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25 May Re: Fw: "Round Island" Petrels off eastern Australia - astonishing! [Nikolas Haass ] 25 May Fw: "Round Island" Petrels off eastern Australia - astonishing! ["Mike Carter" ] 25 May Orange-bellied Parrots [Russell Woodford ] 25 May Audubon guide app on sale [Steve ] 25 May The thin green line foundation [Steve ] 24 May Re: Fwd: Re: Shooting coots ["Jim Tate" ] 24 May Re: Fwd: Re: Shooting coots ["Jim Tate" ] 24 May Fwd: Re: Shooting coots [brian fleming ] 24 May Re: Northern Shoveler and WTP [Jack Moorhead ] 24 May Northern Shoveler and WTP [jenny spry ] 24 May Re: Duck Shooting ["M & P Potter" ] 24 May Re: Shooting coots [Debbie Lustig ] 24 May Re: Southern Cassowary - Ultra low frequency sound [Helen Larson ] 24 May Duck Shooting ["Warren Thompson" ] 23 May From flapper to flipper: how the penguin lost its flight [Laurie Knight ] 23 May Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? ["Carl Weber" ] 23 May Lost in Translocation? How Bird Song Could Help Save Species [Laurie Knight ] 23 May Re: Shooting coots [Debbie Lustig ] 23 May Re: Shooting coots [Debbie Lustig ] 23 May Re: Shoveler 'Show' at Werribee WTP [martin cachard ] 23 May Re: Shooting coots [brian fleming ] 22 May Shooting coots [Debbie Lustig ] 22 May Pelagic Trip Report for 19th May 2013 ["Neil Macumber & Alison Bainbridge" ] 22 May Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? [Mick Roderick ] 22 May Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? [Allan Richardson ] 22 May Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? ["Peter Madvig" ] 22 May Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? ["Carl Weber" ] 22 May Double Heathwren day [Ian Reid ] 22 May RFI South Africa / southern Africa ["Paul Dodd" ] 22 May Bruny Island vagrant [Robert Hamilton ] 22 May Re.WEST PACIFIC SEABIRD EXPEDITIONS ["Neil Cheshire" ] 21 May Fwd: Re: Greylag Goose [brian fleming ] 21 May Greylag Goose ["D.Eyles" ] 21 May Birdwatching in the Veneto [Michaela Hill ] 20 May Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? [Mick Roderick ] 21 May Scope sale ["Tony Russel" ] 21 May Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? ["Carl Weber" ] 21 May Birders needed for Great Western Woodlands Project [Liz Fox ] 21 May Birdwatching's no line of work for a man [Dave Torr ] 21 May Australasian Bittern numbers in Victoria [Peter Shute ] 20 May Forest Wagtail / Barbary Dove [Frank O'Connor ] 20 May Assessing Birds’ Mercury Risks More Complicated Than Previously Thought [Laurie Knight ] 20 May Re: Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide [Carl Clifford ] 20 May A rather belated Eaglehawk Pelagic trip report [pbrooks ] 20 May Re: Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide ["Jeremy O'Wheel" ] 20 May Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide [Carl Clifford ] 20 May Shoveler 'Show' at Werribee WTP [jenny spry ] 20 May The Conservation, Unknown wonders....Xmas Island [colin trainor ] 20 May Another field guide app [Steve Clark ] 19 May Petrel / shearwater at Townsville [] 20 May Birdline Western Australia Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline Victoria Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline Tasmania Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline South Australia Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline Northern Territory Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline North Queensland Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline Central & Southern Queensland Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline Australian Capital Territory Weekly Update [] 20 May Birdline Australia Weekly Update [] 20 May Re: Fwd: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee [Peter Shute ] 20 May Birdpedia - Australia - Weekly Digest ["Birdpedia - Australia Info" ] 20 May Fwd: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee [Peter Shute ] 19 May Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee ["Paul Dodd" ] 19 May Amsterdam Albatross & a few goodies from Heard Island ["Geoff Jones" ] 19 May Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee [Bill Stent ] 19 May thanks [Susan Knowles ] 19 May Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee [John Weigel ] 19 May Re: Aus Bittern [John Tongue ] 19 May Aus Bittern [Russell Woodford ] 19 May Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee [Peter Shute ] 19 May RFI Greater Glider [Simon Mustoe ] 18 May email address for ben king ["Greg Roberts" ] 18 May Help for Northern Shoveler Twitch [Scott Ryan ] 18 May Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee [Scott Ryan ] 18 May Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee [martin cachard ] Subject: Re: Fw: "Round Island" Petrels off eastern Australia - astonishing! From: Nikolas Haass <nhaass AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 25 May 2013 00:04:36 -0700 (PDT) Hi Mike et al.  Interesting indeed! In addition to the ground-breaking paper by Brooke et al. Ibis (2000) 142, 139-158 on the gadfly petrels of Round Island, there is an interesting paper by Brown et al. Molecular Ecology (2010) 19, 3157–3170 showing that Trindade and Kermadec Petrels on Round island hybridise: Abstract Historical records suggest that the petrels of Round Island (near Mauritius, Indian Ocean) represent a recent, long-distance colonization by species originating from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The majority of petrels on Round Island appear most similar to Pterodroma arminjoniana, a species whose only other breeding locality is Trindade Island in the South Atlantic. Using nine microsatellite loci, patterns of genetic differentiation in petrels from Round and Trindade Islands were analysed. The two populations exhibit low but significant levels of differentiation in allele frequencies and estimates of migration rate between islands using genetic data are also low, supporting the hypothesis that these populations have recently separated but are now isolated from one another. A second population of petrels, most similar in appearance to the Pacific species P. neglecta, is also present on Round Island and observations suggest that the two petrel species are hybridizing. Vocalizations recorded on the island also suggest that hybrid birds may be present within the population. Data from microsatellite genotypes support this hypothesis and indicate that there may have been many generations of hybridization and back-crossing between P. arminjoniana and P. neglecta on Round Island. Our results provide an insight into the processes of dispersal and the consequences of secondary contact in Procellariiformes. Cheers, Nikolas   ---------------- Nikolas Haass nhaass AT yahoo.com Brisbane, QLD ________________________________ From: Mike Carter To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au; Birding NZ Cc: Paul Walbridge ; John Darnell ; Rohan Clarke Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2013 2:02 PM Subject: [Birding-Aus] Fw: "Round Island" Petrels off eastern Australia - astonishing! See below for the seemingly miraculous movements of one of the Kermadec Petrels that breeds on Round Island in the western Indian Ocean sent to me by John Darnell from the WA Museum. So Paul, your Southport birds don't necessarily come from Lord Howe! Some of you may not be aware that Kermadec Petrels as well as Trinidade Petrels breed on Round Island. I'm not sure re the status of Herald Petrel there.  Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza  VIC 3930 Tel  (03) 9787 7136 ----- Original Message ----- From: John Darnell To: pterodroma AT bigpond.com Sent: Friday, May 24, 2013 6:29 PM Subject: "Round Island" Petrels Hi Mike, I'm sure that you will be interested to know that one of the "Kermadec Petrels" from Round Island (off ne' Mauritius) has been tracked and found to have crossed - via south-western WA and the Bight - to the eastern coast of Australia. The Geolocator was deployed on 16th Feb '10, after which time the bird consistently headed eastwards, but by an exceptionally zig-zag type of movement.  Across the Indian Ocean, its passage ranged between (approx') 23 and 43 degrees south, but once in the waters off south-eastern Australia, this range extended/expanded from between 57 to 10 degrees south. This would correspond to an amazing temperature variation - from approx' 15 - 28 degrees 'C' apparantly. The results indicate that the bird spent the majority of its time foraging off the eastern seaboard, it was located east of 130 degrees 'E' by 29th Mar. Unfortunately, the Geolocator "failed" whilst the bird was in that general area (18th Aug '10) and, in consequence, the tracking d etails of the bird's return flight path - to Mauritius - are not known:  the "failed" tracking device was however recovered from the "returned" bird on 12th Nov '12. Quite a journey!!  The individual concerned has been "tested", and is quoted as having a - "structure assignment of 0.763" - (this coming from) - "some genetic work we have been doing on looking at the genetic make-up of our Round Island birds compared to type specimens from Kermadec, Herald and Trinidade Petrels. An assignment from the analytical programme 'Structure' of 0.763 means that this bird is basically a Kermadec (and more than likely NOT a hybrid)". Regards, John =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Fw: "Round Island" Petrels off eastern Australia - astonishing! From: "Mike Carter" <pterodroma AT bigpond.com> Date: Sat, 25 May 2013 14:02:45 +1000 See below for the seemingly miraculous movements of one of the Kermadec Petrels that breeds on Round Island in the western Indian Ocean sent to me by John Darnell from the WA Museum. So Paul, your Southport birds don't necessarily come from Lord Howe! Some of you may not be aware that Kermadec Petrels as well as Trinidade Petrels breed on Round Island. I'm not sure re the status of Herald Petrel there. Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Tel (03) 9787 7136 ----- Original Message ----- From: John Darnell To: pterodroma AT bigpond.com Sent: Friday, May 24, 2013 6:29 PM Subject: "Round Island" Petrels Hi Mike, I'm sure that you will be interested to know that one of the "Kermadec Petrels" from Round Island (off ne' Mauritius) has been tracked and found to have crossed - via south-western WA and the Bight - to the eastern coast of Australia. The Geolocator was deployed on 16th Feb '10, after which time the bird consistently headed eastwards, but by an exceptionally zig-zag type of movement. Across the Indian Ocean, its passage ranged between (approx') 23 and 43 degrees south, but once in the waters off south-eastern Australia, this range extended/expanded from between 57 to 10 degrees south. This would correspond to an amazing temperature variation - from approx' 15 - 28 degrees 'C' apparantly. The results indicate that the bird spent the majority of its time foraging off the eastern seaboard, it was located east of 130 degrees 'E' by 29th Mar. Unfortunately, the Geolocator "failed" whilst the bird was in that general area (18th Aug '10) and, in consequence, the tracking d etails of the bird's return flight path - to Mauritius - are not known: the "failed" tracking device was however recovered from the "returned" bird on 12th Nov '12. Quite a journey!! The individual concerned has been "tested", and is quoted as having a - "structure assignment of 0.763" - (this coming from) - "some genetic work we have been doing on looking at the genetic make-up of our Round Island birds compared to type specimens from Kermadec, Herald and Trinidade Petrels. An assignment from the analytical programme 'Structure' of 0.763 means that this bird is basically a Kermadec (and more than likely NOT a hybrid)". Regards, John =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Orange-bellied Parrots From: Russell Woodford <rdwoodford AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 25 May 2013 14:19:14 +1000 4 birds (2 males 2 females) at Borrow Pits, Western Treatment Plant. In the tree the bittern was under last weekend! Huge thanks to Peter Higgins, Sonia Ross and party who spotted the birds flying in as I was driving away .... Russell Woodford Sent from my iPhone =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Audubon guide app on sale From: Steve <bukoba.steve AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 25 May 2013 11:34:10 +1000 G'day all The iPhone/iPad app - Audubon guide to birds of North America is on sale for $1.99 in the iTunes store at the moment. https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/audubon-birds/id333227386?mt=8 Cheers Steve =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: The thin green line foundation From: Steve <bukoba.steve AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 25 May 2013 11:26:21 +1000 G'day all http://www.thingreenline.org.au/ I recently watched a doco about poaching and the work this organisation is doing to fund rangers in their arms race against the poachers. Poaching is a huge problem in Africa and getting worse as species become rarer and therefore more valuable. I was thinking of making a donation to them but thought I'd see if BA folks had any experience with this organisation. Cheers Steve =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Shooting coots From: "Jim Tate" <jim AT tate-tate.us> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 13:05:49 -0700 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Shooting coots From: "Jim Tate" <jim AT tate-tate.us> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 12:52:12 -0700 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Fwd: Re: Shooting coots From: brian fleming <flambeau AT labyrinth.net.au> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 19:57:35 +1000 -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Shooting coots Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 18:11:12 +1000 From: brian fleming To: Dave Torr There seems to be no English culinary tradition of cooking coots or Moorhens. Landrails (Corncrakes) were eaten. However, "Larousse Gastronomique" claims that the Coot is excellent eating, providing it is skinned immediately. (The skin is said to be oily and to have an unpleasant smell). It should then be casseroled with bacon. An old cookery book of Australian origin (1920s) says that the "Bald Coot or Pukeko" should be skinned and then "jugged like a hare" with bacon and onions. I provide this information purely for historical interest. I do not advocate experiments along these lines, though when I was about 10 years old, I did once help to eat a family meal of Black Swan. (The bird was severely injured and was killed out of mercy. It then seemed a pity to waste it). Anthea Fleming On 24/05/2013 4:22 PM, Dave Torr wrote: > Maybe - as theoretically the shooting is for food (!) - a coot is not too > good to eat? > > > > =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Northern Shoveler and WTP From: Jack Moorhead <jackmanthepackman AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 13:34:50 +1000 Hi all, Looking at it a couple of minutes ago in the middle of Lake Borrie with 5000 Pink-eared Ducks. Bill and Jack Sent from my iPhone On 24/05/2013, at 1:22 PM, "jenny spry" wrote: > Hi all, > > > > A lovely day at the WTP yesterday but no sign of the Northern Shoveler. It > wasn’t in its “normal” position on the pond beside Paradise Rd. The overall > number of birds on that pond was down too so I am guessing they have moved > to a new site. The Pink-ears appear to have moved onto Lake Borrie proper > so maybe that is where the Shoveler was too. Anyone going for it this > weekend may have to look around a bit. > > > > Raptors were everywhere as usual and the Black Falcon still seems to be > patrolling Beach Rd. Freckled Ducks are also everywhere and I saw them in > ponds from the “T” section to the Conservation Ponds. > > > > The Banded Stilts are also looking magnificent and have grown