Karkarook Park, June 11th 2011

Yet another trip to Karkarook today, and similar to before, I came in search of the very frequently reported Tree Sparrows, which despite 5 or so trips directly after (and sometimes on) the day of them being reported, I have yet to see.

I arrived at the entrance by Warrigal Road at 10am, and as always and took a walk to the first Flame Robin spot, to check its presence. On the way I picked up Common Greenfinch in the wetlands to the right. White-plumed Honeyeater and Superb Fairy-wren started appearing from here on in. At the first spot, the robin could not be located, so I carried on up to the birdhide. On the way I found the regular Swamphens and Moorhens in the reeds, as well as a few Noisy Miners by the fenceline. I also tried to get a better shot of White-plumed Honeyeater here, but failed.

At the bird hide, a White-faced Heron was precariously perched on the edge of the roof. It was a while before I noticed it. A single Great Cormorant was on the buoys, as usual, though it didn't appear to be in breeding plumage (that or it was an immature). The view outside the bird hide was as desolate as it was inside.

Retiring from what in my experience seems to be a regularly quiet spot, I continued up the path. As I neared the corner I caught sight of 5 rather audible birds flying over and disappearing over the trees. I figured they were Rosellas at first sight, but many other things showed them to be a bird I had yet to see around these parts; Red-rumped Parrots.

Around the corner I started seeing New Holland Honeyeaters in the usual spot with more White-plumed Honeyeater. I also saw a breeding male Superb Fairy-wren; the first breeding bird on the trip so far. At the large log nearby the path down to the pier, I checked out the regular group of "strangely sounding House Sparrows", which sound absolutely identical to the RSPB recording of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow found here, but as usual, I managed to locate the entire flock, and not a single bird was a Tree. I came very close to nailing that White-plumed Honeyeater, but narrowly missed it simply by a single branch blurring the shot. At this same place, I caught sight of a larger bird in the tree, which turned out to be an immature Golden Whistler, only the second bird I've seen here. A lady here asked me if I was looking for the "pretty red wren", which she told me is often seen on the eastern edge here. I had seen it many times before, but never around this part of the park. I replied no, and carried on my way.

Literally 10 seconds walk form there at the stables I caught sight of a little red puff on the fence. And there was the Flame Robin in all its crimson apparell. It eventually came down to the grass infront of me; I didn't even have to try approaching it, as it came to me, whether it meant to or not. I momentarily turned around to the path and a brown bird shot across the path infront of a walker; a rail. The skulkiness of these birds is very distinctive. It perched on the edge of the hill for a while before disappearing in a small clump of grass. I decided to try and stalk it by walking around the other grass and waiting by the opposite side of the shrub it entered, and sure enough it popped right out into the sun, only a metre away. My only other sighting of a Buff-banded Rail was a flyby at Edithvale, so this was certainly a pleasure. After it posed and ran off into the reeds down by the water's edge I returned to the robin. I then checked the House Sparrow flock at the stables, just in case these so-called Tree Sparrows happened to associate themselves; I had no idea where to look, as none of the reporters gave any details on these birds, not even did any reports in the past few years!

   

Up the grassy path here I also found a female Robin, but the two didn't seem to have any relation to each other. An Australasian Grebe popped out the reeds here and made a hurried departure via swimming. A few children showed up too, and told me it was a Dabchick, which I found surprising. From this I assume that they were European, and well-taught (the Dabchick is another name for the Little Grebe; the European equivalent of the Australasian Grebe which is virtually identical except in neck markings). I returned to the path and saw (and heard) a pair of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos fly over Warrigal Road. I have no idea why they are so abundant in this region of the suburb and not elsewhere. I came to the wooden bridge that seperates a small section of the lake and found a female Australasian Darter on the edge of the rocks with a few Little Pied Cormorants, being pursued by the same children earlier who were shouting "Cormorant, Cormorant!". This was the first time I also really noticed that unlike Cormorants they have orange feet.

        

Upon completing the first loop, I started walking back to where I started, and came across another Flame Robin, right in the place where I expected to see it the first time. This bird, like the first one not only didn't care about being approached, but it also came towards me on a few occasions. This along with the perfect lighting came together for some very nice photos.

On the second loop there was noticeable less birds as it went past 11am, especially in terms of White-plumed Honeyeaters. Outside the bird hide this time was another Australasian Darter.

In the trees to the left of the fence, just before the stables, I saw a large grey bird in the tree; a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike. I was sure that I heard one earlier on but I did not pay it much attention. It took its leave very shortly and as a result so did I. The male Flame Robin was still at the stables, and there were still no Tree Sparrows, so I backtracked to where I continually hear the strange-sounding flock of birds. After pursuing the same old flock to double check, I came back to the same tree I saw the Cuckoo-shrike, having heard something unfamiliar. I could not locate the bird, but due to the buzzing notes below I presumed it was a White-browed Scrubwren; a bird that not only do I always forget the song, but ends up surprising me every time.

Total list was 45 birds.

