Dartford Warbler

SOSSA Wollongong Pelagic

2010-01-24T08:48:00.015Z

Black-browed Albatross (Campbell's variety)

Pomarine Jeager

Australian Gannet

Flesh-footed Shearwater

Pygmy Killer Whale

This month's trip to the continental shelf was pretty quite for the most part. For the likes of me though, there was still the odd lifer to get: this time in the shape of a few Long-tailed Jaegers. They were joined by their Arctic and Pomarine cousins throughout. Also of note were a good number of Flesh-footed Shearwaters, a Sooty Shearwater, three untimely Black-browed Albatrosses and an adult Yellow-nosed Albatross (very unlikely). We also encountered a nice pod of Pygmy Killer Whales.

But, the biggest surprise of all was the massive wall of weather that rolled over the horizon looking, for all the shipwrecks in the sea, like land! After a warning from the skipper to 'hold onto your hats' the air turned cold like a ghost had entered the room and it was upon us. With the Sandra K rolling from rail to rail on a decent swell and the wind battering spray against our faces, I held on for dear life all the way back to the Gong.

Australian Reed-Warbler, Sydney Olympic Park

2010-01-17T09:43:00.003Z

Regent Honeyeater, Nurragingy Reserve

2010-01-03T09:03:00.002Z

Golden-headed Cisticola, Pitt Town Lagoon

2010-01-03T08:59:00.002Z

Lewin's Rail & Spotless Crake, Sydney Olympic Park

2010-01-02T05:04:00.014Z

Lewin's Rail

Spottless Crake

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T09:57:00.003Z

Beautiful Firetail

I brought in the new year with my favourite walk around the Curra Moors track in the Royal National Park. After a slow start and a bit of a stake-out at the Curra Brook crossing things started to warm up. I was hoping to photograph some Origma (Rock Warblers), seen here before, but was treated instead to an uncharacteristic show of bravado by a pair of Beautiful Firetails. They're usually skulking birds, staying close to cover offering nothing more than a red flash of rump but these two put on a real show.

Black-faced Monarch

Eastern Spinebill

Variegated Fairy-wren

Eltham, Victoria

2009-12-28T03:33:00.002Z

Just before we hit the road for Sydney again we checked in with the birdlife of Eltham. Everything was in the same territory as this time last year.

Red-rumped Parrot (female)

Red-rumped Parrot (male)

White-winged Chough

Common Bronzewing

Kookaburra

Australian Wood Duck

Noisy Miner

Gunnamatta Beach, Victoria

2009-12-26T10:21:00.000Z

Spiny-cheeked Honyeater

Pacific Gull

Rye, Victoria

2009-12-25T10:17:00.002Z

Sooty Oystercatcher

Hooded Plover

Broome, WA

2009-12-20T12:02:00.004Z

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Lesser Frigatebird

Greater Sandplover

Singing Honeyeater

Grey-crowned Babler

Peaceful Dove

Gilbert's Dragon

Cervantes, WA

2009-12-20T11:50:00.002Z

Galah

Magpie-lark

Black-faced Woodswallow

South West, WA

2009-12-20T11:27:00.004Z

Australian Ringneck (race semitorquatus)

Golden Whistler

Square-tailed Kite

White-breasted Robin

White-naped Honeyeater

Western Rosella

Long-billed Black-cockatoo

Splendid Fairy Wren, Dunsborough, WA

2009-12-14T09:41:00.003Z

I'm out on various locations around Western Australia this week. The shoot schedule is pretty tight but managing to get some birding in thanks to a friendly/amused crew. It's my first time here so everything's a new one, like this beautiful nugget of fun. More pics when I get back to Sydney.

Knot much at Two Tree today....

2009-12-13T16:30:00.001Z

Sydney's South Head

2009-12-06T01:16:00.006Z

Peregrine Falcon

fem Common Koel

Willy Wagtail

Crested Pigeon

Plastic Fantastic

2009-12-04T21:59:00.006Z

One of Sydney's more elegant aliens, a Red-whiskered Bulbul, dropped into the backyard this morning.

SOSSA Pelagic, Wollongong

2009-11-29T20:59:00.003Z

I went out on the SOSSA pelagic again this weekend. My Australia list grew by 5 with the addition of Black Petrel, Great-winged Petrel (NZ Grey-faced race 'gouldi'), Flesh-footed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater and, the highlight, a Bridled Tern. It was only the second record of Bridled Tern on the boat the last being 15 years ago: a very rare visitor to NSW. Despite the briefest of fly-bys Martin Cachard got the picture.

Whoopee

2009-10-17T22:41:00.003Z

We tried for the Tree Sparrows at Wakering this morning and all we got was told off by a farmer.
Our spirits were lifted in Paglesham with sausage sandwiches, clouded yellows, football, a Whooper Swan and good views of a peregrine.

