BirdingOz PhotoTwitch – 8th November 2009.
Today was the first BirdingOz PhotoTwitch. The idea is that you have photograph as many different bird species in 8 hours as you can. I started off at 7am at Galgabba Point at Swansea, which is south of Newcastle on the shores of Lake Macquarie. The day was not the best as it was overcast and rain was threatening. I started off with a couple of common birds on the street and then moved into the bush. There were a couple of good birds in there that I saw such as Australasian Figbird, Spotted Pardalote, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Mistletoebird and Olive-backed Oriole. I was hoping to see the gorgeous White-bellied Sea-eagle that sometimes roosts at the end of the point, but she was not available for sessions. In all I photographed about 25 bird species around the Swansea area.
I then drove to Belmont South and walked across the road to Belmont Lagoon and walked along Cold Tea Creek. There were a few egrets around and about half a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits were feeding in the lagoon on a sandbar just before where the lagoon drains into Cold Tea Creek. They looked pretty skinny so maybe they had just arrived from Alaska. Further up the track I spotted a Shining Bronze-cuckoo, some White-breasted Woodswallows, Rufous Whistler, Little Grassbird and this fabulous Eastern Shrike-tit.
Eastern Shrike-tit (Falcunculus frontatus)
It started rain as I got back to the car, same as it did at Swansea. With the rain pelting down, I drove to the Hunter Wetlands Center at Shortland. This is always a good spot, with a wide variety of water birds, as well as a good selection of bush birds and raptors. I spotted the water birds as soon as I got there, and went mad photographing Eurasian Coot, Pacific Black Duck, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Grey Teal, Chestnut Teal and Hardhead. It took me a while to get a photo of a Masked Lapwing, as they kept on running away from me. I could hear them, but always too far away. A Whistling Kite obliged by wheeling over, and later on disappeared towards the east with what looked like a Chestnut Teal in its steely grasp.
There were thousands of Australian White Ibis and Cattle Egrets breeding. All of the Cattle Egrets had their “blood nut” breeding plumage well and truly displayed. You can really tell when they are breeding.
Cattle Egret (Ardea Ibis)
There were a few bush birds but not that many. This Willie Wagtail was playing with a dragonfly. He would chomp on it for a while, then chuck it down on the ground. Maybe he was tenderising it for the kids.
Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys)
Of course it started raining again as I finished at the Hunter Wetlands Centre. I drove over to Stockton and went to the boat ramp, where I photographed a Crested Tern, but that was it around the river and beach. I parked under the Stockton Bridge and waited for the rain to stop. There were thousands and thousands of Red-necked Avocet in the lagoon in the middle of the Stockton Sandspit. There were a few hundred Bar-tailed Godwits and a smattering of Red Knots amongst them. The Eastern Curlews were on the grass, as well as a few Black-winged Stilts and a couple of White-faced Herons and Pied Oystercatchers.
And then it was time. I had photographed 70 species of birds in 8 hours. That was pretty good for a learner, I thought. Grant had got 85 birds which was a spectacular result, I reckon. Here is my list of birds in taxonomic order for a change.
Phototwitch Bird list 8/11/09
Australian Pelican
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Australasian Grebe
Magpie Goose
Black Swan
Pacific Black Duck
Grey Teal
Chestnut Teal
Hardhead
Australian Wood Duck
Dusky Moorhen
Purple Swamphen
Eurasian Coot
White-faced Heron
Cattle Egret
Great Egret
Little Egret
Intermediate Egret
Australian White Ibis
Royal Spoonbill
Eastern Curlew
Bar-tailed Godwit
Red Knot
Curlew Sandpiper
Pied Oystercatcher
Masked Lapwing
Red-capped Plover
Black-winged Stilt
Red-necked Avocet
Silver Gull
Crested Tern
Whistling Kite
Rock Dove
Spotted Turtle-dove
Crested Pigeon
Galah
Eastern Rosella
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Shining Bronze-cuckoo
Superb Fairy-wren
Spotted Pardalote
White-browed Scrubwren
Brown Thornbill
Yellow Thornbill
Little Wattlebird
Striped Honeyeater
Bell Miner
Lewin’s Honeyeater
White-cheeked Honeyeater
Eastern Shrike-tit
Rufous Whistler
Grey Fantail
Willy Wagtail
Magpie-lark
Olive-backed Oriole
Australasian Figbird
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
White-breasted Woodswallow
Australian Magpie
Australian Raven
Welcome Swallow
Australian Pipit
Australian Reed-warbler
Little Grassbird
Red-browed Finch
Mistletoebird
Silvereye
Common Starling
Common Myna
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