The Golden Whistler
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The Golden Whistler Volume 8 Number 7 October 2019 PRESIDENT'S REPORT NEXT OUTING Neville and I have recently had a delightful two DATE: Saturday 23rd weeks focused on bird watching. Firstly a four day LOCATION: Lake Condah & Tyrendarra visits to Nelson, followed by the October campout to the Wilken State Forest and then three days at the MEET: 8:15am Scott St, Heywood Clarkesdale Sanctuary at Linton. TIME: 8:30am sharp leave Heywood Weather notwithstanding, the night-time OPTIONAL EXTRA: Visit Narrawong Beach after temperatures ranged from 2 - 22 Co and daytime Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area around 2pm from 8 - 32 Co. Late spring is a delightful time for our interest with many birds nesting, fledging, CONTACT: Sue & Neville Mason 0408 528 781 or defending their territory and generally being very Wendy & Peter McDonald 0458 036 674 vocal. BRING: Suitable footwear for wet, leachy & snakey The bird from the visit at Nelson was the delightful conditions Rufous Bristlebirds out and about. The Wilken campout provided the best views that many of us have ever had of Red-tailed Black-cockatoos. And at Outings will be cancelled on days of Clarkesdale the nesting Grey Goshawk (white Total Fire Ban, Extreme Heat and morph) was lovely to see. other Hazadous Weather condition However the best birding moment of the holiday was watching a White-Necked Heron take on a Swamp Harrier over the wetlands at Clarkesdale. There was an incredible cacophony of grunts and squawks, followed by much splashing and battering of wings. The winner? The Swamp Harrier was last seen flying low over the creek heading east!! Happy Birding Susan PS the downside of the break was returning home to find the Magpie Lark nest deserted and three very smug Little Ravens established as the Alpha bird life in our garden. © Susan Mason CONTENTS: 2. Outing Report & Bird List 3. Sightings 4. Birds in Backyards Project & Member Reports 5. Activities & Quiz 6. Twitchathon Victorian Results Trumpeter Hornbill, Greetings from Arusha, Tanzania © Steve Clark BirdLife Hamilton monthly newsletter, Editor Samantha Greiner 0428 395 773 Outing Report WILKEN CAMP WEEKEND BIRD LIST FOR WEEKEND It was great to have 13 members at the camp in Emu Wilkin over the last weekend in October. The Australian Shelduck unfortunate part was it was a bit rainy all weekend but Pacific Black Duck we managed to find heaps of Red-tailed Black- Hoary-headed Grebe cockatoos. With lots of banter between us all, catching Spotted Nightjar H up with Diana Nagorcka, who joined us for the day on White-faced Heron Saturday and meeting Kay & Kevin Williams all made Straw-necked Ibis up for the inclement weather. Whistling Kite The Saturday morning we travel downed to the far end Swamp Harrier of Grubbed Road to a place called Heathfield. This is Wedge-tailed Eagle an area which normally has lots of birds, particularly Brolga little birds, but this time owing to the poor weather Black-tailed Native-hen they would not show themselves for us. Masked Lapwing Red-tailed Black-cockatoo Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo Gang-gang Cockatoo Galah Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Crimson Rosella Blue-winged Parrot Shining Bronze-cuckoo Fan-tailed cuckoo Sacred Kingfisher White-throated Treecreeper © Susan Mason Superb Fairy-wren Weebill We returned north to Mill Swamp where we were very Yellow-rumped Thornbill successful with the bird list expanding rapidly. Kevin Brown Thornbill and Sue have kindly supplied some great photos from the outing, which was great. One of the highlights that Spotted Pardalote morning was finding some Varied Sittellas building a Striated Pardalote nest which I had never seen before. It was amazing to Eastern Spinebill see them frantically working and very interesting. Yellow-faced Honeyeater Little Wattlebird New Holland Honeyeater Varied Sittella (with nest) White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike Crested Shrike-tit Golden Whistler Rufous Whistler Grey Shrike-thrush Olive-backed Oriole H Australian Magpie Grey Currawong © Kevin Williams Grey Fantail Forest Raven After tea we entertained ourselves in Wilken Cottage, Magpie-lark which has recently been renovated, with Bird Bingo White-winged Chough which Sue had brought along. She was very patient Jacky Winter with us and we all learnt to play it very quickly and Eastern Yellow Robin had a lots and lots of fun and laughs. Australian Reed-Warbler H Next morning it was back to Mill Swamp again, where Little Grassbird H we had the most success on Saturday, but it was still Welcome Swallow miserable weather so we just pottered around and Common Starling I found a few more birds, more Red-tailed Black- Red-browed Finch cockatoos. A big thank you all for coming to this great House Sparrow I birding spot. And of course thank you very much for European Goldfinch I the yummy biscuits as always Dot and thank you Paul H Heard Only for keeping the fire burning on a very cold weekend. I Introduced Species 56 Total species for weekend Annie 2 October 2019 Sightings Colin Agar Wendy & Peter McDonald We usually get White-winged