remarkably > long “display” feathers on their backs which they can hold erect or fold > flat over the top of the folded wing. I can’t find these plumes mentioned > in HANZAB or other literature but they are well worth looking at. > > > > And when I checked HANZAB I noticed that Volume 2 is now 20 years old! How > scary is that? > > > > I am working on a blog to show the Banded Stilts and will put it up this > afternoon. > > > > Cheers > > Jenny > http://jenniferspryausbirding.blogspot.com.au/ > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Northern Shoveler and WTP From: jenny spry <malurus.jenny AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 11:37:30 +1000 Hi all, A lovely day at the WTP yesterday but no sign of the Northern Shoveler. It wasn’t in its “normal” position on the pond beside Paradise Rd. The overall number of birds on that pond was down too so I am guessing they have moved to a new site. The Pink-ears appear to have moved onto Lake Borrie proper so maybe that is where the Shoveler was too. Anyone going for it this weekend may have to look around a bit. Raptors were everywhere as usual and the Black Falcon still seems to be patrolling Beach Rd. Freckled Ducks are also everywhere and I saw them in ponds from the “T” section to the Conservation Ponds. The Banded Stilts are also looking magnificent and have grown remarkably long “display” feathers on their backs which they can hold erect or fold flat over the top of the folded wing. I can’t find these plumes mentioned in HANZAB or other literature but they are well worth looking at. And when I checked HANZAB I noticed that Volume 2 is now 20 years old! How scary is that? I am working on a blog to show the Banded Stilts and will put it up this afternoon. Cheers Jenny http://jenniferspryausbirding.blogspot.com.au/ =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Duck Shooting From: "M & P Potter" <pott AT southernphone.com.au> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 13:06:49 +1000 Hi Debbie, I would like to heartily commend you and the Coalition Against Duck Shooting for your tireless and often dangerous work in opposing duck shooting in Victoria, and for keeping us updated about the crimes that are being committed on a regular basis in the name of a so-called 'sport'. I find it abhorrent, as I hope others on this list do, that our native birds - including protected non-game species - are being killed for the satiation of the blood lust of shooters. As requested I have written, as I hope others have, to the politicians involved (I'm still waiting for a reply to my letter about the Box Flat bird massacre). I wish you all the best for the ultimate success of your campaign. Martin Potter =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shooting coots From: Debbie Lustig <debbielustig123 AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 11:40:39 +1000 If anyone wants to know what's required to legally shoot ducks in Victoria, I'm happy to go into a quiet huddle about this off-forum. You need several pieces of paper. I don't think it's a terribly useful subject for Birding-aus. =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Southern Cassowary - Ultra low frequency sound From: Helen Larson <gobywan2001 AT yahoo.co.uk> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 02:16:07 +0100 (BST) hearing one rumble at you in the wild is even better and rather unsettling! (we live in FNQ and my husband's documented about 50 cassowaries living quite near us, they seem to like him). thanks for the sounds - I am always impressed by the tiny mike on my iphone too, for when I've forgotten to bring the sound recorder. Helen <')/////==< ________________________________ From: Marc Anderson To: birding-aus AT lists.vicnet.net.au Sent: Monday, 13 May 2013, 21:29 Subject: [Birding-Aus] Southern Cassowary - Ultra low frequency sound The Southern Cassowary's call is apparently the lowest frequency known sound from any bird (if you can think of another contender I'd be interested to hear about it). I recorded this sample from a captive bird in a wildlife park near Sydney - all I had on hand was my Canon DSLR and this is the resulting audio file, not great but I was happy that the miniature mic even picked it up. Make sure you have decent speakers or headphones for this one - https://soundcloud.com/wildambience/southern-cassowary-casuarius Hearing the call close up is incredible - sounds more like an large mammal than a bird! Marc Anderson http://wildambience.com =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Duck Shooting From: "Warren Thompson" <wjthom AT tpg.com.au> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 05:52:58 +1000 If shooters require a 50 % pass in the Wildlife Identification Test ( WIT), does that make them an official half- wit? Warren Thompson =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: From flapper to flipper: how the penguin lost its flight From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 17:46:53 +1000 see http://theconversation.com/from-flapper-to-flipper-how-the-penguin-lost-its-flight-14500 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? From: "Carl Weber" <carl.weber AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 17:34:05 +1000 Hi Mick, Allan, Peter, and Keith, Thanks for the wealth of information on blossoming and seeding in eucalypts. It is all new to me and most interesting. Peter, you have picked out musk lorikeets at Warriewood Wetland that have eluded me, despite my 3 or 4 visits. As an aside, the lone female musk duck has made a reappearance after 2 months. Keith, I would be interested to know when you saw swift parrots at Warriewood. The only Warriewood record that I have is 2002 (from Bruce Cox, who kept meticulous records from 1987 until 2009). There are only 2 records of sightings on Eremaea since 2006 for the whole Northern Beaches, and one of these was followed up and proved to be a misidentification. There have been one or two sightings in Ku-ring-gai Chase NP, which some people regard as being part of the Northern Beaches. Carl Weber From: Mick Roderick [mailto:mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au] Sent: Wednesday, 22 May 2013 6:08 PM To: Allan Richardson; Peter Madvig Cc: Carl Weber; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? Eucalypts are generally unpredictable, but it isn't unusual to have seasons with little or no blossom in an area. For instance, last year was a big "Spotted Gum year" that attracted the birds I listed below to the Cessnock-Kurri forests. At the same time there was virtually nothing flowering in the Swamp Mahogany dominated forests on the coast (that Al Richardson talks about below). Spotted Gums flower on a 2 to 3 year cycle and can actually hold bud for a long time (maybe up to 2 years?). Apiarists would be good to ask these sorts of questions. In the Hunter, the last 6 big "Spotted Gum years" appear to have been 1998, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2012. Not too sure what happened between 2000 and 2005. In each of these years we had significant numbers of Regent Honeyeaters and Swift Parrots in the Cessnock-Kurri forests. In other years (eg 2002) the Swamp Mahogany forests flowered and attracted good numbers of these birds. Note that I'm only talking about what has happened in the Hunter here - despite last year being a big Spotted Gum year on the NSW South Coast it appears that there is a reasonable amount of blossom down there this year as well. Note also that these birds (especially Swifties) love feeding on lerp as well. Mick From: Allan Richardson To: Peter Madvig Cc: Carl Weber ; 'Mick Roderick' ; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au Sent: Wednesday, 22 May 2013 4:04 PM Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? Hi Carl, Around Morisset I've found individual cohorts of Swamp Mahogany to fire in different years. In 2011, the last time we had Regent Honeyeaters here, the blossom was out in very good densities, but the following season (last year) was dominated by trees setting seed. Trees the birds were using in 2011 are out again this year, but there are some patches in the wider locality that aren't firing at all this season and aren't carrying any bud. Locally it looks like a 2 year cycle prevails. However, I think the extent to which the trees flower depends on how dry the habitat is in a given year. Allan Richardson Morisset NSW On 22/05/2013, at 3:54 PM, Peter Madvig wrote: > Hi Carl, > > There have been days with 'Muskies', Carl, such as Wed 8th. September, where the CBOC had an outing... They do move about, tho'. > Cheers > Peter Madvig > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Weber" > To: "'Mick Roderick'" ; > Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:59 PM > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? > > >> Hi Mick, >> >> >> >> The lack of blossom this winter is interesting. Is the development of >> extensive blossom a regular event, with only occasional no blossom winters, >> or is no blossom the norm? >> >> >> >> At Warriewood Wetland, near where I live, the swamp mahogany (E robusta) >> blossoms every winter, without fail - but some years are much better than >> others. In years of good blossom, we get 4 species of lorikeet - rainbow, >> little, musk, and scaly-breasted. So far this year, we have had only >> rainbow. It's been cold, and I wonder if this has restricted the blossom. >> >> >> >> Best wishes, >> >> >> >> Carl >> >> >> >> From: Mick Roderick [mailto:mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au] >> Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 4:07 PM >> To: Carl Weber; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au >> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? >> >> >> >> Hi Carl, >> >> >> >> The Bedroom is The Car Park! Note that from time to time it could also be >> called "The Kitchen", "The Rumpus Room" or even "The Gym"! Rubbish-dumping >> is rife in that area, but the birds don't seem to mind one bit. >> >> >> >> So you were presumably seeing the same Swifties that we've been seeing there >> over the past few days. I had a dozen on Friday though. There is no blossom >> here (or in the Hunter Economic Zone, which is east towards Kurri where >> Steve and others have had Swifties this past fortnight) but Swift Parrots >> still return here nearly every year. I wonder if they will stay on for the >> whole winter this year, given that there is virtually no blossom in the >> area. Having said that, there are some Stringybarks (undescribed sp., looks >> like E. capitellata to me but not to the taxonomists) coming out at the >> Kitchener site you visited which is of interest because we have had Regent >> Honeyeaters on them in two of the past four winters up here. >> >> >> >> It is interesting that there are virtually no lorikeets or Noisy Friarbirds >> in the area. This is in stark contrast to last year when we had about >> 300-400 Swifties in the broader area and at least 100 Regents as well (with >> up to 50 at one site). This was of course for the Spotted Gum bonanza, which >> also attracted hordes of Grey-headed Flying-foxes as well. When you look at >> what happened on the South Coast of NSW last year (>1000 Swifties in Spotted >> Gum), it really does drive home just how productive Spotted Gum blossom must >> be. >> >> >> >> Cheers >> >> Mick >> >> >> >> From: Carl Weber >> To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au >> Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 12:56 PM >> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? >> >> >> Hi Mick Roderick and all, >> >> >> >> Yesterday I went to Werakata. My first site was about 10 km SW of Cessnock, >> at Pelton. I turned east from Ellalong Rd into Pelton Rd (a poorly >> maintained dirt track), and stopped at an intersection about 500 m in, at a >> site where there has been extensive illegal dumping of rubbish. In >> particular, there are 4 dumped mattresses and a bed - I call this site The >> Bedroom. Here I found a pair of Swift Parrots and a single Little Lorikeet. >> >> >> >> >> My second site was between Kitchener and Abernethy, along the Kearsley South >> Fire Trail, to the north of Abernethy Rd. About 200 m in, a bike trail leads >> down into a gully, where 2 or 3 cars were dumped many years ago. Here I did >> not see any swift parrots or lorikeets. Black-chinned honeyeaters stopped >> briefly at the head of the bike trail. >> >> >> >> Mick, when you reported some swift parrots on Birdline on Friday, at the car >> park at Pelton, were you referring to either of these sites? >> >> >> >> Best wishes, >> >> >> >> Carl Weber >> >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org/ >> =============================== >> >> >> >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org/ >> =============================== > > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org/ > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Lost in Translocation? How Bird Song Could Help Save Species From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 17:28:55 +1000 conservationists should consider song variation as part of bird reintroductions - see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130521230046.htm =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shooting coots From: Debbie Lustig <debbielustig123 AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 15:51:38 +1000 With three weeks of the season to go, Coalition Against Duck Shooting rescuers have retrieved fully 224 dead coots and taken 30 wounded coots to veterinary care. If you find this unacceptable, please write to the Premier, your local state MP, and the shadow Opposition Leader, Daniel Andrews. =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shooting coots From: Debbie Lustig <debbielustig123 AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 15:34:48 +1000 In the Victoria Police firearm safety test, you must show your understanding of the ten basic rules. No. 9 is 'Never fire at hard surfaces or water.' It's common sense. You can't control shotgun pellets that ricochet off the water, so you're putting people, property and the wrong birds at risk. Two years ago, an activist nearly lost an eye when a teenage shooter shot too low, resulting in pellets bouncing off the water. They scatter haphazardly. Re coots. Witnesses saw groups of coots shot on the water several times. =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shoveler 'Show' at Werribee WTP From: martin cachard <mcachard AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 12:25:46 +1030 Hi all, I've just noticed on Vic Birdline that the Shoveler is still along Paradise Rd... I will be coming down to Melb for other reasons on Sat/Sund, but I intend to be in that area this coming Monday with a friend, however neither of us have access to gate keys (my friend with me isn't even a birder!!)... I know where Paradise Rd crosses with Pt Wilson Rd... Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for me?? My, how things have changed there since the 70's when I used to help survey the OBP's... so many rules & regs these days!! Thanks in advance, Martin Cachard Cairns 0428 782 808 > Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 14:02:42 +1000 > From: malurus.jenny AT gmail.com > To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler 'Show' at Werribee WTP > > Hi all, > > Yesterday was a glorious autumn day in Melbourne. The sun was out, there > was very little wind and the temperature was low so heat haze was a minimal > problem. In fact visibility was so good that from the Spit track with my 45 > X scope I could clearly see gannets landing on the platform at the end of > the Point Wilson explosives jetty - and Google Earth tells me that is a > distance of about 5.9 km! > > I didn't rush to the WTP because I wanted to see the Northern Shoveler so I > waited and got there at about 1000. This technique usually works well with > a rarity at WTP because you don't need to look for the bird. All you need > to do is drive in and look for the congregation of cars. And Sunday's > congregation was up there with the largest, and it was at the first pond on > the right as you come down Paradise Rd. There were cars, scopes, camera and > binoculars everywhere and, sitting on the water in the sun with the other > shovelers was the Northern. It seems that it likes this spot because it has > been there for a few days. One problem with it though is, if it turns its > back on you it instantly turns into "just another Aus Shoveler" and > binoculars and scopes scan over it as though it had Harry Potter's > invisibility cloak on. To add excitement to the morning of watching the NS > a Peregrine came in low and fast across the pond on a harassment run (not a > hunting run) and scattered the Pink-ears in all directions. > > As it was getting toward lunch time when I left the NS I headed toward the > Borrow Pits. This place is so well recognised by WTP regulars as "the" > place to have lunch that I remember a discussion with some friends there > one day who wanted to set up a concession stand selling coffee and > sandwiches to passing birders (smile). Anyway, I pulled in and one of the > lunch group called out "quick, over here, there is a Bittern" so I walked > over, looked in the scope, and added Aus Bittern to my day list. Gorgeous. > > On the basis that all birds are special there were plenty of other special > birds around and I spent the rest of the day watching, amongst others, > Red-kneed Dotterels, Musk Ducks, Swans, Brolga, a Great Egret with the > start of its breeding plumage coming in and a Cattle Egret with just a > touch of colour on the top of its head. It was a special day with one of my > lowest WTP species counts (71) because it was more fun watching the visible > birds than looking for the difficult ones. > > I also had an interesting session with a Whistling Kite. I was heading > toward the Beach Rd gate when I saw the kite and it had a long, red, > unravelling "rope", about a metre long, hanging from its feet. "HA!" I > thought, "an obvious case of a bird tangled up in man made rubbish - > AGAIN!" With my "high horse" well up and running I took some photos and > then thought "wait a minute, maybe it has just picked up this rope to add > to its nest" and I climbed down off my "high horse" for a moment and zoomed > in the photo on the back of the camera. It was then that I could see that > the metre +/- of "red rope" was actually the long, red, fleshy strands of > the entrails etc of a bird and that it ended in a pair of feet and legs > that looked like they might have belonged to a Purple Swamp-hen. It was a > bit of a gruesome sight but quite spectacular. The WTP is a wonderful place > for birding, you never know what you will find. > > I will put up a blog tonight, including the kite photos, so please take > this as a "slightly gruesome photo alert". > > cheers > > Jenny > http://jenniferspryausbirding.blogspot.com.au/ > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shooting coots From: brian fleming <flambeau AT labyrinth.net.au> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 10:09:34 +1000 About fifty years ago, a duck shooter told me that Coots, Swamphens and Dusky Moorhens were 'rubbish birds' which he shot all year round 'to keep his dog keen'. Besides, they were eating duck food, so if they were removed there would be more ducks... I doubt if opinions have changed. Anthea Fleming On 23/05/2013 6:26 AM, Peter Shute wrote: > They aren't supposed to shoot at game birds on the water, are they, whether they're in a flock or not. Do you think this kind of thing accounts for most of the coot deaths, or are people just shooting at coots? > > Peter Shute > > Sent from my iPad > > On 22/05/2013, at 11:06 PM, "Debbie Lustig" wrote: > >> Observers at wetlands near Stawell saw shooters firing into groups of coots >> on the water when a game bird was in their midst. Shooters were even >> observed in a 'tinnie' (boat) ploughing into groups of coot. Two coots were >> later found with sheared-off wings. > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 3184/6348 - Release Date: 05/22/13 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Shooting coots From: Debbie Lustig <debbielustig123 AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 23:06:12 +1000 73 Eurasian Coots; 1 Hoary-headed Grebe; 1 Whistling Kite; 3 Black Swans; 6 Freckled Ducks = 84 protected species. 8 Grey Teal; 1 Hardhead; 1 Pacific Black Duck; 1 Pink-eared Duck = 11 game species. These are the birds that were displayed outside the Premier's office on Tuesday, 21/5. You will notice that many more protected birds are being shot and left behind than game species. Are shooters taking home their game birds? Are there fewer game species, hence the slaughter of everything else? It's certainly been a terrible season for the humble coot. Seventy-three were found at one wetland last weekend; 71 a couple of weeks ago; approximately 8 wounded coots were taken to local vets. Observers at wetlands near Stawell saw shooters firing into groups of coots on the water when a game bird was in their midst. Shooters were even observed in a 'tinnie' (boat) ploughing into groups of coot. Two coots were later found with sheared-off wings. Eurasian Coots aren't game. Shooting into flocks is illegal. Shooting on the water is dangerous and stupid. What more can be said? Why are so many protected species being shot? It's blindingly obvious: because they can be. Compliance officers number only five in the entire state, and none have been seen on the main wetland regions since opening morning. In fact, on opening and closing weekends, DPI staff have to recruit from among Parks Victoria and DSE staff, supplemented by Victoria Police. All concentrate on fining rescuers for offences such as blowing whistles, 'hindering' hunters and the nonsense that is 'failure to despatch' wounded birds. Hunters stuff live birds into bags, hang live birds up on their belts, and gut birds while still alive, but no hunter has ever been charged with an offence under the Victorian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. A selection of photos is on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94330342 AT N04/ One photo is particularly shocking. It shows a 'harvested' Pink-eared Duck. What little flesh there is on this little bird has been scalped off the breast; then it's simply dumped. If you feel so inclined, please write to Daniel Andrews, Leader of the Opposition. We have to convince the Labor Party to change its policy on duck shooting, and/or hope that the Greens will hold the balance of power in the next Victorian Parliament. daniel.andrews AT parliament.vic.gov.au =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Pelagic Trip Report for 19th May 2013 From: "Neil Macumber & Alison Bainbridge" <birdswing AT bigpond.com> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 22:23:02 +1000 Here is the pelagic trip report for last Sunday 19th May 2013. Cheers Neil Neil Macumber Manager Albatross logo Birdswing Birding & Wildlife Tours C/- PO POMONAL VIC 3381 PH. 03 5356 6274 Mob. 0413 628 306 www.birdingwildlifetours.com.au =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? From: Mick Roderick <mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 01:08:26 -0700 (PDT) Eucalypts are generally unpredictable, but it isn't unusual to have seasons with little or no blossom in an area. For instance, last year was a big "Spotted Gum year" that attracted the birds I listed below to the Cessnock-Kurri forests. At the same time there was virtually nothing flowering in the Swamp Mahogany dominated forests on the coast (that Al Richardson talks about below).   Spotted Gums flower on a 2 to 3 year cycle and can actually hold bud for a long time (maybe up to 2 years?). Apiarists would be good to ask these sorts of questions. In the Hunter, the last 6 big "Spotted Gum years" appear to have been 1998, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2012. Not too sure what happened between 2000 and 2005. In each of these years we had significant numbers of Regent Honeyeaters and Swift Parrots in the Cessnock-Kurri forests. In other years (eg 2002) the Swamp Mahogany forests flowered and attracted good numbers of these birds.   Note that I'm only talking about what has happened in the Hunter here - despite last year being a big Spotted Gum year on the NSW South Coast it appears that there is a reasonable amount of blossom down there this year as well.   Note also that these birds (especially Swifties) love feeding on lerp as well.   Mick ________________________________ From: Allan Richardson To: Peter Madvig Cc: Carl Weber ; 'Mick Roderick' ; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au Sent: Wednesday, 22 May 2013 4:04 PM Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? Hi Carl, Around Morisset I've found individual cohorts of Swamp Mahogany to fire in different years. In 2011, the last time we had Regent Honeyeaters here, the blossom was out in very good densities, but the following season (last year) was dominated by trees setting seed. Trees the birds were using in 2011 are out again this year, but there are some patches in the wider locality that aren't firing at all this season and aren't carrying any bud. Locally it looks like a 2 year cycle prevails. However, I think the extent to which the trees flower depends on how dry the habitat is in a given year. Allan Richardson Morisset NSW On 22/05/2013, at 3:54 PM, Peter Madvig wrote: > Hi Carl, > > There have been days with 'Muskies', Carl, such as Wed 8th. September, where the CBOC had an outing... They do move about, tho'. > Cheers > Peter Madvig > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Weber" > To: "'Mick Roderick'" ; > Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:59 PM > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? > > >> Hi Mick, >> >> >> >> The lack of blossom this winter is interesting.  Is the development of >> extensive blossom a regular event, with only occasional no blossom winters, >> or is no blossom the norm? >> >> >> >> At Warriewood Wetland, near where I live, the swamp mahogany (E robusta) >> blossoms every winter, without fail - but some years are much better than >> others. In years of good blossom, we get 4 species of lorikeet - rainbow, >> little, musk, and scaly-breasted. So far this year, we have had only >> rainbow.  It's been cold, and I wonder if this has restricted the blossom. >> >> >> >> Best wishes, >> >> >> >> Carl >> >> >> >> From: Mick Roderick [mailto:mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au] >> Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 4:07 PM >> To: Carl Weber; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au >> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? >> >> >> >> Hi Carl, >> >> >> >> The Bedroom is The Car Park! Note that from time to time it could  also be >> called "The Kitchen", "The Rumpus Room" or even "The Gym"! Rubbish-dumping >> is rife in that area, but the birds don't seem to mind one bit. >> >> >> >> So you were presumably seeing the same Swifties that we've been seeing there >> over the past few days. I had a dozen on Friday though. There is no blossom >> here (or in the Hunter Economic Zone, which is east towards Kurri where >> Steve and others have had Swifties this past fortnight) but Swift Parrots >> still return here nearly every year. I wonder if they will stay on for the >> whole winter this year, given that there is virtually no blossom in the >> area. Having said that, there are some Stringybarks (undescribed sp., looks >> like E. capitellata to me but not to the taxonomists) coming out at the >> Kitchener site you visited which is of interest because we have had Regent >> Honeyeaters on them in two of the past four winters up here. >> >> >> >> It is interesting that there are virtually no lorikeets or Noisy Friarbirds >> in the area. This is in stark contrast to last year when we had about >> 300-400 Swifties in the broader area and at least 100 Regents as well (with >> up to 50 at one site). This was of course for the Spotted Gum bonanza, which >> also attracted hordes of Grey-headed Flying-foxes as well. When you look at >> what happened on the South Coast of NSW last year (>1000 Swifties in Spotted >> Gum), it really does drive home just how productive Spotted Gum blossom must >> be. >> >> >> >> Cheers >> >> Mick >> >> >> >> From: Carl Weber >> To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au >> Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 12:56 PM >> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? >> >> >> Hi Mick Roderick and all, >> >> >> >> Yesterday I went to Werakata. My first site was about 10 km SW of Cessnock, >> at Pelton. I turned east from Ellalong Rd into Pelton Rd (a poorly >> maintained dirt track), and stopped at an intersection about 500 m in, at a >> site where there has been extensive illegal dumping of rubbish. In >> particular, there are 4 dumped mattresses and a bed - I call this site The >> Bedroom.  Here I found a pair of Swift Parrots and a single Little Lorikeet. >> >> >> >> >> My second site was between Kitchener and Abernethy, along the Kearsley South >> Fire Trail, to the north of Abernethy Rd. About 200 m in, a bike trail leads >> down into a gully, where 2 or 3 cars were dumped many years ago. Here I did >> not see any swift parrots or lorikeets. Black-chinned honeyeaters stopped >> briefly at the head of the bike trail. >> >> >> >> Mick, when you reported some swift parrots on Birdline on Friday, at the car >> park at Pelton, were you referring to either of these sites? >> >> >> >> Best wishes, >> >> >> >> Carl Weber >> >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org/ >> =============================== >> >> >> >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org/ >> =============================== > > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org/ > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? From: Allan Richardson <albirdo AT bigpond.net.au> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 16:04:59 +1000 Hi Carl, Around Morisset I've found individual cohorts of Swamp Mahogany to fire in different years. In 2011, the last time we had Regent Honeyeaters here, the blossom was out in very good densities, but the following season (last year) was dominated by trees setting seed. Trees the birds were using in 2011 are out again this year, but there are some patches in the wider locality that aren't firing at all this season and aren't carrying any bud. Locally it looks like a 2 year cycle prevails. However, I think the extent to which the trees flower depends on how dry the habitat is in a given year. Allan Richardson Morisset NSW On 22/05/2013, at 3:54 PM, Peter Madvig wrote: > Hi Carl, > > There have been days with 'Muskies', Carl, such as Wed 8th. September, where the CBOC had an outing... They do move about, tho'. > Cheers > Peter Madvig > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Weber" > To: "'Mick Roderick'" ; > Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:59 PM > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? > > >> Hi Mick, >> >> >> >> The lack of blossom this winter is interesting. Is the development of >> extensive blossom a regular event, with only occasional no blossom winters, >> or is no blossom the norm? >> >> >> >> At Warriewood Wetland, near where I live, the swamp mahogany (E robusta) >> blossoms every winter, without fail - but some years are much better than >> others. In years of good blossom, we get 4 species of lorikeet - rainbow, >> little, musk, and scaly-breasted. So far this year, we have had only >> rainbow. It's been cold, and I wonder if this has restricted the blossom. >> >> >> >> Best wishes, >> >> >> >> Carl >> >> >> >> From: Mick Roderick [mailto:mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au] >> Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 