The BLSH flyer Volume 7 Number 2, May 2018 Silvereye by Erna Llenore ‘The Queen and her Admirers’ Photo by Paddy Donkin Contents From the President ........................................................................................... Page 2 Berrima River-7 February .................................................................................. Page 3 Missed Birds .................................................................................................... Page 4-6 Fitzroy Falls Walk-18 February ........................................................................... Page 7 Floating bird island invention keeps feathered friends safe .................................... Page 8 New Members.................................................................................................. Page 8 Mt Penang-18 March ........................................................................................ Page 9 Birds in Art, Literature and Everyday Life–food for thought ................................... Page 10 Birds feature in new ‘self guide tour app’ at Eurobodalla Botanic Garden ................. Page 10 Threatened Species Planting Event ..................................................................... Page 11 What’s coming up in May? ................................................................................. Page 11 Berrima River Track-4 April .............................................................................. Page 12 Across the River, Keeping an eye on the birds ..................................................... Page 13-14 Worth Viewing ................................................................................................. Page 14 Wingecarribee Reservoir-22 April ....................................................................... Page 15 Members’ Photography ..................................................................................... Page 16-18 ..................................................................................................................... May 2018 From the President Christine Kelly We have been very fortunate to have enjoyed the expertise of two extremely well qualified guest speakers to get our program for 2018 off to a great start. At the February meeting Phil Straw, President of the Australasian Waders Group, shared some inter- esting insights with us, including some amazing details regarding many of the migratory waders who arrive in Australia during our summer months, especially the Bar-Tailed Godwit. This remarka- ble bird flies from Alaska, where it breeds in the summer months, to Australia over a period of sev- en days without stopping. It gains weight for this journey by doubling its usual body weight before leaving Alaska and using one gram of fat per hour during the long flight. They arrive in Australia be- tween August and October and are able to regain the weight loss by feeding on the nutritious mud flats. They can be found along most of the coastal areas of Australia. Phil illustrated his talk with a series of charts and graphs that demonstrated just how im- portant it is to protect the environment for all birds. After many years of China “reclaiming” land in the Yellow Sea, China has now decided to try to protect the remaining mudflats for the future use by the wide variety of shorebirds that have historically been found there. Phil has been surveying various sites in NSW for many years but the information that he shared with us on the area surrounding the Sydney Air- port was quite disturbing. The construction of the “new” runway changed the ecology of the rivers that enter into Botany Bay. A Bar-tailed Godwit in full breeding plumage . In March Andrew Silcocks, Birdlife Australia Birdata Program Manager, came to discuss the importance of surveying in providing statistics for the future. See an interview with Andrew in the latest edition of Birdlife. Andrew has been surveying at Edithvale in Victoria for many years. His statistics have provided the basis for the Australasian Bittern to be listed as an En- dangered Species. Andrew showed us in a work- shop, conducted the following morning, just how easy it is to us the Birdata App on your smart phone, iPad or tablet to record all species that you see. 11 members attended the workshop so help is at hand for all those who would like to learn more about the Birdata App. Our guest speaker and outings program will con- tinue throughout the year. All members are en- couraged to join in an activity. Please watch out for email updates of all the activities. Andrew Silcocks presenting to BLSH. Photo by Jennie Wiles May 2018 2 Berrima River Outing-7 February 2018 Participant Sandy Berry reports Leader: Penny Madvig Participants: Helen Hackett, Sandra Reynolds, Pam Reucassel, John Desmond, Lynette Desmond, Jennie Wiles, Steven