The BLSH flyer Volume 4 Number 4, Nov 2015 Swamp Harrier. Photo by Terry Dunlea. Contents Rockwarbler nest ......................................................................................................................... 2 Australia‟s list of threatened birds updated .................................................................................... 3 Meet the committee .................................................................................................................... 3 Why don‟t birds‟ feet freeze in cold weather? ................................................................................. 5 Birdwatching at Ravensbourne National Park ................................................................................. 6 Birdwatching on foreign shores .................................................................................................... 7 Birdwatching in Taiwan ............................................................................................................... 8 Raffle results ............................................................................................................................10 Hornbills in Malaysia ..................................................................................................................11 Gluepot and beyond in October ...................................................................................................12 The inaugural Canberra bird excursion .........................................................................................14 Cave Creek Track ......................................................................................................................15 New members ...........................................................................................................................16 Members‟ photography ...............................................................................................................17 BLSH photo archive ...................................................................................................................20 Collared Sparrowhawk ...............................................................................................................21 Next year‟s program ..................................................................................................................22 Thank you from the committee ...................................................................................................22 Rockwarbler nest Jennie Wiles recently found a Rockwarbler nest in an unusual situation: I first discovered the Rock warbler‟s nest at Lake Couridjah in Thirlmere Lakes National Park on the 22/8/15 at a Friends of Thirlmere Lakes working bee. The ladies‟ toilet was busy so I ducked into the men's and disturbed a bird which sat on the top of the side wall (where there is a gap below the roof). It was a Rockwarbler. It was very reluctant to leave and just watched me standing at the door for a while. There was a nest structure hanging to the toilet roll holder. It was not complete or had been damaged. I watched from outside and the bird returned a couple of times. I also saw it on the ground beyond the toilet building before I left to get on with more weeding. I checked a few days later and it had disappeared and there were fresh toilet rolls. Perhaps the cleaner wasn‟t impressed. On the 9/9/15 there again was a similar start to a nest in exactly the same position. I was at the Lakes doing a Rock Warbler survey on the 17/9/15. I began the survey at the toilet block at Lake Couridjah! I carefully peaked in and was surprised to see a Warbler on the ground of the men's with nesting material in its mouth. I quickly shut the door. Then I wished I had got a photo. It flew out moments later and I got a poor shot. While it was away I got some photos of the beautiful, complete nest. I waited patiently for a while but it didn't return. I shared these sightings with Col Kohlhagen and he replied “The nest structure is very similar to that described in Beruldsen (Australian Birds their Nests and Eggs) and pictured in Morcombe's (large edition) Fieldguide. Beruldsen also states that they will nest in abandoned buildings.” Recently I visited again but there was no sign of the nest. Above, the incomplete Rockwarbler nest, and right, the complete nest. Photos by Jennie Wiles. November 2015 2 Australia‟s list of threatened birds updated BirdLife Australia recently reported on changes to Australia‟s list of threatened birds. The Swift Parrot has been uplisted to Critically Endangered. This means it is at high risk of extinction in the wild. The western subspecies of the Purple-crowned Fairy-wren has been uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered. The following subspecies have now been listed as Vulnerable: the Australian subspecies of the Palm Cockatoo the subspecies of the Green Rosella endemic to King Island the subspecies of the Black Currawong endemic to King Island. For more information go to: http://www.birdlife.org.au/media/list-of-australias-threatened-birds-updated/ Meet the committee In this edition, there are two committee members for your to meet - our Conservation Officer Simon Robinson, and Program Officer Terry Dunlea. Simon Robinson - Conservation Officer I have been birdwatching all my life, but only really seriously when I came to Australia in the early „70s. As a veterinarian in rural practice in South East Queensland, I saw a lot of birds in the 100s of kilometres I was driving each day – and realised that I didn‟t know what any of them were (apart from the odd sparrow in Brisbane). So I bought a book, and the rest is history. When I retired, I did a Postgraduate Certificate in Ornithology at Charles Sturt University, which added a new dimension to my birding. Simon Robinson and friend! My favourite bird is the Eastern Rosella – often around our house and so brightly coloured. But I think my greatest birding experience was seeing the Raggiana Bird of Paradise displaying near Port Moresby in Papua Niugini - field trips in PNG were always somewhat risky due to „rascal‟ attacks; we went armed with baseball bats, but got back to find our cars broken into after that trip! My favourite location for birding in the Southern Highlands is Charlston Dam – such a varied range of water fowl (and let‟s face it – they‟re easier to see than woodland birds). For woodland birds, I like Thirlmere Lakes on a good day (hate it on a bad day!). When I first came to the Southern Highlands, I was surprised that there wasn‟t a birding group (I was already a member of Cumberland Bird Observers – but they‟re a bit far away). I can‟t remember how I found out about the newly formed BOCA group, but I was very happy to join. I use Nikon Sporter I 10x36 binoculars. They‟re light, have 10x magnification and are easy to use with spectacles. They‟re a bit old now, but I‟m not planning to change them yet! I also use a Vanguard spotting scope – not the top of the range, but quite adequate for what I need. November 2015 3 I carry the Slater Field Guide with me when birding, but have most of the others at home for cross referencing (I have an embarrassingly large bird library – ask Sally!) I also use the internet version of Handbook of Birds of the World quite extensively. I am very pleased that Birdlife Australia has a project to digitise Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds and make it available online for members (it‟s a bit out of date now, but digitising it will make it easy to keep it current.) Terry Dunlea - Program Officer I was born and raised in Richmond NSW, then a small community on the Northeast of Sydney. Apart from the RAAF Base it was surrounded by bush and floodplains. My first memories of being involved with birds was helping my uncle with his aviary of Bourke Parrots and King Parrots. As he was a serving army officer, I did most of the day to day care. For several periods during the 50's he served in Malaya and I earned good pocket money being in charge. Our family holidays were spent up the NSW north Coast in a small fishing village. It was here that I had my first introduction to “What Bird Is That?” In the mid 60”s we would ride our bikes out to the Londonderry Swamps to run around, chase snakes etc. We came across several men looking at birds. They also had some equipment with them that I realised later were parabolic reflectors and a ”portable” reel to reel tape recorder. They “allowed” us kids to help carry this gear for them, and they showed us birds, nests, bowers etc. I later found out the these blokes were Keith Hindmarsh and Alex Chisholm. A local Londonderry kid, Wayne Longmore, was also running around the bush. Later Wayne would be in part responsible for the discovery of the Eungella Honeyeater, as well as Curator of Birds at the Victoria Museum. In 1968 I moved to Wollongong to work. Birding was not on the agenda as work, study, females, then family took up the available time. In the mid 70's I saw an ad for a WEA course on Ornithology to be conducted by Doug Gibson. Out of the participants we formed the Illawarra Bird Observers Club. Soon I was Secretary and producing simple newsletters and notices to be mailed out as email was far in the future! IBOC had monthly meetings, outings and yearly bird camps from the start, but having 4 kids under 6 years meant a lot of balancing. In the early 80's I helped Doug Gibson with his research on Wandering Albatrosses. This meant bouncing around the ocean off Wollongong capturing these huge birds,