Galgabba Point

The Galgabba Point regeneration project at Swansea has been going really well and the work they are doing clearing the weeds such as lantana and Bitou Bush has been fantastic. This morning I went for a walk around to see what birds I could find. Around the entrance area there were heaps of White-cheeked Honeyeaters high up in the trees making lots of ruckus. There were a couple of Little Wattlebirds and Grey Fantail. Some Sulpur-crested Cockatoo flew past, followed by some ravens. There have been quite a few Eastern Spinebills being seen at Galgabba as well.

After that, I headed for the point and near the Bell Miner colony, I noticed a Spotted Pardalote, some Noisy Friarbirds chasing off the other honeyeaters that ventured onto “their ” trees. Around this area, some Scaly-breasted Lorikeets and Eastern Rosella usually are seen. I ventured further on past the creek where I spotted a male and female Chestnut Teal and this Little Pied Cormorant drying his wings on a branch.

Little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleuca)

At the point, there were quite a number of small birds flittering around in the she-oak trees. There were Red-browed Finch, Silvereye, Yellow Thornbill and Brown Thornbill. There was a single Mistletoebird having a feed on the Mistletoe fruits. There were not many water birds out on the lake, just a few Black Swans and a solitary pelican.

I cannot stop taking photos of fungus. And this one has the added distinction of having two in one. A fungus growing on top of a fungus. How cool can you get?

Fungus on fungus

Galgabba Point bird list 2/7/2010

Little Wattlebird
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Grey Fantail
White-cheeked Honeyeater
Australian Raven
Eastern Spinebill
Australian Magpie
Noisy Miner
Bell Miner
Superb Fairy-wren
Spotted Pardalote
Noisy Friarbird
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Chestnut Teal
Black Swan
Little Pied Cormorant
Golden Whistler
Red-browed Finch
Mistletoebird
Silvereye
Australian Pelican
Yellow Thornbill
Lewin’s Honeyeater
Brown Thornbill
Eastern Rosella
Pied Currawong
Eastern Whipbird

Galgabba Point Fungi

I have been doing some volunteer work at Galgabba Point this week. This morning on my walk I took some photos of some of the fungi that I found. I have no idea what their names are or even how to go about indentifying fungus. If you know any the fungus shown in the photos, please let me know. This fungus was in the compost heap. I found it when I was going for a little walk. It is strange how red it is.

Unidentified fungus

I could not believe this star-shaped fungus. It looks really weird. It was on the way out to the point. It could be called a Starfish fungus, but not sure yet. Edit: Yes it is a Starfish Fungus, thanks to Dennis who has written about them on his site. Also, Gaye from the Hunter has written about them on her blog.

Starfish fungus (Aseroe rubra)

Wallarah Peninsula Community Walk

In the afternoon I got on the bike and rode up and down the exhausting hills to the start of the Wallarah Peninsula Community Walk. It goes from the end of the houses up to Pinneys Beach and beyond. In the suburban streets on the way I spotted Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Noisy Miners and Laughing Kookaburras.

There were not a lot of birds along the edges of the cliffs, but the scenery was fantastic. From the top of the cliff you can see all the way to Nelson’s Bay. There were a few small birds like thornbills and fairy-wrens but not much else. On the way back I spotted this White-bellied Sea-eagle coming back from fishing out at sea with a fish.

White-bellied Sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

Caves Beach

Today I walked the track from the lookout at Caves Beach to the start of the Wallarah Peninsula Coastal Walk at Spoon Rocks. I started out from the lookout above Caves Beach. Unfortunately there were no sea birds, just a couple of lazy Silver Gulls drifting by. Here is a view from Caves Beach looking towards Spoon Rocks or what is locally called the Mawson Breakwater. This is on the ocean just south of the channel going into Lake Macquarie

Caves Beach to Spoon Rocks

There were quite a few Superb Fairy-wrens twittering around in the bushes. This male was showing off his plumage to me and his harem of ladies.

male Super Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus)

Further on I got the shock of my life when I got my lens on a Red-whiskered Bulbul. I had never seen one of these before so it is a big tick. I did not expect to see one of these around here. They have a black bill and a distinctive red tuft behind the ear, and a pointed vertical crest. The undertail coverts are red with a white-tipped tail.

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

There were a few Welcome Swallow flying over the cliffs as well as some Red-browed Finch near a little creek that ran into the sea. I dipped down into the track to Spoon Rocks and there is quite a nice little beach there. Past the breakwater I climbed the old road that was used to make the breakwater and got to the start of the Wallarah Coastal Community Walk which goes further on to Pinney’s Beach. I might do that section of the walk another day. It looks quite a spectacular walk so I am looking forward to it.

