Moderators' Note

Birders are encouraged to post lists to eBird Australia, where sightings are incorporated into the BirdLife Australia Atlas. To do this you need to register with eBird Australia then login. All Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot reports should be forwarded to Mick Roderick to assist in the recovery of these severely declining species: mick.roderick@birdlife.org.au. Note we will not be publishing reports of Accipiter raptors (Collared Sparrowhawk, Grey/Brown Goshawks) or Square-tailed Kites unless they are in unusual locations or are seen with unusual prey etc.

• Reports
• Criteria

June 2023

Sun 4		Antarctic Prion, Cape Petrel, Kermadec Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater Offshore--Port Stephens pelagic
		A great early June trip off Port Stephens with a showy Antarctic Prion and less-showy Cape Petrel being the highlights. There was another couple of prions, only one confirmed though, being a Fairy. An intermediate morph Kermadec Petrel was a bit of a surprise (few winter records down here), as were two very late-departing Wedge-tailed Shearwaters near the shelf. We also had 4x Campbell Albatross, 2x Buller's and a few Indian Yellow-nosed and a couple of Shy-types. Good numbers (up to 40) of Solander's Petrels also. Photo of ANPR by Allan Richardson.
		Mick Roderick and all aboard M.V. Contagious 5/6 #269352
		Gang gang Cockatoo Tulong avenue, Cooma
		For the last three weeks there has been up to eight Gang Gangs (males, females and babies) every day in our trees and drinkings water. (Moderators Note: There are previous records of Gang Gangs in Cooma in eBird, one in 2022, but none in 2023, so therefore this record has been poisted because of the species Threatened Status and the impact on the the population by the bushfires of 2019-20.AKM).
		Ken Prendergast 4/6 #269347
Sat 3		Scarlet Robin Kamay Botany Bay National Park (North)
		Following up an report from Frank Hemmings this morning of a Female Scarlet Robin on the Henry Head walking track Cape Banks. Here it is this afternoon.
		Richard Murray 3/6 #269346
		Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Central Coast Wetlands (Tuggerah)
		Single bird observed in bushland along Tuggerah Ck chasing insects. (Moderator's Note: First observed by Kim Farley on 15/5/2023 and subsequently seen on a number of occasions since, this record is the 6th Central Coast Record, the last occasion being 13/4/2019 at Kariong. However previouysly reported at the Central Coast Wetlands in one of the plantation areas along Tuggerah Creek in August 2008. AKM) eBird checklist
		David Schuemaker, Julie Peksis 3/6 #269345
Fri 2		Black Bittern Upper Sharke Creek, west of Brooms Head
		A young black bittern flushed ahead of us during a flora survey in swamp sclerophyll forest, watched us for a while before moving out of sight. Great to get camera onto it.
		Clive Heywood Barker 5/6 #269356
		Fan-tailed Cuckoo Pinecliffe, 10 kms SW of Molong
		First one I have seen for some years here, it was in splendid plumage, and not calling, so appeared to be alone. An early sighting.
		Bruce Tinsey 3/6 #269344

May 2023

Wed 31		Brahminy Kite Bonna Point Reserve, Kurnell, NSW
		An immature bird seen and photographed at 10:403 am (Moderator's Note: Just like the Osprey, Beach Stone-curlew, White-breasted Woodswallow, Channel-Billed and Koel Cuckoos, Brahminy Kites have joined the list of birds species whose range continues to spread south. AKM) eBird checklist
		Anthony Katon 1/6 #269337
		Little Friarbird Warriewood Wetlands
		Immature Little Friarbird seen feeding in Swamp Mahogany at 11:07am - observed for 15 seconds and photographed before being chased off by a Noisy Friarbird. Only the second record for this location on eBird (the previous record was back in 2014). Little/Musk/Rainbow lorikeets also feeding in the same tree. Black Bittern & Striated Heron also sighted. eBird checklist
		Martin Allen 31/5 #269336
		Noisy Pitta Olen Close, Wooli
		2 Noisy Pittas seen separately yesterday and today. Been hearing them on and off recently but this was the first time I've seen them here. (I have lived here for 30 years so it seems significant). (Moderator's Note: In autumn, Noisy Pittas move out of the rainforests that are located along the top of the eastern slopes of the Great Divide, and spend winter in coastal rainforest pockets and littoral rainforest. AKM)
		Ethel Cooper 31/5 #269334
Tue 30		Black-necked Stork, Wandering Whisting Duck Sewerage Settlement Ponds, Port Macquarie
		A pair of BNS seen together at the Sewerage Settlement Ponds, Port Macquarie in the afternoon. First seen by Dave Whitfield, who lives near this site and is a long term member of the Hastings Birdwatrchers. As far as Dave is aware, there have been no previous reports of BNS at this site even though they breed regularly at a location with 8 km of Port Macquarie CBD. (Moderator's Note. It is unusual to have BNS at this site but what is more unusual, since late April, up to 462 Wandering Whistling Ducks have been roosting at the site by day (some of which can be seen in the background). That is the most ever Wandering Whistling Ducks ever reported at the one location in the Hastings/Macleay area. AKM) eBird checklist
		Ian Kerr, Dave Whitfield & Tony Morton 30/5 #269331
Mon 29		Topknot Pigeon Max Ruddock Reserve, Winston Hills
		Flock of 12 Topknot Pigeons flying south-west over M2 and Max Ruddock Reserve, Winston Hills.
