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: 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 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, , 20.10.19 October White-fronted Chat & White-winged Fairy-wren Heinz de Chelard & Carla de Angels north of Kerang at 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 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 , 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 . 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. Then check Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Yellow-legged Flyrobin, back for regular project updates, including survey results Black-winged Monarch, Green-backed Honeyeater, and management solutions as we learn! Tawney-breasted Honeyeater, Red-cheeked Parrot, Building location Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot (Marshall's) & Swinhoe's Snipe, Iron Range National Park, Landscaping features i.e., bird feeders near windows 23.10.19 Architectural features i.e., high surface area of glass/large Little Curlew & Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Iron Range windows Cabins & Airport, Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Trumpet Surrounding landscape i.e., highly vegetated close to Manucode & White-browed Robin, Iron Range National buildings Park, 24.10.19 There are several projects in North America and Canada White-eared Monarch, Iron Range National Park & Red (e.g. American Bird Conservancy and the Fatal Light Goshawk somewhere north of Morton Telegraph Station, Awareness Program (FLAP) and Europe (e.g. UV pens for Qld, 25.10.19 windows and the RSPB), that involve citizen science, Brush Cuckoo, Yorkeys Knob Golf Course, 28.10.19 research into management solutions and product/solution offerings. Many websites and conservation organizations Asian Dowitcher, Cairns Esplanade, 31.10.19 offer advice ranging from window decals to road signs; Barred Cuckoo-shrike, Mountain Thornbill, Topknot with little to no research on their effectiveness. Yet Pigeon, Bridled Honeyeater, Bower's Shrike-thrush, despite the amount of bird strike occurring globally, Golden Bowerbird, Grey-headed Robin, Fernwren, Superb there is currently no work being undertaken on bird Fruit-Dove, Atherton Scrubwren, 's Riflebird, strike in Australia. (But see the RSPCA for some advice Tooth-billed Bowerbird, Chowchilla & Spotted Catbird, on their online knowledge base and the Birds in Mount Lewis Rd, Mt Lewis NP, 01.11.19 Backyards FAQ)) Dr Monica Awasthy Birds in Backyards Program Co-Manager

4 October 2019 Birding Activities & Quiz

BIRDLIFE HAMILTON BIRDSWING BIRDING & WILDLIFE TOURS DECEMBER I am sending out these details about our popular Merimbula to Victorian Waters Pelagic. Saturday 21st Christmas Lunch The trip will proceed unless the skipper says the 2020's calendar weather conditions are not suitable for a safe trip. Dunkeld The skipper will make the call to say if we go or not on by Wednesday 20 November 2019. I will contact BIRDLIFE WARRNAMBOOL you on Wednesday 20 November 2019 in the evening to let you know if we are going or not. DECEMBER Details of the trip are as follows: Saturday 7th CHALLENGE BIRD COUNT & XMAS BARBECUE Tour Date: Sunday 24 November 2019 Lake Pertobe 12.30pm Times: Depart 6.30am and arrive back Bird count over 24 hours from 1st December approximately 9.30pm on the same day. Peter & Rhonda Barrand 0400 692 053 Number of Passengers: up to 40 passengers BIRDLIFE HORSHAM Cost: $275AUD per person (pay cash on the day DECEMBER less deposit paid) Sunday 1st Deposit: $125 deposit is required to confirm your Challenge Bird Count booking Contact Deidre Andrews M 0402 317 142 Facilities: Tea/Coffee available on board. Proper toilets fitted. Please meet at the Horsham Library, 28 McLachlan St, at 8:30am unless otherwise informed; bring Meals: Provided as part of the cost of the tour this morning tea and lunch, binoculars and wear includes breakfast/lunch/dinner/morning & appropriate outdoor gear. Please note subject to afternoon tea – dietary requirements to be advised change due to seasonal variability at time of paying deposit.

