Report on bird banding at Coutts Crossing (North) 26-27 April 2014

Banding was carried out on the banks of the Orara River, at Coutts Crossing by three banders, with one assistant.  Banding has been carried out in the Coutts Crossing area since 1985 with a total of 2126 individuals of 96 species having been banded to date. 

Banders:  Greg Clancy, Bill Greenlees, Jan Patterson

Assistant: Val Clancy

Forty-six birds of nine species were mist netted on the two days, nine being retraps. 

The results are shown in the table below.

SPECIES	26/04/2014	27/04/2014	TOTALS
	Banded Retrap	Banded   Retrap	Banded Retrap
Grey Fantail	4         1	2          0	6         1
Rose Robin	1         0	0          0	1         0
Eastern Yellow Robin	4         1	1          0	5         1
Golden Whistler	6         2	0          0	6         2
Brown Thornbill	4         0	2          0	6         0
Large-billed Scrubwren	2         0	0          0	2         0
Brown Honeyeater	1         0	0          0	1         0
Lewin’s Honeyeater	4         4	4          1	8         5
Red-browed Finch	2         0	0          0	2         0
TOTALS	28         8	9          1	37         9

Orara River, Coutts Crossing

 

Mist net set along Orara River

Two Golden Whistler retraps were very interesting as they had been banded as grey female type birds on 26/05/2012, one with bright yellow underwing coverts, yellow vent, and with scattered yellow patches on belly and tibia and with black feathers around the eye.  It was aged and sexed as a 3+ male at that time.  When retrapped on 26/04/14 it was in full adult male plumage with its upper tail being about 2/3 black.  The tail wing ratio suggested that it was of the subspecies youngi, found in Victoria, Southern NSW and the western slopes of NSW.  Birds in Queensland have completely black tails and local Coutts Crossing birds would be expected to have almost fully black tails.

Adult male Golden Whistler retrap

 

Tail of adult male Golden Whistler

 

 

 

The other retrap Golden Whistler was in grey, female type, plumage when banded but had a bright yellow vent and undertail coverts, with yellow feathers on its breast, tibia and near the alula (underwing).  Although I was aware that old adult female Golden Whistlers can have some yellow feathering in these areas I thought that it was most likely an immature male.  Its markings hadn’t changed in the nearly 2 years between being banded and retrapped so it was obviously an old adult female bird.  I have heard that old domestic hens can start to assume male characteristics as the gonads deteriorate with age.  This may also happen in birds like the Golden Whistler.

 

5+ female Golden Whistler retrap





Undertail coverts and vent of 5+ female Golden Whistler


 

Yellow markings on underparts of female Golden Whistler

 

Five of the retraps were Lewin’s Honeyeaters banded in 2012 and 2013.  One was banded on 27/05/12 and was retrapped on 07/12/13 and 26/04/14 and another banded on 30/03/13 and retrapped on 07/12/13, 26/04/14 and 27/04/14.  The one Grey Fantail retrap was banded on 27/05/12.  It, and the other 6 Grey Fantails caught, had tail-wing ratios suggesting that they were of the Tasmanian race. 

 

One Black Swan was observed on the Orara River along with 5 Pacific Black Ducks.  An Azure Kingfisher was foraging along the Riverbank.  A Brown Cuckoo-Dove was calling most of the weekend.  This species is uncommon at this site.  A flock of 100+ Straw-necked Ibis flew overhead flying east.  A pile of feathers on the ground was the only indication that there had been a Russet-tailed Thrush in the area.  It had most likely been killed by an avian predator such as a Brown Goshawk.

 

 

Feathers of Russet-tailed Thrush from predator kill

 

The full list follows: birds: Black Swan, Pacific Black Duck, White-headed Pigeon, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Wonga Pigeon, Straw-necked Ibis, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Azure Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Large-billed Scrubwren, Brown Gerygone, Brown Thornbill, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Golden Whistler, Little Shrike-thrush, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australasian Figbird, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Restless Flycatcher, Rose Robin, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Russet-tailed Thrush, Mistletoebird, Red-browed Finch. Reptiles:
Eastern Water Dragon, Garden Sun-skink.  

 

Adult male Rose Robin

Adult male Red-browed Finch

 
 

 

 

Powerful Owl at Coffs Harbour Botanical Gardens

On June 17 Val and I visited Coffs Harbour to see our grandson who was turning 6.  Koby is so keen on wildlife and he adores his granddad.  We share some wonderful times together and he is very skilful in spotting hard to see birds.  On a recent bird camp he drew my attention to a bird high up in a dead tree on top of a hill.  When we stopped and viewed the bird through binoculars and a spotting scope it was found to be a Pallid Cuckoo, the first for the camp.  He was also the first to spot a group of Ground Cuckoo-shrikes on the same camp.

