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18 Mar Hagfish! [Alan McBride ] 18 Mar Penguinless [Mick Roderick ] 18 Mar Trip Report - SW Western Australia March 2010 - Part 2 [David Stowe ] 18 Mar RE: Seeking photo of Cattle egret ["Tim Dolby" ] 18 Mar ground parrots noosa ["Greg Roberts" ] 18 Mar Seeking photo of Cattle egret ["Tim Connell" ] 18 Mar Trip Report - SW Western Australia March 2010 - Part 1 [David Stowe ] 18 Mar Trip Report - SW Western Australia March 2010 - Part 1 [David Stowe - SOCIETY [photography] ] 18 Mar RE: green drought? ["Tony Russell" ] 18 Mar green drought? ["Kirrama Wildlife Tours" ] 18 Mar Re: RFI - Cairns / Port Douglas Bird Watching Tours ["Peter Madvig" ] 18 Mar BA Vic-Group Portland Pelagic (Vic) Sun 14 March 2010 [Rohan Clarke ] 18 Mar Re: RFI: Port Hedland to Broome [Tom Tarrant ] 18 Mar Re: RFI: Port Hedland to Broome [Gary Wright ] 17 Mar RFI: Port Hedland to Broome [Mark Stanley ] 17 Mar Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? [Chris Gregory ] 17 Mar the migratory behaviour of thin-billed prions [Laurie Knight ] 17 Mar Re: Magellanic Penguin [Alan McBride ] 17 Mar Re: Magellanic Penguin ["John Harris" ] 17 Mar Magellanic Penguin [steve roderick ] 17 Mar RE: Something to make your pelagic jump! ["Tony Russell" ] 16 Mar green drought? [] 17 Mar Southport Pelagics. ["Paul Walbridge" ] 16 Mar RFI: Shorebirds in Sydney (or nearby!) ["Hazel K Watson" ] 16 Mar Fw: Magellanic Penguin NSW - Birdline sighting 12824 [] 16 Mar BREAKING NEWS - Report of MAGELLANIC PENGUIN, NSW 15 March [Simon Mustoe ] 16 Mar Something to make your pelagic jump! [Alan McBride ] 16 Mar Norfolk Island Trip Report [Janet Mattiske and Frank Pierce ] 16 Mar RFI - Cairns / Port Douglas Bird Watching Tours ["Sullivan, Luke" ] 16 Mar Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? [Syd Curtis ] 15 Mar Sean Dooley on ABC Radio [Wendy McWilliams ] 15 Mar Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? ["Tom and Mandy Wilson" ] 15 Mar Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? [Chris Charles ] 15 Mar Late(ish) Koel ["Roger Giller" ] 15 Mar Dunlin in NSW [Colin Scouler ] 15 Mar long overdue trip report - Iron range [Frank Hemmings ] 15 Mar Re: Raptor CD ["Colin R" ] 15 Mar Re: Raptor CD [Bill Stent ] 14 Mar re: possible Dunlin at Tuross Lakes [Justin Jansen ] 15 Mar Birdline NSW Weekly Update ["Eremaea Birds" ] 15 Mar Birdline Victoria Weekly Update ["Eremaea Birds" ] 15 Mar Birdline Central & Southern Queensland Weekly Update ["Eremaea Birds" ] 15 Mar Birdline Tasmania Weekly Update ["Eremaea Birds" ] 15 Mar Birdline NT Weekly Update ["Eremaea Birds" ] 15 Mar Birdline North Queensland Weekly Update ["Eremaea Birds" ] 15 Mar Birdline Australia Weekly Update ["Eremaea Birds" ] 14 Mar Re: Raptor CD [Peter Shute ] 13 Mar Raptor CD ["Jan England " ] 14 Mar Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? now Re Poop [Denise Goodfellow ] 14 Mar possible Dunlin at Tuross Lakes [] 14 Mar Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? [] 14 Mar Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? now Re Poop ["Ian Martin" ] 14 Mar Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change [Laurie Knight ] 14 Mar Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? [Chris Sanderson ] 14 Mar Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? [Syd Curtis ] 14 Mar US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change [peter crow ] 14 Mar Channel-billed Cuckoo in Todd Mall, Alice Springs. [Christopher Watson ] 14 Mar One for the movie buffs [Alan McBride ] 14 Mar RE: The birds people keep as pets ["Tony Russell" ] 14 Mar RE: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change ["Stephen Ambrose" ] 14 Mar Sydney Pelagic Report - March 13, 2010 ["Roger McGovern" ] 13 Mar Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change ["michael norris" ] 13 Mar Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change [Laurie Knight ] 13 Mar Re: Herdsman Lake, Perth - BAWA Walk [Syd Curtis ] 13 Mar Re: The birds people keep as pets [brian fleming ] 13 Mar Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change [Peter Shute ] 13 Mar Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change [Laurie Knight ] 13 Mar Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change [Chris Sanderson ] 13 Mar Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change [Ian May ] 13 Mar The birds people keep as pets [Laurie Knight ] 13 Mar US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change [Laurie Knight ] 13 Mar Herdsman Lake, Perth - BAWA Walk [John Graff ] 12 Mar RE: Radjah Shelduck [John Graff ] 12 Mar Radjah Shelduck ["Jan England " ] 12 Mar RE: Dunlin in NSW [Simon Mustoe ] 12 Mar Re: Dunlin in NSW [Laurie Knight ] Subject: Hagfish! From: Alan McBride <amcbride1 AT me.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:03:25 +1100 Can't begin to tell you how fascinating this is and that they don't sit on branches above you: http://tinyurl.com/yf8vzll Alan ******************************************************************************* Alan McBride, MBO. Photojournalist | Traveller | Writer | Birding Guide + Member: International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance National Association of Independent Writers & Editors American Writers & Artists Inc. Travelwriters . com http://web.me.com/amcbride1 http://www.worldreviewer.com/member/alanmcbride/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmcbride http://www.twitter.com/alanmcbride Good planets are hard to find; until we do, please, be green and read from the screen Tel: + 61 419 414 860 Fax: + 61 2 9973 2306 Skype: mcbird101 P O Box 190 | Newport Beach | NSW 2106 | Australia This e-mail and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender. This e-mail is also subject to copyright. No part of it should be reproduced, adapted or transmitted without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. *********************************************************************************** =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Penguinless From: Mick Roderick <mickhhb AT yahoo.com.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:42:54 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, Did the circuit of beaches and headlands around Elizabeth Bay, as far north as Harrington and as far south as Mungo Brush, to no avail (in terms of vagrant penguins anyway). I visited a few places that Steve wasn't able to get to yesterday but no clues I'm afraid. There were quite large schools of baitfish off Elizabeth / Seven Mile Beaches that were 100's of metres long, attended only by a few gulls and terns. Plenty of food around for a famished Ferdinand. I did manage to see Australia's southernmost Beach Stone-curlews (Old Bar) and Radjah Shelduck (Bombah Point, Myall Lakes) during the course of the day. A few Double-banded Plovers at Harrington also, along with some PGPs with full black suit on. Mick Roderick ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Trip Report - SW Western Australia March 2010 - Part 2 From: David Stowe <davidstowe AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:16:53 +1100 PART 2 of a trip to the South-West corner of Western Australia by David Stowe and Grant Brosie from 27th Feb - 4th March 2010 Day 3 continued... Driving along the road to Cheynes Beach we were pretty excited and filled with anticipation. We had come a long way from home and Perth just to go to this famous birding location. We had 2 nights here which we realised as soon as we arrived wasn't going to be enough. Actually everywhere we went on this trip we wished we had more time at, such is the beauty of this part of the country, but Cheynes to us was another step up. Quiet and isolated, gorgeous scenery with granite studded heath, we didn't even get all the way into the driveway of the caravan park without having to get out and check out the birds! Once into the caravan park we checked into the office and said we were birders. They then handed us a map of the area where we were to note our bird sightings. Even better was the green folder they handed us to study while we were there which was full of all the previous birders maps and sightings! WOW -what a wealth of information that was and will continue to be. Poring over it that night it was great reading the who's who of aus birding and getting a handle on where we should focus our time. Lifer #12 for both of us was Western Spinebill - a nice addition to the list in the heath next to the caravan park as the sun faded. Getting 4 new birds per day was awesome! Day 4 - Cheynes Beach Continuing the theme, we got up before the sun and headed down the road (100m from the caravan park if that) to the most reliable spot for the Noisy Scrub-bird. After reading through The Green Folder it became apparent that pretty much everyone gets the scrub-bird and mostly as it crossed the road while patrolling its territory. We sat on the side of the road and waited where we could also look down one of the tracks that leads to the beach. It wasn't long before i was distracted by a Brush Bronzewing that was walking up the road. Naturally it was at that exact moment as i looked right that the NSB ran across the beach track seen only by Grant! :( We heard it call as it moved through the scrub parallel to the road and at one point moved into the bush and had it callling only a few metres away but no chance of seeing it. We then moved up to the next beach access track to see if it would cross that too. While waiting at the junction of the main road trying to look both ways i had the feeling that it might cross further down the beach track so i started to walk a bit further down. Of course as soon as i did this the bird ran back across the main road behind me! ....Grant: 2 - Dave: 0..... We headed back to the caravan park to do some birding there. A great spot with the tallest stand of trees around. Plenty of Brush and Common Bronzewings, New Holland HE (of course), plus Red-Winged FW, White-breasted Robin, Western Spinebill, and our next new bird - Red- eared Firetail! The first few of these we saw were all juvenile which was interesting. The next few hours were spent chasing the calls of Western Whipbirds high into the hills through thick heath carrying alot of camera gear and with both of us helpfully forgetting water or sunscreen! We well and truly hated these birds and once we got back to our cabin downed 2 consecutive gatorades each in record time! But once hydrated we were back out into the heath. The dominant feature of the heath here is the beautiful banksias that are everywhere and have these amazing big yellow flowers. So often we found ourselves photographing the flowers rather than birds! Perhaps another symbol of a bit too much sun was when we stopped and realised that we had been photographing a Grey Fantail for 10 minutes!!...time to move on to something more interesting....like Bristlebirds! It really is an amazing place. Although the Bristlebird was proving as difficult as the Whipbird. Other birds of interest were Spotted Harrier, Carnaby's BC, Western Wattlebird (which proved frustratingly hard to see and photograph actually), heaps of Southern Emu-Wrens (almost as common as New Hollands LOL!), Tawny-crowned and White- cheeked HE, plus Grey Currawong (LOVE their call!) But as the sun went down again we realised it would be a tough ask to get the 3 skulkers in the few hours left the next morning. Day 4 Cheyne's Beach Our last morning and our last chance for me to see the Noisy Scrub- bird! So naturally we got up pretty early again! We decided to wait further down the first beach access track where Grant had first seen the NSB the previous morning at that time. We began to stand quietly and wait. Within a minute we heard a soft single note contact call of something. Grant wondered if that was the scrub-bird but i dismissed it as i was