Weekends That Were - August 2017

29.8.17

Norman Creek, Holland Park West

A warm, quiet morning. Thought there was going to be absolutely nothing at first, but an average list in the end. All normal stuff – Brown Honeyeater, Spotted Dove, Magpie Lark, Australian Figbirds, Laughing Kookaburra, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Striated Pardalote etc. A White-faced Heron feeding in the field beside the road was a pleasant surprise as I finished up.

26.8.17

Oxley

Mr D picked me up at 6.30 and we walked the track in a cool, bright morning. Not a bad outing – a decent list of species including a Black Kite (only my second for the site) and, while trying out my new bins, Mr D found a pair of White-winged Trillers near the ponds! We also had a briefly perched up Collared Sparrowhawk at close range which dashed off chased by the local crows. Our third raptor was a Black-shouldered Kite perched in the usual tree. We heard, and eventually saw, a Fan-tailed Cuckoo and Mr D heard a Shining Bronze Cuckoo whose call eluded me and didn’t respond to tape.

Butterflies – the ubiquitous Monarch (2) and a Black Jezebel.

We repaired to café’ Europa, as usual, and enjoyed its Hungarian hospitality.

24.8.17

J C Trotter

At the gate at 7.00, loaded down with bins, camera, and everything else on my belt/bum bag, and the scope & tripod. I was interested to see how I’d survive carrying all the gear on an average type track with no hills, but a little bit of rough ground. And the fact that the scope would be useful at the lake of course helped.

A couple of Red-necked Wallabies crossed the road as I parked and I saw a couple more through the walk.

As usual the woods were very quiet and I assumed it was going to be another Trotter-day of shaking head and questions – however although it remained quiet I did get a couple of good birds.

The first was a White-necked Heron on the opposite side of the lake – only my fourth on site. Further on, after I took shelter in the small ‘shed’ thing from a rain shower, I scoped a flock of Pelicans, White-headed Stilts, two Red-kneed and 4 Black-fronted Dotterels and the second pleasant surprise – a single Red-necked Avocet – a new bird for my site list.

The water level had dropped again exposing bare mud and making it easy to move along the lake’s edge. As I moved further around I flushed two Latham’s Snipe and a Brown Quail – the former my fifth record for Trotter and the latter only my second – so it wasn’t a complete waste of a morning.

Nothing much else of note really -  a couple of flocks of Hardheads, the usual Egrets and Cormorants, Sea Eagle and Whistling Kites . Back in the woods - Rufous Whistler (2), Scarlet Honeyeater (1), Spangled Drongo (1), Little Corella (1), Rainbow Bee Eater (1) etc I note this only to show the paucity of birds, however, as a trial run with all the gear (and no idea – yeah, yeah) I arrived back at the car after two hours still feeling fairly comfortable and not in much pain. So that was a pretty good outcome.

Butterflies – a single Orange Ringlet.

Others – a Bush Orb Weaver Plebs ebumus which was new for site for me too and one I have only recently identified from a site in Yatala. (the picture is not brilliant admittedly, but note the ‘frilly’ parts to the flimsy web above and below the spider – that’s diagnostic apparently)

Bush Orb Weaver Plebs ebumus 

22.8.17

Norman Creek, Holland Park West

Been a while since I ventured down the road so………. pretty quiet as usual – although I never expect much from the site. Any winter migrants that may have been around appeared to have vacated and it was just the usual local species.

21.8.17

Sandy Camp & Lindum

Following reports of White-browed and Dusky Wood-swallows I thought I’d give it a go and arrived on site at 6.45.

It was pretty birdy with a good range of species, if a bit low in overall numbers. The usual residents were on the water plus a couple of sightings of a very pissed off Striated Heron that seemed to take exception to my presence and flew around calling harshly – never seen that happen before.

Land bird wise there were, again, the usual species, but the only wood-swallow I saw was a single White-breasted. I reckon the rarer ones reported over the weekend were probably blown in by the very strong SW winds late last week and left once the wind changed and dropped.