4:07 PM >> To: Carl Weber; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au >> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? >> >> >> >> Hi Carl, >> >> >> >> The Bedroom is The Car Park! Note that from time to time it could also be >> called "The Kitchen", "The Rumpus Room" or even "The Gym"! Rubbish-dumping >> is rife in that area, but the birds don't seem to mind one bit. >> >> >> >> So you were presumably seeing the same Swifties that we've been seeing there >> over the past few days. I had a dozen on Friday though. There is no blossom >> here (or in the Hunter Economic Zone, which is east towards Kurri where >> Steve and others have had Swifties this past fortnight) but Swift Parrots >> still return here nearly every year. I wonder if they will stay on for the >> whole winter this year, given that there is virtually no blossom in the >> area. Having said that, there are some Stringybarks (undescribed sp., looks >> like E. capitellata to me but not to the taxonomists) coming out at the >> Kitchener site you visited which is of interest because we have had Regent >> Honeyeaters on them in two of the past four winters up here. >> >> >> >> It is interesting that there are virtually no lorikeets or Noisy Friarbirds >> in the area. This is in stark contrast to last year when we had about >> 300-400 Swifties in the broader area and at least 100 Regents as well (with >> up to 50 at one site). This was of course for the Spotted Gum bonanza, which >> also attracted hordes of Grey-headed Flying-foxes as well. When you look at >> what happened on the South Coast of NSW last year (>1000 Swifties in Spotted >> Gum), it really does drive home just how productive Spotted Gum blossom must >> be. >> >> >> >> Cheers >> >> Mick >> >> >> >> From: Carl Weber >> To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au >> Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 12:56 PM >> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? >> >> >> Hi Mick Roderick and all, >> >> >> >> Yesterday I went to Werakata. My first site was about 10 km SW of Cessnock, >> at Pelton. I turned east from Ellalong Rd into Pelton Rd (a poorly >> maintained dirt track), and stopped at an intersection about 500 m in, at a >> site where there has been extensive illegal dumping of rubbish. In >> particular, there are 4 dumped mattresses and a bed - I call this site The >> Bedroom. Here I found a pair of Swift Parrots and a single Little Lorikeet. >> >> >> >> >> My second site was between Kitchener and Abernethy, along the Kearsley South >> Fire Trail, to the north of Abernethy Rd. About 200 m in, a bike trail leads >> down into a gully, where 2 or 3 cars were dumped many years ago. Here I did >> not see any swift parrots or lorikeets. Black-chinned honeyeaters stopped >> briefly at the head of the bike trail. >> >> >> >> Mick, when you reported some swift parrots on Birdline on Friday, at the car >> park at Pelton, were you referring to either of these sites? >> >> >> >> Best wishes, >> >> >> >> Carl Weber >> >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org/ >> =============================== >> >> >> >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org >> =============================== > > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? From: "Peter Madvig" <madvig AT iprimus.com.au> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 15:54:13 +1000 Hi Carl, There have been days with 'Muskies', Carl, such as Wed 8th. September, where the CBOC had an outing... They do move about, tho'. Cheers Peter Madvig ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Weber" To: "'Mick Roderick'" ; Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:59 PM Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? > Hi Mick, > > > > The lack of blossom this winter is interesting. Is the development of > extensive blossom a regular event, with only occasional no blossom > winters, > or is no blossom the norm? > > > > At Warriewood Wetland, near where I live, the swamp mahogany (E robusta) > blossoms every winter, without fail - but some years are much better than > others. In years of good blossom, we get 4 species of lorikeet - rainbow, > little, musk, and scaly-breasted. So far this year, we have had only > rainbow. It's been cold, and I wonder if this has restricted the blossom. > > > > Best wishes, > > > > Carl > > > > From: Mick Roderick [mailto:mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au] > Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 4:07 PM > To: Carl Weber; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? > > > > Hi Carl, > > > > The Bedroom is The Car Park! Note that from time to time it could also be > called "The Kitchen", "The Rumpus Room" or even "The Gym"! Rubbish-dumping > is rife in that area, but the birds don't seem to mind one bit. > > > > So you were presumably seeing the same Swifties that we've been seeing > there > over the past few days. I had a dozen on Friday though. There is no > blossom > here (or in the Hunter Economic Zone, which is east towards Kurri where > Steve and others have had Swifties this past fortnight) but Swift Parrots > still return here nearly every year. I wonder if they will stay on for the > whole winter this year, given that there is virtually no blossom in the > area. Having said that, there are some Stringybarks (undescribed sp., > looks > like E. capitellata to me but not to the taxonomists) coming out at the > Kitchener site you visited which is of interest because we have had Regent > Honeyeaters on them in two of the past four winters up here. > > > > It is interesting that there are virtually no lorikeets or Noisy > Friarbirds > in the area. This is in stark contrast to last year when we had about > 300-400 Swifties in the broader area and at least 100 Regents as well > (with > up to 50 at one site). This was of course for the Spotted Gum bonanza, > which > also attracted hordes of Grey-headed Flying-foxes as well. When you look > at > what happened on the South Coast of NSW last year (>1000 Swifties in > Spotted > Gum), it really does drive home just how productive Spotted Gum blossom > must > be. > > > > Cheers > > Mick > > > > From: Carl Weber > To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au > Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 12:56 PM > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? > > > Hi Mick Roderick and all, > > > > Yesterday I went to Werakata. My first site was about 10 km SW of > Cessnock, > at Pelton. I turned east from Ellalong Rd into Pelton Rd (a poorly > maintained dirt track), and stopped at an intersection about 500 m in, at > a > site where there has been extensive illegal dumping of rubbish. In > particular, there are 4 dumped mattresses and a bed - I call this site The > Bedroom. Here I found a pair of Swift Parrots and a single Little > Lorikeet. > > > > > My second site was between Kitchener and Abernethy, along the Kearsley > South > Fire Trail, to the north of Abernethy Rd. About 200 m in, a bike trail > leads > down into a gully, where 2 or 3 cars were dumped many years ago. Here I > did > not see any swift parrots or lorikeets. Black-chinned honeyeaters stopped > briefly at the head of the bike trail. > > > > Mick, when you reported some swift parrots on Birdline on Friday, at the > car > park at Pelton, were you referring to either of these sites? > > > > Best wishes, > > > > Carl Weber > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org/ > =============================== > > > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? From: "Carl Weber" <carl.weber AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 14:59:40 +1000 Hi Mick, The lack of blossom this winter is interesting. Is the development of extensive blossom a regular event, with only occasional no blossom winters, or is no blossom the norm? At Warriewood Wetland, near where I live, the swamp mahogany (E robusta) blossoms every winter, without fail - but some years are much better than others. In years of good blossom, we get 4 species of lorikeet - rainbow, little, musk, and scaly-breasted. So far this year, we have had only rainbow. It's been cold, and I wonder if this has restricted the blossom. Best wishes, Carl From: Mick Roderick [mailto:mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au] Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 4:07 PM To: Carl Weber; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? Hi Carl, The Bedroom is The Car Park! Note that from time to time it could also be called "The Kitchen", "The Rumpus Room" or even "The Gym"! Rubbish-dumping is rife in that area, but the birds don't seem to mind one bit. So you were presumably seeing the same Swifties that we've been seeing there over the past few days. I had a dozen on Friday though. There is no blossom here (or in the Hunter Economic Zone, which is east towards Kurri where Steve and others have had Swifties this past fortnight) but Swift Parrots still return here nearly every year. I wonder if they will stay on for the whole winter this year, given that there is virtually no blossom in the area. Having said that, there are some Stringybarks (undescribed sp., looks like E. capitellata to me but not to the taxonomists) coming out at the Kitchener site you visited which is of interest because we have had Regent Honeyeaters on them in two of the past four winters up here. It is interesting that there are virtually no lorikeets or Noisy Friarbirds in the area. This is in stark contrast to last year when we had about 300-400 Swifties in the broader area and at least 100 Regents as well (with up to 50 at one site). This was of course for the Spotted Gum bonanza, which also attracted hordes of Grey-headed Flying-foxes as well. When you look at what happened on the South Coast of NSW last year (>1000 Swifties in Spotted Gum), it really does drive home just how productive Spotted Gum blossom must be. Cheers Mick From: Carl Weber To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 12:56 PM Subject: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? Hi Mick Roderick and all, Yesterday I went to Werakata. My first site was about 10 km SW of Cessnock, at Pelton. I turned east from Ellalong Rd into Pelton Rd (a poorly maintained dirt track), and stopped at an intersection about 500 m in, at a site where there has been extensive illegal dumping of rubbish. In particular, there are 4 dumped mattresses and a bed - I call this site The Bedroom. Here I found a pair of Swift Parrots and a single Little Lorikeet. My second site was between Kitchener and Abernethy, along the Kearsley South Fire Trail, to the north of Abernethy Rd. About 200 m in, a bike trail leads down into a gully, where 2 or 3 cars were dumped many years ago. Here I did not see any swift parrots or lorikeets. Black-chinned honeyeaters stopped briefly at the head of the bike trail. Mick, when you reported some swift parrots on Birdline on Friday, at the car park at Pelton, were you referring to either of these sites? Best wishes, Carl Weber =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org/ =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Double Heathwren day From: Ian Reid <ian.reid AT adelaide.edu.au> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 10:06:24 +0930 Dear All, I spent yesterday in the field around Adelaide with Frank O'Connor who was briefly in town. A most enjoyable day with some good birds, highlights being -- as per the subject line -- both Chestnut-rumped and Shy Heathwren. Good list of honeyeaters, though nothing "special": Crescent, New Holland, Yellow-faced, Singing, Brown-headed, White-plumed, Spiny-cheeked, Purple-gaped, Tawny-crowned (h.o.), Eastern Spinebill, Red Wattlebird. We started at Black Hill where it took some patience but eventually we were rewarded with decent views (though no photo op) of Chestnut-rumped Heathwren (Parkeri). Many thanks to those who responded to my RFI from a few weeks ago. It is really pleasing to see that they are still present in the hills. After breakfast we headed to Brown's Rd near Monarto where there was a surprising dearth of robins (Red-capped h.o.), best birds being Diamond Firetail, Brown Treecreeper and Owlet-nightjar (heard by both of us, but flushed from the ground into a deep hole in a tree before I got onto it). At Monarto CP we walked the loop trail and despite the late hour (1.30-2.30pm) had good views of a pair of Shy Heathwren, and brief views of Purple-gaped Honeyeater, but Scrub-Robin was heard-only. Finished off at Laratinga Wetlands on our way back to Adelaide where there are still (at least) four Freckled Duck. Also 3 Spotted Crake and a showy Spotless, but the water levels are much higher than late summer and so not the obvious numbers of crakes of earlier in the year. Cheers, Ian -- Prof. Ian Reid School of Computer Science University of Adelaide Adelaide, 5005 ph: +61 (08) 83132135 www: http://cs.adelaide.edu.au =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: RFI South Africa / southern Africa From: "Paul Dodd" <paul AT angrybluecat.com> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 07:59:34 +1000 Hi birders, We are considering a trip to South Africa, possibly extending into southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia), around October of this year. I have the SASOL guide, "Birds of Southern Africa" (and the iPhone app too). Other than that, I have little information and am looking for recommendations for itinerary and local guides. All information gratefully accepted! Thanks in advance. Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Bruny Island vagrant From: Robert Hamilton <robhamilton2 AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 06:46:29 +1000 I recently had an amazing encounter with a small group of Banded Stilt on The Neck beach, Bruny Island, following up a Birdline report of their sighting a few days earlier. A vagrant to mainland Tasmania , "Yellow Throat" reports that reasonable numbers have been seen in the far northeast at Cape Portland earlier this year, with large numbers seen on Flinders Island for the past couple of years. They were more interested in feeding, virtually ignoring my presence, giving a great photographic opportunity. http://bulbsbirdsnmore.com.au/Bruny_Island/Banded_Stilt.html Rob Hamilton Margate, Tasmania =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re.WEST PACIFIC SEABIRD EXPEDITIONS From: "Neil Cheshire" <diomedea1 AT bigpond.com> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 00:14:33 +0930 Re. Ian Southey post Ian, Exciting news from Peter Harrison's New Caledonian Expedition. Thanks for jogging my memory regarding an old reference. Some more information regarding the illustration you refer to. Pelea lineata (Peale) 'The Lined Storm-petrel' . Collected in the mid-19th century for the US Explor. Expedition on Upolu Island, Samoa by a local Samoan who said they "bred in holes high up in the mountains". Described and illustrated with measurements in:- Matthews, Gregory M. 1933. On Fregetta Bonaparte and allied genera. Novitates Zoologicae Vol 39 p.34-54. Matthews considered the unique specimen a species separate from Fregetta on basis of foot anatomy. It will be very interesting to see if the 'New Caledonian Storm-petrel ' turns out to be 'The Lined Storm-petrel'. Neil Cheshire =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Fwd: Re: Greylag Goose From: brian fleming <flambeau AT labyrinth.net.au> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 20:44:29 +1000 -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Greylag Goose Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 20:43:40 +1000 From: brian fleming To: D.Eyles There is a large flock of domestic Geese at a lake near the Mornington Gallery at Mornington, Victoria. Some assorted Black ducks and Chestnut Teal were also present. A friend told me that a pair of geese which she released on her dam not only became quite wild and produced numerous offspring, but also chased away the previously resident pair of Black Swans and all other waterfowl. Definitely a potential pest, if not yet an actual one like the Mallards found on far too many park lakes and wetlands. Anthea Fleming On 21/05/2013 8:23 PM, D.Eyles wrote: > Carol, > > I saw an old blog about Greylag goose and was wondering how much of a pest this feathered beast is, and what councils or anyone else is doing about it if anything. I spotted a flock of them, about 10, stalking around a field just south of Brisbane city off the Lindsay Highway in North Maclean. Do they get reported as a pest or is it just a feral issue that only gets noticed when populationsreally become a pest. > > Cheers > Dave > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 3162/6341 - Release Date: 05/20/13 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Greylag Goose From: "D.Eyles" <ddmreyles AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 20:23:23 +1000 Carol, I saw an old blog about Greylag goose and was wondering how much of a pest this feathered beast is, and what councils or anyone else is doing about it if anything. I spotted a flock of them, about 10, stalking around a field just south of Brisbane city off the Lindsay Highway in North Maclean. Do they get reported as a pest or is it just a feral issue that only gets noticed when populationsreally become a pest. Cheers Dave =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdwatching in the Veneto From: Michaela Hill <michaela.hill AT monash.edu> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 16:49:01 +1000 Hello Could someone please provide some tips on birdwatching in the Veneto region. There is the Parco Veneto, and also the Venetian lagoon. Has anyone been there, and have any suggestions for best times to go, good bird books and areas of special interest? Best wishes and thanks, Michaela =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? From: Mick Roderick <mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 23:06:54 -0700 (PDT) Hi Carl,   The Bedroom is The Car Park! Note that from time to time it could  also be called "The Kitchen", "The Rumpus Room" or even "The Gym"! Rubbish-dumping is rife in that area, but the birds don't seem to mind one bit.   