		Kurtis Lindsay 5/6 #269353
		Australian Shelduck Swamp Near Ironbark Creek,Minmi Road. Wallsend
		Spotted Australian Shelduck Roosting on the Edge of The Lagoon, With Australian Ibis. eBird checklist
		Gordon Arthur 29/5 #269327
Sun 28		Australian Spotted Crake Barton Park South--Landing Lights Wetland
		A Spotted Crake, possibly two, seen foraging on exposed mud. Also 3 Brown Quail and a male Scarlet Robin are regularly seen.
		Allan Richards and Raz Datta 29/5 #269326
Sat 27		Spangled Drongo Strathfield
		Sitting on powerline across from industrial area, unusual location for this species.
		Nicholas Henson 2/6 #269340
		Osprey St Matthews farm reserve, Cromer
		Pair of Ospreys have a nest on the light pole closest to the creek. Not seen them here before, at least 2kms to Narrabeen Lake from this point.
		Tom Petty 27/5 #269324
		Swift Parrot Clarence Town
		Swift Parrot heard flying low overhead. Not much in flower nearby, maybe just passing through.
		Graham Turner 27/5 #269323
Thu 25		Glossy Black Cockatoo Vincentia
		Pair in Eucalypts on the side of the road near VIncentia shopping centre.
		Nicholas Henson 2/6 #269341
		Australian Bustard private property 50km NEast of Hay just off Mid Western HWAY
		I was alerted by a local farmer to this bird and was only an hour away so went to have a look. Was a single young male bird just feeding quietly beside a farm road. Had only been spotted there that morning.
		Warren Chad 26/5 #269314
Mon 22		Glossy Black Cockatoos Fred Caterson Reserve, Castle Hill
		A family of 3 Glossy Black Cockatoos (2 males and 1 female) feasting on casuarina seeds at a nature reserve in the middle of the bustling suburb of Castle Hill, Sydney. The trio may be the same group that were observed by birders in December 2022. eBird checklist
		Veeraj Sharma 22/5 #269307
		Swift Parrot Rocky Ponds Trail, Brisbane Water National Park
		Single Swiftie heard then seen flying over woodland. While I was excitedly celebrating the sighting, a second Swiftie flew a short distance, landing close by before being chased off by a Little Wattlebird. Not a lot in flower besides Banksia ericifolia…. Swifties presumably feeding on lerp. eBird checklist
		Nick Carson 22/5 #269306
		Pacific Gull Redhead Park
		One juvenile bird seen headed north along coast towards Newcastle from Redhead. eBird checklist
		James Bennett 22/5 #269305
Sun 21		Plum-headed Finch Upper Mole River Road, Northern NSW
		A large flock of 160 Plum-headed Finches was seen feeding in tall grasses adjacent to the road. The count was most likely an under-estimate as only birds that landed on a fence were counted. I think other small flocks remained in the grass.
		David Charley 23/5 #269312
		Buller’s Albatross and Shy Albatross Green Cape Lighthouse
		121 Shy Albatross, 15 Buller’s Albatross, 1 Black-browed Albatross, 5 Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, 2 Giant Petrel (sp), 5 Brown Skuas, 1 Arctic Jaeger (pale morph), 20+ White-fronted Terns, 2 Grey-faced Petrels, 20+ Short-tailed Shearwater and approximately 40 Fluttering Shearwater seen today in a 4 and a half hour visit to this wonderful location.
		David Mitford 22/5 #269309
		Beautiful Firetail Kurrajong
		2 birds feeding in sandstone ridge forest on the se boundary of Wollemi NP, Little Wheeny Creek catchment, Kurrajong. No eBird records for eastern Wollemi and a rare bird in the Hawkesbury. eBird checklist
		Eric Finley 22/5 #269304
		Pink-eared Duck Central Coast Wetlands (Tuggerah)
		Single Pink-eared Duck feeding in main lagoon with Pacific Black Ducks eBird checklist
		David Schuemaker, Graham Nelson, Daniel McKeon 21/5 #269303
		Grey-faced Petrel Long Reef Aquatic Reserve.
		Had 19 Grey-faced Petrels in close to Long Reef Point this afternoon just before the sun went down.