I ran into Michael, a South African guy whom I think I’ve met before. He was talking about a Baillon’s Crake that had been seen yesterday. We separated and when I caught up with him again he was kneeling down on the track beside the metal outlook thing apparently taking pictures of……the Baillon’s Crake which was tight in under the reeds right beside the track. I stood back and left him to it for a few minutes until he waved me in and I caught fleeting glimpses of the bird between the reed stems almost at our feet. Pretty unusual I thought to have a B Crake in winter – again possibly reflective of the recent warmth.

I moved on to Fuller oval and gave my new scope a run for the first time. The first bird I ‘scoped’ was a Red-kneed Dotterel – stunning at x50 in the sun! There were 7 of them and 12 Black-fronted Dotterels to play with.

Lindum was average – the usual White-headed Stilts and a pair of Black-fronted Dotterels but bugger all else. I drove down Burnby Rd and scanned the distant water down the road ‘extension’ that is currently fenced off. I didn’t bother pushing the fence over this time, relying on my new scope to bridge the distance. There were 6 Glossy Ibis and at least 26 Red-necked Avocets feeding in that area, could have been more, but my vision was a little restricted by fence lines etc.

Butterflies – several Black Jezebels were the only ones I saw.

19.8.17

Minnippi

I met Mr P at his place and we arrived on site together at 6.45.

Overall it was a quiet morning with nothing super outstanding. We got a good list of birds including a pair of Red-browed Finches and a Sacred Kingfisher – confirmed ID following a probable sighting last visit. 28 Hardhead on the lake and the three Magpie Geese were still in residence. Two calling Fan-tailed Cuckoos together at the start of the Airfield Track was a little unusual. No Grey Fantails at all and the Scarlet Honeyeater numbers had dropped considerably most likely in response to the unseasonal high temperatures of late which seem to indicate an early Spring.

Butterflies – 2 Monarchs.

We retired to Belesis for breakfast.

18.8.17

Scope stuff

Back in the 70’s in Dublin it was almost unknown to own a ‘scope – or, at least, among my end of the birding fraternity it was. The only place I remember seeing one at all was once on Cape Clear when a strange, English dude in a long black coat, carrying a carpet bag arrived. Jim Endicott was an enigma – almost entirely uncommunicative, he focused (!) on seabirds and seawatching and rarely said anything or did anything else – but he did have a scope. We dropped our sorry asses on the rocks at ‘Blannan with our taped up, battered 10x50 bins and, enviously, watched him watching the passing trade through his, no doubt far superior, optics. He left the island as quietly and unobtrusively as he had arrived, slouching off to the ferry in his long black coat and carrying the old carpet bag. I’m not sure if Jim is still around but I’m sure he’s still the same wherever he is – perched on a rocky outcrop, alone, seawatching.

That was my only exposure to a 'scope, although a couple of my mates – Mr H and, I believe, Mr C, both had acquired Kowa scopes late in the decade, but I didn’t see much of them in the final years before I left for Australia.

It was yonks before I had my own ‘scope, probably around 2002, when I obtained a Bushnell travelling scope of tiny size - a 45mm objective and 15–45 zoom. It was very handy in size, but, needless to say, lacking in light input. It went well until it, and the tripod it was on, fell sideways into soft mud out Fisherman’s Island way and it was never really the same afterwards. In other words it was f....d.

In about 2006 a private sale advertisement on Birding Aus resulted in me picking up a Kowa TS-611 - 60mm objective and a X20 fixed eyepiece – third hand, I believe - for a very low price from an English birder who had acquired it in SA and didn’t want to bother taking it any further on his on-going travels to New Zealand.  It also came with a zoom eyepiece which was never very functional and, despite professional cleaning, I rarely bothered using.

Over the intervening years the Kowa and I have had many adventures and seen some excellent birds together. It only weighs 1 Kg, including the stay-on case and despite its limitations has served me well for more than 10 years.

However, as in the case of my bins in an earlier post, the time had come to upgrade. Once again, I wanted as close to the top of the range as I could afford.

