The BLSH flyer

Volume 4 Number 4, Nov 2015

Swamp Harrier. Photo by Terry Dunlea. Contents Rockwarbler nest ...... 2 Australia‟s list of threatened 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 ...... 8 Raffle results ...... 10 Hornbills in Malaysia ...... 11 Gluepot and beyond in October ...... 12 The inaugural Canberra 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.

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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.

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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, measuring, tagging and then often fighting our way back into the teeth of an afternoon southerly change. During this time I was conducting beachwashed bird survey at the beaches near the office at Port Kembla. If anything of interest was found a quick trip to see Doug Gibson and a conference in the nearby carpark soon had it identified. I tried my hand at bird taxidermy, but storing dead birds in the family freezer wasn't appreciated, so that didn't last long. Also during this time I had the pleasure of birding with Arnold McGill and John Hobbs, two of the great names in ornithology in Australia. In 1990 I moved to the Southern Highlands and did little birding until a man with a black Labrador sparked my interest. Living at Mittagong I rode the mountain bike all over the tracks through the Boxvale area. I would often come across this pair and discussions started. I also started to do a lot of travel for work, driving over most of NSW. This gave me an opportunity to see different habitats and different birds. I guess that I have been a member of Birdlife Southern Highlands for about 5 or 6 years. I think that I saw an article in the local paper and followed on from there. I was retrenched in April 2009 and immediately retired. This has given me time to be a more active birdwatcher. With a son in Broome and a daughter in the Northern Territory I have the opportunity to visit some very interesting parts of Australia. My knowledge of birds has increased significantly just by spending time out and about. The recent purchase of a good digital SLR camera and lens combination has also been an education. My favourite bird is the Apostlebird, and it also coincides with great experiences of camping out at Mungo National Park and Hattah-Kalkyte National Park out north and south of Mildura. Sitting at the tent you often see most of the birds that you are chasing wander by. It is great fun to watch a group of Apostlebirds come rolling through – feeding, chattering; just having fun. November 2015 4

Binoculars – I started with a pair of Pentax 7x50 which I bought in about 1976 for $120. These served me well until I moved to the Southern Highlands, but have been little used since then. I then bought a pair of Nikon travelite which were used for general use. The man with the black Labrador showed me his Leica binoculars during one encounter at Boxvale and that became the standard. In 2009 I purchased a pair of Swarovski EL 8.5x42 binoculars as a retirement present to myself. The clarity and performance is fantastic.

Why don‟t birds‟ feet freeze in cold weather?

Have you ever stood on the edge of a wetland in winter, your feet freezing, wondering how the water birds can paddle or wade happily through the icy water? Simon Robinson explains how. The legs and feet of birds (as well as other parts of the body such as the bill of ducks or the lappets of vultures) are very important for their control of body temperature (thermoregulation). The blood vessels in the legs and feet of birds have a very crafty, more or less complex, anatomical layout that allows heat exchange between incoming warm arterial blood and outgoing cooler venous blood (see the illustration). In hot weather, when the bird needs to lose body heat, the bird‟s subconscious nervous system activates one or more shunts to redirect blood to the feet so that heat can be lost to the environment (especially in water birds where the feet are immersed). But in cold conditions, the blood supply to the feet is reduced to just the amount needed to keep them from freezing, and surplus heat is retained for the body by reheating the venous blood returning to the heart. Obviously the colder it is, the more heat needs to be diverted to the feet – in order to avoid draining too much heat from the bird‟s body, it may be necessary for the bird to squat down and tuck its feet under its feathers for a while! Ever wonder why birds like flamingos stand on one leg? Probably to reduce body heat loss – as ambient temperature increases, they tend to stand on two feet. Some species of stork actually spray their legs and feet with faeces in hot weather – early exploitation of evaporative cooling. And the best we can do is thongs in summer and woolly socks in cold winter!

Diagrammatic layout of blood supply in a bird‟s lower leg and foot. Arterial blood (red) enters through a main artery where it runs closely (or intertwines) with one of the veins(blue) returning blood to the heart. There is another vein (left in the diagram) that is not closely associated with the artery. Where the artery and vein are in close proximity, heat can pass from the warm arterial blood to the cooler venous blood. If the bird‟s body wants to retain heat in cold weather, the bypass shunt is closed and the blood reheated. But in hot weather, the bird wants to lose heat and the shunt is opened so that the heat exchange mechanism is bypassed and warm blood in the artery enters the foot where heat is lost to the environment. In very cold weather when there is a risk of the foot freezing, the shunt is partially closed so there is just enough heat going to the foot to stop it freezing.