intently focussed on watching the track. I wasn't going to be distracted this time! Then from that side of the track just 3m from us out came the Noisy Scrub-bird! He tentatively moved to the edge of the track and checked us out, then hopped to the centre of the track, pausing briefly again then hopped into the bush! YAY - i finally saw it - and amazing views for sure. I even managed a crap photo but i was more focussed on seeing it properly plus it was before 6am so still pretty dark. Interestingly even though the time was similar to the previous mornings sighting, the bird was going in the opposite direction! Elated, we moved back to the heath near the caravan park and the sandy 4wd track where we had spent so much of our time the day before in search of the Western Bristlebird. We decided to give up on the Whipbird as we kept hearing the Bristlebird calling. Closer it came but it only called every 15-20 minutes so it wasn't a quick process. In the end we were unsuccessful and added another dip to our list. One consolation was our best view of a gorgeous adult Red-eared Firetail as close as 3-4m. Grant did his best firetail whistle impersonation while we were waiting for the bristlebird to call and in it came! What a stunning bird! We then heard a loud call from about 50m up the track and ran for it...it was the Whipbird! We got to where we thought the call had come from and stood for a minute scanning the thicker banksia scrub for movement. To Grant's amazement a Western Whipbird flushed from the island between the two tracks where he was standing and flew a couple of times between thickets allowing us brief but satisfactory views of a bird we had thought we had no chance with! So my morning was getting alot better - going from 0 to 2 out of 3 for the skulkers! Elated again we called it time out for Cheynes Beach as we still had to get to Dryandra with enough time to seek out our last five targets! We decided on a short cut north west turning off the highway at Fish Trap Rd with the aim of stopping in at Porongurup NP as noted in T&T. Not far along this road we had our first encounter with the third black cockatoo of the trip and another subspecies tick - Red-tailed Black Cockatoo. The carpark at Porongurup NP wasn't far off the main road and turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Driving into the carpark the air was filled with the calls of Purple-crowned Lorikeets which had still eluded us. Grabbing our bins we soon got great views of a bird feeding above us. 15 minutes later and they had all gone! Interestingly there was heaps of flowering gums EVERYWHERE we went on our journey through the south west. Our next target to fall was an obliging Western Yellow Robin which we saw from the same standing position as the lorikeet! And behind it in the binocular view was a White-breasted Robin. Also in the carpark were a pair of equally obliging Scarlet Robins. Interestingly T&T mentions Rufous Treecreeper and Blue-breasted Fairy- Wren to be common here. We saw neither although Red-winged FW were common. (Grant did think he saw a treecreeper but it was really high against a cloudy sky and it disappeared quickly without enough of a view to tick) Next stop - Dryandra! We had 3 hours of daylight and still needed 3 more birds to complete our target list and make it 20 lifers each! We checked into the Lions Village where we were going to stay the night and chatted to the delightful caretakers Lisa and John. John guaranteed Rufous Treecreeper behind the Old Mill Dam so wholeheartedly that our spirits sank a bit - who hasn't dipped on a dead cert!?!? But much to our relief and joy one of the first birds we saw there was indeed the Treecreeper! And they were indeed common there. We kept walking out in the bush behind the dam seeking out likely wren habitat. It wasn't too long before we came across a couple of groups of Blue-breasted Fairy-Wrens! We heard Regent Parrots calling but didn't see them much to Grant's dismay. We did however have a small flock of Elegant Parrots fly in near us which was great. Interestingly I played the call on my phone to double check what we were hearing and they all flew straight in to the tree near us! I hadn't thought of any parrots coming into a call? So we then got great views of half a dozen of these stunning little guys. Yet another highlight! Then at 5pm on our last full day in WA we saw our 20th and final tick - Western Thornbill! Yay! We spent the last minutes of sunlight watching ringnecks and rosellas come into John & Lisa's birdbath and our last night in WA in a great cottage listening to Bush Stone-Curlews. Day 5 - An even earlier start than normal as we had to get the hire car back by 9:30am and a taxi to the airport. Nothing special to report except flying home on a new QANTAS plane that had the cool personal entertainment screens...and an hour and a half sitting on the tarmac while they fixed a fan...:) So thanks again to those that helped out and I would thoroughly recommend this part of the country to anyone. I know I'll be back with the family for sure. Cheers, David Stowe PS - i have started to put a few images together (but more to follow) on my pbase site in the Visual Trip Report section http://www.pbase.com/davidstowe/sw_wa_2010 =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: RE: Seeking photo of Cattle egret From: "Tim Dolby" <Tim.Dolby AT vu.edu.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:29:57 +1100 Hate to say this Tim, and please take this message with tongue firmly in check :-). To some extent I personally feel you've contacted the wrong forum for this request. Here's why. This forum spends much of its time highly critical of housing developers and gross urban development, like that in Melbourne's northern fringe. Developers, even those developing tokenistic wetlands and reserves (often nothing like the original natural habitat) are more often than not a bunch of mongrels who couldn't care less about the local environment ;-) As an aside I feel that the Cattle Egret is not really a good promotional bird when it comes to Australian conservation reserves. It arrived in Australia in conjunction with human settlement, and has only established itself in Victoria over the last 50 years. It is sometimes regarded as an invasive species. It prefers pastures, croplands and garbage dumps i.e. those areas that have directly replaced our native grasslands, wetlands and bush. As mentioned please take this message with a grain of salt :-) I couldn't resists. Cheers, Tim -----Original Message----- From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au [mailto:birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Tim Connell Sent: Thursday, 18 March 2010 3:20 PM To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au Subject: [Birding-Aus] Seeking photo of Cattle egret Hi, I am seeking (on behalf of a developer) a quality hi-res image of Cattle egret for interpretive signage to be used in regional conservation reserve being established within a residential housing estate on Melbourne's northern fringe. Any pics would be fully acknowledged of course. If anyone could help I would be most appreciative. Thanks, *********************************************************************** Tim Connell City of Whittlesea Parks Environmental Management Officer Parks & Gardens Department Tel: 9401 0524 Fax: 9401 0521 Mobile: 0408 599 485 TTY: (03) 9217- 2420 Email: tim.connell AT whittlesea.vic.gov.au Web Address: http://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/ Street Address: Works Depot, 68 - 96 Houston Street, Epping 3076 (Melway 182 A10) Postal Address: Locked Bag 1, Bundoora MDC, 3083 ######################################################################## ############# This e-mail message has been scanned for Viruses and Content and cleared by MailMarshal ######################################################################## ############# Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Any personal or sensitive information contained in this e-mail and attachments must be handled in accordance with the Victorian Information Privacy Act 2000, the Health Records Act 2001 or the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth), as applicable. This e-mail, including all attachments, is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not disclose, distribute, copy or use the information contained in this e-mail or attachments. Any confidentiality or privilege is not waived or lost because this e-mail has been sent to you in error. If you have received it in error, please let us know by reply e-mail, delete it from your system and destroy any copies. The information contained in this email message may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, any use of, interference with, disclosure or copying of this material is unauthorized and prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify me by reply email and then delete the message. ==========www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ========== This email, including any attachment, is intended solely for the use of the intended recipient. It is confidential and may contain personal information or be subject to legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use, disclosure, reproduction or storage of it is unauthorised. If you have received this email in error, please advise the sender via return email and delete it from your system immediately. Victoria University does not warrant that this email is free from viruses or defects and accepts no liability for any damage caused by such viruses or defects. ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: ground parrots noosa From: "Greg Roberts" <ninderry AT westnet.com.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:10:53 +1000 Yesterday I flushed two Ground Parrots separately at a new site near Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast. This is the second site where I have found Ground Parrots close to Noosa, although they are in the same general region and the habitat is similar - low wallum heath on flat sandplain, which is reasonably open, having been burned several years ago. I had 3 Fork-tailed Swifts hawking over the heath, and Fairy Gerygones in scrub nearby. Greg Roberts =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Seeking photo of Cattle egret From: "Tim Connell" <Tim.Connell AT whittlesea.vic.gov.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:19:47 +1100 Hi, I am seeking (on behalf of a developer) a quality hi-res image of Cattle egret for interpretive signage to be used in regional conservation reserve being established within a residential housing estate on Melbourne's northern fringe. Any pics would be fully acknowledged of course. If anyone could help I would be most appreciative. Thanks, *********************************************************************** Tim Connell City of Whittlesea Parks Environmental Management Officer Parks & Gardens Department Tel: 9401 0524 Fax: 9401 0521 Mobile: 0408 599 485 TTY: (03) 9217- 2420 Email: tim.connell AT whittlesea.vic.gov.au Web Address: http://www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/ Street Address: Works Depot, 68 - 96 Houston Street, Epping 3076 (Melway 182 A10) Postal Address: Locked Bag 1, Bundoora MDC, 3083 ##################################################################################### This e-mail message has been scanned for Viruses and Content and cleared by MailMarshal ##################################################################################### Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. Any personal or sensitive information contained in this e-mail and attachments must be handled in accordance with the Victorian Information Privacy Act 2000, the Health Records Act 2001 or the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth), as applicable. This e-mail, including all attachments, is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not disclose, distribute, copy or use the information contained in this e-mail or attachments. Any confidentiality or privilege is not waived or lost because this e-mail has been sent to you in error. If you have received it in error, please let us know by reply e-mail, delete it from your system and destroy any copies. The information contained in this email message may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, any use of, interference with, disclosure or copying of this material is unauthorized and prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify me by reply email and then delete the message. ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Trip Report - SW Western Australia March 2010 - Part 1 From: David Stowe <davidstowe AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:40:07 +1100 This is a report of a trip to the South-West corner of Western Australia by David Stowe and Grant Brosie from 27th Feb - 4th March 2010 Firstly many thanks to the great people in the birding community that helped in the planning of this trip. Special mention to John Graff, Frank O'Connor's brilliant website, Thomas & Thomas, plus many more who I won't list in case i have forgotten someone! I had a wedding to photograph near Dunsborough on the 28th so it was a great excuse to add a few extra days and invite Grant along for some serious birding! Day 1 - Saturday We flew from Sydney on the Saturday studying our little black book of printed info we had collected from the above sources. just before lunch and had our first glimpse of Laughing Dove from the taxi on the way to the hire car place! Within 5 minutes of collecting our Corolla we had stopped and photographed our first tick. We headed straight out of Perth south along the new freeway to our first stop at Peel Inlet in search of Banded Stilt and whatever else we could see. A great spot where we saw around 50 Banded Stilt - a new bird for me. Although a Little Eagle cruising over put up a massive flock of stilts and other birds just further north that would have numbered in the hundreds at least. Other birds of interest here were Sharpies, Greenshank, Laughing Dove, our first "28 Parrot" plus Little Corellas which we weren't able to turn into Western :( Back on the freeway, our next stop was Dunsborough where we needed to scope locations for the wedding the following day. A frustrating glimpse of a flock of black cockatoos had us forever wondering and also amazed at the speed of their flight - especially compared to the Yellow-tailed Blacks we are used to over on the east coast. While at Wise Winery we saw our next lifer - Western Rosella! Purple- crowned Lorikeets flew over but no views good enough to tick. It was getting late so we headed quickly out to Cape Naturaliste and Sugarloaf Rock. After just turning into the Sugarloaf Rock road Grant picked up the call of some black cockies so we leapt out of the car and darted into the bush! We found a large flock and managed to get good views the bill of one bird to confirm Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo. We had only driven a couple of hundred metres further up the road when some small green parrots flew across the road! More screeching to a halt but our search revealed they were immature Western Rosellas rather than the neophemas we hoped for. This also highlighted how small these guys are compared to their eastern relatives. Didn't see any tropicbirds at Sugarloaf Rock however we weren't able to spend very long there. There were some terns fishing further out with some Gannets so we drove out towards the lighthouse in the hope of getting a closer view. Right near the cottage at the end we had an amazing encounter with another flock of Carnaby's that were feeding in a low banksia only 10m away! With the sun getting lower it was one of many magical birding moments for us. It was now getting late and we wanted to get to Margaret River before dark to avoid the roos. Our plans were dashed when we saw another flock of black cockies feeding on the side of the road...damn..more screeching and u-turns! But very glad we did as they were to be our first and only confirmed sighting of Baudin's Black-Cockatoo. Another amazing experience as they were feeding/flying all around us. Many photos later we really had to get on the road. We were walking back to the car and there was a dead branch beautifully lit by the last rays of sun. "Wouldnt it be awesome if a Baudin's flew onto that branch" Grant said wistfully....2 seconds later a gorgeous male flew into the perfect spot!....many more photos.....the drive in the dark will be slow. Day 2 - Sunday Up before the sun to make the most of the day before we had to be at the wedding. Our destination this morning was Rock Parrot. Destination - Cape Leeuwin. We arrived at Augusta before the cafe was open so we had to settle for an early bakery treat before battling the strong easterly winds at the cape. We scouted around the Waterwheel which was on the sheltered side but nothing more than Pacific Gull and a Whimbrel were seen. Spent a while walking around the rocks until the Lighthouse grounds opened. We walked in, found that it cost money just to walk out to the lighthouse and walked back out again. We tried again on the sheltered side a bit further out where our target flushed up onto a rock - a gorgeous little Rock Parrot! We quietly watched it walking over the rocks feeding (and photographed it of course) for ages and for a while the bird came to within 3m of us!! A massive highlight of our trip. Elated we headed back to Margaret River along the coast stopping at Hamelin Bay as it was in my little black book. A bonus tick for Grant here was Bridled Tern - a flock of them scoped on a big rock just offshore! Next was a drive and a little walk along Boronup Dr (also thanks to Frank). Apart from the millions of New Holland honeyeaters that seem to pervade EVERYWHERE we went on our trip, the bush seemed very quiet. We were eventually rewarded with our first views of Red-winged Fairy- Wren. I got my phone out to remind ourselves of what the White- breasted Robin call sounded like....2 seconds later a White-breasted Robin was perched on a trunk 5m away! Pleased with our success and an average of 4 new ticks per day we headed back to Margarets and the wedding..which was lovely of course but no new birds seen :) Day 3 - Monday Up before the sun again (a recurring them for the entire trip!) we left Margaret River with our ultimate destination Cheynes Beach in mind. We went due east via a dirt road to Nannup, then Manjimup, across to Rocky Gully, Mt Barker, then Albany. Just leaving Margaret River we had great views and photos of Aus Ringneck feeding on the side of the road showing the glowing green breast and vent. We tried not to stop much to get as much distance under our belt however a small patch of bush on the side of the road just before Manjimup had us excited with lots of activity, plus our first view of Western Wattlebird! Other good birds here were White-breasted Robin, Scarlet Robin, White-naped Honeyeater, Inland Thornbill and Square- tailed Kite. Our next target was of course Western Corella along the road to Lake Muir and in Rocky Gully. Unfortunately this was to be our first dip of the trip. Nothing even close to a corella was seen..unless you count a white-backed Magpie! ;) ........ and Rocky Gully was certainly an experience! At Mt Barker we made a phone call to see if the Buff- breasted Sandpiper had been sighted the day before at Cranbrook but no luck so we headed for Albany. A brief visit to Lake Seppings at Albany was nice with better views of Red-winged Fairy-Wren, Blue-billed Duck and Musk Duck. But after refuelling we were back on the road with a stop planned at Two People's Bay. Two Peoples Bay was gorgeous however the strong easterly winds once again really hampered our birding and we didn't so much as hear any of the "skulkers". White-browed Scrubwren and Silver Gull were pretty much it at Little Beach. I'm sure this is a great spot with more time to spare and better wind conditions but we wanted to maximise our time at Cheynes so we kept going. The detour was not without highlight though as before we got back to the highway we saw our first confirmed Red-capped Parrots! A gorgeous and striking bird indeed. Our views were not ideal though and we weren't able to get any photos so we kept driving. Back on the highway heading west and more screeching and u-turns as Grant's eagle eyes picked up 4 Elegant Parrots on a dead tree on the side of the road! We were certainly loving all the new parrots we were seeing and these were no exception. Having just seen Rock Parrot the previous day it was interesting to note how different the colours were. So back on the correct side of the road again we were now almost to our most anticipated destination....Cheynes Beach! Part 2 coming soon..... =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Trip Report - SW Western Australia March 2010 - Part 1 From: David Stowe - SOCIETY [photography] <david AT societyphotography.com.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:37:49 +1100 This is a report of a trip to the South-West corner of Western Australia by David Stowe and Grant Brosie from 27th Feb - 4th March 2010 Firstly many thanks to the great people in the birding community that helped in the planning of this trip. Special mention to John Graff, Frank O'Connor's brilliant website, Thomas & Thomas, plus many more who I won't list in case i have forgotten someone! I had a wedding to photograph near Dunsborough on the 28th so it was a great excuse to add a few extra days and invite Grant along for some serious birding! Day 1 - Saturday We flew from Sydney on the Saturday studying our little black book of printed info we had collected from the above sources. just before lunch and had our first glimpse of Laughing Dove from the taxi on the way to the hire car place! Within 5 minutes of collecting our Corolla we had stopped and photographed our first tick. We headed straight out of Perth south along the new freeway to our first stop at Peel Inlet in search of Banded Stilt and whatever else we could see. A great spot where we saw around 50 Banded Stilt - a new bird for me. Although a Little Eagle cruising over put up a massive flock of stilts and other birds just further north that would have numbered in the hundreds at least. Other birds of interest here were Sharpies, Greenshank, Laughing Dove, our first "28 Parrot" plus Little Corellas which we weren't able to turn into Western :( Back on the freeway, our next stop was Dunsborough where we needed to scope locations for the wedding the following day. A frustrating glimpse of a flock of black cockatoos had us forever wondering and also amazed at the speed of their flight - especially compared to the Yellow-tailed Blacks we are used to over on the east coast. While at Wise Winery we saw our next lifer - Western Rosella! Purple- crowned Lorikeets flew over but no views good enough to tick. It was getting late so we headed quickly out to Cape Naturaliste and Sugarloaf Rock. After just turning into the Sugarloaf Rock road Grant picked up the call of some black cockies so we leapt out of the car and darted into the bush! We found a large flock and managed to get good views the bill of one bird to confirm Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo. We had only driven a couple of hundred metres further up the road when some small green parrots flew across the road! More screeching to a halt but our search revealed they were immature Western Rosellas rather than the neophemas we hoped for. This also highlighted how small these guys are compared to their eastern relatives. Didn't see any tropicbirds at Sugarloaf Rock however we weren't able to spend very long