Accommodation: Additional to cost of tour. BIRDLIFE SOUTH EAST SA Merimbula has plenty of accommodation please NOVEMBER - DECEMBER contact the local visitor information centre for more details. Friday November 28th to Sunday 1st December Walker Swamp Campout Merimbula Visitor Information Centre Lynch’s Crossing Road, Dunkeld Address: 4 Beach Street, Merimbula NSW 2548

Register with Bryan Haywood 0427 001 853 Phone: 1800 150 457 or 02 6495 1129 People can arrive at either 1900 Fri (Vic time) or Email: [email protected] 0930 Sat (Vic time) BYO food etc Campfire available Website: http://www.merimbulatourism.com.au

Tour meeting place & time: Merimbula Marina,

Public Jetty, Market Street, Merimbula NSW 2548 BRAIN TEASER OF THE MONTH Around 0600 hours. If you keep a look out for THIS MONTH’S QUESTION: From Sam's list of people with binoculars, the name of the boat is new bird species seen while on holiday in Cape York “True Blue”. do you know which one is the rarest? As we are sailing into South Eastern Pacific waters

tours may have to be cancelled or dates changed THIS MONTH’S ANSWER: There are seven due to weather conditions. cuckoo's recorded on Birdata web site that visit If you know of anyone who might be interested western Victoria: Eastern Koel, Horsfield's Bronze- please feel free to forward this message to them. Cuckoo, Black-eared Cuckoo, Shining Bronze- Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Brush Cuckoo & Pallid Please contact me via email or mobile 0413 628 Cuckoo 306 if you any further queries regarding this tour. Cheers Neil Macumber

October 2019 5 Results from Annual Twitcherthon, Victoria

Matthew Crawford 30 October 2019 Breaking news! Here's the Victoria round up for the 2019 BirdLife Australia National Twitchathon with winners of both the human and avian varieties! Hello birding racers! You've been part of something big. Across Australia, you and 125 or so other teams set out to spot LOTS of birds on the weekend of 26-27 October and, so far, you've helped to raise more than $56,000 towards BirdLife Australia's conservation and research programs. Amazing! In Victoria, I received eight registrations in the 12-hour 'Big Day' race, which I'll deal with here. And there were a further four in the three-hour 'Birdathon', which is a national race. Understandably, most of the teams set out on the Sunday to avoid Saturday's blustery conditions. Still, anyone who was out on Sunday afternoon in the vicinity of will confirm it was difficult to avoid the cold showers that came from the southwest. I'm naming White-winged Triller as the bird of 2019 - my team spotted it at seemingly every location, and also on the way to the pub post-race! Also, Tom May from the Traintwitchers mentions their 'Trillergy' - they saw the irruptive species at South Yarra, Williamstown, and Altona. Amazing stuff! First, let me give some credit to the Tweety Birds in the Birdathon. They topped the Victorian fundraising charts with a brilliant $1,420 towards BirdLife's project to develop floating roosts to support our threatened migratory shorebirds. Young James, Mark and Zoe (under the supervision of Susie Lycett) had a big day at the You Yangs and at Werribee's Western Treatment Plant. Susie reports the kids missed out on Hoary-headed Grebe only because two of the team thought they were baby ducks! But our budding birders did a fantastic job identifying a total of 53 species themselves including none other than Werribee's famous Tufted Duck - incredible! Susie says they're all keen to come back in 2020 so I'm sure we'll be giving them another round of applause as we see their skills further develop. Well done! So, let's get to the 'Big Day' teams... One of my ongoing favourites is the Traintwitchers. Again, Tom May, Nimal Karunajeewa, John Bradford and Lachlan Maroske set out for twelve hours of birding using only their feet, and public transport. It seemed sensible to delay the twitch from Saturday to Sunday to avoid the foul weather, but they didn't count on PTV making things more difficult with a restricted bus timetable! Still: three trains, five buses and 16 kilometers of walking took them from Belgrave to Laverton. Tom reports they were delighted to finally get the Botanic Gardens' Nankeen Night-Heron on a twitch list. They rate Brown Gerygone as their best bird. The biggest dips were Eastern Yellow Robin, and any raptors (except for the city's famous Peregrine Falcon). 96 species for the Traintwitchers, and my admiration once again! For 'The Big Day' event, the Bendigo Babblers endured a cold, windy day on Saturday. In difficult conditions, Martin Woodward, Felicity Woodward, Bruce Wehner, and Deborah Pople raced from Bendigo to Macorna North. Laughing Kookaburra, Babblers, and Robins proved elusive. Best birds were Orange Chat, Crimson Chat and Cockatiel. Interesting sightings too of large flocks of Woodswallows, and a huge gathering of 1000+ Little Raven, possibly feeding on hatching locusts. But the real showstopper was this one: "We were lucky enough to see at close quarters a rare Gray Falcon flying low over scrub within the Greater Bendigo National Park". Astonishing! That sighting will no doubt attract the attention of many across the state. The Bendigo Babblers scored 104 species which, given the adverse conditions, they're quite pleased with. And who couldn't be pleased with a Grey Falcon sighting?! Our Western Victoria team is the Restless Flycatchers. Yvonne Ingeme, Jane Hayes, and A-M Burgoine started at Glenisla Flat in the Grampians, and finished at Cobboboonee National Park. They describe as an 'epic fail!' the dip of Purple-crowned Lorikeet, despite finding 'flowering eucalypts galore'. However, their best bird is pretty good! The Flycatchers found a group of eight Budgerigar near Mirranatwa in the Southern Grampians. Great work scoring 124 species in an under-birded part of our state! The Tody Not Nots are back and will be delighted they've surpassed their 2018 total. Dirk Tomsa, Wulan Dirgantoro and 8-year-old Hanna started at Goschen and concluded at the Western Treatment Plant. Hanna got things off to a flying start by spotting and correctly identifying the first of many White-winged Trillers. She kept up the pace by being the first to spot several new birds at each new location before tuckering out after lunch! Still, Wulan and Dirk kept up the pace to help bring the team to a total of 124 species. Biggest dip: Common Blackbird. Best bird: Cockatiel (a lifer for Wulan and Hannah, and a Victoria tick for Dirk). Well done!