I had heard that there had been a recent sighting of a Powerful Owl at the Coffs Harbour Botanical gardens so Val and I investigated the area while we waited for school to finish.  Val found a broken off feather of an Owl on the ground but it took me some time to locate the bird perched high in the upper foliage of a Turpentine Syncarpia glomulifera tree.  I was very satisfied as this was the first Powerful Owl that I had seen (and photographed) during daylight hours.  I have observed a few at night while spotlighting and have heard the call numerous times during fauna survey work but this was a treat.  A pair of Powerful Owls had nested in or near to the Botanical Gardens last year and I visited the site in an attempt to see and photograph the adult pair and their two young then but I missed out by a few days.  They had moved on.  Apparently Coffs Council's ecologist is attempting to locate the nesting tree this year.

Adult Powerful Owl perched high in Turpentine

Adult Powerful Owl

Not so hard to find was an adult Koala curled up in a fork of a Swamp Mahogany Eucalyptus robusta some 100 metres or so from the Owl perch.  It began to feed towards late afternoon, munching of the eucalypt leaves.  Both the Owl and the Koala were quite high up in trees and were partly obscured by foliage making photography difficult.  I did mange a few shots of both but would like better, closer, shots of them at some time in the future.

Adult Koala in Swamp Mahogany

Easier to photograph was an adult Australian Brush-turkey that was scratching around in a mound of mulch.   A second bird arrived and there was the usual bickering that is common with this species.

Adult Australian Brush-turkey on mound of mulch

After school finished we showed the three grandkids the Owl and Koala and also showed them to some overseas visitors from Poland and Asia.  They were all very impressed.   A pair of Rainbow Lorikeets was inspecting potential nest hollows in tall Blackbutt Eucalyptus pilularis trees.  These birds are so common as to be virtually ignored by serious birdwatchers but when you stop and observe them they are indeed beautiful creatures.

Adult pair of Rainbow Lorikeets at nest hollow

Report on bird banding at Coutts Crossing 15.02.2014

REPORT ON BIRD BANDING AT COUTTS CROSSING

15.02.2014

           

Banders:  Greg Clancy, Bill Greenlees

Assistants/Visitors: Kirsten Wallis, Paul O’Callaghan, Val Clancy

Only four birds were mist netted on the one day.  There were no retraps.

 The results are shown in the table below.

 

SPECIES	15/02/2014
	Banded Retrap
Black-faced Monarch	1          0
Golden Whistler	1          0
Rufous Whistler	2          0
TOTALS	4          0

 

Rufous edging to secondaries on first year Golden Whistler

First year Rufous Whistler

 

The Golden Whistler was a first year Tasmanian bird.  The two Rufous Whistlers were both first year birds.  Rufous Whistler numbers during the autumn-winter period at Coutts Crossing dropped noticeably during the drought but seem to have recovered.  This suggests that these birds may originate, like most Golden Whistlers, from southern latitudes.  The immature Black-faced Monarch was an unusual catch and was probably a bird on passage to more northern latitudes as was the Rufous Fantail that was observed.

 

Immature Black-faced Monarch

Immature Black-faced Monarch

 

Interesting observations were of 20+ White-throated Needletails and 1 Fork-tailed Swift. An adult Sacred Kingfisher was observed feeding young in its nest hollow in a large eucalypt.  A very brightly coloured wasp-like insect was photographed.  It was later identified by Ian Buddle as a Giant Robber Fly. Black Prince Cicadas and meat ants were also photographed.

Adult Sacred Kingfisher near nest hollow

Adult Sacred Kingfisher with Garden Sun-skink near nest hollow

Sacred Kingfisher nest hollow in eucalypt

 

 

Giant Robber Fly Phelus olgae caught in mist net, released unharmed

 

 

 

Black Prince Cicada

 

 

Black Prince Cicada (ventral view)

 

 

 

Meat ants at nest

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Grass Owl and white morph Grey Goshawk successfully rehabilitated

The Harwood area on the Clarence River near Maclean is certainly a hotspot for wildlife.  The proximity to the River and the variety of natural habitats means that a great diversity of species occurs there.  Brolgas, nesting Eastern Ospreys, Brahminy Kites, Black-necked (Satin) Storks, Mangrove Gerygones and many others are regularly seen there.  Despite this is was quite surprising to learn that two rare species, one a threatened species, were taken into care by WIRES after apparently being hit by motor vehicles.  The first was an Eastern Grass Owl found on 7 April 2014 and the second a white morph Grey Goshawk taken in on 30 April 2014. 