there. There were some terns fishing further out with some Gannets so we drove out towards the lighthouse in the hope of getting a closer view. Right near the cottage at the end we had an amazing encounter with another flock of Carnaby's that were feeding in a low banksia only 10m away! With the sun getting lower it was one of many magical birding moments for us. It was now getting late and we wanted to get to Margaret River before dark to avoid the roos. Our plans were dashed when we saw another flock of black cockies feeding on the side of the road...damn..more screeching and u-turns! But very glad we did as they were to be our first and only confirmed sighting of Baudin's Black-Cockatoo. Another amazing experience as they were feeding/flying all around us. Many photos later we really had to get on the road. We were walking back to the car and there was a dead branch beautifully lit by the last rays of sun. "Wouldnt it be awesome if a Baudin's flew onto that branch" Grant said wistfully....2 seconds later a gorgeous male flew into the perfect spot!....many more photos.....the drive in the dark will be slow. Day 2 - Sunday Up before the sun to make the most of the day before we had to be at the wedding. Our destination this morning was Rock Parrot. Destination - Cape Leeuwin. We arrived at Augusta before the cafe was open so we had to settle for an early bakery treat before battling the strong easterly winds at the cape. We scouted around the Waterwheel which was on the sheltered side but nothing more than Pacific Gull and a Whimbrel were seen. Spent a while walking around the rocks until the Lighthouse grounds opened. We walked in, found that it cost money just to walk out to the lighthouse and walked back out again. We tried again on the sheltered side a bit further out where our target flushed up onto a rock - a gorgeous little Rock Parrot! We quietly watched it walking over the rocks feeding (and photographed it of course) for ages and for a while the bird came to within 3m of us!! A massive highlight of our trip. Elated we headed back to Margaret River along the coast stopping at Hamelin Bay as it was in my little black book. A bonus tick for Grant here was Bridled Tern - a flock of them scoped on a big rock just offshore! Next was a drive and a little walk along Boronup Dr (also thanks to Frank). Apart from the millions of New Holland honeyeaters that seem to pervade EVERYWHERE we went on our trip, the bush seemed very quiet. We were eventually rewarded with our first views of Red-winged Fairy- Wren. I got my phone out to remind ourselves of what the White- breasted Robin call sounded like....2 seconds later a White-breasted Robin was perched on a trunk 5m away! Pleased with our success and an average of 4 new ticks per day we headed back to Margarets and the wedding..which was lovely of course but no new birds seen :) Day 3 - Monday Up before the sun again (a recurring them for the entire trip!) we left Margaret River with our ultimate destination Cheynes Beach in mind. We went due east via a dirt road to Nannup, then Manjimup, across to Rocky Gully, Mt Barker, then Albany. Just leaving Margaret River we had great views and photos of Aus Ringneck feeding on the side of the road showing the glowing green breast and vent. We tried not to stop much to get as much distance under our belt however a small patch of bush on the side of the road just before Manjimup had us excited with lots of activity, plus our first view of Western Wattlebird! Other good birds here were White-breasted Robin, Scarlet Robin, White-naped Honeyeater, Inland Thornbill and Square- tailed Kite. Our next target was of course Western Corella along the road to Lake Muir and in Rocky Gully. Unfortunately this was to be our first dip of the trip. Nothing even close to a corella was seen..unless you count a white-backed Magpie! ;) ........ and Rocky Gully was certainly an experience! At Mt Barker we made a phone call to see if the Buff- breasted Sandpiper had been sighted the day before at Cranbrook but no luck so we headed for Albany. A brief visit to Lake Seppings at Albany was nice with better views of Red-winged Fairy-Wren, Blue-billed Duck and Musk Duck. But after refuelling we were back on the road with a stop planned at Two People's Bay. Two Peoples Bay was gorgeous however the strong easterly winds once again really hampered our birding and we didn't so much as hear any of the "skulkers". White-browed Scrubwren and Silver Gull were pretty much it at Little Beach. I'm sure this is a great spot with more time to spare and better wind conditions but we wanted to maximise our time at Cheynes so we kept going. The detour was not without highlight though as before we got back to the highway we saw our first confirmed Red-capped Parrots! A gorgeous and striking bird indeed. Our views were not ideal though and we weren't able to get any photos so we kept driving. Back on the highway heading west and more screeching and u-turns as Grant's eagle eyes picked up 4 Elegant Parrots on a dead tree on the side of the road! We were certainly loving all the new parrots we were seeing and these were no exception. Having just seen Rock Parrot the previous day it was interesting to note how different the colours were. So back on the correct side of the road again we were now almost to our most anticipated destination....Cheynes Beach! Part 2 coming soon..... =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: RE: green drought? From: "Tony Russell" <pratincole AT esc.net.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:06:47 +1030 Hi Klaus, Tony in sunny Adelaide. How about I send you a few bottles of salty old Murray River water ? Hope all is well, Tony -----Original Message----- From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au [mailto:birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Kirrama Wildlife Tours Sent: Thursday, 18 March 2010 1:10 PM To: Birding-Aus Subject: [Birding-Aus] green drought? Good Day, this email is in regards to the 'Green Drought'. We live also within a short distance to Innisfail, and as our rain can be quite localised, the figures over the last 8 month should not vary too much. Here we go: June 2009 8.2 mm July 2009 9.5 mm August 2009 0 mm Sept. 2009 11.9 mm Oct. 2009 128.9 mm Nov. 2009 322.6 mm Dec. 2009 114.2 mm Jan. 2010 676.2 mm Feb. 2010 549.1 mm So we can hardly say that it was raining non-stop in the last 8 month. Especially in the pre-wet (October - January) it is typical to have very heavy downpours, often thunderstorms, which often only last about 10 minutes to half an hour, and then for a couple of days not a drop until the next one. And it's very hot and humid in between. We wish it had been more, and in 2010 we are still way below average. We depend here at home on a creek for our water supply, and if we don't get at least another 1000 mm in the next 2 month we could be in trouble at the end of the year. The tropics need a lot of rain. In earlier years (2001 - 2003), when we had only around 2000 mm annual rainfall, all our ferns died around our house. The reason was that with the lack of water in the rainforest the trees dropped their leaves and the sun killed the ferns and other lower vegetation, which needed the shade. That happened in late spring/early summer. Our bananas and papaya are doing well (we only grow Papaya for the birds), and on our trips to Innisfail we see all the farms doing well, and certainly no dead plants or trees. Our Mango trees don't do very well as Innisfail is not really a Mango area. We have only 2 trees and hardly get any fruit of them, but they are alive and healthy! The majority of Mango farms are around the Atherton Tablelands and south of Tully. Fungal diseases and associated problems with mould are an ongoing problem in most areas, particularly when the trees are grown too close to each other, which doesn't allow the air to circulate around them, but it sounds like the person who made this comment must have a real problem where she planted the trees. It is certainly not typical for our area. Overall, it is very nice to see the rainforest coming back after the beating it took from cyclone Larry in March 2006. So I would say, don't worry when you come to North Queensland, the rainforest and everything else is alive, green and thriving. Happy birding, Klaus P.S. In 2000 we had over 5000 mm, and we haven't yet reached this figure again since, not even with cyclone Larry. Kirrama Wildlife Tours Klaus & Brenda Uhlenhut PO BOX 1400 INNISFAIL QLD 4860 Australia Phone: 07 4065 5181 Kirrama Web Page: http://www.kirrama.com.au Web Directory of Australian Birdwatching: http://www.ausbird.com > Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:41:00 +0000 > From: calyptorhynchus AT gmail.com > To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au > Subject: [Birding-Aus] green drought? > > My partner has been talking to an acquaintance who lives near Innisfail. > She was telling Felicia about the "green drought" in that part of the > world. She has a hobby plantation of paw-paws and, I think, mangoes, but > after 8 months of almost continuous rain all her trees have died and her > planation, and, she reports, other areas round about, have been taken over > by rampant fungus as the soil is totally waterlogged. > > I'm fascinated by this idea. Can anyone comment on this? coming from > Canberra I've always thought of rain as an unmixed blessing. Does this > effect work at all in natural vegetation, or is only in modified or > disturbed habitats? > > John Leonard > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== _____ Sign up for SEEK Jobmail. Get the latest jobs delivered. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2751 - Release Date: 03/18/10 05:33:00 =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: green drought? From: "Kirrama Wildlife Tours" <kirrama AT activ8.net.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:39:32 +1000 Good Day, this email is in regards to the 'Green Drought'. We live also within a short distance to Innisfail, and as our rain can be quite localised, the figures over the last 8 month should not vary too much. Here we go: June 2009 8.2 mm July 2009 9.5 mm August 2009 0 mm Sept. 2009 11.9 mm Oct. 2009 128.9 mm Nov. 2009 322.6 mm Dec. 2009 114.2 mm Jan. 2010 676.2 mm Feb. 2010 549.1 mm So we can hardly say that it was raining non-stop in the last 8 month. Especially in the pre-wet (October - January) it is typical to have very heavy downpours, often thunderstorms, which often only last about 10 minutes to half an hour, and then for a couple of days not a drop until the next one. And it's very hot and humid in between. We wish it had been more, and in 2010 we are still way below average. We depend here at home on a creek for our water supply, and if we don't get at least another 1000 mm in the next 2 month we could be in trouble at the end of the year. The tropics need a lot of rain. In earlier years (2001 - 2003), when we had only around 2000 mm annual rainfall, all our ferns died around our house. The reason was that with the lack of water in the rainforest the trees dropped their leaves and the sun killed the ferns and other lower vegetation, which needed the shade. That happened in late spring/early summer. Our bananas and papaya are doing well (we only grow Papaya for the birds), and on our trips to Innisfail we see all the farms doing well, and certainly no dead plants or trees. Our Mango trees don't do very well as Innisfail is not really a Mango area. We have only 2 trees and hardly get any fruit of them, but they are alive and healthy! The majority of Mango farms are around the Atherton Tablelands and south of Tully. Fungal diseases and associated problems with mould are an ongoing problem in most areas, particularly when the trees are grown too close to each other, which doesn't allow the air to circulate around them, but it sounds like the person who made this comment must have a real problem where she planted the trees. It is certainly not typical for our area. Overall, it is very nice to see the rainforest coming back after the beating it took from cyclone Larry in March 2006. So I would say, don't worry when you come to North Queensland, the rainforest and everything else is alive, green and thriving. Happy birding, Klaus P.S. In 2000 we had over 5000 mm, and we haven't yet reached this figure again since, not even with cyclone Larry. Kirrama Wildlife Tours Klaus & Brenda Uhlenhut PO BOX 1400 INNISFAIL QLD 4860 Australia Phone: 07 4065 5181 Kirrama Web Page: http://www.kirrama.com.au Web Directory of Australian Birdwatching: http://www.ausbird.com > Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:41:00 +0000 > From: calyptorhynchus AT gmail.com > To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au > Subject: [Birding-Aus] green drought? > > My partner has been talking to an acquaintance who lives near Innisfail. > She was telling Felicia about the "green drought" in that part of the > world. She has a hobby plantation of paw-paws and, I think, mangoes, but > after 8 months of almost continuous rain all her trees have died and her > planation, and, she reports, other areas round about, have been taken over > by rampant fungus as the soil is totally waterlogged. > > I'm fascinated by this idea. Can anyone comment on this? coming from > Canberra I've always thought of rain as an unmixed blessing. Does this > effect work at all in natural vegetation, or is only in modified or > disturbed habitats? > > John Leonard > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== _____ Sign up for SEEK Jobmail. Get the latest jobs delivered. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2751 - Release Date: 03/18/10 05:33:00 =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: RFI - Cairns / Port Douglas Bird Watching Tours From: "Peter Madvig" <madvig AT iprimus.com.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:28:53 +1100 Luke, Are you hiring a car? It's not that hard to cover alot of ground on your own. Try and obtain the excellent "Where to find Birds in North-East Queensland" by Jo Wieneke (for instance via www.AndrewIsles.com ) - it also lists guides such as Alan Gillanders in Yungaburra on the Tablelands. You can also go to Kingfisher Park at Julatten and to Daintree Village, or see the Gregory's at Cassowary House, Kuranda. Also, take a look at www.birdingcairns.blogspot.com --- John Seale and the Cairns birdos welcome visitors on their outings and can help with local info. You are going to a top spot. Enjoy. (Certain limitations on species to see, going into winter, but still good). Regards, Peter Madvig ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sullivan, Luke" To: Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 9:29 AM Subject: [Birding-Aus] RFI - Cairns / Port Douglas Bird Watching Tours Hi all, I'm going to be in Port Douglas between 29 May and 5 June 2010. Can anyone recommend a good one-day bird watching tour that leaves from Cairns or Port Douglas? I have no experience in rainforest or tropical bird watching and most species of any habitat would be first-timers for me. It will be on my own so a tour that takes singles would be ideal, otherwise a tour that I could join as a single would be good also. Any information is greatly appreciated. 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Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. ****************************************************************** ==========www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ========== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: BA Vic-Group Portland Pelagic (Vic) Sun 14 March 2010 From: Rohan Clarke <rohan AT wildlifeimages.com.au> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:43:52 +1100 Hi All, Here?s the trip report for the Birds Australia Vic Group pelagic that got off Portland, western Vic last Sunday. Cheers Rohan Clarke BA Vic Group Pelagic off Portland, Victoria, Sun 14 March 2010 Participants: Carl Weber, Peter Lansley, Rob Farnes, Damian Kelly, Gavin Jackson, Debby King, Paul Dodd, Ruth Woodrow, George Appleby, Rosemary Lester, Chris Lester (organiser), Rohan Clarke (report compiler). Activity: This was our first trip aboard the ?Southern Pride? ? a 48 foot cray vessel that is available for charter during the ?off season?. It was ably skippered by Shannon, whilst Neville was our accommodating deckhand. Left the ?new? Portland jetty at 0715, passing to the east of Lawrence Rocks and Point Danger and heading south south west to the shelf. Travelled at 11-12 knots reaching the shelf at 0945 and the first berley point at 0950 (38 47.77 E, 141 39.45 S ~200 fathoms). Berleyed here till 1040 before moving out into deeper water (500+fathoms) for a second berley session. This second stop proved so quite that we soon headed back to 200 fathom mark for a third berley session before heading NW along the shelf and joining a trawler that had just finished hauling its catch. Here we completed a fourth drift and berley session over 350+ fathoms at 38 46.89 E, 141 32.56 S. Headed back in at 1400. Cruised down the eastern side of Lawrence Rocks observing the thousands of gannets and other wildlife ashore here before running back to the harbour, arriving at 1640. Conditions: A light (<5 knot) NE wind was with us for much of the day moderating slightly around midday and picking up as a sea breeze when inshore in the pm. There was no spray to speak off. Swell was 0.5 to 1 m with <0.5 m sea but this too moderated around midday such that on our return there was very little swell. Bright, well lit conditions, with hazy cloud on the horizon all that marked an otherwise blue sky. These conditions made for a very pleasant day at sea, though one punter was seasick. Reasonable diversity with 23 species of seabird recorded beyond the harbour breakwater (the same as last month) plus one shorebird well out to sea. Rarity-wise the highlight was a Soft-plumaged Petrel, but this bird was seen only at great distance. Other highlights were the good numbers of albatross including Buller?s and close approaches by Sooty Shearwater and White-chinned Petrel. Blue Whale would have been a highlight except that it was unfortunately only seen by a few. Mammals: Dolphin spp.: 1 in offshore waters in the am. Seen to leap clear of the water by some but not identified to species. Blue Whale: 1 adult seen briefly over 72 fathoms of water in the am. Distant blows of this species were seen in inshore waters in the pm off Cape Nelson and towards Lady Julia Percy Island. Australian Fur Seal. 1 just outside the harbour entrance in the am, another in offshore waters in the am and about 10 at Lawrence Rocks. Birds Black-browed Albatross melanophrys 100 (80). Mostly adults, though some immatures present. 14 in inshore waters, 3 in offshore waters, remainder pelagic. Largest aggregation was at the trawler haul point impavida 60 (50). All pelagic. Largest aggregation was at the trawler haul point with counts of 3 to 6 at other berley points. . Shy Albatross cauta: 300 (250). 13 in inshore waters in the am, 3 in offshore waters in am, remainder pelagic. Largest aggregation was at the trawler haul point. Mostly adult with small numbers of immature birds and at least 3 juveniles through the day. Yellow-nosed Albatross: 5 (2). All pelagic, all adult. Buller?s Albatross: 10 (5). All pelagic, all adult. SOFT-PLUMAGED PETREL: 1. A distant ?cookalaria? at the second berley point was this species given the all dark underwings but sadly it came no closer and views were poor. White-chinned Petrel: 15 (5). All pelagic, except that three followed us into offshore waters on the return leg. Common Diving Petrel: 1 in offshore waters in the am. Great-winged Petrel: 35 (20). All gouldii. All pelagic. Wilson?s Storm-Petrel: 3 (2). All pelagic. Grey-backed Storm-Petrel: 12 (5). All pelagic. White-faced Storm-Petrel: 40 (5). 24 in offshore waters in the am (the first for the day over 43 fathoms) remainder pelagic. Short-tailed Shearwater: ~50 (10). Fairly evenly spread between inshore, offshore and pelagic waters. Small numbers (3-4) fed at the back of the boat. Sooty Shearwater: 1 at the third berley point joined a couple of Short-tailed Shearwaters on the water, providing some nice opportunities for closer study. Fluttering Shearwater: 20 (10). 1 pelagic, 4 offshore in am, remainder over inshore waters. Hutton?s Shearwater: 5 (2). Over both inshore and offshore waters. Australian Gannet: 60 (20). Mostly inshore, small numbers offshore and 2 pelagic. Other than ~5 fresh juveniles all were adult. Also thousands on and around Lawrence Rocks. Black-faced Cormorant: 2 inshore in the am, 40 ashore at Lawrence Rocks in the pm. Artic Jaeger: 1 dark bird over inshore waters in the am, 2 dark birds over inshore waters in pm. Pomarine Jaeger: 3 pale bellied birds over inshore waters in the pm. Crested Tern: 25 (20). 1 pelagic, remainder inshore. Another ~500 including many juveniles roosting on Lawrence Rocks in the pm. Silver Gull: 40 inshore in the am. 100 on Lawrence Rocks in the pm Kelp Gull: 2 on Lawrence Rocks in the pm (2 in Portland Harbour) Pacific Gull: 2 in inshore waters in am. Double-banded Plover: 1 non-breeding plumaged individual flying in our wake as though it were a storm-petrel 17.8 nautical miles south of Lawrence Rocks in the pm. White-faced Herons (6) and [Little] Raven (2) on Lawrence Rocks rounded out the list. Rohan Clarke www.wildlifeimages.com.au ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Re: RFI: Port Hedland to Broome From: Tom Tarrant <aviceda AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:43:01 +1000 On 3/18/10, Mark Stanley wrote: > We are planning an Easter road trip from Port Hedland to Broome and back, > stopping on the way up at the Sandfire RH and two nights at BBO. Has anyone > who has made this trip at this time of year got any ideas on good places to > stop enroute - eg: > reasonable access to Eighty Mile Beach (especially the bit where the > Eurasian Curlews and Nordmann's Greenshanks hang out); > possible spots for any of the following: Red-backed Buttonquail, Oriental > Pratincole, Asian Dowitcher, Flock Bronzewing, Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, > Striated Grasswren, Orange Chat, Tawny Grassbird, Pictorella Mannikin, > Mangrove Gerygone; > nightbirds around Sandfire and Broome itself; > Is the Semipalmated Plover still at the sewage ponds or the Little Stint? > > We've read Frank O'Connor's excellent write-up on Broome. > > Any advice would be useful. Feel free to answer off line. > > Thanks > > Mark Stanley > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > -- Sent from my mobile device ******************************** Tom Tarrant Kobble Creek, Qld http://kobble.aviceda.org http://picasaweb.google.com.au/aviceda/ ******************************** =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: RFI: Port Hedland to Broome From: Gary Wright <gary.wright.email AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:12:38 +1030 Hi Mark Mangrove Gerygone can be found in melaleuca areas on Dampier Peninsula for example. A pair of Barking Owls hangs around the town beach area where they are building the water slide(might be finished by now.) Gary On 18 March 2010 00:50, Mark Stanley wrote: > We are planning an Easter road trip from Port Hedland to Broome and back, > stopping on the way up at the Sandfire RH and two nights at BBO. Has anyone > who has made this trip at this time of year got any ideas on good places to > stop enroute - eg: > reasonable access to Eighty Mile Beach (especially the bit where the > Eurasian Curlews and Nordmann's Greenshanks hang out); > possible spots for any of the following: Red-backed Buttonquail, Oriental > Pratincole, Asian