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Birdwatching at Ravensbourne National Park

John Shepherd has provided this report on a recent trip to South Queensland: Jenny and I spent 3 days (20-23 October 2015) at a cottage near to the National Park on the edge of the rainforest. This time preceded a car club rally we were attending with our Standard Vanguard at Toowoomba. Ravensbourne is about 55 km north-east of Toowoomba and is a small National Park consisting of a rainforest remnant at the top of the Divide. The vegetation communities are in good condition. conducive to maintaining a special bird population. Midweek there was hardly anyone else there and the weather was beautiful: sunny, 24°-26°, and low wind velocities – ideal for birding. Our total bird count, including a brief trip down to Lake Cressbrook near to Crows Nest, was 56 species, and a number of birds we had not previously seen. We atlassed several sites to capture some useful data and the best of these were the Rainforest Circuit and the Cedar Block Circuit close to the Gus Beutel Lookout. Highlights for us were observing at close quarters the following birds: Bassian Thrushes, Logrunners, a Black breasted Button-quail, Catbirds, Regent Bowerbirds, Regent Bowerbird ready to feed. Photo by John Brown Cuckoo-Doves, a Little Shrike-thrush, a Noisy Shepherd.

Pitta, and abundant Brown Gerygones. The latter are very noisy in the canopies and really difficult to see. Below, Australian Brush-turkey ready to Other entertaining birds sighted were a Little Eagle, Pale- roost. Photo by John Shepherd. headed Rosellas, Lewin‟s Honeyeaters and Torresian Crows. In the dense rainforest we also heard clearly two Superb Fruit-Doves and a Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove. Worthy of special mention, at Lake Cressbrook, was a phenomenal roosting flight at dusk of 164 Great Cormorants flying in formation to the head of the lake to roost on the beach. We really enjoyed our stay, and recommend this National Park to any birdwatchers going through there. We were also impressed by the way the Queensland Department of National Parks maintains the walks.

Two male Regent Bowerbirds feeding on the fruit of the wild tobacco. Photo by John Shepherd.

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Birdwatching on foreign shores...

We have quite an international flavour to our newsletter this month, starting with Col Kohlhagen‟s tale of his trip to Europe earlier this year: Members will know from reading a couple of my previous Newsletter articles that I enjoy taking the opportunity to bird while holidaying in or visiting environments with which I am unfamiliar. A river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest in July followed by a week in Croatia provided limited opportunities for birdwatching but I did manage to positively identify over 30 species . Most of them were common European birds but even they were a challenge as my old European guide book is poorly illustrated when compared to Pizzey or Morcombe. Birdwatching on another continent is akin to leaning a new language, and birdwatching from the deck of a river cruise ship moving at about 12 kmph adds its own challenges. Needless to say I saw many species which I could not identify as they were too distant and/or moving too quickly. I did have some success using more traditional methods one afternoon when I left the comfort of the ship‟s viewing deck and rode a bike three villages upstream from Wurzburg during some free time. Near the village of Eibelstadt I came across a very puzzling interpretative sign, puzzling because it was written in German and but more so because appeared to be highlighting the local Crow population, a species hardly on the endangered list in that area. I could not find a local to translate so its purpose remains a mystery !! (I have since enrolled in a “German for Beginners” course run by U3A.) In the Old Town Square at Nuremburg, after listening to the tour guide extolling the reputation of renowned German artist, Albrecht Durer, I was lucky enough to find a postcard Photo by Col Kohlhagen. reproduction of a Screech Owl image painted in 1508 by the said gentleman. His statue has pride of place in the old town square. Unhappily, I failed to see any live owl specimens. On another occasion, while wandering through the Old Town Square in Dubrovnik, I came across a motley collection of captive cockatoos and parrots including a couple of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. They had been reduced to the status of circus performers and their owner, dressed as a pirate, was earning few a kuna each time they were photographed when perched on a tourist‟s shoulder, a la Long John Silver of Treasure Island fame. It was strange to see our most common cockatoo generating such excitement. However, I really wanted to find an RSPCA Officer to register my disapproval but none were around that day. My pathetically small list, compiled over three weeks, is as follows: Great Crested Grebe, Shag, Cormorant, Grey Heron, White Stork (on nest), Mute Swan, Photos by Col Kohlhagen. Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Teal, Garganey,

multiple Mallard Hybrids, Black Kite, Sparrowhawk,Oyster Catcher, Coot, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Collared Dove, Turtle Dove, Woodpigeon, Kingfisher, Swift, Alpine Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Black Redstart, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Great Tit, , Jackdaw, Rook, Raven, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, and Chiffchaff.