		Michael Ronan 21/5 #269302
Sat 20		Wandering Whistling Ducks McPhersons Swamp Tuggerah NSW
		11 Wandering Whistling ducks swam into shoreline and looked to be settling down to rest or sleep, observed for 30 minutes and left site. I returned approximately 90 minutes later and birds were still there resting up eBird checklist
		David Schuemaker 20/5 #269299
Fri 19		Topknot Pigeon Eraring
		Saw approx. 100 Topknots as I drove through Eraring (Point Piper Rd. etc.) yesterday afternoon doing a school run just before 3pm. They were in two main flocks flying in different directions and had obviously been disturbed feeding somewhere, possibly on Lillipilli as they're in fruit in the area. Never seen them in such a number around here before - usually flocks of a dozen to 20 passing through although rarely up to maybe 50.
		Paul Schofield 20/5 #269296
		Swift Parrot Mount Annan Botanic Gardens
		around 20 Swift parrots seen this morning along side the Plant bank area, feeding on lerps and very settled. the odd flush when the noisy Minors were being aggressive towards them. hopefully number keep rising at the gardens. Others have counted around 20-25 on previous days [Moderators Note: The location of these birds is in a sensitive area of the gardens - please keep to the paths to avoid damage to vegetation and unnecessary disturbances to the parrots].
		Paul Heath 19/5 #269295
Thu 18		Red-necked Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-capped Plovers and White-fronted Chats Narran Lake NR (Restricted Access
		1 x Red-necked Stint, 1 x Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (with amputated leg), 2 x Brolga on receding shoreline of Clear Lake amongst large numbers of Red-capped Plovers (200+) and White-fronted Chats (100+) scattered along shoreline. Observed thru mounted scope.
		Patrick Johnston 26/5 #269315
		Spiny - cheeked Honeyeater Owens Walkway - Redhead.
		Spotted a Pair of Spiny - cheeked Honeyeater in a Old Banksia Tree. Near a Wooden Bridge at Rehead. This Afternoon. eBird checklist
		Gordon Arthur 18/5 #269293
Wed 17		Red-backed Kingfisher Lake Road at railway crossing, Ungarie
		Stopped to checkout the honeyeaters feeding in the flowering Mistletoe and very pleasantly surprised to get a Red-backed Kingfisher hunting from the trees on the NE side of the road. eBird checklist
		Paul Lynch 20/5 #269298
		White-headed Petrel Long Reef Aquatic Reserve.
		Had a classic sighting of a White-headed Petrel this afternoon the bird was heading south less than a hundred meters off the island for about 8 minutes than headed straight out to sea I would of thought that this was quite an early bird for the middle of May.
		Michael Ronan. 17/5 #269291
Tue 16		Gang-gang Cockatoo Lithgow Wastewater Treatment Plant
		7 birds seen flying west to east over treatment plant
		Deryk Engel 16/5 #269289
Sat 13		Australian Little Bittern, Black-necked Stork & Brolga Monkeygar Creek Crossing, Gibson Way, Macquarie Marshes
		An adult Australian Little Bittern was photographed on the the barb-wire fence at the Monkeygar Creek Crossing , along the Gibson Way, about 5 kms east of the property Willie Retreat, in the Macquarie Marshes. The Black-necked Stork, previously reported, has been seen again on the nearby The Mole HSD, while a group of 7 Brolgas were seen flying over Willie Retreat a few days previous to this report.
		Leanne Hall per Alan Morris 15/5 #269285
		Blue Winged Parrot Menindee far west New South Wales.
		Great to find my first Blue-winged Parrot at Menindee far west N S W. it looked like an Immature bird, it was located along a almost dry creek in a Black Box tree. I only sighted one bird.
		Geoffrey Stuart Looney 13/5 #269283
		Swift Parrot Stolen Generations Memorial walk at Mt Annan Botanic Garden
		4 Swift Parrots seen at the top of a tree above the trail this morning at about 10:30
		Allan Richards and Raz Ratta 13/5 #269282
Fri 12		Albatross spp. and other tubenoses Terrigal Pelagic
		A solid Autumn trip out of Terrigal that saw; White-faced Storm Petrel (2), Wilson’s Storm Petrel (50+), Black-browed Albatross (9), Campbell Albatross (10), Black-browed type Albatross (12), Shy Albatross (13), Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross (1), Buller’s Albatross (12), Providence Petrel (16) and a single Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed Shearwater.
		Andrew Robinson, Dean Purcell and 9 others on board 15/5 #269288
Thu 11		Glossy Black Cockatoos Kincumber Mountain car park Gosford NSW
		A pair of Glossy Black Cockatoos Kincumber Mountain Reserve car park, Gosford, feeding on Forest Oak (Allocasuarina torulosa) nuts, observed by myself.However there is a reliable report from Larry Melican of a group of 6 in that location 3 or 4 days earlier. That group comprised 4 adults and two juveniles .