Dowitcher, Flock Bronzewing, Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, > Striated Grasswren, Orange Chat, Tawny Grassbird, Pictorella Mannikin, > Mangrove Gerygone; > nightbirds around Sandfire and Broome itself; > Is the Semipalmated Plover still at the sewage ponds or the Little Stint? > > We've read Frank O'Connor's excellent write-up on Broome. > > Any advice would be useful. Feel free to answer off line. > > Thanks > > Mark Stanley > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: RFI: Port Hedland to Broome From: Mark Stanley <markjstanley AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:20:15 +0800 We are planning an Easter road trip from Port Hedland to Broome and back, stopping on the way up at the Sandfire RH and two nights at BBO. Has anyone who has made this trip at this time of year got any ideas on good places to stop enroute - eg: reasonable access to Eighty Mile Beach (especially the bit where the Eurasian Curlews and Nordmann's Greenshanks hang out); possible spots for any of the following: Red-backed Buttonquail, Oriental Pratincole, Asian Dowitcher, Flock Bronzewing, Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Striated Grasswren, Orange Chat, Tawny Grassbird, Pictorella Mannikin, Mangrove Gerygone; nightbirds around Sandfire and Broome itself; Is the Semipalmated Plover still at the sewage ponds or the Little Stint? We've read Frank O'Connor's excellent write-up on Broome. Any advice would be useful. Feel free to answer off line. Thanks Mark Stanley =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? From: Chris Gregory <cgregory123 AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:49:25 +1100 Syd There is a good BBC video on Owl sonar. In this one they are hunting lemmings under the snow using sound alone. http://www.burdr.com/2010/03/sophisticated-sonar-of-owls/ Cheers Chris Gregory On 16 March 2010 08:58, Syd Curtis wrote: > > I am most grateful to all you good birding-aus folk who have reassured me > about the scientific quality of this book. I can now read it with > confidence and enjoyment. > > And I think what was worrying me has been explained by John Leonard's > suggestion: > > "Another possibility is that the author delivered a perfectly sensible MS > to > the publisher and they insisted on rewriting because they thought they knew > what their readers wanted (or because they could sense a Disney tie-in)." > > Now that he points that out, I recall hearing somewhere that often in works > of fiction, authors are required by their publishers to add sex scenes. > > Anyway, I have long admired the work of Professor Donald Kroodsma and his > praise of the book (thank you Clive Nealon) certainly assures me. > > And already I've learnt quite a bit about owls. Somehow, for example, I > had > managed to live for 80 years admiring birds, without ever knowing that owls > have asymmetrically placed ears and ear openings, as pointed out by Tom > Wilson. > > My sincere thanks to all who have responded. Greatly appreciated. > > Cheers > > Syd > > ------------------ > > > I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by Stacey > > O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in 2009". > (First > > published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. > > 2008.) > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: the migratory behaviour of thin-billed prions From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:16:59 +1000 see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100315132704.htm =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Magellanic Penguin From: Alan McBride <amcbride1 AT me.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:12:34 +1100 Negative from Whale & Avalon beaches this afternoon too! Alan Sent via iPhone Alan McBride + 61 419 414 860 On 17/03/2010, at 15:59, steve roderick wrote: > > Hey all, > > > > Searched all day for the penguin, but no luck. Checked all beaches > and headlands accessible from south Forster, down Elizabeth, > Boomerang and Blueys Beach. Also dropped in to Seal Rocks. Asked > three locals and a NPWS worker but no reports. Could be anywhere! > > > > Steve Roderick. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Looking for a new home? With all the latest places, searching has > never been easier. > http://clk.atdmt.com/NMN/go/157631292/direct/01/==============================www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > ============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Magellanic Penguin From: "John Harris" <John.Harris AT donvale.vic.edu.au> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:09:04 +1100 It's a big haystack to find such a small needle!! I admire everybody's efforts though. Yours in all things "green" Regards John Harris Manager, Environment and Sustainability Donvale Christian College 155 Tindals Rd Donvale 3111 03 9844 2471 Ext 217 0409 090 955 john.harris AT donvale.vic.edu.au President, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) Past President, Victorian Association for Environmental Education (VAEE) >>> steve roderick 17/03/2010 3:59 PM >>> Hey all, Searched all day for the penguin, but no luck. Checked all beaches and headlands accessible from south Forster, down Elizabeth, Boomerang and Blueys Beach. Also dropped in to Seal Rocks. Asked three locals and a NPWS worker but no reports. Could be anywhere! Steve Roderick. _________________________________________________________________ Looking for a new home? With all the latest places, searching has never been easier. http://clk.atdmt.com/NMN/go/157631292/direct/01/==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Magellanic Penguin From: steve roderick <roddo75 AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:59:46 +1100 Hey all, Searched all day for the penguin, but no luck. Checked all beaches and headlands accessible from south Forster, down Elizabeth, Boomerang and Blueys Beach. Also dropped in to Seal Rocks. Asked three locals and a NPWS worker but no reports. Could be anywhere! Steve Roderick. _________________________________________________________________ Looking for a new home? With all the latest places, searching has never been easier. http://clk.atdmt.com/NMN/go/157631292/direct/01/==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: RE: Something to make your pelagic jump! From: "Tony Russell" <pratincole AT esc.net.au> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:14:05 +1030 Right, that does it, I'm off to the Scilly Isles in the morning. Tony -----Original Message----- From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au [mailto:birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Alan McBride Sent: Tuesday, 16 March 2010 7:47 PM To: Birding Aus Subject: [Birding-Aus] Something to make your pelagic jump! http://www.burdr.com/2010/03/rare-white-puffin-photographed/ This could send a few into a frenzy from a distance;-) Alan **************************************************************************** *** Alan McBride, MBO. Photojournalist | Traveller | Writer | Birding Guide + Member: International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance National Association of Independent Writers & Editors American Writers & Artists Inc. Travelwriters . com http://web.me.com/amcbride1 http://www.worldreviewer.com/member/alanmcbride/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmcbride http://www.twitter.com/alanmcbride Good planets are hard to find; until we do, please, be green and read from the screen Tel: + 61 419 414 860 Fax: + 61 2 9973 2306 Skype: mcbird101 P O Box 190 | Newport Beach | NSW 2106 | Australia This e-mail and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender. This e-mail is also subject to copyright. No part of it should be reproduced, adapted or transmitted without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. **************************************************************************** ******* =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: green drought? From: calyptorhynchus AT gmail.com Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:41:00 +0000 My partner has been talking to an acquaintance who lives near Innisfail. She was telling Felicia about the "green drought" in that part of the world. She has a hobby plantation of paw-paws and, I think, mangoes, but after 8 months of almost continuous rain all her trees have died and her planation, and, she reports, other areas round about, have been taken over by rampant fungus as the soil is totally waterlogged. I'm fascinated by this idea. Can anyone comment on this? coming from Canberra I've always thought of rain as an unmixed blessing. Does this effect work at all in natural vegetation, or is only in modified or disturbed habitats? John Leonard =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Southport Pelagics. From: "Paul Walbridge" <paul_walbridge AT health.qld.gov.au> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:33:51 +1000 Hi All, not surprisingly I've pulled the plug early on this coming Saturdays Southport pelagic, due to the threatening cyclone bearing down on us. I have however, booked for next Saturday the 27th. There are now several spaces open for that trip, after cyclonic weather anything could be around. Contact: Paul Walbridge at PH: (W) (07) 3139 4555 (H) (07) 3256 4124 E-mail: Paul_Walbridge AT health.qld.gov.au Cheers - Paul W. ******************************************************************************** This email, including any attachments sent with it, is confidential and for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). This confidentiality is not waived or lost, if you receive it and you are not the intended recipient(s), or if it is transmitted/received in error. Any unauthorised use, alteration, disclosure, distribution or review of this email is strictly prohibited. The information contained in this email, including any attachment sent with it, may be subject to a statutory duty of confidentiality if it relates to health service matters. If you are not the intended recipient(s), or if you have received this email in error, you are asked to immediately notify the sender by telephone collect on Australia +61 1800 198 175 or by return email. You should also delete this email, and any copies, from your computer system network and destroy any hard copies produced. If not an intended recipient of this email, you must not copy, distribute or take any action(s) that relies on it; any form of disclosure, modification, distribution and/or publication of this email is also prohibited. Although Queensland Health takes all reasonable steps to ensure this email does not contain malicious software, Queensland Health does not accept responsibility for the consequences if any person's computer inadvertently suffers any disruption to services, loss of information, harm or is infected with a virus, other malicious computer programme or code that may occur as a consequence of receiving this email. Unless stated otherwise, this email represents only the views of the sender and not the views of the Queensland Government. ********************************************************************************** ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: RFI: Shorebirds in Sydney (or nearby!) From: "Hazel K Watson" <z3261567 AT student.unsw.edu.au> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:33:31 +1100 Can anyone give me any hot tips for recent shorebird sightings in the Sydney area? We're doing a late-season survey roundup of all the shorebird sites I know about, and hoping to find out about any sites we might have missed. I'll happily accept info on anything in the shorebird family- Residents (e.g. Red-capped Plover, Black-winged Stilts, Dotterel spp, Oystercatcher spp) Migrants (including Latham's Snipe, and are there any Sharpies still around anywhere?) Exciting