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Birdwatching in Taiwan

Nigel Hartley has provided this interesting account of his trip to a lesser known birding destination: I had not thought of Taiwan as a bird destination until a few years ago when a friend stopped there after a business trip to Tokyo, and raved about the birding. As a result, I also was on a business trip, to Hong Kong, and decided to do a side trip to Taiwan to see what the fuss was about. I organized the trip through a local birder, Kuan-Chieh Hung (Chuck), who arranged to meet me at the airport and organized a 3 night itinerary for me. Research had confirmed that the place to head for was Dasyueshan Forest for a chance to see at least 70% of the endemic birds. It is hard to get an exact fix on the number of species but Clements/Ebird has the number at 25 endemics. I got into Taipei about noon after an easy 2 hour flight from Hong Kong, and soon caught up with Chuck, the only person in the airport with a Swarovski jacket and a pair of binoculars around his neck! We set off in his car and I‟d soon ticked Little Egret, my first Taiwan bird. My first surprise was when he told me Taiwan was not actually a recognized country but still considered part of China, and then gave me a good history lesson on Taiwan. We set off for Dasyueshan Forest, about a 3 hour trip, and after unsuccessfully looking for around Taichung, reached the outskirts of the forest in time for some late afternoon birding. We soon saw a pair of Brown Dippers on a stream, not endemic but still one of my favourites for the trip, and then my first endemics, Taiwan Scimitar Babbler and a covey of Taiwan Bamboo Partridges. We finally got a Taiwan Whistling Thrush as it disappeared down its nesting hole under a bridge. The forest birding was very user friendly, mainly roadside birding along a bitumen road that went for 50 kms up to around Looking west from Dasyueshan. Photo by Nigel Hartley.

2,600 metres above sea level. We got to the accommodation at the km 13 sign, at about 1000 metres, and after dinner went owling but as is normal with Scops Owls could not actually see the pair of Mountain Scops Owl that were calling. However we did see a Formosan Giant Flying Squirrel which was a great end to the day. The room was basic but very clean and with a 3 hour time difference I leapt out of bed at 4.20am in good time for a 5.20am start! Our full day at Dasyueshan (Great Snowy Mountain) was a great success, we started by driving up to the end of the road, at 2625 metres, and enjoyed Swinhoe’s Pheasant. Photo by Nigel Hartley. some stunning views. November 2015 8

Our first great bird was a Swinhoe‟s Pheasant, then we steadily added birds as we worked our way to the top. Our big target at the top was and although there were lots of failed attempts we finally saw them really well. This was a special sighting as the species is related to the European Goldcrest and Firecrest and is only found in the “alpine” zone. Taiwan Cupwing was a lovely sighting and it was good to see Asian House Martin which seems rare elsewhere. White Whiskered Laughing Thrushes were everywhere and dancing around our feet as were Taiwan Yuhinas which seem to be the local sparrow. At the top we finally saw Golden Parrotbill which Chuck was very chuffed about as he‟d missed it on his previous trip, likewise White Browed Bush Robin. It was strange to get my first there too after looking for it in Scandinavia. It was amazing how many birds were either European or Himalayan in origin. We then spent an unsuccessful two hours looking for Mikado Pheasant, ate a picnic lunch, and then drifted back to the top where we saw Ashy Wood Pigeon and a female Taiwan Rosefinch. We came back down and after another hour, and on the verge of giving up in the failing light, a Mikado wandered up to the roadside. There were quite a few people watching especially photographers with some enormous Mikado Pheasant. Photo by Nigel Hartley. cameras. We went to our second night‟s accommodation, at the kilometre 30 mark, a great improvement on the first night complete with electric blankets and in a rather nice log cabin. We again went owling, mainly for Himalayan Owl, no luck again but this time saw a lovely White Faced Flying Squirrel, as well as Reeves Muntjac and a rather unusual endemic wild goat called a Serow. Next day we started at 6am and drove back to the top to try for Bullfinches, no luck. First new endemic was Taiwan Fulvetta, a real skulker. We drifted back to the trails around the cabins and heard but did not see Vivid Niltava. We did pick up Rufous Crowned Laughing Thrushes and some Rufous Faced Warblers. We then drove on out of the park and stopped for a big mixed bird party and got very good views of Vivid Niltavas, and Chuck‟s best bird of the trip, Island Thrush. I had seen this blackbird like bird in PNG previously but this race had a white head and was quite striking. We then had a big drive to our next night‟s accommodation, the Firefly Hostel where the big target was Taiwan Partridge. We finally got Taiwan Hwamei en route, and then drove to Huisan Forest where we successfully found Taiwan Blue Magpie and Malayan Night Heron. It was getting pretty late and we had a horrendous drive on a twisting mountain road, not getting to Firefly Hostel until 9.30pm. Promises of Northern Boobook were not fulfilled so we had no luck with owls on the trip. At 6am on Thursday the owner drove us to a hide where we settled in waiting hopefully for the Partridge. The owner had Taiwan (Hill) Partridge. Photo by Nigel Hartley. told Chuck that the afternoon was much better and in the morning there was only a 20% chance of seeing it. Luckily I did not know this until later but as we only had an hour was losing hope by the time 7.15am ticked past. However, finally a partridge came into sight from the right of the hide closely followed by its partner.