Werribee Treatment Plant, 28th May

Yet another trip with Steve, today we were going to visit the Western Treatment Plant. Of course the major target was that Orange-bellied Parrot, which I am definately hurrying to get seeing its very rapid decline.

It was a rather cloudy and overcast day overall, with a few gaps for sun, but overall it left some great opportunities.

The first bird was before we really entered the park, with a Whistling Kite flying parallel to the car. Steve  put the speed up so we could catch it at a left-turning road ahead. It was a very near miss, but in the end it actually landed and could be approached up to about a metre away (suprising considering they are pretty skittish at the best of times) in the branches of a dead tree. The only downside was the bad lighting, which made all the pictures dark and lowered the details considerably (paired with the early time in the day). At the same Zebra Finch flew in, but was mostly ignored because of the former!

Musk Duck eventually came up next at one of the larger lagoons. It is probably one of the strangest ducks out there, and it certainly a unique bird, with perhaps the Blue-billed or Ruddy Duck showing a little relation. Around this time Australasian Shoveler was located very far off, and a flock of Australian Shelduck also heralded one of the smaller ponds.

On the first pass of the Borrow Pits, nothing was seen but on the way back we managed to locate the Red-kneed Dotterel that had been around yesterday. It was the first shorebird after White-headed Stilt, the latter of which was probably the most abundant wader here. Around this time we also met another group of birders who came for the Orange-bellied Parrot. One of them informed us some "possible" birds flew over the Borrow Pits just 5 minutes before we arrived, and that they flew over the fence into the no-trespassing zone. Typical.

Leaving this area, we drove towards the spit, stopping off at a pier which was covered in Pacific & Silver Gulls as well as Little Pied Cormorants and Pelicans. In the mud nearby were a few Black-fronted Dotterel; adults, too (previously I had only seen a lone immature at Truganina Swamp). On the beach was another nice surprise. A party of Red-capped Plover and a single Red-necked Stint were very tame and allowed very close approach as I prayed that I could get some decent shots. The Red-capped Plover was my top-wanted shorebird, and while I would appreciate simply seeing it, I would not mind pushing my luck in photos, so to speak.

As we got closer to the Spit, we spotted an immature White-bellied Sea Eagle off on the opposite edge of a lagoon. It circles around a bit and came down, on another lagoon, which was even further away. If it wasn't for its size and colour, I doubt we would have seen it. We left it there and drove onwards up the area known as the Spit. Along here a Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo caught our attention; this was by far the wrong time of year for such a bird. Our attention then was moved to the call of a Spotless Crake in a small patch of reeds. We spent the next half an hour trying to get any sight of this bird (and its friends as we soon discovered), and luckily I did manage to sight and photograph its eye as it passed through a very tiny gap in the reeds (see if you can see it in the photo; its eye is red). Leaving that, we carried on, picking up more Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoos, and an Australian Hobby which shot over in a flash. I kind of wished I tried to take a picture of it now, as my only picture is unidentifiable and was with my old camera. Lewin's Rail was tried for along here, and was successfully heard, but not seen in the slightest. A Swamp Harrier, one of many, flew along here, and Steve tried his hardest to turn it into a Spotted, but to no avail.  Before we left several flocks of Zebra Finch offered better looks.

On the journey to another beach, we checked a few other things on the way. First of note was yet another large Zebra Finch flock, and as we gently chased them into a tree with the car, we found two other birds, surprisingly sitting in the open; Little Grassbird and Aus Reed-warbler, two birds that are very scarcely seen, but were quite happy in sitting in the open here. With the former, this is the first I've seen it other than a brief flight glance at Altona.

When we came to one of the pylons on the beach, we saw that an Eagle was sitting on it; in the time we got there, it must have flown over, a it was also an immature. It was appreciably tame and also allowed close approach, added by some sun at a few points (when it took off it actually was to big to fit in the screen).

After its flight, we drove further up the beach to see if anything could be located. Many Golden-headed Cisticolas were found in the bushes here. At a river, Steve stopped the car and pulled out the binoculars, pointing out an Australian Spotted Crake on the edge of the bank. As expected it did not want to be approached, and was gone in a flash as soon as Steve started the car up again.

Driving onwards, Steve stopped the car at the sound of a Striated Fieldwren, which after a while made a brief appearance off in the distance on the top of a bush. The shots were not too good, and after it left we drove onwards around the corner to encounter another song, right near the car. Steve was searching frantically with the binoculars when I pointed out the bird only a few metres away. I took my shots and returned to the car, commendated by Steve in finding the bird with the words "Nice spot.".

At the end of this road, we got out and searched around for anything of interest. Pied Cormorants and a few Great Crested Grebes were lingering offshore, as were a few more Cisticolas. Steve also noticed Blue-winged Parrot and Fairy Tern at this point, which I did not see, and the latter would have been a new bird for me, though Steve insisted it was too far out to see.

