the knoll and two foxes wandering around the side of the lagoon in broad daylight!?
From Pitt Town Lagoon we drove along Pitt Town Bottom's Rd, a suprisingly good spot for birdlife. Along the road we saw: a single Bar-shouldered Dove, Sacred Kingfisher, Skylark (H) and 4 Red-kneed Dotterels with a Black-fronted Dotterel at a drying pond near the golf course. Great views of GH Cisticolas and a reed-warbler were also obtained while listening to an OB Oriole calling.
At Cattai NP, our next stop, I got decent views of a White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike, Olive-backed Oriole, and a pair of Black-shouldered Kites, but not so good views of a possible Brown Goshawk. While watching the kites we could hear Rainbow Bee-Eaters calling from up in the sky.
At one of the lagoons near Wheeny Lagoon I could see 8 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and at Wheeny Lagoon a Buff-banded Rail was just in view.
We stopped at Mitchell Park for lunch which proved to be an excellent idea! Best birds here included: a juvenile Powerful Owl roosting above the small creek, White-throated Gerygones, White-naped Honeyeater, Sacred Kingfishers nesting, Brown Gerygone and Nankeen Kestrel.
From here we drove out to the truf farms at Richmond to try and find those bloody Banded Lapwings. We were unsuccesful, but did find a calling Rufous Songlark.

We got home at about 2:00pm with 86 species for our 5 hours of birding, not bad.

Max Breckenridge,
Gladesville, Sydney...

Field of Mars with Nathan this morning.

Organised a little trip to FOM this morning with Nathan. We picked him up at his house in Riverview about 7:05am then Dad dropped us off at the bottom of Westminister Rd where we walked into the reserve.

Considering the state of the weather (CRAP) we were pretty pleased to get 43 species in our 2 hour walk. Best birds, of which 4 were new for Nathan - Brown Goshawk on nest, Olive-backed Oriole, 4 separate sightings of Sacred K-fishers 2 pairs, 1 nesting and Brown Gerygone with Yellow Thornbill too.

Back at my house, Nathan showed me Birding Oz http://www.birdingoz.com.au/cms/ a really good site which I am now registered with.

Max Breckenridge,
Gladesville, Sydney...

TRIP REPORT: England and a bit of France & Switzerland. 21/09/09 - 21/10/09 PART 2.

Me with the new scope, Padstow. Family; Grandad, Dad, Mum, Me, , Elliot, Nana and James.

Derborence.

View over Sion.

Chateau near Dijon

PART 2.

Day 12-13

Leaving Nuits St George we stopped quickly at Ile du Girard NR near Dole, on the way I saw a Great White Egret in a field with a Grey Heron. The reserve turned out to be a little disappointing, many Kingfishers and Chiffchaffs, but not much else.
We arrived at our friend’s house near Saxon in the Valais region of Switzerland later in the day.
On the 2nd of the month we went grape-picking up on the side of the valley, it was really fun and a great way to really experience life in a very rural area. While working I saw a pair of Ravens and while having lunch nearby I observed a female Lammergeir soaring over the valley! This was a real highlight of the trip for me.

Day 14-15

This morning we drove up the very steep, narrow road to Derborence which is located high in the mountains on the north side of the valley. There weren’t as many birds here as I had hoped, but by the end of the day I had added: Alpine Chough, Nutcracker and Golden Eagle! Albeit, very distant views of a pair flying over.
The next day we drove via Chamonix to Geneva Airport where after some hassle dropped the car off on the French side (who was stupid enough to build an airport on the border between two countries?) and got the plane back to London.


Day 16-17

After arriving back at Chandlers Ford the night before we spent the day at home really with grandparents while Mum and Dad went out with friends.
The next day we had a day out with my Uncle around Portsmouth, the only knew bird seen was a European Golden Plover – 20 flying over Southsea.

Day 18-19

On the 8th we went down to Keyhaven/Pennington birdwatching. Here we saw: Water Rail, Ringed Plover, Whinchat, Stonechat, Wheatear and a Pectoral Sandpiper. At Hurst Castle nearby there was a Raven and a few Pied Wagtails with Meadow Pipits.
The next day we took the ferry to the Isle of Wight where we stayed for 2 nights with relatives near Bembridge. On the way over I saw a Kingfisher flying between the docks, 3 Brent Geese and 2 Mediterranean Gulls. The weather was crap for the rest of the day so no more birding got done.

Days 20-21

On our second day on the island the only new bird I saw was a Sandiwch Tern off Bembridge, but the weather was much nicer so we went to Ventnor for most of the day.
On our last day on the island the weather was bad again but I did see 52 species, 3 of which were new. On my morning walk around Bembridge Downs I saw a Shag flying near the cliffs and both Redwings and a Ring Ouzel flying over.