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There was much relief and we enjoyed watching these very cute (and rare) little birds for a good 20 minutes. We walked back down to the hostel and had a wonderful breakfast sitting out on the lawn. We picked up Daurian Redstart in the tea plantation whilst downing egg rolls, pork buns, and the local Oolong tea. After breakfast we headed out for an hour‟s birding around the lodge before heading back north. This was skulker central. We tried to find the Black Necklaced Scimitar Babbler for about ten minutes before I got a great look in the binocs albeit for all of two seconds, and then we looked for a Dusky Fulvetta. This seemed even more of a skulker and we‟d already had them singing around us earlier apparently only a metre or two away, but no sign. Luckily in the end we were looking down on some bamboo from the side of the road and I was lucky to get a superb view in the binoculars from above as it skulked through the Firefly Hostel and Oolong tea growing. Photo by Nigel Hartley. undergrowth. We then set off for the 300km trek back north. Chuck wanted to show me a long staying Siberian Crane at Jinshang wetlands on the North East coast, which had become somewhat of a celebrity. We saw this right by the road, rather a strange sighting, and then added loads of ducks and waders to the Taiwan list to take it over 100. There was apparently a colony of Japanese Cormorants about 400 metres offshore but we never had time to look for these. After all of this Chuck dropped me off at the airport in good time for my flight. Chuck was a full time bird guide who was quite concerned that Taiwan was a bit too tame for hard core birders. But I saw Taiwan as an ideal stopover for a keen birder, particularly as a side trip from Hong Kong whilst en route to Asia or Europe. I would be very happy to provide more details to anyone who is thinking of a similar trip. Nigel Hartley November 2015

Raffle results

This year, BLSH has been conducting a raffle for a framed artwork which was generously donated to our branch. The raffle raised just over $250.00, and was drawn at the Members‟ Night on Tuesday 24 November. The winners were: 1st prize - S. Hawick 2nd prize - J. Desmond 3rd prize - L. Oakey 4th prize - F. Allan 5th prize - I. Scandrett Councillor Ian Scandrett re-donated his prize which was put up for auction at the end-of-year barbeque on 29 November, raising another $11. The committee would like to thank all of those who participated in the raffle and auction.

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Hornbills in Malaysia

On a recent trip to Malaysia, Janine Hodge hoped to see some Hornbills... but she didn‟t really expect to see them hanging around the resort like pigeons! There are two species of Hornbill present on Pangkor Laut resort island just off the west coast of Malaysia, the Great Hornbill and the Oriental Pied Hornbill. The smaller Oriental Pied Hornbill could always be found in the resort‟s cafe and bar, scrounging lunch leftovers and offerings from guests. Of course, this wasn‟t really appreciated by the resort staff who had to clean up after the birds! But all visitors loved photographing the cheeky birds, who seemed quite happy to pose. The larger Great Hornbills kept a more appropriate distance from guests, but were easily viewed all around the resort.

Oriental Pied Hornbills on Pangkor Laut. Photos by Alan Burchill.

Great Hornbills on Pangkor Laut. Photos by Alan Burchill.

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Gluepot and beyond in October...