It was nearing the end of the day, and Steve took me to the final stop, which was a road that stopped short in the middle of a lagoon, which as a result gave us virtual 360 degree view. The mudflats ahead were covered in Spoonbills, and sure enough Yellow-billed Spoonbill was amongst them. Soon after Steve whipped out the scope, we located a pair of very far-off Double-banded Plover, which appear (or at least one does) as a very tiny dot in the middle of the picture (though when blown-up the indentifying features can be seen well).  On the way out a Great Egret flew overhead.

Total list seen was 78, with an uncoordinated miss of Pink-eared Duck, despite the fact that the day before there were as much as 90. Similarly Whiskered, Fairy, Little and WW-Black Tern was also missed on the day, but seen before and after (typical).

With this trip I managed to tick off 13 more birds, but that Orange-bellied Parrot still remains out there. Hopefully I can catch this one before it is replaced by the captive stock that will be released one day to replenish its numbers (after all you can't tick a released Budgie, can you?).

Cheetham Wetlands, Altona, Spangled Drongo, November 20th

Today I was to return to Altona, more specifically Truganina Park, a place that I found very diverse. What I didn't know was that Cheetham backed onto it, so I made a decision to walk that way. I took the regular walk along the river over the Laverton Creek bridge and up the path that borders the little patch of woodland. Before this, I checked the little dam area for any rails, but only came up with the regular Moorhens and Aus. Reed-warblers. I decided this time to take a different route; this time I walked past this area and onto the main road (Andrew Park Drive), which I followed to the carpark of the 100 Step memorial hill (I can't remember exactly what its called). I took a walk up the hill here where in the grassland slopes I picked up Australian Pipit for the first time ever, and spent about ten minutes pursuing them for better looks, which they didn't seem keen on giving.

After this, I looked across the routes to see that the path that goes past that little patch of woodland in Truganina Park caught up to here, but I was not ready to leave yet. As I returned to the top of the hill, a soaring bird caught my sight. It was one of those two Accipters, which at this time I had no clue on how to seperate. When I returned there was a heated discussion about it being a Pacific Baza on birdforum (hence why I am sketchy about it these days), but in the end it became a Collared Sparrowhawk, which was a new one for me as well (though I've still yet to find this Goshawk; the commoner bird of the two Australian accipters).Taking a few shots before it slowly glided away, I resumed my walk down the hill. In the same place I caught a Royal Spoonbill overheard, which too was a new bird for me. I followed the path out of the car park virtually parallel (in a sense) to a housing estate.

I kept on following this path, picking up a few goldfinches on the way, until I reached an intersection at the co-ordinates -37.885617,144.793485. To the right was the "proper" walking path, whereas left was the wetland walk. I caught sight of a few ravens in the tree and a smaller bird next to them. I walked on for a few seconds before the smaller bird caught my eye (at the time it sort of blended in with the ravens) and I had in the viewfinder before long. I had wanted to see a Koel for a very long time. Not only would this be a rare bird down here, but one of my (many) dreams would be granted.

However after a bit I became kind of unhappy with the Koel I.D.. I was aware of a bird called a Spangled Drongo, which I knew very little about. I knew so little about this bird that I could not remember how you would tell it apart from a Koel. From memory I knew the Koel was much more slender than this, and it had a very long cuckoo-like tail, which this bird definately hadn't. I pursued it a little and it moved to a few different locations, and I eventually nailed it on a broken branch of a dead tree, where from that point on I left it alone.

Later on I managed to nail Yellow-rumped Thornbill. I managed to stalk around the corner of the bush and it popped out in the open. I took many many shots, but the one to the left was the only that showed the side of the bird and the only one that wasn't entirely focused (!) which seems to be a fairly common theme among my pictures. Though it isn't perfectly focused, it beats my previous shots. I spent a while trying to find a White-fronted Chat, which I had only seen once before at a distance. I thought I heard one, but I ended up finding a Singing Honeyeater, which if you've heard it "sing" you will know that it was not very aptly named.

I walked on until I reached the main path again, having seen a few Skylark and more Pipits along the way, both very numerous to the extent I never really managed to I.D. them all (apparently the flight style is different but I never noticed anything at the time). I also heard a few Marsked Lapwings before I decided to turn back based on the time. I checked the grass here just incase I found one of these infamous "Altona Skipper" butterflies. Me being a butterfly fan I would be stoked to find something like this. Unfourtunately they would likely have a short flying time, typical of restricted Hesperiid skippers, but I cannot find any information about these butterflies at all, similar when I tried to find these "Pearl Whites" that apparently live in the Botanic Gardens.

I returned the same way, and the Drongo/Koel was still there in the same tree I originally found it. Having figured I harassed it enough I left it alone this time round. On the way back I passed a nest in the woodland area of Truganina Park. In the shade I saw two dark birds which I also assumed were Ravens, but when I check my photos they turned out to be Brown Falcons!

All in all a great day, especially when I managed to confirm the Drongo I.D. in my field guide! A Koel is a rarity, but this is something else. I can only find one record in Victoria from the Dandenongs, and it looks like that even in NSW this tropical bird can be hard to come by.

34 birds seen and at least 4 ticks (one being a vagrant(!)) ending a very nice day.