So you were presumably seeing the same Swifties that we've been seeing there over the past few days. I had a dozen on Friday though. There is no blossom here (or in the Hunter Economic Zone, which is east towards Kurri where Steve and others have had Swifties this past fortnight) but Swift Parrots still return here nearly every year. I wonder if they will stay on for the whole winter this year, given that there is virtually no blossom in the area. Having said that, there are some Stringybarks (undescribed sp., looks like E. capitellata to me but not to the taxonomists) coming out at the Kitchener site you visited which is of interest because we have had Regent Honeyeaters on them in two of the past four winters up here.   It is interesting that there are virtually no lorikeets or Noisy Friarbirds in the area. This is in stark contrast to last year when we had about 300-400 Swifties in the broader area and at least 100 Regents as well (with up to 50 at one site). This was of course for the Spotted Gum bonanza, which also attracted hordes of Grey-headed Flying-foxes as well. When you look at what happened on the South Coast of NSW last year (>1000 Swifties in Spotted Gum), it really does drive home just how productive Spotted Gum blossom must be.   Cheers Mick ________________________________ From: Carl Weber To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013 12:56 PM Subject: [Birding-Aus] Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? Hi Mick Roderick and all, Yesterday I went to Werakata. My first site was about 10 km SW of Cessnock, at Pelton. I turned east from Ellalong Rd into Pelton Rd (a poorly maintained dirt track), and stopped at an intersection about 500 m in, at a site where there has been extensive illegal dumping of rubbish. In particular, there are 4 dumped mattresses and a bed - I call this site The Bedroom.  Here I found a pair of Swift Parrots and a single Little Lorikeet. My second site was between Kitchener and Abernethy, along the Kearsley South Fire Trail, to the north of Abernethy Rd. About 200 m in, a bike trail leads down into a gully, where 2 or 3 cars were dumped many years ago. Here I did not see any swift parrots or lorikeets. Black-chinned honeyeaters stopped briefly at the head of the bike trail. Mick, when you reported some swift parrots on Birdline on Friday, at the car park at Pelton, were you referring to either of these sites? Best wishes, Carl Weber =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org/ =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Scope sale From: "Tony Russel" <pratincole AT esc.net.au> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 13:27:27 +0930 Re my previous note about the Leica scope being for sale - it is of course a 77mm not 80mm. Tony =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Werakata SCA and NP - where is the Car Park? From: "Carl Weber" <carl.weber AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 12:56:23 +1000 Hi Mick Roderick and all, Yesterday I went to Werakata. My first site was about 10 km SW of Cessnock, at Pelton. I turned east from Ellalong Rd into Pelton Rd (a poorly maintained dirt track), and stopped at an intersection about 500 m in, at a site where there has been extensive illegal dumping of rubbish. In particular, there are 4 dumped mattresses and a bed - I call this site The Bedroom. Here I found a pair of Swift Parrots and a single Little Lorikeet. My second site was between Kitchener and Abernethy, along the Kearsley South Fire Trail, to the north of Abernethy Rd. About 200 m in, a bike trail leads down into a gully, where 2 or 3 cars were dumped many years ago. Here I did not see any swift parrots or lorikeets. Black-chinned honeyeaters stopped briefly at the head of the bike trail. Mick, when you reported some swift parrots on Birdline on Friday, at the car park at Pelton, were you referring to either of these sites? Best wishes, Carl Weber =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birders needed for Great Western Woodlands Project From: Liz Fox <liz.fox AT birdlife.org.au> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 02:21:01 +0000 Hi all, I'm looking for bird-watchers who would like to get out to a remote and beautiful part of Western Australia, provide invaluable information for an important project, and see some great birds! The Great Western Woodlands covers 16 million hectares in the goldfields region of WA and is the focal area of a BirdLife Australia and The Nature Conservancy project started in 2012. The surveys conducted for the project so far have already provided new information on species distribution and breeding, and surveys have been done in places where no birder has been before! The surveys are conducted to record all species seen, although we are particularly interested in records of species such as Malleefowl, Gilbert's Whistler, Chestnut Quail-thrush, Blue-breasted Fairy-wren, Western Yellow Robin, Western Rosella (eastern subspecies), Southern Scrub-robin, Rufous Treecreeper and Purple-crowned Lorikeet. The bird surveys are organised for the middle of each season, however bird records taken at any time are appreciated. The surveys are conducted in small groups, with each group visiting a particular area within the region. Sites vary in accommodation options and accessibility. 4WD and self-sufficiency required in most areas, but there are a couple of locations where there is 2WD access and facilities provided. The next survey will be held in winter (June 15-21; dates negotiable). Please also contact me if you are interested in future surveys or would like to receive the project newsletter. In addition, if you have any old bird records from the WA goldfields (that aren't already in BirdLife's Bird Atlas), it would be great if I could use them for the project. Cheers, Liz Fox. =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdwatching's no line of work for a man From: Dave Torr <davidtorr AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 09:37:38 +1000 So reads the subtitle on a book recently featured in The Age - http://www.hachette.com.au/books/9780755396207/. Anyone read it yet? And if so do you agree?????? =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Australasian Bittern numbers in Victoria From: Peter Shute <pshute AT nuw.org.au> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 08:51:25 +1000 Last week there were a couple of bittern sightings in the southern part of WTP, then one at the Borrow Pits on Sunday, which I think is about 10km north east of the earlier sightings. David Richardson found one at Truganina Swamp about 20km north east of there the next day. I'm wondering what the possibility is that these were three different birds. Can anyone tell me the current population estimate for Victoria? I thought it was very low. Peter Shute =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Forest Wagtail / Barbary Dove From: Frank O'Connor <foconnor AT iinet.net.au> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 16:37:47 +0800 Many thanks to Chris Watson for the updates on the Forest Wagtail, and especially to Anne & Will Cormack for their exceptional hospitality for allowing people to wait on the verandah to see the bird. Great views were had on Sunday morning at 08:55, 10:20 and about 11:15. It had been seen the previous day. Chris has said that he will update birding-aus when it is no longer seen, so assume it is still visiting until then. Good to catch up with other people on birding-aus who were there. ----------------- Thanks for everyone who gave me information on where to find Barbary Dove (or should this now be African Collared Dove?) in Adelaide. Ray Pearson recommended Neston Avenue in Plympton. From the airport, I headed along Donald Bradman Drive, then south on Marion Road, then west (right) on Mooringe Ave and then third left (south) on to Neston Road. I instantly saw a BD on the wire. A flock of about 10 then flew across the road, and looking further along the road there were about another five on the wires. The easiest bird I think I have ever found. It appears that BDs are expanding quite rapidly in Adelaide? _________________________________________________________________ Frank O'Connor Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email : foconnor AT iinet.net.au =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Assessing Birds’ Mercury Risks More Complicated Than Previously Thought From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 18:18:17 +1000 See http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/web/2013/05/Assessing-BirdsMercury-Risks-Complicated-Previously.html This research demonstrates that you can't necessarily deduce blood and egg concentrations from feather concentrations ... =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide From: Carl Clifford <carlsclifford AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 16:20:23 +1000 They have used Christidis & Boles 2008. On 20/05/2013, at 15:26, "Jeremy O'Wheel" wrote: > I've been eagerly checking the post every day waiting for my copy to arrive (but it hasn't yet :( ). I've been curious about which taxonomy it uses? > > Jeremy > > > On 20 May 2013 15:10, Carl Clifford wrote: >> My copy of "Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide" by Ian Fraser and Jennie Gray, arrived in the post today. >> >> The cover of the book says of the title " This book is aimed at anyone with an interest in birds, words, or the history of Australian biology and bird watching. It discusses common and scientific names of every Australian bird, to tease out the meanings, which may be useful, useless or downright misleading". The pronunciation of all scientific names is also given, including Gerygone. >> >> After a quick burrow through the book, I would say that it will be very useful for stopping arguments, starting arguments and providing one with enough data on the naming of Australian birds to be able to bore ones friends witless for ages. >> >> An essential book for the bird nerd. >> >> Carl Clifford >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org >> =============================== > =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: A rather belated Eaglehawk Pelagic trip report From: pbrooks <pbrooks AT postoffice.utas.edu.au> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 15:46:31 +1000 Eaglehawk Pelagic 5th of May 2013 Participants: Els Wakefield, Karen Dick, Scott Linnane, Will Newberry, Martin Havlicek, Dan Giselsson, Linda McCurdy, Rob Hamilton, Diana Womersley, Jeremy O’Wheel and Paul Brooks (organiser/compiler). Boat: Pauletta, skippered by John Males with deckhand Brock. Weather: 1-2 metre seas on a 2-4 metre swell kept us on our toes early, but this lessened throughout the day to seas under 1 metre with a swell of less than 2 metres. Wind was generally westerly at around 25 knots; this also lessened somewhat during the day. Several squalls came in from the southwest, bringing some rain and very cold winds up to 35 knots. The trip turned out to be a very entertaining day on the water enjoyed by a good mix of first-timers and marginally more experienced sea-birders. Although the conditions were rough at times, none were seasick, but a couple (by their own admission) came very close. Bird activity was consistent throughout and we encountered a good spread of species. There was an interesting mix of summer and winter birds, but no appearance of Providence Petrel as yet. Fairy Prions were by far the most numerous bird of the day and Buller’s Albatross numbers had dropped markedly since our last trip in March. The highlight of the day came just beyond the shelf before we had stopped to lay berley. A Procellaria petrel that had been following for a while came close enough to show what looked like a distinctly dark bill-tip. After several more close passes and photographs, it was thought that the bird was not a White-chinned Petrel but a WESTLAND PETREL. We pulled up to toss some berley over and the bird obliged us by sitting in the slick and allowing great photo opportunities, which helped to clinch the ID. It was then that another Westland Petrel was noticed flying around, followed soon after by a third! All three birds sat in the slick at some point, sometimes together, and they even followed us when we moved well to the north to lay a new slick later in the morning. A very exciting record for all on board with a BARC submission pending. Just prior to our second stop, a small tern appeared off the stern. We pulled up and, although the bird stayed quite high and somewhat distant, we managed a few photos of what was thought to probably be a White-fronted Tern. On examination of Rob Hamilton’s photos that night, however, the bird looked to display the features of an ARCTIC TERN and Rohan Clarke confirmed the ID for us the next day. A good Tasmanian record to go with the sightings from WA on the same weekend. The final highlight came not long after when a SOFT-PLUMAGED PETREL appeared from the south in the teeth of a southwesterly squall. This bird was also very accommodating, making several close passes of the boat during the time it hung around. Bird Species (after IOC v3.3, max numbers seen at one time in brackets) Antipodean Albatross: 2 (1) Brief fly-bys in pelagic waters. Southern Royal Albatross: 1 (1) Pelagic. Black-browed Albatross: 2 (1) Pelagic. Campbell Albatross: 1 (1) Pelagic. Shy Albatross: c. 80 (28) From inshore to pelagic waters. Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 2 (1) Just offshore in the morning. Buller’s Albatross: c. 26 (3) From inshore to pelagic waters. Southern Giant-petrel: 2 (1) Pelagic. Northern Giant-petrel: 7 (4) Offshore and pelagic. Also several ‘GP sp’. Cape Petrel: 2 (2) Subspecies australe. Pelagic. Fairy Prion: Hundreds (60) Offshore and pelagic. Great-winged Petrel: 3 (2) Subspecies macroptera. Pelagic. SOFT-PLUMAGED PETREL: 1 (1) Pelagic. White-chinned Petrel: 3 (3) Pelagic. WESTLAND PETREL: 3 (3) Pelagic. Sooty Shearwater: 6 (1) Offshore and pelagic. Short-tailed Shearwater: 26 (13) From inshore to pelagic waters. Fluttering Shearwater: 3 (1) Only a few for sure among c. 50 ‘fluttering-types’. Hutton’s Shearwater: 1 (1) Only one certainty among c. 50 ‘fluttering-types’. Wilson’s Storm-petrel: 6 (5) Pelagic. Grey-backed Storm-petrel: 3 (3) Pelagic. White-faced Storm-petrel: 2 (2) Pelagic. Common Diving-petrel: c. 40 (1) From inshore to pelagic waters. Australasian Gannet: c. 30 (20) Mainly inshore, one juvenile well offshore. White-faced Heron: 4 (2) 3 on the Hippolyte and 1 near Pirates Bay. Black-faced Cormorant: c. 400 (150) The Hippolytes and inshore, including many juv/imm. Peregrine Falcon: 1 (1) Female soaring over the Hippolyte. Silver Gull: c. 100 (40) Inshore. Pacific Gull: 3 (2) Hippolyte. Kelp Gull: 7 (2) Inshore. Greater Crested Tern: 36 (11) Inshore to pelagic, including many immatures. ARCTIC TERN: 1 (1) Pelagic. Identified from photograph. =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide From: "Jeremy O'Wheel" <owheelj AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 15:26:38 +1000 I've been eagerly checking the post every day waiting for my copy to arrive (but it hasn't yet :( ). I've been curious about which taxonomy it uses? Jeremy On 20 May 2013 15:10, Carl Clifford wrote: > My copy of "Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide" by Ian Fraser and > Jennie Gray, arrived in the post today. > > The cover of the book says of the title " This book is aimed at anyone > with an interest in birds, words, or the history of Australian biology and > bird watching. It discusses common and scientific names of every Australian > bird, to tease out the meanings, which may be useful, useless or downright > misleading". The pronunciation of all scientific names is also given, > including Gerygone. > > After a quick burrow through the book, I would say that it will be very > useful for stopping arguments, starting arguments and providing one with > enough data on the naming of Australian birds to be able to bore ones > friends witless for ages. > > An essential book for the bird nerd. > > Carl Clifford > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide From: Carl Clifford <carlsclifford AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 15:10:43 +1000 My copy of "Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide" by Ian Fraser and Jennie Gray, arrived in the post today. The cover of the book says of the title " This book is aimed at anyone with an interest in birds, words, or the history of Australian biology and bird watching. It discusses common and scientific names of every Australian bird, to tease out the meanings, which may be useful, useless or downright misleading". The pronunciation of all scientific names is also given, including Gerygone. After a quick burrow through the book, I would say that it will be very useful for stopping arguments, starting arguments and providing one with enough data on the naming of Australian birds to be able to bore ones friends witless for ages. An essential book for the bird nerd. Carl Clifford =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Shoveler 'Show' at Werribee WTP From: jenny spry <malurus.jenny AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 14:02:42 +1000 Hi all, Yesterday was a glorious autumn day in Melbourne. The sun was out, there was very little wind and the temperature was low so heat haze was a minimal problem. In fact visibility was so good that from the Spit track with my 45 X scope I could clearly see gannets landing on the platform at the end of the Point Wilson explosives jetty - and Google Earth tells me that is a distance of about 5.9 km! I didn't rush to the WTP because I wanted to see the Northern Shoveler so I waited and got there at about 1000. This technique usually works well with a rarity at WTP because you don't need to look for the bird. All you need to do is drive in and look for the congregation of cars. And Sunday's congregation was up there with the largest, and it was at the first pond on the right as you come down Paradise Rd. There were cars, scopes, camera and binoculars everywhere and, sitting on the water in the sun with the other shovelers was the Northern. It seems that it likes this spot because it has been there for a few days. One problem with it though is, if it turns its back on you it instantly turns into "just another Aus Shoveler" and binoculars and scopes scan over it as though it had Harry Potter's invisibility cloak on. To add excitement to the morning of watching the NS a Peregrine came in low and fast across the pond on a harassment run (not a hunting run) and scattered the Pink-ears in all directions. As it was getting toward lunch time when I left the NS I headed toward the Borrow Pits. This place is so well recognised by WTP regulars as "the" place to have lunch that I remember a discussion with some friends there one day who wanted to set up a concession stand selling coffee and sandwiches to passing birders (smile). Anyway, I pulled in and one of the lunch group called out "quick, over here, there is a Bittern" so I walked over, looked in the scope, and added Aus Bittern to my day list. Gorgeous. On the basis that all birds are special there were plenty of other special birds around and I spent the rest of the day watching, amongst others, Red-kneed Dotterels, Musk Ducks, Swans, Brolga, a Great Egret with the start of its breeding plumage coming in and a Cattle Egret with just a touch of colour on the top of its head. It was a special day with one of my lowest WTP species counts (71) because it was more fun watching the visible birds than looking for the difficult ones. I also had an interesting session with a Whistling Kite. I was heading toward the Beach Rd gate when I saw the kite and it had a long, red, unravelling "rope", about a metre long, hanging from its feet. "HA!" I thought, "an obvious case of a bird tangled up in man made rubbish - AGAIN!" With my "high horse" well up and running I took some photos and then thought "wait a minute, maybe it has just picked up this rope to add to its nest" and I climbed down off my "high horse" for a moment and zoomed in the photo on the back of the camera. It was then that I could see that the metre +/- of "red rope" was actually the long, red, fleshy strands of the entrails etc of a bird and that it ended in a pair of feet and legs that looked like they might have belonged to a Purple Swamp-hen. It was a bit of a gruesome sight but quite spectacular. The WTP is a wonderful place for birding, you never know what you will find. I will put up a blog tonight, including the kite photos, so please take this as a "slightly gruesome photo alert". cheers Jenny http://jenniferspryausbirding.blogspot.com.au/ =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: The Conservation, Unknown wonders....Xmas Island From: colin trainor <halmahera AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 12:29:01 +0930 An interesting series on The Conservation. Unknown Wonders: http://theconversation.com/topics/unknown-wonders Christmas Island: http://theconversation.com/unknown-wonders-christmas-island-13648 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Another field guide app From: Steve Clark <bukoba.steve AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 11:11:25 +1000 G'day all Not sure how long this one has been available. Birds of Brazil. iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. 1800 species. Based on "The Birds of Brazil" (2009) by Ber van Perlo. Includes art, photos and calls (for about 400 species I think). Not as polished as some of the other field guide apps but it's only $13.99. I have no commercial interest in this. Cheers Steve =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Petrel / shearwater at Townsville From: <Eric.Vanderduys AT csiro.au> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 22:42:35 +0000 Hi All, I saw a petrel / shearwater this morning with upper wing and body markings like pictures of Herald petrels, but I'm no seabird expert. It was in Ross Creek Townsville. I haven't seen any shearwaters or petrels in 10 years of ferry communiting past this spot, so thought it might be of interest. Its beak was longer - like a Wedge-tailed shearwater, but I'm familiar with them and pretty certain it wasn't one. It had a dark belly, but I never saw underwing colour or pattern. Anyway, if anyone is in the area, keep eyes peeled. Last seen flying low over the water, heading inland past the Magnetic Island ferry terminal. Cheers, Eric Vanderduys Technical Officer CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences Phone: +61 7 4753 8529 | Fax: +61 7 4753 8600 | Mobile: 0437 330 961 eric.vanderduys AT csiro.au | www.csiro.au | www.csiro.au/people/Eric.Vanderduys.html Address: CSIRO, PMB PO, Aitkenvale, Qld 4814. Deliveries: CSIRO, ATSIP, Bld 145 James Cook Drive, James Cook University Douglas Campus, Townsville Qld 4814, AUSTRALIA =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline Western Australia Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:37:43 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline Victoria Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:37:33 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline Tasmania Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:37:26 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline South Australia Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:37:22 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline Northern Territory Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:37:18 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline North Queensland Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:37:13 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline New South Wales Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:37:01 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline Central & Southern Queensland Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:36:53 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline Australian Capital Territory Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:36:48 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdline Australia Weekly Update From: notifications AT eremaea.com Date: 20 May 2013 06:36:41 +1000 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Fwd: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: Peter Shute <pshute AT nuw.org.au> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 04:57:38 +1000 "... it seems to have settled in the NE corner of the pond ..." I meant the NW corner, not the NE corner. I assume this will only last until the wind direction changes and that corner is no longer sheltered. Peter Shute Sent from my iPad On 20/05/2013, at 12:12 AM, "Peter Shute" wrote: > I sent the email below to the list in haste early Sunday morning, but it never arrived. As a newly moderated moderator, I think I must have discarded it instead of approving it! So here it is again. > > It's worth noting that despite the presence of lots of cars and people again on Sunday, it seems to have settled in in the NE corner of the pond near gate 6 on Paradise Rd, and was still there when I came past about 1pm. > > Peter Shute > > Sent from my iPad > > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Peter Shute > > Date: 19 May 2013 5:39:32 AM AEST > To: Scott Ryan > > Cc: Birding-Aus Aus > > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > > Given the number of birders intending to come a long way to see this bird over the next week or so, I'm wondering what people think of the following idea: that attempts to approach closely to get photos should be discouraged. I don't want to start an anti photographer thread, just to make people aware of what's at stake for others who haven't seen it yet. > > Yesterday (Sat) it was fairly predictable once it had been located. It was tending to stay in the upwind corner of Borrie and the pond west of it. At one point two photographers asked if anyone minded it they tried to get closer, and no one did as we'd all had a good look. > > We were probably 200m from where it was sitting on the bank at the time. They barely got 10m when the whole flock flew back into the water. We thought at the time that it was something else that frightened them, and it probably was, but it highlights the potential for this bird to become hard to find, even if it only moves a kilometre. There are many inaccessible ponds at WTP. > > Last week, the bird was in Walsh's Lagoon, this week in Borrie. My OBP survey team counted 80 Aus Shovellers in T Section No. 7 pond, so that's a suitable spot for it too. It's a very frustrating exercise negotiating all the locked gates between these places, especially if you're by yourself. It would be great if it could be great if one could rely on the Birdline location from the day before to find the bird, rather than hunt around all of WTP. > > On the other hand, perhaps ducks just move anyway. Any thoughts? > > My Birdline photo from yesterday is from 200m with an ancient manual focus 400mm lens, a small (4/3) sensor camera and low skill levels. Recognisable, but that's all. I'm sure those with sharper lenses and newer, bigger sensors and some skill could do a lot better, but still not the quality photography enthusiasts strive for. But do we really need a super sharp photo of this bird? It looks pretty much like the pictures in the guides, and there are a million good photos of the species from the northern hemisphere. > > Peter Shute > > P.S you can probably guess why an OBP team was counting ducks instead of OBPs. > > Sent from my iPad > > On 18/05/2013, at 5:40 PM, "Scott Ryan" > wrote: > > Great news Peter. > Myself & another Canberra birder are planning on driving down Sunday night if it was still around. > Are there any birding-aussers who would be interested in meeting us out there on Mon or Tues morning for a twitch? > > Sent from my iPhone > > On 18/05/2013, at 5:24 PM, Peter Shute > wrote: > > It's still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today - I just drove to where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it out. I had driven past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. It's easy to see if it's facing you, not so easy if it's facing away or distant. > > It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had been there an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew to the north east corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This is the pond that's separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway you can drive on. > > Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of that pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers swimming south west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, caught up again, then they all swam back to the north east corner. There it got out on the bank for a while till all the ducks there flew back into the water. I left at about 2.30 after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours. > > Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve Davidson, and to those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you missed it, John, it's the luck of the draw when a bird could be at any of dozens of ponds. I tried a couple of times when there was one here in 2011, and never found it. Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did. > > Peter Shute > > ________________________________ > From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au [birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue [jspk AT iprimus.com.au] > Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM > To: Birding-Aus Aus > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > > Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh's Lagoon, from there to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern Shoveler was not to be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in the afternoon also failed to turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently. > > Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very pleasant day. > > John Tongue > Ulverstone, Tas. > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Birdpedia - Australia - Weekly Digest From: "Birdpedia - Australia Info" <info AT birdpedia.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 00:05:05 +0930 The following is a digest of Sightings Reported on Birdpedia for the period Monday, May 13, 2013 to Sunday, May 19, 2013: Area: SA Date: Thursday, May 16, 2013 Location: Strathalbyn Crested Shrike-tit (Falcunculus frontatus) (1) sighted in River Red Gum A welcome return to the large gum tree on our property, especially when spied on a chilly morning from the kitchen window. Reported by: Michelle Foster on Thursday, May 16, 2013 --------------------------------------------- Need more information about a sighting? Login and contact the poster directly. Receive sightings via email or SMS immediately they are posted. Not a member of Birdpedia? Membership is free and gives you access to information for over 230 countries. To sign up go to the Birdpedia Web Site (http://www.birdpedia.com/). To find out more about Birdpedia and what it can do for you, see 'What is Birdpedia?' --------------------------------------------- =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Fwd: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: Peter Shute <pshute AT nuw.org.au> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 00:10:16 +1000 I sent the email below to the list in haste early Sunday morning, but it never arrived. As a newly moderated moderator, I think I must have discarded it instead of approving it! So here it is again. It's worth noting that despite the presence of lots of cars and people again on Sunday, it seems to have settled in in the NE corner of the pond near gate 6 on Paradise Rd, and was still there when I came past about 1pm. Peter Shute Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: From: Peter Shute > Date: 19 May 2013 5:39:32 AM AEST To: Scott Ryan > Cc: Birding-Aus Aus > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee Given the number of birders intending to come a long way to see this bird over the next week or so, I'm wondering what people think of the following idea: that attempts to approach closely to get photos should be discouraged. I don't want to start an anti photographer thread, just to make people aware of what's at stake for others who haven't seen it yet. Yesterday (Sat) it was fairly predictable once it had been located. It was tending to stay in the upwind corner of Borrie and the pond west of it. At one point two photographers asked if anyone minded it they tried to get closer, and no one did as we'd all had a good look. We were probably 200m from where it was sitting on the bank at the time. They barely got 10m when the whole flock flew back into the water. We thought at the time that it was something else that frightened them, and it probably was, but it highlights the potential for this bird to become hard to find, even if it only moves a kilometre. There are many inaccessible ponds at WTP. Last week, the bird was in Walsh's Lagoon, this week in Borrie. My OBP survey team counted 80 Aus Shovellers in T Section No. 7 pond, so that's a suitable spot for it too. It's a very frustrating exercise negotiating all the locked gates between these places, especially if you're by yourself. It would be great if it could be great if one could rely on the Birdline location from the day before to find the bird, rather than hunt around all of WTP. On the other hand, perhaps ducks just move anyway. Any thoughts? My Birdline photo from yesterday is from 200m with an ancient manual focus 400mm lens, a small (4/3) sensor camera and low skill levels. Recognisable, but that's all. I'm sure those with sharper lenses and newer, bigger sensors and some skill could do a lot better, but still not the quality photography enthusiasts strive for. But do we really need a super sharp photo of this bird? It looks pretty much like the pictures in the guides, and there are a million good photos of the species from the northern hemisphere. Peter Shute P.S you can probably guess why an OBP team was counting ducks instead of OBPs. Sent from my iPad On 18/05/2013, at 5:40 PM, "Scott Ryan" > wrote: Great news Peter. Myself & another Canberra birder are planning on driving down Sunday night if it was still around. Are there any birding-aussers who would be interested in meeting us out there on Mon or Tues morning for a twitch? Sent from my iPhone On 18/05/2013, at 5:24 PM, Peter Shute > wrote: It's still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today - I just drove to where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it out. I had driven past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. It's easy to see if it's facing you, not so easy if it's facing away or distant. It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had been there an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew to the north east corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This is the pond that's separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway you can drive on. Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of that pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers swimming south west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, caught up again, then they all swam back to the north east corner. There it got out on the bank for a while till all the ducks there flew back into the water. I left at about 2.30 after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours. Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve Davidson, and to those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you missed it, John, it's the luck of the draw when a bird could be at any of dozens of ponds. I tried a couple of times when there was one here in 2011, and never found it. Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did. Peter Shute ________________________________ From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au [birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue [jspk AT iprimus.com.au] Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM To: Birding-Aus Aus Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh's Lagoon, from there to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern Shoveler was not to be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in the afternoon also failed to turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently. Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very pleasant day. John Tongue Ulverstone, Tas. =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: "Paul Dodd" <paul AT angrybluecat.com> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 22:19:02 +1000 Oh, is THAT what John was doing to you, Bill? I couldn't quite see through or round Russell's car ;-) Anyway, I've published the photos that I took of the Australasian Bittern in flight to my site: http://paul.angrybluecat.com/Trips-and-Locations/2013/Western-Treatment-Plan t-May I've also included one very, very distant shot of the Northern Shoveler roosting on the bank on the north-western part of Lake Borrie. This is really a record shot, at best. Paul Dodd Docklands, Victoria -----Original Message----- From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au [mailto:birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Bill Stent Sent: Sunday, 19 May 2013 7:23 PM To: John Weigel; birding-aus AT lists.vicnet.net.au Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee I can attest to the fact that John was in top form today. When I told him he'd missed the Bittern he tried to strangle me! Bill (all in fun, I hasten to point out...) -------------------------------------------------- From: "John Weigel" Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2013 4:30 PM To: Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > Thanks for the info Peter. In a fit of irresponsibility I got up at > midnight last night after staring at ceiling and thinking about your > Saturday sighting of the NS - and booked my flight to Melbourne. Was > on the job at 11 and was pleased to see both you and Russell - > literally pointing at the Northern Shoveler, along with a who's who of > WTP. Too bad I didn't follow the cavalcade - I missed the Bittern. > But as always, I enjoyed the hell out of that amazing place. What an incredible resource. > > The point of this post is to continue request from my buddy Scotty > Ryan, who is driving from Canberra tonight, with hopes of seeing the > bird tomorrow (Monday). Can anyone please chuck a sickie and have > some enjoyable birding time with Scott? If so, his email address is > scottscritters AT yahoo.com.au . Maybe cc to me at > jweigel AT reptilepark.com.au as he's on the road, and I can make sure he gets message. > > John W > > > Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > from [Peter Shute] [Permanent Link][Original] > To: John Tongue , Birding-Aus Aus > > Subject: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > From: Peter Shute > Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 10:03:22 +1000 > Still in the same location close to gate 6 at 10am today. > > Peter Shute > > Sent from my iPhone > > On 18/05/2013, at 5:31 PM, "Peter Shute" wrote: > >> It's still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today - I just >> drove to where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it >> out. I had driven past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. >> It's easy to see if it's facing you, not so easy if it's facing away >> or distant. >> >> It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had >> been there an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew >> to the north east corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This >> is the pond that's separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway >> you can drive on. >> >> Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of >> that pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers >> swimming south west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, >> caught up again, then they all swam back to the north east corner. >> There it got out on the bank for a while till all the ducks there >> flew back into the water. I left at about >> 2.30 >> after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours. >> >> Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve >> Davidson, and to those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you >> missed it, John, it's the luck of the draw when a bird could be at >> any of dozens of ponds. I tried a couple of times when there was one >> here in 2011, and never found it. >> Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did. >> >> Peter Shute >> >> ________________________________ >> From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au >> [birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue >> [jspk AT iprimus.com.au] >> Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM >> To: Birding-Aus Aus >> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee >> >> Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh's Lagoon, >> from there to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern >> Shoveler was not to be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in >> the afternoon also failed to turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently. >> >> Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very >> pleasant day. >> >> John Tongue >> Ulverstone, Tas. >> >> =============================== > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Amsterdam Albatross & a few goodies from Heard Island From: "Geoff Jones" <gjo48414 AT bigpond.net.au> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 21:24:03 +1000 Good Evening Everyone Over the last week I have been sorting thru my photos from the Heard Island Trip as I have so many to go thru I had been putting it off, so as everyone has been off seeing Forest Wagtail & Northern Shoveler I have been sitting in front of a computer trying to sort them out. I have put up the first batch which includes bird no 347 which is a 10 year old Female Amsterdam Albatross which we were fortunate enough to see after seeking shelter in the lee of Amsterdam Island for a short time. As for Heard Island itself, do not make excuses, just get there at sometime in your life! Here is my usual link http://www.barraimaging.com.au/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=lastup Kindest Regards Geoff Jones Website www.barraimaging.com.au Slideshows http://barraimaging.smugmug.com/ =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: Bill Stent <billstent AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 19:22:46 +1000 I can attest to the fact that John was in top form today. When I told him he'd missed the Bittern he tried to strangle me! Bill (all in fun, I hasten to point out...) -------------------------------------------------- From: "John Weigel" Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2013 4:30 PM To: Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > Thanks for the info Peter. In a fit of irresponsibility I got up at > midnight last night after staring at ceiling and thinking about your > Saturday sighting of the NS - and booked my flight to Melbourne. Was on > the job at 11 and was pleased to see both you and Russell - literally > pointing at the Northern Shoveler, along with a who's who of WTP. Too bad > I didn't follow the cavalcade - I missed the Bittern. But as always, I > enjoyed the hell out of that amazing place. What an incredible resource. > > The point of this post is to continue request from my buddy Scotty Ryan, > who is driving from Canberra tonight, with hopes of seeing the bird > tomorrow (Monday). Can anyone please chuck a sickie and have some > enjoyable birding time with Scott? If so, his email address is > scottscritters AT yahoo.com.au . Maybe cc to me at jweigel AT reptilepark.com.au > as he's on the road, and I can make sure he gets message. > > John W > > > Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > from [Peter Shute] [Permanent Link][Original] > To: John Tongue , Birding-Aus Aus > > Subject: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > From: Peter Shute > Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 10:03:22 +1000 > Still in the same location close to gate 6 at 10am today. > > Peter Shute > > Sent from my iPhone > > On 18/05/2013, at 5:31 PM, "Peter Shute" wrote: > >> It's still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today - I just drove to >> where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it out. I had >> driven >> past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. It's easy to see if it's >> facing you, not so easy if it's facing away or distant. >> >> It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had been >> there >> an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew to the north >> east >> corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This is the pond that's >> separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway you can drive on. >> >> Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of >> that >> pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers swimming >> south >> west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, caught up again, then >> they >> all swam back to the north east corner. There it got out on the bank for >> a >> while till all the ducks there flew back into the water. I left at about >> 2.30 >> after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours. >> >> Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve Davidson, >> and to >> those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you missed it, John, it's the >> luck of the draw when a bird could be at any of dozens of ponds. I tried >> a >> couple of times when there was one here in 2011, and never found it. >> Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did. >> >> Peter Shute >> >> ________________________________ >> From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au >> [birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue >> [jspk AT iprimus.com.au] >> Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM >> To: Birding-Aus Aus >> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee >> >> Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh's Lagoon, from >> there >> to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern Shoveler was not >> to >> be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in the afternoon also >> failed to >> turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently. >> >> Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very pleasant >> day. >> >> John Tongue >> Ulverstone, Tas. >> >> =============================== > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: thanks From: Susan Knowles <sknowles46 AT aapt.net.au> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 11:11:29 +1000 This is a very belated thank you to the people who gave me suggestions about birding in Scotland. They were a great help in planning our itinerary. Susan Knowles sknowles46 AT aapt.net.au =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: John Weigel <jweigel AT reptilepark.com.au> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 16:30:56 +1000 Thanks for the info Peter. In a fit of irresponsibility I got up at midnight last night after staring at ceiling and thinking about your Saturday sighting of the NS - and booked my flight to Melbourne. Was on the job at 11 and was pleased to see both you and Russell - literally pointing at the Northern Shoveler, along with a who's who of WTP. Too bad I didn't follow the cavalcade - I missed the Bittern. But as always, I enjoyed the hell out of that amazing place. What an incredible resource. The point of this post is to continue request from my buddy Scotty Ryan, who is driving from Canberra tonight, with hopes of seeing the bird tomorrow (Monday). Can anyone please chuck a sickie and have some enjoyable birding time with Scott? If so, his email address is scottscritters AT yahoo.com.au . Maybe cc to me at jweigel AT reptilepark.com.au as he's on the road, and I can make sure he gets message. John W Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee from [Peter Shute] [Permanent Link][Original] To: John Tongue , Birding-Aus Aus Subject: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: Peter Shute Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 10:03:22 +1000 Still in the same location close to gate 6 at 10am today. Peter Shute Sent from my iPhone On 18/05/2013, at 5:31 PM, "Peter Shute" wrote: > It's still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today - I just drove to > where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it out. I had driven > past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. It's easy to see if it's > facing you, not so easy if it's facing away or distant. > > It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had been there > an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew to the north east > corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This is the pond that's > separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway you can drive on. > > Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of that > pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers swimming south > west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, caught up again, then they > all swam back to the north east corner. There it got out on the bank for a > while till all the ducks there flew back into the water. I left at about 2.30 > after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours. > > Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve Davidson, and to > those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you missed it, John, it's the > luck of the draw when a bird could be at any of dozens of ponds. I tried a > couple of times when there was one here in 2011, and never found it. > Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did. > > Peter Shute > > ________________________________ > From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au > [birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue > [jspk AT iprimus.com.au] > Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM > To: Birding-Aus Aus > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > > Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh's Lagoon, from there > to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern Shoveler was not to > be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in the afternoon also failed to > turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently. > > Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very pleasant day. > > John Tongue > Ulverstone, Tas. > > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Aus Bittern From: John Tongue <jspk AT iprimus.com.au> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 12:17:53 +1000 Rub it in!! On 19/05/2013, at 12:08 PM, Russell Woodford wrote: > For all those currently enjoying great vies of the Northern Shoveler at Paradise Rd, we are looking at an Aus Bittern right now at Borrow Pits. > (All at Westrtn Treatment Plant nr Melbourne ) > Russell > > Sent from my iPhone > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Aus Bittern From: Russell Woodford <rdwoodford AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 12:08:55 +1000 For all those currently enjoying great vies of the Northern Shoveler at Paradise Rd, we are looking at an Aus Bittern right now at Borrow Pits. (All at Westrtn Treatment Plant nr Melbourne ) Russell Sent from my iPhone =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: Peter Shute <pshute AT nuw.org.au> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 10:03:22 +1000 Still in the same location close to gate 6 at 10am today. Peter Shute Sent from my iPhone On 18/05/2013, at 5:31 PM, "Peter Shute" wrote: > It's still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today - I just drove to where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it out. I had driven past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. It's easy to see if it's facing you, not so easy if it's facing away or distant. > > It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had been there an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew to the north east corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This is the pond that's separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway you can drive on. > > Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of that pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers swimming south west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, caught up again, then they all swam back to the north east corner. There it got out on the bank for a while till all the ducks there flew back into the water. I left at about 2.30 after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours. > > Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve Davidson, and to those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you missed it, John, it's the luck of the draw when a bird could be at any of dozens of ponds. I tried a couple of times when there was one here in 2011, and never found it. Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did. > > Peter Shute > > ________________________________ > From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au [birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue [jspk AT iprimus.com.au] > Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM > To: Birding-Aus Aus > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > > Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh's Lagoon, from there to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern Shoveler was not to be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in the afternoon also failed to turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently. > > Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very pleasant day. > > John Tongue > Ulverstone, Tas. > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: RFI Greater Glider From: Simon Mustoe <simonmustoe AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 09:28:26 +1000 Hi, Does anyone on this list have any information on particularly accessible Greater Gliders to photograph / video? We have plenty of spots we know where to find them, it's just in case anyone happens to have good recent information on the whereabouts of any individuals that are usually situated low down or otherwise likely to be simple to see wild. Responses offline would be appreciated to simon AT wildiaries.com or by reply to this email. Kind regards, Simon. =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: email address for ben king From: "Greg Roberts" <ninderry AT westnet.com.au> Date: Sat, 18 May 2013 17:57:22 +1000 If anyone has an email address for Ben King I'd be most grateful. Greg Roberts =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Help for Northern Shoveler Twitch From: Scott Ryan <scottscritters AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Sat, 18 May 2013 19:03:00 +1000 Great news the duck is still around Myself & another Canberra birder are planning on driving down Sunday night if it was still around. Are there any birding-aussers who would be interested in meeting us out there on Mon orTues morning for a twitch? We don't have a key Regards, Scott Sent from my iPhone =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: Scott Ryan <scottscritters AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Sat, 18 May 2013 17:40:46 +1000 Great news Peter. Myself & another Canberra birder are planning on driving down Sunday night if it was still around. Are there any birding-aussers who would be interested in meeting us out there on Mon or Tues morning for a twitch? Sent from my iPhone On 18/05/2013, at 5:24 PM, Peter Shute wrote: > It's still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today - I just drove to where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it out. I had driven past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. It's easy to see if it's facing you, not so easy if it's facing away or distant. > > It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had been there an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew to the north east corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This is the pond that's separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway you can drive on. > > Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of that pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers swimming south west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, caught up again, then they all swam back to the north east corner. There it got out on the bank for a while till all the ducks there flew back into the water. I left at about 2.30 after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours. > > Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve Davidson, and to those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you missed it, John, it's the luck of the draw when a bird could be at any of dozens of ponds. I tried a couple of times when there was one here in 2011, and never found it. Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did. > > Peter Shute > > ________________________________ > From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au [birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue [jspk AT iprimus.com.au] > Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM > To: Birding-Aus Aus > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > > Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh's Lagoon, from there to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern Shoveler was not to be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in the afternoon also failed to turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently. > > Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very pleasant day. > > John Tongue > Ulverstone, Tas. > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org =============================== Subject: Re: Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee From: martin cachard <mcachard AT hotmail.com> Date: Sat, 18 May 2013 18:29:58 +1030 Hello Peter, This is really good news fpr me too... I got to where I thought it was on Monday but I didn't arrive until 6pm & almost full darkness, so I missed it too!! I was whizzing past on my way back from the Port Madonnell pelagics double-header & thought it was worth a quick look on the way past... I will be in Melbourne again next weekend & I really would like to catch up with it on the Monday... It will be interesting to see if the shoveller hangs around until then & I will be watching this space with much interest as to his reported movements... I don't get down to Melb very often so missing it twice in 2 weeks will be very hard to bear!!! Cheers, Martin Cachard Cairns > From: pshute AT nuw.org.au > To: jspk AT iprimus.com.au; birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au > Date: Sat, 18 May 2013 17:24:52 +1000 > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > > It's still around, I found it easily at about 1pm today - I just drove to where all the cars were parked and got someone to point it out. I had driven past this spot 30 minutes before, and missed it. It's easy to see if it's facing you, not so easy if it's facing away or distant. > > It was at the north east corner of Lake Borrie, and I think it had been there an hour or so before I got there. Soon after that, it flew to the north east corner of the pond to the west of Lake Borrie. This is the pond that's separated from Lake Borrie by a narrow causeway you can drive on. > > Then it seemed to just drift with the wind almost to the east side of that pond, where it encountered 3 or 4 male Australasian Shovelers swimming south west. It swam hard to catch up with them, gave up, caught up again, then they all swam back to the north east corner. There it got out on the bank for a while till all the ducks there flew back into the water. I left at about 2.30 after having watched it for about 1 and 1/2 hours. > > Thanks to whoever found it first today, I think it was Steve Davidson, and to those who pointed it out to me later. Sorry you missed it, John, it's the luck of the draw when a bird could be at any of dozens of ponds. I tried a couple of times when there was one here in 2011, and never found it. Hopefully this one will stick around longer than that one did. > > Peter Shute > > ________________________________ > From: birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au [birding-aus-bounces AT lists.vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of John Tongue [jspk AT iprimus.com.au] > Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013 10:50 AM > To: Birding-Aus Aus > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Shoveler a 'No-Show' at Werribee > > Sadly, despite a day of concerted searching around Walsh's Lagoon, from there to the Borrow Pits, and around Lake Borrie, the Northern Shoveler was not to be seen. A quick check around T-Section late in the afternoon also failed to turn up the Aus Bittern seen recently. > > Not the most successful in terms of targets, but sill, a very pleasant day. > > John Tongue > Ulverstone, Tas. > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================