| Wed 11 |  | Eastern Yellow Wagtail (evidence of overwintering)
Hexham Swamp |
|
| Lene Parashou recorded one Eastern Yellow Wagtail on the 8th May 2025 along the old pipeline track in Hunter Wetlands National Park (Hexham Swamp). This was following a late record of two birds there by Paul Fuller on the 22nd April after there being reports from February onwards. Lene subsequently found one bird there on the 5th and 6th June, then saw two birds there yesterday (11th June). There have been May/June records of Eastern Yellow Wagtails over the years in the Hunter Estuary, including 10 birds on the 24th May 2019 (Ian Benson https://birdata.birdlife.org.au/survey?id=2928624&h=1c776af1).
But this is the first year there have been sustained summer/autumn/winter reports of what appears to be the same individuals and as such should be regarded as overwintering individuals. As far as I'm aware, there is no evidence of overwintering Eastern Yellow Wagtails anywhere in Australia. This will be researched further! The photos attached are both by Lene Parashou; the bird on the left is from the 8th May and the bird on the right from the 5th June. |
| Lene Parashou per Mick Roderick 12/6 #272542 |
| Fri 6 | | Swift Parrot
Rocky Ponds Trail, Brisbane Water National Park |
| 1 Swift Parrot burst out of scrub and flew fast and straight showing red underwing and maroon tail. Eventually came closer 15 minutes later allowing good views of red markings on face. Called quietly. Recordings taken. My second Swiftie sighting at this site. The other in 2023. Other interesting winter observations at this site included 3 Dusky Woodswallows and New Holland Honeyeaters feeding young in a nest. eBird checklist |
| Nick Carson 6/6 #272534 |
| Wed 4 | | White-headed Petrel.
Sydney Harbour National Park North Head Manly |
| Highlight of a seawatch from North Head this afternoon was a close in White-headed Petrel flying south into the southerly gale also seen this afternoon 4 Giant Petrel sp, 4 Grey-faced Petrels and 2 Fairy Prions. |
| Michael Ronan 4/6 #272522 |
| Mon 2 | | Topknot Pigeon
Lidcombe NSW |
| A flock of about 20 Topknot Pigeons are sitting in my lemon scented gum and iron bark. I have never seen these before in the 40 years I have lived in this built up suburban area that has limited canopy. (Moderator's Note: there has been an unusually large number of Topknots reported from suburban Newcastle as well. I have personally seen them landing in Swamp Oak (Casuarina) in Wallsend which is very unusual. MR). |
| Lee Courtwood 3/6 #272518 |
| Sun 1 | | Black-breasted Buzzard
Narran Lakes Nature Reserve (restricted access) |
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| Black-breasted Buzzard flying over whilst we were kayaking North Arm.
Other raptors seen over weekend on reserve included: Little Eagle, White-bellied Sea-eagle (on nest), Swamp Harrier, Black Kite, Whistling Kite, Black-shouldered Kite, Nankeen Kestrel. eBird checklist |
| Pat Johnston 5/6 #272532 |
| Fri 30 | | Musk Lorikeets
Agnes Banks Nature Reserve |
| Five Musk Lorikeets were first heard and then seen in Agnes Banks Nature reserve. They were obviously attracted to sparse blossom on a large old Ironbark which seemed to be alone in the flowering state. This observation was intended for entry into the iNaturalist site, Cumberland Woodlands Seasonal Nectar Project to match with bird presence in the future. eBird checklist |
| Ian Bailey 31/5 #272514 |
| Thu 29 | | Satin Bowerbird
West Pennant Hills - tennis courts |
| Played comp tennis at the courts today and 2 females or juveniles played and ate privet in the scrub between the creek and our court for the entire day. They were calling all the time and easy to see.