Eastern Grass Owl and white morph Grey Goshawk in WIRES care photo Sandy Webb 

The Goshawk was released successfully near where it was found, but away from the danger of the Pacific Highway, in early May.  The Grass Owl was released at the same location on Tuesday May 13.  Before it was released I placed an Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme numbered stainless steel band on its leg under Stephen Debus' rehabilitated raptor banding project.  Photos of the banding are shown below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report on trip to Lower Clarence wetlands and bushland 01/05/14

 

We regularly do a trip 'down river' to check on the Black-necked Storks but it is also great to do a day list and check out all other species encountered as well.  We usually record over 100 species of birds, sometimes as many as 120 or more, but the numbers aren't as important as the quality of the beautiful and rare or uncommon species observed.  Out latest trip saw us record 109 bird species as well as one mammal, two reptile and three frog species.

Starting at home at Coutts Crossing we ticked off 32 species before venturing too far.  These included some wetland species at the local wetlands, Brothersons and Deadmans Swamps.  One Comb-crested Jacana and an adult male Chestnut Teal were at the former wetland while Deadmans had a pair of Black-winged Stilts and a Great Cormorant.  The Magpie Geese and Plumed Whistling-Ducks were still present at the former poultry farm dams north-east of Coutts Crossing.  There were 82+ Geese and 65+ Whistling-Ducks.

 

Magpie Geese and Plumed Whistling-Ducks NE of Coutts Crossing

 

Magpie Geese, Plumed Whistling-Ducks and Australian Wood Ducks

We found 85+ more Plumed Whistling-Ducks at Butterfactory Lane, north of Graton, after driving through the city.   There we also had another Comb-crested Jacana and two Yellow-billed Spoonbills. A morning tea break in Southgate State Forest produced some good forest birds including the Black-chinned Honeyeater, 2+ Rainbow Bee-eaters, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Restless Flycatcher and Common Bronzewing. 

South of Round Mountain Road, south of Lawrence, we came across an adult female Black-necked (Satin) Stork foraging at a small wetland.  A check of the former nest tree there, which hadn't been used for some years, showed that some sticks had been placed on the old nest location, suggesting the beginnings of a new nest.  Watch this space.  Our second Stork for the day was an adult male bathing and drying his wings at 'Arndilly' at Tullymorgan, not far from the nest there. The Nankeen Night Herons were in their usual Moreton Bay Fig but we only counted nine birds.  There are usually a couple of dozen of these handsome birds here.  

Adult Nankeen Night Heron hiding in foliage of Moreton Bay Fig

 

 

Adult Nankeen Night Heron in Bloodwood

 

 

The Lawrence Egret Colony Swamp had a little more water than on an earlier visit and a few Freckled Ducks and Pink-eared Ducks had returned.  We counted 5+ Freckled Ducks and 20+ Pink-eared Ducks, well down on previous counts.



The full species list is as follows:



Birds: Magpie Goose (T), Plumed Whistling-Duck, Freckled Duck (T), Black Swan, Australian Wood Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Grey Teal, Chestnut Teal, Pacific Black Duck, Hardhead, Australasian Grebe, *Rock Dove, White-headed Pigeon, *Spotted Dove, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Common Bronzewing, Crested Pigeon, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Australasian Darter, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Pied Cormorant, Australian Pelican, Black-necked Stork (T), White-necked Heron, Eastern Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Cattle Egret, White-faced Heron, Little Egret, Nankeen Night-Heron, Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, Royal Spoonbill, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Eastern Osprey (T), Black-shouldered Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Whistling Kite, Brahminy Kite, Brown Goshawk, Swamp Harrier, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Nankeen Kestrel, Brolga (T), Purple Swamphen, Dusky Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Black-fronted Dotterel, Masked Lapwing, Comb-crested Jacana (T), Caspian Tern, Crested Tern, Silver Gull, Galah, Little Corella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Australian King-Parrot, Eastern Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Bee-eater, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Spotted Pardalote, Striated Pardalote, Yellow Thornbill, Brown Thornbill, Eastern Spinebill, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Fuscous Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Little Wattlebird, Brown Honeyeater, Black-chinned Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Little Friarbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Golden Whistler, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-Thrush, Australasian Figbird, Grey Butcherbird, Pied Butcherbird, Australian Magpie, Pied Currawong, Grey Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Torresian Crow, Restless Flycatcher, Magpie-lark, Jacky Winter, Eastern Yellow Robin, Golden-headed Cisticola, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Tree Martin, *Common Myna, Mistletoebird, Red-browed Finch, *House Sparrow, Australasian Pipit.