Now, I mentioned in my earlier, binocular post, that I wanted one of The Best. By that I meant either Leica, Zeiss or Swarovski. I think we can all agree these three are The Best. I believe there is little to choose between them and it really comes down to personal choice.

So……I decided a Swarovski 80mm, 20-60 zoom, angled spotting scope was what I could justifiably afford. Not that I have to justify my purchases to anyone, but I have to feel comfortable myself with this kind of expenditure. I also figured this size (80mm) was the biggest I could reasonably travel with – weight and diameter wise.

I looked into buying from overseas, but had that older person problem of distrust of that new-fangled thing called the Internet and it didn’t seem to make much difference cost-wise anyway. So I decided to buy Australian, so to speak….even though the scope is made in Austria……and went to Bintel, ordered the scope, eyepiece and stay-on case on-line (it’s OK it’s in Australia…..go figure….) and held my breath.

Cutting a long story short (again), It’s taken 4 weeks to arrive and I have settled for a 25-50 wide-angle eyepiece as there were significant delays on the 20-60 I originally ordered – i.e. I wouldn’t have had it in time to travel overseas in September. (I have made a 'deal' with the guy at Bintel, that if I don't like it he will exchange it for the 20-60 eyepiece I originally ordered. I don't think he was really enthusiastic with the plan but he did agree sort of....) 
However, today, I picked it up from the Post Office and unpacked it, put it together, tried it out and am feeling very pleased with myself. Besides initially putting the stay-on case on upside down and wondering WTF??? it all went as planned and, so, again, finally I am the owner of (one of) The Best!!

It still doesn’t help me with those frigging Egrets though…………

17.8.17

Instead & Moggill Swamp

Been a few days since I went birding so decided to try Anstead. Was pretty quiet really – total list of only 30 species with nothing much exciting in that lot. 

Two Fraser’s Banded Snails  Sphaerospira fraseri  were still under the same log I found them under a few weeks ago and the unseasonal high temperatures of late had inspired an apparent hatching of Glasswings Acraea andromacha which outnumbered Monarchs Danaus plexippus 7-6, 1 Evening Brown Melanitis leda and 1 Speckled Line-blue Catopyrops Florinda.

Two hours later and Moggill Swamp. Once again a Black Kite graced the skies while a few Black-fronted and Red-kneed Dotterels scuttered around the almost dried out pond among the other usual residents. An unusual enough sight at this time of year was a Latham’s Snipe standing quietly on the far side of the mud. Probably an early return?

12.8.17

Oxley - and some other stuff

I hadn’t done anything all week – well anything birding-wise anyway, what with painting at Ipswich (my new grandson’s bedroom) and erecting birdboxes in Yatala and getting yet another needle in my right eye…..

The bad news bird-wise is the Bush Stone Curlew’s nest was ‘raided’ and both eggs completely disappeared. I suspect either a Fox or, possibly a Python. I’m not familiar with a Fox’s behaviour, but assume they would be more likely to take eggs away whole to consume at distance away from the parents, while crows or Magpies would eat on site, leaving the remains. A snake in the middle of winter? On an exposed patch of ground? Certainly possible and they would definitely swallow the eggs whole on site. However, we’ve seen no sign of any snakes around the property, so, the culprit, at this stage remains unknown. I had visited the nest site a few days before the eggs disappeared and got some nice shots of the bird and my eldest, 4 year-old, grandson both in shot. The birds are still around but I’m not sure if they will re-nest.

 

Bush Stone Curlew on nest

So I went to Oxley for a walk – more for the exercise than with any birding expectations. Everything seems a bit dead around the local area at the moment.

Mine was the only car in the car park at 6.30 and it was exciting to think I was the first and only person on the track – a rare occurrence. However, that only lasted for a kilometre or so then an adult pair of birders marched past like they were on a mission somewhere. The usual joggers, kids on bikes and dog walkers followed and I regretted coming on a Saturday morning.