Col Kohlhagen has certainly been out and about. Here he reports on his trip to Gluepot Reserve: This exercise started out as three BLSH members planning to join a fully accommodated trip to Gluepot Reserve and other dryland sites in South Australia run by a commercial operator. After a few hiccups before we even started, it became a self-guided tour by Simon Robinson and Col Kohlhagen at half the price and with twice the fun. Altogether, we spent 12 days birding at a range of sites, but mostly in dry areas with the occasional visit to a wetland. Unfortunately, access to Five Bough Swamp at Leeton was denied due to track restoration work. This probably denied us the chance to see a fuller set of waders and other waterbirds. Otherwise, it proved to be a most enjoyable trip which yielded 140+ species and a chance to visit some iconic parts of Australia:

District Site Species Highlights Wagga Wagga Mates Gully 11 Yellow-tufted Honeyeater NSW Pomigalarna NR 6 Speckled Warbler Berry Jerry SF 9 Rufous Songlark Narrandera NSW Town Wetlands 20 White-winged Triller Rocky Waterholes (two visits) 20 Swamp Harrier Wentworth NSW Lake Victoria 18 All four Cormorants at one site Waikerie SA Harts Lagoon 19 Little Grassbird Gluepot SA Airstrip 7 Pied Honeyeater Emu Hide 5 Mallee Ringnecks Froggy Water Hole 6 Brown-headed Honeyeater South Babbler Walk 8 Crested Bellbird Gypsum Lunette Walk 10 Chestnut-rumped Thornbill Old Gluepot Homestead 5 Meeting Terry and Jann from BLSH Whistler Walk 8 Striped Honeyeater Melrose SA Mount Remarkable NP 20 Adelaide Rosella Alligator Gorge 9 Grey Currawong call Rawnsley Park Clem Smith Corner 22 Nesting Southern White Eye Station SA Rawnsley Station Waterhole 12 Whiskered Tern Flinders NP SA Hills Homestead, Wilpena Pound 20 Redthroat Sacred Canyon 5 Nesting Ravens Stokes Hill Lookout 6 Elegant Parrot Martins Well Rd 19 Letter Winged Kite (?) Arkaroo Rock 5 Shy Heathwren Robinvale Vic Hattah-Kulkyne NP 47 Regent Parrot Balranald NSW Yanga NP 22 Emu and young Leeton NSW Sewage Ponds 7 Black-winged Stilts Ganmain NSW Murumbang Urban Reserve 11 Masked Woodswallow

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Full Trip List: Emu, Black Swan, Pink-eared Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Australasian Shoveler, Grey Teal, Chestnut Teal, Hardhead, Musk Duck, Australasian Grebe, Hoary-headed Grebe, Australian White Ibis, Straw-neck Ibis, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, White-necked Heron, White-faced Heron, Australian Pelican, Little Pied Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Australian Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Australasian Darter, Black-shouldered Kite, Letter-winged Kite (possible), Wedge-tailed Eagle, Swamp Harrier, Black Kite, Whistling Kite, Australian Hobby, Nankeen Kestrel, Brown Falcon, Australian Swamphen, Eurasian Coot, Dusky Moorhen, Black-tailed Native Hen, Black-fronted Dotterel, Red-kneed Dotterel, Masked Lapwing, Black-winged Stilt, Silver Gull, Crested Tern, Whiskered Tern, Peaceful Dove, Crested Pigeon, Common Bronzewing, Cockatiel, Long-billed Corella, Little Corella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, Major Mitchell‟s Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Regent Parrot, Superb Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Yellow Rosella, Adelaide Rosella, Eastern Rosella, Port Lincoln Ringneck, Mallee Ringneck, Mulga Parrot, Red-rumped Parrot, Elegant Parrot, Blue Bonnet, Sacred Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Brown Treecreeper, Fairy-Wrens: Superb and Variegated , Pardalotes: Spotted and Striated, Shy Heathwren, Speckled Warbler, Redthroat, Weebill, Thornbills: Brown, Buff-rumped, Yellow- rumped and Inland, Southern Whiteface, Honeyeaters: Red Wattlebird, Striped, Spiny-cheeked, Noisy Friarbird, Little Friarbird, Blue-faced, Yellow-throated Miner, Noisy Miner, Singing, White-eared, Yellow Tufted, Yellow-plumed, Grey-fronted, White-plumed, White-fronted and New Holland, Babblers: White- browed and Chestnut–crowned, Varied Sittella, Rufous Whistler, Grey-shrike Thrush, Crested Bellbird, Magpie-lark, Willie-wagtail, Grey fantail, White-winged Triller, Cuckoo-shrikes: Black-faced and White- bellied, Olive-backed Oriole, Woodswallows: Black-faced, Dusky, White-breasted, Masked and White- browed, Butcherbirds: Pied and Grey, : White-backed and Black-backed, Currawongs: Pied and Grey, Ravens: Australian and Little, White-winged , Apostlebirds, Common Blackbird, Common Starling, Welcome Swallow, Martins: Tree and Fairy, Silvereye, Australian Reed-warbler, Little Grassbird, Songlarks: Rufous and Brown, House Sparrow and Australian Pipit.