Mammals: Eastern Grey Kangaroo.

Reptiles: Short-necked Turtle, Eastern Water Dragon.

Amphibians: Common Eastern Froglet, Dusky Toadlet, Plains Toadlet.

Report on bird banding at Orara River, Coutts Crossing on 07.12.13

Banders:  Greg Clancy, Bill Greenlees

Assistant: Val Clancy

 

Only twelve birds of three species were mist netted on the day, five being retraps. 

 

The results are shown in the table below.

 

SPECIES	07/12/2013
	Banded         Retrap
Grey Fantail	1                0
Silvereye	1                0
Lewin’s Honeyeater	5                5
TOTALS	7                5

 

 

Lewin's Honeyeater

 

 

First year Lewin's Honeyeater

 

 

The five retraps were all Lewin’s Honeyeaters banded in 2012 and 2013.  The Grey Fantail had a tail-wing ratio of 1.22 suggesting that it was of the Tasmanian race.  Tasmanian birds are usually only present in the local area during the autumn and winter so this bird either decided to not return to Tasmania (it may have been a young adult too young to breed) or it was a long-tailed local bird.

 

Other interesting records were Pacific Baza (heard calling), Rufous Fantail, Varied Triller, Little Shrike-thrush, Cicadabird (heard calling), and an Azure Kingfisher in a tree in the Orara River.   A constantly begging juvenile Shining Bronze-Cuckoo was being fed by a Brown Thornbill and a juvenile Fan-tailed Cuckoo appeared to be being fed by a Grey Fantail.  Two Eastern Water Dragons, two Short-necked Turtles and few Garden Sun-skinks were the reptiles observed. 

 

The full list follows: birds: Pacific Black Duck, Bar-shouldered Dove, Wonga Pigeon, Little Pied Cormorant, Eastern Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Pacific Baza, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Little Corella, Pheasant Coucal, Eastern Koel, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Azure Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Sacred Kingfisher, Rainbow Bee-eater, Dollarbird, Brown Gerygone, Brown Thornbill, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, White-throated Honeyeater, Noisy Friarbird, Little Friarbird, Eastern Whipbird, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Cicadabird, Varied Triller, Little Shrike-thrush, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australasian Figbird, Olive-backed Oriole, Australian Magpie, Rufous fantail, Grey Fantail, Torresian Crow, Eastern Yellow Robin, Silvereye, Mistletoebird, Reptiles: Short-necked Turtle, Eastern Water Dragon, Garden Sun-skink.  

 

A number of interesting invertebrates (dragonflies and cicadas) were observed and photographed.

 

Razor Grinder (cicada)

 

Razor Grinder (ventral view)

 