Days 22-24

On the 12th Dad and I went to Blashford Lakes, on the other side of the New Forest, to try and twitch a Long-billed Dowitcher that had been seen there the evening before. It was never seen again… I did see 3 new species though, these were: Pochard, Tree Pipit and a Green Sandpiper. Oh and another Great White Egret that had been seen there on and off for the past couple of weeks.
The next day was spent locally. A morning walk to Hocombe Mead and Hook Wood produced a few nice birds: Sparrowhawk, Redwing and a Treecreeper.
On the way up to Cirencester near Bristol on the 14th, I saw a Red Kite and before we left a new one – Siskin.

Days 25-26

During our second day with friends in Cirencester we were treated to some typical English weather, but that didn’t spoil the day for me. In the morning I watched a steady stream of bird come to feed at the station of seeds they had supplied. I noted 12 species come to feed. We don’t get that many species in our garden.
The rest of the day was spent at Slimbridge WWT and while it was a really interesting place with heaps of exotic wildfowl the wild birds didn’t really provide much interest, but the real highlight of the day for me was a little purchase I made at the shop. Dad bought me (don’t worry I’m paying him back of course) a Opticron 80mm scope for about 400 pounds and we could claim VAT on it. I was very pleased and it aided me very well for the rest of the trip.
The next day was mainly spent driving to Padstow on the north side of Cornwall, or ‘Padstein’ as the locals call it (referring to the Rick Stein restaurant, café, fish & chip shop and deli which supplies the bulk of the town’s income). The best bird I did see where: Mediterranean Gull, Rock Pipit and some Turnstones running around the feet of passers by down by the harbour.

Days 27-28

On the 17th I didn’t see any new birds, but I did see some good ones: approx 100 Med Gulls on the estuary (one had a silver leg band, but I couldn’t remember the markings on it), a pair of Peregrine Falcons (Elliot originally spotted the first one sitting just below the cliff edge about a mile away – scope of course), Golden Plovers and a Raven.
The next day Mum, Elliot and I cycled along the Camel Trail (an old railway line that runs along the south side of the Camel Estuary). On the way we saw: Shelduck, Greenshank and 3 Spoonbills feeding on the opposite side of the estuary.

Days 29-31

On the way back from Padstow we stopped at a very windy, Dawlish Warren. Here I added Common Scoter of which there were 70 out behind the breakers.
The last two days in England were spent with family and having pub lunches, both down by Hamble. On the last day at the Hamble Estuary I saw 2 Red Knot.

We left England to teary farewells from Mum and Nana. The flight to Hong Kong wasn’t bad, but I didn’t get much sleep. At Hong Kong Airport I saw a Black Kite when coming into land and at the terminal saw a lifer or two; Crested Myna and White Wagtail (is this a distinct species? Not a sub from Pied Wag).
We arrived back in Sydney about 8:30pm and got out surprisingly quickly.

And so the holiday ended…

Max Breckenridge,
Gladesville, Sydney…

TRIP REPORT: England and a bit of France & Switzerland. 21/09/09 - 21/10/09 PART 1.

Versailles.

Farlington Marshes, Portsmouth.

River Seine, Paris. Notre Dame in the background.

PART 1.

Our 4th family trip to England was my first trip in which I did any real birding. Along with a week or so in France and Switzerland, we visited friends and family around much of southern England. Notably, the Isle of Wight, Oxford, Cornwall and Gloucestershire. We were based mainly at my mum's parent's house in Chandlers Ford - near Southampton in Hampshire. It was an excellent trip all up, both on the birding and social side of things. The are so many different aspects to birding in the UK compared to Australia. The main thing that I realised is the general awareness of birds and birders alike. People over there tend not to give you as many quizzical looks when they see you looking out to a seemingly lifeless stretch of sea through a telescope for example... During our stay I saw a good variety of species, hides, reserves and places. In total I saw 109 lifers, 94 in Britain alone (1 in Hong Kong) and 132 species all together.


Day 1-2


The 20 hour flight was as uneventful and tedious as expected, so I was glad to end our first day in England with 59 species under my belt (not literally) of which 43 were new. I felt a little out of my comfort zone driving down the M3 and being unable to identify that black bird flying over. After arriving at Chandlers Ford we decided that to keep ourselves awake we should go for a walk and so we drove down to Farlington Marshes just East of Portsmouth jutting out into Langstone Harbour. I saw some really good birds here: 5 species of duck, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Greenshank, 2 species of godwit, Kingfisher, Wheatear, Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat and brief views of 2 Bearded Tits. We then went into Southsea for lunch where I found a pair of Rock Pipits on the waterfront and a Greater Black-backed Gull. The next day I focused on the local area, I went to the reserve and woods nearby and Farley Mount near Winchester, added: Common Redstart, Bullfinch and Nuthatch.