The dry Kangaroo Creek at Rawnsley Park Station where the Port Lincoln Parrots were seen. Photo by Col Kohlhagen.

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The view from the rack to Arkaroo Rock where the Shy Apostlebirds and nest in Hattah Kulkyne NP. Photo by Heathwrens were seen. Photo by Col Kohlhagen. Simon Robinson.

The inaugural annual Canberra bird excursion

Fred Young recently led the first excursion to Canberra. Here are the details: Well what a great birding excursion to inaugurate the Annual Canberra Bird Excursion! While only six of us braved the wilds of Canberra we were very ably assisted by three experienced members of COG. Our three days (two nights) were rewarded with 100 birds. The three principal sites selected afforded a look at a variety of habitats, from wetlands to open forest. One of the highlights was meeting and birding with people who have extensive local knowledge of not only where to find birds , but the location of nests for many species. Day 1: Mulligans Flat, a Yellow Box/Blakely's Red Gum woodland in Canberra's north. The sight of Tony being ferried around by a Ranger was a highlight. Sandra Henderson from COG assisted us. The morning list was 45 birds. The weather for the entire trip was perfect. Day 2: Jerrambomberra Wetlands. Sue Lasko from COG assisting today. Our group had some fantastic views of Japanese Snipe. The view through the optics of Sue's scope was so clear, it made looking though my cheap binos seem as if I had glaucoma. It‟s often of interest to note what wasn‟t seen. I fully expected Cisticolas to be present, as they usually are for me at this time of year there. However, we dipped on those. Also no sighting of a homeless person who has taken up residence in one of the bird hides! Also of note were some very accommodating Reed Warblers and Little Grassbirds. A photographer‟s paradise. An Intermediate Heron, whose neck is about the same length as its body, was another standout. As the heat kicked in, we retired to the ANBG for lunch at the cafe. Then after a walk past beautiful Spring flower displays, I led the group to the Tawny Frogmouth sitting high in a Eucalypt. Even I was surprised I found it! Definitely icing on the cake for the Gardens visit. We all met for dinner at Tilley's. Our group generously shouted my meal. Thanks guys. Day 3:Campbell Park. It just seemed to get better. Weather still great. Sue Lasko and another COG member Con Boekel. assisted our group today. Con has a good knowledge of the bird happenings in the area, and led us to many nests which, let‟s face it, would never have been noticed by us. White Winged Trillers trilling everywhere, Rufous Songlark (my new bird for the trip), Leaden Flycatchers, even a Speckled Warbler spotted by Val and Tony. These are just some highlights (see list below).

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Canberra Bird Excursion 2015

Mulligan's Flat Oct 19th

Laughing Kookaburra, Magpie, Noisy Miners, Pied Currawong, Eastern Rosella, Magpie Lark,Crimson Rosella, Spotted Dove, White Winged , Little Pied Cormorant, Black Duck, Willy Wagtail, Spotted Pardalote (h), Sulfur Crested Cockatoo, Red Wattlebird, Striated Pardalote, Olive Backed Oriole, White Throated Gerygone (h), Weebill, Noisy Friarbird, Brown Thornbill (h), Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike, Australian Raven, Western Gerygone (h), Buff Rumped Thornbill, Brown Headed Honeyeater, Rufous Whistler (h), Varied Sitella, Galah, Yellow Rumped Thornbill, White Browed Tree Creeper (h), Coot, Hardhead, Royal Spoonbill, Little Black Cormorant, White Faced Heron, Hoary Headed Grebe, Grey Teal, Red Rumped Parrot

Forde Creek

Welcome Swallow, Reed Warbler, Indian Myna, Goldfinch, Crimson Rosella, White Ibis.