Red Dragonfly at Orara River

Grey Dragonfly at Orara River

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Migrants on the move

As summer disappears and autumn is upon us it is time for migratory birds to be on the move.  During February and March our yard, and the surrounding area, has been visited by a variety of migrant species.  In my last post I discussed the Spangled Drongo, with some individuals travelling north and others going south for the winter.  The late summer-autumn movement of birds in northern New South Wales involves two groups.  The first is comprised of those that breed in the southern states and travel to northern Australia or cross Torres Strait to New Guinea and other Pacific Islands.  The second are those that travel from Tasmania, Victoria and southern New South Wales to winter in areas of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland.  The first group has been recognised as migrants for many decades and includes the well known migrants such as the Dollarbird, Sacred Kingfisher, Rainbow Bee-eater, Cicadabird, Leaden Flycatcher, Satin Flycatcher, Black-faced Monarch, Spectacled Monarch, Rufous Fantail, White-breasted Woodswallow, White-throated Gerygone and most of the cuckoos.  The second group has only been recognised as migrating northwards in recent decades, particularly since bird banding has been carried out.   The first of these southerners to be found in northern NSW and southern Queensland was the Silvereye.  Prior to banding it was thought that there were two species of Silvereye in New South Wales, the Grey-backed and the Grey-breasted and at another time it was thought that rather than there being two species local Silvereyes changed their colours during the winter.  Once birds banded in northern NSW and southern Queensland were retrapped in Tasmania it was realised that there was only one species involved but it comprised different races or colour varieties.  A number of banders contributed to this work but S.G. (Bill) Lane, John Liddy and D. M. Walker were involved significantly in working out the plumage differences of the different races/populations.  Tasmanian Silvereyes have bright chestnut flanks and white throats, Victorian birds have bright chestnut flanks and yellow throats and birds from Sydney north tend to have pale buff to grey flanks and yellow throats.  It is a little more complicated than this and birds from the Canberra area can also be distinguished.  So from the 1960s it was known that some Tasmanian and Victorian Silvereyes migrated north during the winter but it has only been in recent decades that we now have evidence to prove, or to strongly suggest, that Grey Fantails, Golden Whistlers and Striated Pardalotes migrate from Tasmania.  We know that the Tasmanian race of the Striated Pardalote does, as it is the only race with a yellow spot on the wing.  All of the other races have a red spot.  I have observed these 'Yellow-spotted Pardalotes' in my backyard in Coutts Crossing.  Almost 100% of Grey Fantails that I band in the Clarence Valley during the autumn-winter are Tasmanian birds as are a high proportion of the Golden Whistlers.  This is determined by the tail-wing ratios of these birds.  Schodde and Mason in the Directory of Australian Birds provide measurements of the different races (taxa) allowing them to be identified to race by measurement.   Large numbers of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and White-naped Honeyeaters also migrate to the NSW north coast and Southern Queensland during the autumn-winter months and flock to the coastal heaths seeking nectar, along with large flocks of Silvereyes.  Other birds, such as the Pacific Baza,  also appear to be on the move but how migratory this species is is still being debated.  It appears near our home during late summer to autumn, usually comprising flocks of adults with dependent young.  They stay for a few days and then they are gone, apparently migrating.      

On February 2 2014 I observed three juvenile Pacific Bazas hunting in eucalypts in a park at Coutts Crossing.  On February 4 I banded a juvenile that was in care and on February 8 an adult bird with three dependent young landed in the trees in our backyard and spent a couple of hours foraging in our local area.



Two juvenile Pacific Bazas foraging in Spotted Gum
Coutts Crossing 02/02/14






Juvenile Pacific Baza in care on 04/02/14



Adult Pacific Baza Coutts Crossing 08/02/14

 

Juvenile Pacific Baza eating large green insect
Coutts Crossing 08/02/14 (also 3 photos below)

                                     

The details of migrating birds at Coutts Crossing are as follows:

Black-faced Monarch: immature bird caught and banded near Cemetery on 15/02/14.  Immature bird observed nearby on 29/03/14.

Immature Black-faced Monarch banded at Coutts Crossing
on 15/02/14

Immature Black-faced Monarch banded at Coutts Crossing
on 15/02/14

Satin Flycatcher:  An adult female of this species was first observed and photographed, in our backyard on 17/03/14.  It stayed for 5 days.  This is a very remarkable record as Satin Flycatchers are usually absent from the lowlands of the New South Wales (NSW) north coast.  They breed at high altitudes at places such as Ebor and Wollomombi.  A couple of reports some years' back on the Clarence lowlands were not supported with photos or detailed descriptions.  Confusion often arises between this and the very similar Leaden Flycatcher.  My bird was identified as a Satin Flycatcher by Jeff Davies, who has had plenty of experience with the species.  I originally identified it as a female Leaden Flycatcher but when I examined my photos I could see that it had some characteristics that Jeff had used to identify a Satin Flycatcher from Sydney.  These characters were the brown, not grey, flight feathers and white edging to the wing coverts.

Adult female Satin Flycatcher in backyard 17/03/14

Adult female Satin Flycatcher in backyard 17/03/14



Adult female Satin Flycatcher in backyard 17/03/14
 

Rufous Fantail: One Fantail was observed in local bushland on 15/02/14 and an adult turned up in our back yard on the same day as the Satin Flycatcher (17/03/14).  They are, indeed, a beautiful little gem of a bird.  A juvenile was present in nearby bushland on 29/03/14.




Adult Rufous Fantail in backyard 17/03/14



 

Cicadabird:  Two birds heard calling in local bushland on 15/02/14 and then an adult female with dependent juvenile was in our front yard on 23/03/14.  One bird heard calling nearby on 29/03/14.




Adult female Cicadabird in front yard 23/03/14

Juvenile Cicadabird in front yard 23/03/14


So we say goodbye for a few months to the noisy Channel-billed Cuckoos and Eastern (Australian) Koels and the beautiful Rufous Fantails and Rainbow Bee-eaters and the other migrants.  But the good news is that come spring they will all be back to brighten up our local landscape and lives.