2009-10-17T08:30:00.003Z

(Yes! I can upload photos again).
Here's a dipper from South Devon.

Woollongong Pelagic and Barren Grounds

2009-09-13T04:18:00.025Z

This birding weekend was one of my best. I went out on the SOSSA pelagic trip from Woollongong again on Saturday and got four lifers: Providence Petrel, Cape Petrel, Southern Giant-Petrel and Hutton's Shearwater. We also encountered a big pod of Humpbacks and a huge raft of shearwaters on the way in (mostly Wedge-tailed and Fluttering). The best thing though was getting to hold a Yellow-nosed Albatross during one of the ringing sessions. The poor bugger was covered in lice and blind in one eye.

Others noted were 3 Kelp Gull, 2 Little Penguin, several Wandering Albatross (including a Gibson's bird originally ringed in 1979), Black-browed Albatross, Shy Albatross (White-Capped & nominate race), 3 Northern Giant Petrel, 2 Brown Skua, White-fronted and Crested Terns. A little Shearwater was also called but I didn't pick it up.

Cape Petrel: Great bird, crap shot.

the raft of mostly Wedge-tailed, Fluttering and the odd Hutton's Shearwater

Northern Giant-Petrel

The night was spent under the stars at Barren Grounds with accomplished aussie birder, Martin Cachard. Again, we heard Ground Parrots calling in the heath at dusk and, early this morning, one was flushed from the track in all its green glory. I'd been waiting for that moment for quite some time.

Others seen around Barren Grounds, thanks in no small part to Martin's birding prowess, were Southern Emu Wren (a good number calling, 1 seen); a pair of very vocal Eastern Bristlebirds with the female briefly on show; a small group of Beautiful Firetails and a male Gang-gang Cockatoo creaking away like a rusty old hinge.

Peter and Darryl chumming

In Search of the Holy Quail

2009-09-05T15:42:00.002Z

There was a good 30 min programme on Radio 4 today about birding musicians.
Marc Riley (who I've heard discuss birds on his 6 music show before), Guy Garvey (from Elbow) and Martin Noble (from British Sea Power) go to Shetland looking for Quail and Storm Petrels.
To hear it click here

Rainbow Lorikeet

2009-08-15T22:23:00.001Z

Two Tree Island Lagoon - Sunrise

2009-08-13T08:21:00.009Z

High tide and sun rise coincided this morning so I went to see what birds were in Two Tree Island Lagoon. There were an awful lot of Black Tailed Godwit (2000+) and Oyster Catcher (around 500). There were 4 Sandwich Tern and among the Common Tern there were 2 very young birds being fed by their parents. Elsewhere on the West end of Two Tree there was a sizeable gathering of passerines including Willow Warblers, Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroat, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tits and a Great Tit. The Willow Warblers were yellowy younguns and looked great feeding off the yellow fennel flowers. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a photo of that so here's a photo of the lagoon as the sun came up....

(For some reason I'm unable to upload photos at the moment so please click the links below if you'd like to see them.....)
willow warbler
Two Tree Lagoon

Wasp Spiders

2009-08-03T18:46:00.004Z

There are lots of Grass Hoppers at Star Lane Pits. Wasp Spiders cast their webs in the dry grass close to the ground to catch them. I saw 3 spiders today, all within 1 meter of each other.

Eastern Bristlebirds, Jervis Bay

2009-08-02T11:22:00.004Z

The birthday girl and I went to Jervis Bay (NSW) this weekend.

There were plenty of good wildlife encounters but the highlight was undoubtedly watching five Eastern Brislebirds and an Echidna crossing the road during an hour's stake-out up near the Cape St. George Lighthouse. Record shot below.

Eastern Bristlebird

Tawny Crowned Honeyeaters

Spotted Pardalote

White-bellied Sea-Eagle

Fur Seal?

Other moments were: my first Hoary-headed Grebes with six on the Botanic Gardens lake; a confident Brown Quail leading us up to the Lighthouse with five more wondering around the Jervis Bay convenience store; Eight White bellied Sea Eagles at Steamers Beach; my first Swamp Harrier; two Sooty Oystercatcher; close views of Peregrine and Whistling Kite (and Little Penguin remains) at Cave beach; my first two pairs of Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters; a pair of Spotted Pardalote nest building; a Fur Seal (i think) playing with a cuttlefish; a couple of Rock Wallabies; and, bizarrely, a ginger Guinea Pig crept out of the heath while we were looking for Ground Parrots.

The lowlight was breaking my scope (dropped) and camera (sand) in the space of a couple of hours. Might be the last photos from me for a while.

Brown Quails with broken camera