6 November 2017 Results from Annual Twitcherthon, Victoria cont'

Stare 'n Dipity is the mother-son duo of Matt and Diana Weeks who race in the northeast of Victoria. They made it from Stanley to Lake Moodemere before an unexpected drama forced them to conclude after just eight hours of twitching. Matt and Diana - I applaud your excellent Cockatiel and Red-backed Kingfisher, and your achievement of 131 species in a curtailed race. I hope we'll see you next year for the full twelve hours! The famous Norwegian Blues started way back in the 1992 Twitchathon. Jack Krohn and George Pergaminelis commenced this year's race at Eynesbury on Sunday morning and finished up at Woori Yallock. The Blues rate as their biggest dips: Grey Butcherbird, a previously staked out Powerful Owl, and Tufted Duck (what an amazing world, where that is considered a dip!). Bizarrely, Laughing Kookaburra almost became a dip - so well done for bringing that one back! Best birds were Peregrine Falcon, dozens of White-winged Triller, Leaden Flycatcher, Blue-winged Parrot, and a light morph Little Eagle over the You Yangs. 140 species for our longest-running team. The newly formed Tell us the truth Rosemary! made a splash with a hilarious social media campaign. Tim Bawden, Owen Lishmund, and Scott Baker embarked on a series of improbable claims, including that they'd arranged the Aurora Australis icebreaker as their official ride! I guess the charter fell through because Terrick Terrick National Park turned out to be the real starting point, with a trip to the Western Treatment Plant and the You Yangs concluding the afternoon. Biggest dips were Hooded Robin, Diamond Firetail, Brown Songlark, Royal Spoonbill, and any sort of crake or rail! Best birds were simultaneous Black Honeyeater and White-throated Gerygone at the You Yangs, and Orange Chat near the Terricks. A terrific first effort for the team - and a great campaign which netted $1,282 for BirdLife. A total of 170 birds for Tim, Owen and Scott - and a promise to be back next year when 'we will actually have a plan!'. Michael Ramsey and me, Mathew Crawford, make up Phaps Around The Traps. This year, we again refined our traditional route which takes us from the wet forests northeast of Melbourne around to the coastal suburbs in Melbourne's southwest. We got off to a flyer with terrific birds in the hills, but found it especially quiet around midday in the dryer sections of our path. Despite our name of 'Phaps' we missed any sort of Bronzewing pigeon, so they rate as our biggest dips! Also: Grey Butcherbird and Royal Spoonbill eluded us. On the positive side, we were delighted with two team firsts in a Twitchathon: Spotless Crake and Dollarbird. As I'm also coordinating the Victorian teams, Tim Dolby (our previous coordinator) agreed to scrutinise our checklist - thanks, Tim! A total of 182 birds for Phaps, up from 179 in 2018, but down from our best effort of 188 in 2017. So that's a wrap for 2019! Thank you all so much for your efforts on behalf of our endangered birds. I look forward to hearing how Chris Purnell's floating roost program will develop from here. The fundraising pages will remain open for the time being - you're still able to invite donations - so let's see if we can further push up Victoria's fantastic contribution of $7,326. Give yourselves a big round of applause, and keep an eye out as dates emerge for the 2020 event. I can't wait!

August 2018 7