Jerrabomberra WetlandOct 20th

Reed Warbler, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Black Duck, Dusky Moorehen, Grey Teal, Superb Fairy Wren, Grey Fantail, Little Grassbird*, Red Kneed Dotterels, Japanese Snipe, Blackbird, Shoveler, Sacred Kingfisher, White Browed Scubwren, Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo, Black Swan, Pink Eared Duck, White Faced Heron, Intermediate Egret, Hardhead, Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike, White Ibis, Black Shouldered Kite, Pelican, Spotted Dove, Little Black Cormorant, Red Wattlebird, Rufous Whistler(h)

ANBG

Gang Gang (h), Whipbird(h), Tawny Frogmouth, King Parrot, New Holland Honeyeater, Eastern Spinebill, White Winged Chough, Superb Fairy Wren, Magpie, Red Wattlebird, Pied Currawong, Sulfur Crested Cockatoo

Campbell Park Oct 21st

Laughing Kookaburra, White Winged Triller, Galah, Grey Fantail, Eastern Rosella,Yellow Rumped Thornbill, Common Bronzewing, Dusky Woodswallow, Rufous Whistler, Willy Wagtail, Little Corella, Long Billed Corella, Magpie Lark, Red Rumped Parrots, Starling, Superb Fairy Wren, Noisy Miner, Crimson Rosella, Indian Myna, Buff Rumped Thornbill, White Throated Gerygone, Rufous Songlark*, Shining Bronze Cuckoo (h), Varied Sittela, Crested Pigeon, Red Browed Finch, Olive Backed Oriole (h), Australian Hobby, White Winged Chough, Noisy Friarbird, Leaden Flycatcher, Grey Currawong, Brown Headed Honeyeater(h), Weebill, Horsefield Bronze Cuckoo, King Parrot, Spotted Pardalote (h), Mistletoebird, Sacred Kingfisher(h), Speckled Warbler,

Cave Creek Track

Fred Young also led our first walk to the Cave Creek Track at Hilltop: Well the Black-faced Monarchs are back from New Guinea and Indonesia! Most of the ten people on the walk had nice views. One highlight was a fearless Superb Lyrebird, busily foraging next to the creek, seemingly unconcered with eyes and lenses watching close by. As usual the walk isn‟t over until we all drive away. A Mistletoebird and White-eared Honeyeater were seen around the carpark.It‟s an interesting walk also in that as one descends down towards the creek , the sounds around one constantly change. The dull sky made initial viewings difficult, which encouraged birdos to listen and look at the bird's behaviour and habitat to determine what was there. Lots of flowers still around with members testing their identifiction skills. A Channel-billed Cuckoo's unmistakable call began the walk. Some caught a glimpse of 'Dumbo' flying. The Monarchs flitted about nearby along the creekline as well as up in the drier sections of the walk. The vegetation changes observed are a treat. One feels far from 'the world' watching birds go about their daily tasks. The track itself looks as if no maintenance has been done for awhile. Some gravel helicoptered in and left for years. Thank you to those members who turned up on time.

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Cave Creek, Hilltop, NSW. 21st Nov.2015 Channel-billed Cuckoo (calling and two seen flying in the distance), Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, Laughing Kookaburra, Eastern Whipbird (h), Grey Fantail, Eastern Spinebill, Spotted Pardalote (h), Rufous Whistler (h), Superb Lyrebird, Rainbow Lorikeet, White- throated Treecreeper, Black-faced Monarch, Galah(h), White-naped Honeyeater, Restless Flycatcher, Brown Thornbill, White-browed Scrubwren, Eastern Yellow Robin, Satin Bowerbird, Varied Sitella, Crimson Rosella, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Grey Shrike- thrush, Golden Whistler (h), White-eared Honeyeater, Mistletoebird, Red Wattlebird.

A Superb Lyrebird photographed on the Cave Creek walk. Photo by Linda Hoelle.

New members

BLSH would like to extend a warm welcome to the following new members:  Louise Egerton from Bundanoon  Ildiko, Istvan and Eszter Haag from Hilltop  Nola Kunnen from Bundanoon  Ken Fulton from Berrima  Diedre White from Moss Vale  Neil Tribe from Bowral  Helen Savile from Alpine  Cameron Crofts from Bundanoon We look forward to meeting all of you at our events next year!