Trillers visiting the farm Some birding highlights on a recent camp based at (between Penshurst and Caramut) in spring, but this year Cohuna with the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists, a group we had the biggest flock yet. Up to ten birds including a we have belonged to for many years. dependant juvenile. Red-capped Robin, White-plumed Honeyeater, Also regular spring visitors are the Rufous Songlark. A Rufous Whistler, Hooded Robin, Southern small flock of Black-tailed Native-hens appeared Whiteface & a first for both of us, Crimson Chat, around a dam in early November. Australian Reed Terrick Terrick National Park, 19.10.19 Warblers arrived in the last week of August/first week of Little Friarbird, Grey-crowned Babbler & Sacred September as always. Kingfisher, Gunbower Forest Walk, 20.10.19 Julian Cook & Aggie Stevenson Whiskered Tern in black breeding plumage & on roadside back to the base camp a Dollarbird, also first Golden Whistler in home garden, Byaduk, end of for both of us, Kow Swamp, 20.10.19 October White-fronted Chat & White-winged Fairy-wren Heinz de Chelard & Carla de Angels north of Kerang at Lake Tutchewop 21.10.19 Dave Nichols White-winged Triller, Olive-backed Oriole and Rufous Songlark recorded for the first time Digby Rd, Hamilton, hanging around week of 28.10.19 to 05.11.19 Rufous Songlark, Policemans Paddock, Grangeburn, Hamilton, 07.11.19 White-winged Triller, Mt Baimbridge Rd, Hamilton, 26.10.19 Rainbow Bee-eater, Connewirricoo, 29.10.19 Rob Drummond 2 Red-tailed Black Cockatoo in the Young State Forest, Kanagulk, September Rhonda Holdsworth Six Crimson Chat in a wheat crop just north of Willaura, 2 Brolga, Wannon River wetland Nth Cavendish, 06.11.19 29.10.19 Lissa Ryan Jean & Peter Humphries 1 Darter 1 Great Black Cormorant & pair of Weebill with nest, old reservoir walk, Hamilton, 29.10.19 Tracy Duffield Kruger Flock of Plumed Whistling Duck, farm dam Penshurst, 14.10.19 Robyn Logan & Charlotte Davis Rose Robin Otway's, Rufous Fieldwren at Lake Tyrrell, 2 Red-backed Kingfisher, Glenelg Highway Warrayure, Regent Parrot North Wyperfeld & Whistling Kite with 20.10.19 rabbit and Willie Wagtail Lake Boga, on recent holidays in October Jo Tully 2 Brolga & 20 White-necked Herons Racecourse, Burrumbeet, 26.10.19 3 Straw-necked Ibis, our front paddock (briefly), Mt. Dundas, 28.10.19 1 White-throated Treecreeper, base of Mt. Sturgeon, 03.11.19 October 2019 3 Birds in Backyards & Member's Report INTRODUCING THE BIRD STRIKE PROJECT Samantha Greiner 04 Oct 2018 New species seen over 19 days staying in Cairns, on tour with Close-Up Birding Adventures on 11 Day Cape York, Up to one billion birds strike glass in North America each Iron Range to Weipa tour, a week based at Yorkeys Knob year, and millions more hit windows each year around the and a day trip to Mt Lewis National Park with Eyes on globe, including across Australia. This is an enormous and Wildlife. heart-breaking number. But with your help, we can learn more about where and why it's happening, and work Horned (Helmeted) Friarbird, Nutmeg Mannikin, together to prevent one of the highest causes of bird Australian Swiftlet, Yellow Oriole & Black Butcherbird, injury and mortality. Cairns, 15.10.19 BirdLife Australia’s Birds in Backyard Program is Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Pacific Baza, Olive-backed investigating the scale of the bird-strike problem in Sunbird, Varied Triller, Radjah Shelduck & Metallic Australia, including both window and car collisions. Starling, Cairns, 16.10.19 Research is being conducted to guide solutions and best Yellow Honeyeater, Cairns, and Double-eyed Fig-parrot practice guidelines so that we can begin to understand (Macleay's), Graiglie, 17.10.19 this issue and how it is affecting Australian birds. Varied Honeyeater, Archer Point, Dusky Honeyeater & What are the main aims of the bird window/car Brown-backed Honeyeater, Keating Lagoon, Yellow- strike project? spotted Honeyeater & Papuan Frogmouth, Cooktown Determine the scale of bird strikes and eventually map Botanic Gardens, Macleay's Honeyeater & Fairy Gerygone potential hotspots and; Cooktown Cemetery Woodland, 18.10.19 Collate international research and management solutions Spotted Whistling Duck, Rufous-banded Honeyeater, that may be applied to Australia. Banded Honeyeater & Sarus Crane, Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park, 19.10.19 How can you get involved? Golden-shouldered Parrot, Black-backed Butcherbird, You can report any bird window/car strikes using our Black-throated Finch & Masked (white-eared) Finch, online survey at: Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park, 20.10.19 www.surveymonkey.com/r/aussiebirdstrike Yellow-tinted Honeyeater, Yarraden, 21.10.19 What attributes to bird window strike? Graceful Honeyeater & Lovely Fairy-wren Wenlock River, Start by examining your surroundings for causes of bird White-faced Robin, Tropical Scrubwren, Grey Whistler, strike and make some changes – can you alter the Magnificent Riflebird, Frilled Monarch & Yellow-breasted attributes below? Check out the RSPCA website and the Boatbill, Iron Range National Park, 22.10.19 Birds in Backyards websites for more tips.