New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)

Caves Beach Bird List 20/6/2010

Australian Magpie
Superb Fairy-wren
Silver Gull
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Welcome Swallow
New Holland Honeyeater
Rock Dove
Red-browed Finch
Grey Fantail
Brown Thornbill
Laughing Kookaburra
Spotted Turtle-dove
Crested Pigeon
Little Wattlebird
Eastern Spinebill
Masked Lapwing
Eastern Rosella
Rainbow Lorikeet

Swansea Channel Birding

I had not been out for a while, so this afternoon I went down to Swansea Channel to take some photos of the birds. Lake Macquarie drains out to the sea along the Swansea Channel. I drove as far as I could along the southern side of the channel to the nature reserve. There were a few Silver Gulls, pelicans and White-faced Heron hanging out around the boat ramp. I went for a walk along the reserve but I could not get very far because the tide was full and it flooded the track. On the way back this Willy Wagtail came pretty close and had a good look at me.

Willy Wagtail

After that, I went along the road to the point and had a look on the lake side of Swansea. An Osprey flew past with a whole bunch of Galahs which was relatively bizarre. I waited around for the Osprey to come back but he didn’t. Instead this juvenile White-bellied Sea-eagle came flying around the point. I think this one is very young as the colours are very cryptic.

White-bellied Sea-eagle

As usual there were plenty of Black Swans and pelicans out in the lake. Noisy Miners were flying around the edges of the lake and a pair of Australian Wood Duck were feeding on the grass.

Australian Wood Duck

Swansea Channel Bird List 19/6/2010

Silver Gull
Masked Lapwing
Australian Wood Duck
Australian Pelican
Willy Wagtail
White-faced Heron
Grey Fantail
Little Black Cormorant
Little Pied Cormorant
Australian Magpie
Osprey
Galah
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
White-bellied Sea-eagle
Black Swan
Noisy Miner
Magpie-lark
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Rosella
Australian Raven

Birding at Bi-centennial Gardens in Ballina

The Bicentennial Gardens is just north of Ballina on the Pacific Highway, about 2 kilometers past the lights at Ballina Fair. There is a billabong just next to the car park and there were a mob of Dusky Moorhen with some chicks. They seemed quite tame and I think people have been feeding them. I took a few photos of the chicks and this one is quite nice with the backlighting.

Dusky Moorhen chick (Gallinula tenebrosa)

And here is an adult.

adult Dusky Moorhen

I took a walk around the gardens and saw some Rainbow Lorikeets and a Pied Butcherbird in the trees. Around the billabong was a track through the paperbark swamp and I spotted some White-browed Scrubwren, Eastern Yellow Robin, Grey Fantail and Lewin’s Honeyeater. On the way back past the billabong some Australian White Ibis came very close to me so I took some shots while I had the chance.

Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca)

In this photo you can see their naked ears, nostrils and the pink bands across the back of the neck. They look a bit scary I reckon.

Australian White Ibis

Bicentennial Gardens bird list

Dusky Moorhen
Noisy Miner
Australian White Ibis
Australian Raven
Rainbow Lorikeet
Pied Butcherbird
Cattle Egret
Australian Magpie
Welcome Swallow
Australasian Figbird
White-browed Scrubwren
Eastern Yellow Robin
Grey Fantail
Lewin’s Honeyeater

Cudgen Creek, Kingscliff

Friday, 7th May, 2010.

Well, I made it back to Cudgen Creek and once again it did not fail to disappoint. It is a top little spot, with a variety of habitat – from mudflats to coastal banksia and rainforest. When I got there, there were a few Masked Lapwings in the park and some Rainbow and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets in the banksia trees. A few Pied Currawongs were being harassed by some Willy Wagtails and being chased away. Along the bank of the creek there were some White-faced Heron, Great Egret, Little Pied Cormorants, as well as these Little Black Cormorants.

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)

I spotted an Eastern Reef Egret grey morph who was fishing along the rocks. He caught a couple of little ones and was posing magnificently for me.

Eastern Reef Egret (Egretta sacra) – grey morph

Along the rainforest section, there were hundreds of Scarlet Honeyeaters as well as a few Brown Honeyeaters and some Silvereye. There were having a bath and drink in the knot of a tree until this big bully Australasian Figbird Olive-backed Oriole came along and chased them away so he could have it all to himself.