Day 3-4

Today we went down to Titchfield Haven beside the Solent. In the morning I went Hocombe Mead again and found Song Thrush and a Willow Tit. At the haven the best birds probably included: Shelduck, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Snipe, Stonechat, Cetti's Warbler and a Cape Barren Goose! There were also about 20 Eider offshore.
On Thursday we went to the Raptor Conservancy near Andover, it was really interesting and they had a good selection of birds. They were also very heavily involved in vulture conservation and let up to 8 of them fly around at the end which attracted 2 wild Red Kites. I also saw a Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Pied Wagtail and some House Martins. Back in Chandlers Ford me and Dad saw a Grey Wagtail on a house roof while getting some milk.

Day 5-6

On Friday we drove up to Oxford where we were staying with friends in Cassington just outside the city. Mum was meeting friends in the city so Dad, Elliot and I went to Blenhiem Palace where I successfully twitched a juvenile Sabine's Gull which had been there for a few weeks.
The next day I went for a walk through the fields nearby to where we were staying. It was a very typical area of English countryside and so were the birds, I added: Red-legged Partridge, Hobby, Yellow Wagtail, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Sand Martin and Yellowhammer. Then on our way into Oxford we had a quick stop at Farmoor Reservoir where the only knew bird was a Goldeneye.

Day 7-9

On the morning of the 27th we took the coach to London and the next day we got up early and caught the Eurostar to Paris. The 2 days spent mainly in Paris were very enjoyable, but very birdless although a Grey Wagtail under one of the bridges over the River Seine was a pleasant surprise.

Day 10-11

On the 30th we took the train to Versailles where I added 3 new species - Marsh Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper and Ring-necked Parakeet. After a bit of hassle picking up the hire car we managed to escape the traffic of Paris and were on our way to Switzerland.
We stayed the night in a really nice B&B in Nuits St George, near Dijon. On the way there we stopped shortly in Fontainbleau and Vezelay. At both spots I saw new birds, in Fontainbleau I got: Bonelli’s Warbler, Crested Tit and Goldcrest, while in Vezelay I saw numerous Black Redstarts.

CBOC annual raptor count 2009

Terribly late I know, but here is the report for the raptor count on the 2nd of August. The day started off at Maraylya Park near Pitt Town with 3 species of lorikeets feeding in flowering gums. We were given a schedule of places of where we were going during the day, the first one being a roadside stop just north off Maraylya. No raptors here, but a few nice birds: Striated Pardalote, Red-rumped Parrot and King Parrot.
Stop number 2 was a lot more successful than the first, with the first birds seen including: a pair of Pacific Baza and Black-shouldered Kite. This was a bit ironic really, seeing as I'd never seen a baza before until a week before! Now I had two feeding in the trees 10 metres away. Anyway, we saw another two raptors here, Whistling Kite and Nankeen Kestrel.
We went back to Maraylya for morning tea, then onto Pitt Town Lagoon. We were looking for bitterns, but found none. We did see 3 more raptor species; Swamp Harrier, Wedge-tailed Eagles and Brown Goshawks. Also: Crested Shrike-tit, GH Cisticola, Pink-eared Duck, 3 species of Egret, Azure Kingfisher, Darter and the other usual species.
We had another bit of a break/birdwatch at Wilberforce Park where we only added White-bellied Sea Eagle and White-winged Chough.
Our lunch stop was the ever providing Streeton's Lookout at Freeman's Reach, which gave us excellent views of the the Richmond and Windsor area while eating lunch. We got onto lots of raptors here, but only 1 new one; Brown Falcon. Around the lookout some of the group saw a Shining Bronze Cuckoo, but most of us saw Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Yellow Thornbill, Brown Gerygone and others.
Our last 2 stops of the day were down on the fields and horse studs below Richmond. We didn't see that many of the expected raptors, but we saw a few decent birds: Restless Flycatcher, Zebra Finch and Skylark, which we only heard. Trying to find one in the sky is almost impossible!
A little lookout over Baker's Lagoon was our final stop. Here we found Swamp Harrier, Brown Goshawk and Mistletoebird. We also heard off a pair off Banded Lapwings which had been seen nearby and some of the group found them. But we were unsuccessful when we went to look for them, ah well. We might try for them again before we leave for England in September.

Well a reasonably successful rator count, 20-30 raptors covering 9 species. And 91 species seen all up.

MAX

P.S. An Australian Hobby was seen on the way home, so 10 raptors for the day actually.