I've been playing there for 35 years and have never seen or heard this species there before. |
| Judy Clark 29/5 #272513 |
| Mon 26 | | Rose-crowned Fruit-dove
Sydney Harbour National Park--North Head |
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| Immature Collins Beach Road. High in canopy within Littoral rainforest. eBird checklist |
| Nicci & Bill Raffle 28/5 #272510 |
| Sun 25 | | Australian Bustard
Bald Hill Road Edgeroi |
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| Three individuals opportunistically observed in a stock route along Bald Hill Road in the late afternoon. Looks to be a male, female and a juvenile. eBird checklist |
| Lauren Eather 26/5 #272509 |
| Thu 22 | | Lesser Frigatebird
Tacking Point Lighthouse |
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| Juvenile chased by gulls, subsequently seen and photographed by Tim Morris at Flagstaff Lookout, Port Macquarie 10 minutes later, c.8 km to the north of Tacking Point (AKM). eBird checklist |
| Ian Kerr 22/5 #272506 |
| Tue 20 | | Lesser Frigatebird and Northern Giant-Petrel
Tacking Point Lighthouse |
| Individuals seen by Brett McKinnon. These are the only reports of "interesting seabirds" I've seen during this current weather event. eBird checklist |
| Brett McKinnon per Mick Roderick 21/5 #272505 |
| | White-bellied Sea-Eagle
(From) Greenwich |
| Two adult birds flying S.E over Mann's Point and Goat Island.[3 p.m.]
One circled briefly over the island.
Not sure if they landed there.
Presumably from Newington. |
| Ted Nixon 20/5 #272504 |
| | Beach Stone Curlew
Broken Head Beach , NSW |
|
| I saw a Beach Stone-curlew near one of the entrances to the beach. It seemed to be in good condition, but I wasn’t sure if it was unusual to see them here. (Moderator's Note: While Beach Stone-curlews are moderately common around the Far North Coast Beaches, I could only find one report for Broken Head Beach, in 2023. So yes, unusual at this site. AKM). |
| Kristina McNabb 20/5 #272503 |
| Mon 19 | | Regent bowerbird
Piora NSW.2470. |
| Male bathing, seen so far 4 days. (Moderator's Note: A check with eBird showed plenty of Regent Bowerbirds being reported west of Piora in the Richmond Ranges and in the coastal ranges to the east but no records in and around Piora. AKM) |
| Les Piggott 23/5 #272507 |
| Sun 18 | | Wedge-tailed Eagle
Collector Rd, Currawang |
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| An incredible sight today with Paul Pellegrini. At least 16 Wedge-tailed Eagles soaring a ridgeline and chasing a huge mob of Eastern Grey Kangaroos. This shot has 10 !! Eagles in it and there were 6 others much closer to us. We had never seen anything like it. We drove around a bit trying to get better sightlines but this was the best we could do. And then about 20 minutes after we first started observing them they dispersed and soon we couldn't see a single bird. An incredible glimpse into a rare behaviour of these amazing birds. eBird checklist |
| Brett Mezen, Paul Pellegrini 20/5 #272500 |
| | 1 Campbell, 4 White-capped & 25 Black-browed Albatrosses, 3 Giant Petrel sp Pacific Gull
Shelly Beach Carpark, Manly |
| A seawatch from 1400-1615 produced the above in fresh southerlies. Bodes well for the next two days, for which fresh SSErlies are predicted by BOM, and should push birds closer to shore (Moderator's Note: The Pacific Gull is the most unusual of these birds. MR). eBird checklist |
| Mike Kilburn 18/5 #272497 |
| Sat 17 | | Swift Parrot
Wianamatta Regional Park, Ropes Crossing |
| With perfect timing I sighted at least 10 Swift Parrots flying low and landing in the trees (presumably for the lerps) but due to the presence of the many aggressive Bell Miners the Swift Parrots kept well hidden in the foliage and keeping very quiet for the remainder of the morning I was there as a strategy to not draw any attention to the Bell Miners. Apart from that brief moment of seeing them in flight in the early morning I did not see them after and only heard the odd occasional soft call thereafter coming from the impenetrable bushland. It is still good they have comeback to this location where it is the 3rd year I have seen them there in the last 5 years. |
| Edwin Vella 18/5 #272493 |
| | Black-winged Stilts
Greenwell Point, Nowra, NSW |
| Two Stilts on rocks at Greenwell Park at waters edge. I had logged one a week earlier. Apart from that, none have been logged here over about ten years. I'm wondering why they havent been seen more often? |
| Harry Roberts. 18/5 #272492 |