		Douglas Hocking 13/5 #269279
		Plum-headed Finch. Menindee N S W 2879
		I found this Plum-headed Finch today at Menindee far west N S W. This is the second time I have seen them in Menindee, the last time was after the flood on the Darling River in 2011. The sighting today is also after a flood on the Darling River in the last year. There was possibly 20 to 30 of them here today well outside their normal habitat.
		Geoffrey Stuart Looney 11/5 #269277
		King Quail Sydney Airport
		A male King Quail was found hiding under some aircraft servicing equipment on the western international apron early this morning. It was relocated to a grassy area away from aircraft movements and promptly disappeared in a matter of seconds into grass that was no more than 3 inches thick!
		Nigel Coghlan 11/5 #269276
		Musk Lorikeet Nelson Bay
		Not an uncommon species or location but there are thousands upon thousands here at present, outnumbering Rainbows at least 10 to 1. I've been coming here regularly since Feb 21 and I've never seen numbers of ML anywhere near this.
		Lewis Benham 11/5 #269275
Wed 10		Brown Booby Tacking Point Lighthouse
		One immature Brown Booby was seen flying back and forth close to the lighthouse this morning.(Moderator's Note: first found by an unkown photographer on 9/5/23. AKM) eBird checklist
		Ian Kerr 10/5 #269272
Tue 9		Malleefowl, Gilberts Whistler, Spotted Nightjar, Mulga Parrot Woggoon Nature Reserve, 40km Nth of Condobolin
		Spent the day in the reserve yesterday checking Malleefowl mounds as part of a local LLS project. There are only about 5 mounds left but one had a feather and freshish scat on it so there are still at least one bird left. Reserve is now totally surrounded by cleared farmland so think their days are numbered. Flushed a Nightjar off the ground next to a mound and had good views of a calling Gilberts Whistler. Mulga Parrots are still there in good numbers but a lot of the Honeyeaters, particularly Yellow-plumed and Brown-headed have not recovered at all since the drought and were very hard to find
		warren Chad 10/5 #269271
		Kelp Gull Norah Head
		Seen 2 Imm Kelp Gulls late afternoon flying low around main headland and Lighthouse Beach (Moderators' Notes: a juvenile Kelp Gull was also photographed standing on Newcastle Beach on the 8th May ( MR), note that there are 5 previous records for the Central Coast, the last 3/4/2018.AKM).
		Luke Ullrich 10/5 #269269
		Yellow-faced Honeyeater . Yuragir NP Coastal Walk Mara Creeknear Brooms Head
		Large Flocks of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters flying North . Flocks continued for two hours..
		Jeanette Lawson , Pam Kenway, Maureen O"Shea . 10/5 #269267
Sun 7		Spotted Quail-Thrush Great North Walk, Cowan
		My son saw a bird he did not recognise but a poor photo of its head reveals it as a Spotted Quail-Thrush.
		Phil Murray 8/5 #269261
		Black-necked Stork Central Coast Wetlands (Tuggerah)
		Single juvenile Black-necked Stork was in main lagoon feeding where I watched the bird for an hour, I then headed to McPersons Rd Swamp Tuggerah aprox 2minutes away where female Stork and another juvenile were feeding. Watched them for another hour when female flew off westwards while juvenile remained eBird checklist
		David Schuemaker 7/5 #269255
Sat 6		Black Bitterm Centennial Park (Sydney)
		1 adult seen at Model Yacht Pond; flew from island to reeds on side flanked by Grand Drive. Blackish grey, yellow streak on throat and side of neck obvious on landing before it disappeared from view quickly in the reeds. Another highlight was Mistletoebird which was unusual locally although probably not birdline worthy. eBird checklist
		Frank Hemmings 7/5 #269252
		Yellow-billed Spoonbill Central Coast Wetlands (Tuggerah)
		A single Yellow-billed Spoonbill was in the dairy Swamp at the Central Coast Wetlands Tuggerah feeding with Royal Spoonbills. I observed the bird for approximately an hour before scared off by a White-bellied Sea-eagle and flew off in a north easterly direction (Moderator's Note: this is the first Central Coast Region report for some months. AKM) eBird checklist
		David Schuemaker 6/5 #269249
		Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Superb Lyrebird Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park--Bobbin Head
		Prolonged close views of a pair of feeding Glossy Black-Cockatoos and a Lyrebird mid-afternoon at the start of the Warrimoo Track just beyond the marina.
		Iain Blake 6/5 #269248
		Australian Shelduck Pitt Town Lagoon
		On a Birding NSW outing we saw a female Australian Shelduck, several Pink-eared Duck and Australasian Shovelers.
		Trevor Waller 6/5 #269247