Olive-backed Oriole

I also managed to photograph a Varied Triller, but the photos did not come out very good at all. When I got back to the car, I was about to put away the camera, when this Blue-faced Honeyeater flew onto the tree just near me and proceeded to show off what looked like a cockroach that he had hunted. What a proud bird!

Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)

Well, that is it for Queensland. I am now heading south back into Norther New South Wales. It is starting to get colder now, so I have no idea why I am going south. Next stop is probably Bogangar and Cabarita. Vamos!

Cudgen Creek bird list

Masked Lapwing
Australian White Ibis
Willy Wagtail
Welcome Swallow
Rainbow Lorikeet
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Pied Currawong
Australian Raven
White-faced Heron
Magpie-lark
Noisy Friarbird
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Sacred Kingfisher
Scarlet Honeyeater
Blue-faced Honeyeater
Lewin’s Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
Silvereye
Brush Turkey
Australasian Figbird
Golden Whistler
Little Wattlebird
Eastern Whipbird
Australian Pelican
Eastern Reef Egret
Great Egret
Crested Pigeon
Varied Triller

Tweed Heads Birding

The Terranora Broadwater walk is a fairly long walk. I reckon it is about 3 to 5 kilometers one way, and I did not go all the way. It still continues on for how long I do not know. To get there, drive south from Tweed Heads and take the Bilambil turnoff before the bridge. Park somewhere behind the Seagulls club and start walking west and south along the water front. The track passes through sub-tropical rainforest, mangroves and grasslands. I had seen Spangled Drongo and White-bellied Sea-eagles there last night. This morning I heard whipbirds and catbirds as I started off. A Pied Butcherbird sang me a morning song and a huge pelican swooped down to the water.

Sacred Kingfishers (Todiramphus sanctus)

A few birds were looking for a feed on the oyster racks out in the bay. The appropriately named Pied Oystercatchers were digging around, as well as a Striated Heron and a Great Egret. Along the track, a bunch of Red-browed Finch came down to peck at the grass seeds. On the way back, a pair of Sacred Kingfishers kept following me along the water front. I could not get rid of them!

Sacred Kingfisher

Some Lewin’s Honeyeaters and Brown Honeyeaters were in competition for the mistletoe blossoms. I did not see any Mistletoebirds, but they would have been shooed off anyway. The Terranora Broadwater is well worth a visit. Especially in spring, when it must come alive. There are a variety of habitats, so there are a good range of birds.

Terranora Broadwater bird list

Spangled Drongo
White-bellied Sea-eagle
Eastern Whipbird (H)
Green Catbird (H)
Willy Wagtail
Australian Pelican
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Oystercatcher
Australian Raven
Bar-shouldered Dove
Striated Heron
Great Egret
Grey Fantail
Australian Figbird
Red-browed Finch
Australian Magpie
Magpie-lark
Noisy Miner
Rainbow Lorikeet
Silvereye
Sacred Kingfisher
Lewin’s Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater

Letitia Spit

The Letitia spit is south of Tweed Heads and on the spit of sand on the other side of the Tweed River from Coolangatta. To get there, turn off towards Fingal Head and keep going along Letitia Road. There is a narrow patch of bush between the ocean and the river. Tracks criss-cross the area, but watch out because it is very sandy and extremely easy to get bogged. There is a Little Tern nesting site there, so be careful where you put your big feet!

Minjungbal Aboriginal Nature Reserve

The Minjungbal Nature Reserve is on the other side of the river at South Tweed Heads. Go south along Minjungbal Drive and turn down River Street to the end. There is a track and boardwalk along the water. The boardwalk goes through some mangroves and the track goes through some swampy casuarina country. I spotted quite a few Lewin’s Honeyeaters and actually managed to see an Eastern Whipbird. Some Brown Honeyeaters were feeding on the mistletoe flowers and even chased away some Mistletoebirds when they came near.

Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta)

When I went along the mangroves I spotted a couple of lovely Mangrove Gerygone and happened to get a reasonable photo of one. One of them had a worm that he was having for breakfast.

Mangrove Gerygone (Gerygone levigaster)

Tweed Heads bird list 14/4/10

Willy Wagtail
Australian White Ibis
Pacific Black Duck
Crested Pigeon
Rainbow Lorikeet
Silver Gull
Osprey
Lewin’s Honeyeater
Eastern Whipbird
Sacred Kingfisher
Mangrove Gerygone
Brown Honeyeater