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Members‟ photography

As always, members have provided some outstanding photos for our enjoyment. Linda Hoelle has provided this lovely shot of a Rose Robin. Linda says “Last week I photographed a female Rose Robin near our house in Braemar. I thought a photo of it might be of interest for the Newsletter. When I first saw the robin I thought 'fantail'. White flashed in the tail as it flew from spot-to- spot in the trees. Fortunately it posed long enough for a few photos, and a faintly pink breast was visible!”

Rose Robin photo by Linda Hoelle.

Another robin, this time a female Scarlet Robin, photographed by Helen Erskine at Charlston Dam. Helen notes that of the five "red" Australian robins it is the only one where the female has any red colour. We should also take note of the white in the wings.

Female Scarlet Robin photo by Helen Erskine.

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A dynamic shot of an Australian Shelduck from Terry Dunlea.

Shelduck yoga! Photo by Terry Dunlea.

A handsome Musk Duck taken by Helen Erskine on the Box Vale Track in September.

Musk Duck. Photo by Helen Erskine.

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... and also from Helen, two lovely shots taken at Cecil Hoskins Reserve in October.

Eastern Yellow Robin. Photo by Helen Erskine.

Note the yellow material in the beak of this Superb Fairy-wren.

Superb Fairy-wren. Photo by Helen Erskine.

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Red-browed Finch. Photo by Linda Hoelle.

Linda Hoelle caught this interesting shot of a Red-browed Finch on the track to Sixty Foot Falls, Mt Alexandra Reserve. Linda writes that they saw the Finch with what looked like “an enormous white moustache! We expected it to fly immediately to a nest, but it was still in view when we moved on, almost as if it didn't want us to see where it was taking the feather.”

BLSH photo archive

Whilst on the subject of photography, Helen Erskine has been compiling a BLSH photo archive of our area‟s birds. This is a valuable resource, and we hope that all photographer members will support this initiative by providing Helen with images for the archive. Helen says she is always happy to recieve high quality images, that ideally need to be about 1mg in size when cropped to centre on the subject. When used for any purpose the photographer will be acknowledged either with a by-line or a label inserted into the image. Some of the birds for which images are not yet held in the archive include:

Stubble Quail Little Bittern Black Bittern Musk Lorikeet Swift Parrot Pheasant Coucal Pallid Cuckoo Brush Cuckoo Barking Owl Southern Boobook Horsfield‟s Bronze Cuckoo Sooty Owl Masked Owl White-throated Nightjar Australian Owlet-nightjar Fork-tailed Swift Brown Songlark Brown Gerygone Western Gerygone White-throated Needletail Yellow-throated Scrubwren Large-billed Scrubwren Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Tawny-crowned Honeyeater Crescent Honeyeater Black-chinned Honeyeater Brown-headed Honeyeater Spotted Quail-thrush Olive Whistler White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike Cicadabird Horsfield's Bushlark Eurasian Skylark White-backed Swallow If you are able to provide images for the archive, contact Helen at [email protected]

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Collared Sparrowhawk

Christine Dixon (Dixie), who is a friend of committee member Val Cooper, has kindly allowed us to publish these photos of a Collared Sparrowhawk taken in Coalmines Road, Bundanoon in October. Thank you to Dixie for providing these stunning shots for our enjoyment.

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Next year‟s program

Our Program Officer, Terry Dunlea, has put out a call out to any members who would like to lead an outing next year. Outings are scheduled for the first Wednesday and third Saturday of each month. So if you would like to take a group of your fellow BLSH birders to your favourite birding spot, please get in touch with Terry at [email protected] to discuss possible dates.

Thank you from the committee

It‟s almost Christmas time once again, and as 2015 draws to a close, the committee would like to thank all members who helped to make 2015 such a successful year. It was good to see so many of you participating in outings, members nights, guest speaker nights and extended field trips. Terry is putting together a great program for next year, and we expect to be able to provide you with another group of interesting guest speakers, so hopefully we will see even more of you at events throughout 2016. Look out for emails from Terry and Col advising of the details of the first round of events in early 2016. We would like to wish all of our members and their families a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year. See you all in 2016!

Newsletter contributions BLSH Committee If you would like to contribute an article to President Christine Kelly the newsletter, please contact Liaison Col Kohlhagen [email protected]. Articles can be on any aspect of birding, or issue related to Conservation Simon Robinson birding, that may interest other members. Program Terry Dunlea Photos, in jpeg format, are also very welcome. Treasurer John Desmond Records Graham Olde Admin Sandy Berry Newsletter and website Janine Hodge Committee support Val Cooper

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