Cudgen Creek.

The first shot is from Evans Head where I managed to get some shots of a pair of Masked Lapwing chicks.

Masked Lapwing chick (Vanellus miles)

Cudgen Creek is at Kingscliff on the far north coast of New South Wales. I have been there previously a couple of years ago and it is a fantastic site for birding. It is almost winter and there are still quite a large variety of birds around here. And I never even ventured into the rain-forest section this time!

Pied Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax varius)

This Pied Cormorant was having a hard time swallowing this good sized fish. I do not know what it is – maybe some kind of rock cod. A Pelican was hanging around hoping that he would drop it.

Australasian Figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti)

These figbirds have a very distinctive red eye patch.

Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta)

I have been trying for days to work out what these small honeyeaters were. They are about half the size of most of the other honeyeaters and have a yellow stripe going right through the eye. I hope I have got the identification right. They were hanging around the banksias along the river.

Rainbow Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus)

There was a large flock around the mangroves along the creek. There must have been more than fifty Rainbow Bee-eaters hawking over the tops of the mangrove trees. I have never seen anything like it before.

Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus)

I cannot resist a shot of a Rainbow Bee-eater in flight.

Striated Heron (Butorides striata)

This Striated Heron got a fish. I have seen these birds in Malaysia where they are called Little Herons.

Cudgen Creek bird list

Little black Cormorant
Pied Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax varius)
Crested Pigeon
Spotted Turtle-dove
White-faced Heron
Masked Lapwing
Osprey
Pied Currawong
Australasian Figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti)
Pied Oystercatcher
Sooty Oystercatcher
Magpie-lark
Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus)
Rainbow Lorikeet
Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta)
Australian Pelican
Silver Gull
Striated Heron (Butorides striata)
Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Australian Crow
Willy Wagtail
Sulphur-crested White-cockatoo
Noisy Miner
Australian White Ibis
Galah
Australian Magpie
Crested Tern
Little Egret
Welcome Swallow
Eastern Whipbird
Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus)

Nambucca River Boardwalk.

I stopped at the side of the Nambucca River for breakfast this morning and saw a few birds flitting around the casuarinas. After my morning muesli, I got out the camera and went for a walk along the board-walk that goes along the river. The birds I originally saw, I was unable to identify. They were something like Lewin’s Honeyeater or a Yellow-faced Honeyeater, but I was unable to make a satisfactory identification.

Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)

I did see a bunch of Blue-faced Honeyeaters feeding on these gorgeous bottle-brushes by the side of the road.

juvenile Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)

The juvenile Blue-faced Honeyeaters have an olive-yellow facial skin around the eye instead of the adult bright blue.

Little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera)

The Little Wattlebirds were also having a feed on the bottle-brushes. They have the most beautiful streaking on the chests and wings.

Nambucca Heads birds

Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)
Little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera)
Australian Pelican
Crested Pigeon
Magpie-lark
Silver Gull
Pacific Black Duck
Pied Butcherbird

Birds and Surfing.

I spent all yesterday in Kempsey getting a few things from the shops and getting all my internet stuff done at the library. I headed out early to Crescent Head, which is about twenty kilometers east of Kempsey. The waves were tiny so I took the camera for a walk and saw a few interesting birds.

Sooty Oystercatcher (Haematopus fuliginosis)

There are two sub-species of Sooty Oystercatcher. The nominate subspecies is in most of coastal Australia and opthalmicus is found along the northern coast. They prefer rocky coastlines and feed on mussels, limpets, chitons and sometimes sea urchins. They open them by pecking strongly with their powerful bills.

Eastern Reef Egret (Egretta sacra) – Grey morph

Some people seem to have trouble distinguishing the grey morph from the White-faced Heron but there is a superficial similarity but they are easy to spot the difference. The grey morph Eastern Reef Egret has darker plumage and no white on the face. They are strictly saltwater birds and are usually found on rock shelfs and rocky shores along the ocean and estuaries.

Crescent Head surfing

Here is the set-up. The surf was tiny, not even a foot. But still there were nearly a dozen guys out trying to flummox around in the waves.

Crescent Heads Bird List

Sooty Oystercatcher (Haematopus fuliginosis)
Eastern Reef Egret (Egretta sacra) – Grey morph
White-bellied Sea-eagle
Osprey
Silver Gull
Noisy Miner
Pied Butcherbird
Australasian Gannet
Crested Tern
Crested Pigeon
Spotted Turtle-dove

Sources:
“Shorebirds of Australia” by Geering, Agnew and Harding.
“Herons, Egrets and Bitterns” by Neil McKilligan.

Limeburner’s Creek National Park.

I did the tourist thing this morning in Port Macquarie and went for an Eco-tour up the Hastings River and into the Limeburner’s Creek National Park. It was a two hour cruise and it only cost me fifteen bucks. What a bargain! I actually really enjoyed it. I saw three different raptors and heaps of cormorants.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

I am putting this shot in to show the brown mottling across the chest of this bird. The captain of the boat said it was a young male, but I am not sure. The female Osprey is larger than the male and this is fairly typical for raptors. This gives the breeding couple more range of prey. The female can go after the larger prey while the male gets the smaller stuff.

Osprey nest

We saw two Osprey nests. The other one had fallen down after a branch broke that was supporting the nest and the pair had to rebuild. Osprey numbers are increasing along the Australian coast. I think there are more this year than just a couple of years ago when I last went up the coast.

Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius)

This one has the blue eye-ring and the yellow in front of the eye. That and the pants are the main identifying features. And of course, he is drying his wings out.

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)

I have seen more Little Black Cormorant in this estuary than at other places along the coast. They congregate in larger flocks than other cormorants.

Darter (Anhinga melanogaster)

This one is ready to take off.

White-bellied Sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

This one is a very young White-bellied Sea-eagle, possibly first year. I thought this was a female because of the large size. When immature, they are brown with lighter markings. They are very different to mature birds.

Limeburner’s Creek

A look at the creek with the mangroves along most of the it.

Port Macquarie Birds list

Little Egret
Great Egret
White-faced Heron
Australian Pelican
Silver Gull
Osprey
White-bellied Sea-eagle
Brahminy Kite
Pied Cormorant
Oriental Darter
Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)
Crested Tern
Black Swan