Fischer, Linda Hoelle, Suzy Dowsett, Sandy Berry Start: 8 AM meeting at the Anglican Church in Berrima. Summer mornings in the Highlands can be too warm or too cool/wet, but we were fortunate to have ideal weather for birding – sunny with some clouds and a cool gentle breeze. As we followed the walking track down to the Wingecarribee River White–throated Treecreepers were calling vociferous- ly. On the river two large white blobs of feathers slowly revealed their identity as domestic geese. Birds were abundant and over the 75 minutes we spent following the short circuit track we observed 24 species. The platypus were somewhat shier than the fairy wrens and fantails – they refused to make a showing. We did, however, get a good viewing of an Eastern Water-dragon and a fox. Birds recorded: Pacific Black Duck, Eurasian Coot, White-faced Heron, Laughing Kookaburra, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Galah, Sulphur- crested Cockatoo, Australian King-Parrot, Crim- son Rosella, Satin Bowerbird, White-throated Treecreeper, Superb Fairy-wren, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Spotted Pardalote, White-browed Scrubwren, Yellow-rumped Thorn- bill, Brown Thornbill, Pied Currawong, Australian Magpie, Grey Fantail, Magpie-lark, Silvereye, Domestic Goose Following an early morning tea in the nearby park we drove to the end of Oldbury Street from which tracks lead to the Wingecarribee River White-faced Heron and Domestic Geese Photo by Ste- Weir and upstream. Dollarbirds and Black-faced ven Fischer Cuckoo-shrikes were in abundance around the car parking area. We made our way to the weir then upstream through dry sclerophyll forest with good views of a Satin Flycatcher near the trail. An Eastern Yellow Robin came to observe us (as they do). We also got up close to an Australasian Dart- er and were able to observe the beautiful patterning on its outstretched wings and tail feathers. We recorded seven species along the walk but felt sure that it we had been there earlier in the day we would have seen many more. Birds recorded: Dusky Moorhen, Australasian Darter, Dollarbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Crimson Rosella, White-throated Treecreeper, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Satin Flycatcher, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye. Thanks Penny for a great morning out. Australasian Darter. Photo by Steven Fischer Heading Home. Photo by Linda Hoelle May 2018 3 Missed birds Text and photos by Nigel Hartley We all enjoy writing and reading about the birds we have seen but what about the birds we have missed. I’m sure lots of us have those special birds we try to track down from near and far and just have no luck with. I thought I would share a few of mine but also throw in a couple where I finally had success, or which were unexpectedly easy to find. Naturally for most of these there are no photos. SABINE’S GULL I met my sister for a holiday in California and persuaded her she would see more whales and dol- phins on a full on pelagic from Monterey than a half day whale cruise. We booked on Shearwater Journeys all day pelagic and ran into ‘Monterey birding festival’ which meant lots of expertise on board but also a very crowded boat. We did see lots of whales and dolphins, including Blue, Fin and Humpback Whales and a myriad of lovely seabirds, including Black-footed Albatross, Rhinoceros Auklet and Tufted Puffins. Later in the trip, the call went up, “Sabine’s Gull”. This is a sought after gull on many pelagics, in- cluding those in Australia. I had never seen one. The gull was front starboard, I was aft port. By the time I had fought my way past bodies, binoculars and enormous cameras the gull was long gone. Debi Shearwater (yes really) rubbed it in by saying “There goes a Sabine’s, the world’s most beauti- ful gull”. GREAT GREY OWL Another iconic species that has been looked for both in Europe and North America. In 2016 I went on a birding trip in Finland where Great Grey Owl was the highlight bird for the trip. We saw a myri- ad of owls, including Ural, Pygmy and Hawk, but not a sniff of the Great Grey. Apparently it was a bad year for voles. On the aforementioned trip to California a friend told me a Great Grey Owl had been spotted on the other side of Yosemite and as part of a sightseeing trip I dragged my sister to hunt for the bird, fol- lowing the instructions. The traffic was terrible and when we finally got to a likely spot she waited, somewhat terrified of bears, whilst I wandered off, unsuccessfully looking for the owl. Two days later I received much more specific instructions, including that the owl was close to the petrol station at the western end of Yosemite (2000 metres), near some squawking jays. We duly drove 2 kms from the service station, found a likely field, and scanned