Mostly the usual, expected, stuff. I thought I heard a Fan-tailed Cuckoo and called it in to be certain, but apart from that it was much the 'same, same' out to and including the ponds, where I caught up with the marching couple.

Wandering back a bird perched up on a bush in the first paddock on the left and I realised that it was a Rufous Songlark. Probably the bird Mr D heard in early June and had been reported again as ‘heard only’ in early July. I got some quick shots, moved position and took my eye off it for a second and it disappeared. I tried calling it in but got no response so it certainly is very elusive for a Songlark.

Rufous Songlark

Nothing much else showed on the return trip, but a list of 48 species for the 2 hours wasn’t too bad.

Butterflies – only 1 Monarch warmed up late in the piece, temperature about 11 degrees initially.

5.8.17

New Bins and Minnippi

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t chasing wildlife. As a kid I collected newts and frogs, birds’ nests and beetles, moths and butterflies and moved up, as a lot of future birders do, to birds' eggs. I only ever took one egg from any nest I found and I never collected anything of any significance. 
I guess my focus on true birding developed in my secondary school years – starting at maybe 12 or 13, around 1967 or thereabouts.

My first pair of ‘binoculars’ were, as they were for many a juvenile birder in the 60’s, a pair of opera glasses. I treasured them and used them till they eventually fell apart. I graduated then to a pair of neck straining 10x50s. Massive things that we wore with pride and were never seen without – unless, of course, you count the time I set off for Cape Clear without them…………but that’s another story.

I think I went through a couple of pairs of bins in those clumsy teen years, banging them off rocks, dropping them on railway tracks, sticking them together with tape............When I left Ireland at 24, I bought a pair of Bushnell bins in New York and loved the tilt focusing mechanism. The glass wasn’t a lot better than the earlier models but they were smaller and more comfortable.

Later, when money was a bit tight, I bought a pair of Nikon travelling bins which were great for weight and clarity, but had a very limited field of view and were actually quite difficult to hold steady due to their light weight. I also had problems with the rubber coating peeling off – another long story but I got a new pair as replacement from Nikon.

I then splurged and bought a pair of 10x42 Steiners.

They were much better, the glass was good and they weren’t too heavy. However, I had a few problems with them and, after a few years, tried to send them back to Germany for service – cutting a long story short again, Steiner eventually gave me a brand new replacement pair of Skyhawk 10x42s which was very generous of them and they have served me well for the past 4 or 5 years.

However, I decided recently that it was time. Time to buy real quality. Time to use one of the best. My eyes have had a few problems over the last few years and I decided that I needed the best assistance I could get. Some research, some choosing and I plumped for the latest effort from Leica – 10x42HD Trinvoids. They weren’t that much more expensive than the Steiner’s but they feel better because I am holding what I consider to be The Best. Are they any clearer than the Steiner’s? Honestly? I can’t tell, but they do seem brighter and (weight-wise) lighter. They are very sexy looking and feel great in the hand.

So, finally, after 50 years of using second rate optics, I am, at last, holding The Best.

There is one drawback.

No matter how good the bins are if you can’t tell a Great Egret from an Intermediate they don’t freaking help you…….

So, I rocked up to Minnippi on Saturday morning to give the new bins a run. There wasn’t a lot on the first view of the lake, nor along the M1 track. The main lake was busy with 37 Hardheads again and the usual host of Black Ducks etc. The Airfield Track was a bit birdier than usual and two Rufous Fantails were a nice turn up, along with (I think) my first Eastern Yellow Robin on this track. The biggest win of the day was a very fast moving Wallaby that I think was a Swamp Wallaby due to its dark colouring and relatively small size, that crossed the track in front of me. It’s the first macropod I have seen at Minnippi although Mr P has seen them on a couple of occasions. Other than that it was pretty much what one would expect.

Butterflies – 2 Monarchs, 1 Common Crow and, along the cement track, 2 Black Jezebels. The Tawny Frogmouths were in their back-up tree and 7 Common Starlings in the field beside the car park were the first I’ve seen there for a while.

And how did the bins go? Excellent!