ones (DUNLIN??? if only,...) Boring ones (Masked Lapwing) Best wishes, Hazel Hazel Watson ---------------------- PhD student Australian Wetlands and Rivers Centre School of Biological, Earth and Environment Sciences University of New South Wales, NSW 2052 0431 366 377 ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Fw: Magellanic Penguin NSW - Birdline sighting 12824 From: <rohan AT wildlifeimages.com.au> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:48:30 +1100 Magellanic Penguin NSW - Birdline sighting 12824Hi Tim and others, This record looks very convincing. Description is quite detailed and appears entirely consistent with Magellanic Penguin. The bird was seen down to distances of just 10 m! The only two confirmed records in the western Pacific are one at Phillip Island Victoria and one at Hawkes Bay, North Island, NZ and these were also both in March (29th March 1976 and 12 March 1972 respectively). http://www.eremaea.com/BirdlineRecentSightings.aspx?Birdline=6 Cheers, Rohan Clarke www.wildlifeimages.com.au ----- Original Message ----- From: Tim Dolby Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 9:24 PM Subject: Magellanic Penguin NSW - Birdline sighting 12824 Thanks Chris. I've put it up on Birdline Australia, with slight moderfications to the note. A report that needs some consideration. Cheers, Tim -----Original Message----- From: Chris Charles [mailto:licole AT ozemail.com.au] Sent: Tue 16/03/2010 19:36 To: Tim Dolby Cc: Martin Cachard; Simon Blanchflower; alan morris Subject: Fwd: Birdline sighting 12824 received Tim, see following which I failed to post on to you before posting to Birdline NSW. Regards, Chris Charles Birdline NSW Moderator Begin forwarded message: > Species: Magellanic Penguin > Date: 15/03/2010 > Site: Booti Booti National Park - Elizabeth Beach, Pacific > Palms, NSW > Region: Australia: New South Wales > Notes: Seen in the surf at c.1pm. > 99% certain it's a Magellanic, have seen Magellanic in Argentina > and African in Cape Town. Any birders in the area keep a lookout. > > The white throat band did not appear to be as thick as on African > Penguins, and the white band around the face did not appear to be > as thick either. Pink skin on the face was not present around the > base of the bill as in Humboldt. Could not see all the breast so > could not check for presenc/absence of second black breast band or > speckles. The bird surfaced 5 times, each time for bewteen 30 > seconds and 2 mins, my closest view was from about 10m away. > Observer: Rafael Furniss > Further Information: > Email: rafurniss AT yahoo.com This email, including any attachment, is intended solely for the use of the intended recipient. It is confidential and may contain personal information or be subject to legal professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use, disclosure, reproduction or storage of it is unauthorised. If you have received this email in error, please advise the sender via return email and delete it from your system immediately. Victoria University does not warrant that this email is free from viruses or defects and accepts no liability for any damage caused by such viruses or defects. ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: BREAKING NEWS - Report of MAGELLANIC PENGUIN, NSW 15 March From: Simon Mustoe <simonmustoe AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:34:27 +0000 A possible Magellanic Penguin has been reported by a NSW birder with experience of these birds in South America. Details are on Bird-O. A location map is to follow shortly. Simon. _________________________________________________________________ Tell us your greatest, weirdest and funniest Hotmail stories http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Something to make your pelagic jump! From: Alan McBride <amcbride1 AT me.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:16:53 +1100 http://www.burdr.com/2010/03/rare-white-puffin-photographed/ This could send a few into a frenzy from a distance;-) Alan ******************************************************************************* Alan McBride, MBO. Photojournalist | Traveller | Writer | Birding Guide + Member: International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance National Association of Independent Writers & Editors American Writers & Artists Inc. Travelwriters . com http://web.me.com/amcbride1 http://www.worldreviewer.com/member/alanmcbride/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmcbride http://www.twitter.com/alanmcbride Good planets are hard to find; until we do, please, be green and read from the screen Tel: + 61 419 414 860 Fax: + 61 2 9973 2306 Skype: mcbird101 P O Box 190 | Newport Beach | NSW 2106 | Australia This e-mail and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender. This e-mail is also subject to copyright. No part of it should be reproduced, adapted or transmitted without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. *********************************************************************************** =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Norfolk Island Trip Report From: Janet Mattiske and Frank Pierce <jmandfp AT bigpond.com> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:13:50 +1100 Norfolk Island Trip Report Janet and I spent a week on Norfolk Island from 5/3 to 12/3/2010. We had a package which included airfares from Melbourne, accomodation and a hire car for the week, for $1350pp. The weather was fine and warm which was great for us but not for the locals, as there hasn’t been significant rain for about 8 months. I was lucky to get on to Philip Island on the last day before leaving. Access is only permitted via a tour with Charter Marine, in the company of an approved guide who was very knowledgeable. The tour is very weather dependant, and the company is occupied on fishing trips on some days, so it was touch and go, with trip confirmation only at 6.30am on the day. The trip costs $145pp and leaves from Kingston at 7.30am, returning about 1pm. This was the highlight of my week and I recommend it as a ‘must do’ for all birders. Bookings should be made at least immediately on arrival, if not before, with regular follow-up to maximise the chance of getting there. The revegetation of the island is progressing well, but it is a slow process. NI is a relaxing place for a holiday. It is very tourism oriented. The ˝ day Island orientation tour was worthwhile and is included in most packages. The other 2 organised tourist activities that we tried were certainly ‘not for us’. There are lots of places to eat out and we found 2 high quality restaurants that we particularly enjoyed, Dino’s and Hilli. Birding in the National Park is good, with many tracks and lots of hills through the beautiful pine dominated forest. There are many stunning views of the rugged coastline around the island. Sea-watching from Cook’s Monument and Rocky Point was particularly good. Bird Rock was also good but with a long steep return walk. This is a good time to visit, unless you particularly want to see Little Shearwater and Providence Petrels, which arrive in winter. I only saw the chicks of the White-necked Petrels on Philip Island; however the adults were at the nest on the previous week. So perhaps a week earlier should be aimed for. A week was ample time to see all target species and to thoroughly cover the Island, which is only 8km by 5km. We did 300km in the week. Thanks to the authors of all previous reports on Birding-aus. These provided ample data for trip planning. For those who enjoy birding with a local guide, Margaret Christian is available to assist. 7 species of butterfly were seen including the endemic Swallowtail. The endemic Norfolk Island Gecko was also seen on Philip Island. Details of all birds seen are listed below, with capitals being my target species and subspecies. Cheers Frank Pierce NORFOLK ISLAND BIRDS 5/3 TO 12/3/2010 CALIFORNIA QUAIL: Recorded daily Red Junglefowl: Recorded daily Mallard-Pacific Black Duck hybrids: At Kingston and Millpond daily. No pure-breds detected. Feral Goose: At Kingston and Millpond daily (Tickable in NZ but not Aus) Red-tailed Tropicbird: Recorded daily. Close views on Philip Island. Rock Dove: Recorded daily. Emerald Dove: Recorded daily. Wedge-tailed Shearwater: Common offshore on each visit to Rocky Point. ‘On-ground’ views after dark at Puppy Point. Kermadec Petrel: 1 adult and 1 chick seen on Philip Island WHITE-NECKED PETREL: 3 chicks and 1 egg on Philip Island. (Adults were in attendance the previous week) Black-winged Petrel: Recorded daily around the coast. Close views on Philip Island. Great Frigatebird: Recorded daily. (Up to 10 birds at Cook’s Monument but no males) MASKED BOOBY: Recorded daily. Close views on Philip Island White-faced Heron: Recorded daily. Nankeen Kestrel: Seen at QE Lookout above Kingston and at Point Anson. Purple Swamphen: Several seen on Island ˝ day tour - not seen again. Black-winged Stilt: 1 recorded daily on Chapel dam. Light shading patches on head indicated it was just reaching maturity. White band across shoulders ruled out hybrid Black/Pied Stilt Pacific Golden Plover: 50+ birds at Kingston Common, many at Airport runway and other paddocks. Double-banded Plover: 1 bird seen once at Airport runway. Whimbrel: Single birds seen: - opposite Simon’s Water; below QE Lookout; and at Fishermans Lane. Wandering Tattler: Close views of 1 bird at Point Hunter, 3 birds once at Rocky Point. Ruddy Turnstone: Recorded daily at Kingston. Once at Moo-oo Rock Common Noddy: Recorded daily at Rocky Point, Cook’s Monument. Close views on Philip Island. Black Noddy: Recorded daily. Close views on Philip Island. White Tern: Recorded daily. Grey Ternlet: Recorded daily. Close views on Philip Island. Sooty Tern: Recorded daily. Close views on Philip Island. Crimson Rosella: Recorded daily. TASMAN PARAKEET: 1 bird briefly seen and others heard half way up Old Mountain Track on 7/3/10. These birds heard but not seen on 8/3/10 Good views of 2 birds feeding from pine cones at McLachlan’s Lane, at 6.30am on 9/3/10. 4 birds then 2 others seen flying over at Palm Glen at 11am on 9/3/10 Morepork: Not considered a target due to hybrid status. At upper junction of Old Mountain Track and Mt Pitt Rd late on 9/3/10, 3 + birds responded to my calls, 1 very close but not visible. SACRED KINGFISHER ‘vagans’: Recorded daily. NORFOLK ISLAND GERYGONE: Recorded daily. GOLDEN WHISTLER ‘xanthoprocta’: Recorded daily in NP. Easily called in by pishing and whistling. Masked Woodswallow: 1 bird seen high in a pine tree when I first arrived at the airport (I was birding while others waited in the transfer bus). Not seen again. GREY FANTAIL ‘pelzelni’: Recorded daily. PACIFIC ROBIN: Recorded 4 times at different locations in the NP: - Bird Rock Track, Old Mountain Track, Mt Bates Track and Marsh’s track (off Red Rd Track). Silvereye: Recorded daily. SLENDER-BILLED WHITE-EYE: Recorded most days in the NP. Also seen along Rocky Point Rd. Welcome Swallow: Recorded daily. Common Blackbird: Recorded daily. Song Thrush: Recorded daily. Common Starling: Recorded daily. House Sparrow: Recorded daily. Common Greenfinch: Seen once near toilet block at Cook’s Monument. ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: RFI - Cairns / Port Douglas Bird Watching Tours From: "Sullivan, Luke" <lukesullivan AT kpmg.com.au> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:29:44 +1100 Hi all, I'm going to be in Port Douglas between 29 May and 5 June 2010. Can anyone recommend a good one-day bird watching tour that leaves from Cairns or Port Douglas? I have no experience in rainforest or tropical bird watching and most species of any habitat would be first-timers for me. It will be on my own so a tour that takes singles would be ideal, otherwise a tour that I could join as a single would be good also. Any information is greatly appreciated. Regards, Luke. ****************************************************************** The information in this e-mail is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this e-mail by anyone else is unauthorised. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by return e-mail with the subject heading "Received in error" or telephone +61 2 93357000, then delete the email and destroy any copies of it. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Any opinions or advice contained in this e-mail are subject to the terms and conditions expressed in the governing KPMG client engagement letter. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this e-mail and any attachments that do not relate to the official business of the firm are neither given nor endorsed by it. KPMG cannot guarantee that e-mail communications are secure or error-free, as information could be intercepted, corrupted, amended, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. KPMG, an Australian partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”) is a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no services to clients. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. ****************************************************************** ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? From: Syd Curtis <sydc AT ozemail.com.au> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:58:56 +1000 I am most grateful to all you good birding-aus folk who have reassured me about the scientific quality of this book. I can now read it with confidence and enjoyment. And I think what was worrying me has been explained by John Leonard's suggestion: "Another possibility is that the author delivered a perfectly sensible MS to the publisher and they insisted on rewriting because they thought they knew what their readers wanted (or because they could sense a Disney tie-in)." Now that he points that out, I recall hearing somewhere that often in works of fiction, authors are required by their publishers to add sex scenes. Anyway, I have long admired the work of Professor Donald Kroodsma and his praise of the book (thank you Clive Nealon) certainly assures me. And already I've learnt quite a bit about owls. Somehow, for example, I had managed to live for 80 years admiring birds, without ever knowing that owls have asymmetrically placed ears and ear openings, as pointed out by Tom Wilson. My sincere thanks to all who have responded. Greatly appreciated. Cheers Syd ------------------ > I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by Stacey > O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in 2009". (First > published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. > 2008.) =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Sean Dooley on ABC Radio From: Wendy McWilliams <wendy AT wmcpr.com.au> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:19:37 +1100 For people who missed Sean Dooley on Tony Delroy's Nightlife last week, as I did, you can download it from the website at: http://www.abc.net.au/nightlife/ I haven't heard it yet, but understand he fielded some good questions. Wendy McWilliams =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? From: "Tom and Mandy Wilson" <tomandmandy AT aapt.net.au> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:38:22 +1100 Also, owls have asymmetrically placed ears and ear openings (, and their hearing is tuned finely enough that the difference in timing and intensity of when the sound is heard by each ear helps them locate distance and direction of the sound . Tyto owls use their facial disc as a parabolic disc for sound catching and channeling it to the ears, and by moving it they can help accentuate the sound and when it reaches each ear, thus helping them locate the source of sounds. (There is an excellent description of all this on pages 13/14 of Stephen Debus' The Owls of Australia.) Cheers Tom Wilson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Charles" To: "Syd Curtis" Cc: Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 7:45 PM Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? > Syd, > You will often see the Ninox owls do this when they are looking at you, > especially the young ones. > If you look up at the sky through the leaves at the ends of the day, your > view becomes effectively 2d with the leaves black & the sky white. If you > move your head owl-like you will notice that the apparent movement of > each 'layer' is related to how far away it is & hence you get a > perception of depth. > This is useful for locating roosting owls as their outline remains intact > while the leaf 'noise' moves relative to it. Works in good light too. > I imagine that the owls use it the same way as one of their ploys for > positioning their prey. > > Chris Charles > 0412 911 184 > licole AT ozemail.com.au > 33deg 47'30"S > 151deg10'09"E > > > > > > On 14/03/2010, at 4:16 PM, Syd Curtis wrote: > >> >> Is there anyone on birding-aus who has read the book and feels able to >> comment on this for me, please? >> >> I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by Stacey >> O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in 2009". >> (First >> published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. >> 2008.) >> >> It is claimed that the author trained as a biologist, graduating from >> Occidental College (in California) and continuing her education at >> Caltech. >> >> The Owl is an American Barn Owl. It had nerve damage to one wing and >> would >> not have survived in the wild. The author accepted it as a four- day-old >> chick and took on the job of caring for it for the whole of its life. >> (Some >> 19 years.) The owlet's eyes were still closed at that stage and when >> they >> opened he imprinted on Stacey as his 'parent'. She writes: >> >> "When Wesley opened his eyes for the first time, he stared right at >> me. >> >> " 'Hello, Wesley,' I said. >> " 'Screech,' he softly replied, gazing deeply into my eyes.' >> >> "Wesley focused on me right away, twittering and chattering, looking >> me >> in the eyes and trying to communicate. I was astonished at the >> intensity >> and clarity of his focus on me." >> >> If the book is fact, written by a trained scientist, one would expect >> scientific accuracy. I'm not far into the book, yet already I'm having >> doubts and wondering if some of it is imagination. >> >> "Wesley's eyes were fixed in their sockets, so the only way he could >> get >> depth perception was to move his head from side to side." >> >> I reckon I can depth perception without moving my eyes or my head. (Or >> am I >> just imagining this?) >> >> Just one other (somewhat unsavoury) quote that bothers me a little. >> Wesley >> was not confined to a cage, so his droppings had to be cleaned up, and >> there's some excuse for dwelling on this aspect: >> >> "Wesley observed the cardinal rule of never pooping in his nest. >> ... >> When he first started to scoot around on the carpet, he would back up >> with >> his rear end high in the air and push backwards, trying to find the end >> of >> the rug so he could poop. ... I realized that if I lay down a paper >> towel >> behind him, he would notice the change in texture ... and would poop >> there >> with a quiet air of dignified relief." >> >> But the dissertation upon the word "poop" raises my doubts. It begins: >> >> "When describing both the act of defecating and the substance of >> fecal >> matter itself, biologists prefer to use the scientific term 'poop'." >> >> And it concludes: >> >> "So if it's on the ground, it's poop. If it's under your >> microscope, >> it's scat. If it's running down your neck, it's shit." >> >> There's no entry for 'poop' in my (1995) Larousse Dictionary of >> Technology. >> And the only entries in other dictionaries confine the meaning as >> referring >> to the aft part of a ship. >> >> So. Are there any birding-aus biologists out there who regard "poop' as >> a >> standard scientific term.? >> >> Does anyone who has read the book, care to comment on whether it's >> science >> or fiction? >> >> Cheers >> >> Syd >> >> >> =============================== >> www.birding-aus.org >> birding-aus.blogspot.com >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> =============================== > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: > unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? From: Chris Charles <licole AT ozemail.com.au> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:45:12 +1100 Syd, You will often see the Ninox owls do this when they are looking at you, especially the young ones. If you look up at the sky through the leaves at the ends of the day, your view becomes effectively 2d with the leaves black & the sky white. If you move your head owl-like you will notice that the apparent movement of each 'layer' is related to how far away it is & hence you get a perception of depth. This is useful for locating roosting owls as their outline remains intact while the leaf 'noise' moves relative to it. Works in good light too. I imagine that the owls use it the same way as one of their ploys for positioning their prey. Chris Charles 0412 911 184 licole AT ozemail.com.au 33deg 47'30"S 151deg10'09"E On 14/03/2010, at 4:16 PM, Syd Curtis wrote: > > Is there anyone on birding-aus who has read the book and feels able to > comment on this for me, please? > > I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by > Stacey > O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in > 2009". (First > published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, > Inc. > 2008.) > > It is claimed that the author trained as a biologist, graduating from > Occidental College (in California) and continuing her education at > Caltech. > > The Owl is an American Barn Owl. It had nerve damage to one wing > and would > not have survived in the wild. The author accepted it as a four- > day-old > chick and took on the job of caring for it for the whole of its > life. (Some > 19 years.) The owlet's eyes were still closed at that stage and > when they > opened he imprinted on Stacey as his 'parent'. She writes: > > "When Wesley opened his eyes for the first time, he stared > right at me. > > " 'Hello, Wesley,' I said. > " 'Screech,' he softly replied, gazing deeply into my eyes.' > > "Wesley focused on me right away, twittering and chattering, > looking me > in the eyes and trying to communicate. I was astonished at the > intensity > and clarity of his focus on me." > > If the book is fact, written by a trained scientist, one would expect > scientific accuracy. I'm not far into the book, yet already I'm having > doubts and wondering if some of it is imagination. > > "Wesley's eyes were fixed in their sockets, so the only way he > could get > depth perception was to move his head from side to side." > > I reckon I can depth perception without moving my eyes or my head. > (Or am I > just imagining this?) > > Just one other (somewhat unsavoury) quote that bothers me a > little. Wesley > was not confined to a cage, so his droppings had to be cleaned up, and > there's some excuse for dwelling on this aspect: > > "Wesley observed the cardinal rule of never pooping in his > nest. ... > When he first started to scoot around on the carpet, he would back > up with > his rear end high in the air and push backwards, trying to find > the end of > the rug so he could poop. ... I realized that if I lay down a > paper towel > behind him, he would notice the change in texture ... and would > poop there > with a quiet air of dignified relief." > > But the dissertation upon the word "poop" raises my doubts. It > begins: > > "When describing both the act of defecating and the substance > of fecal > matter itself, biologists prefer to use the scientific term 'poop'." > > And it concludes: > > "So if it's on the ground, it's poop. If it's under your > microscope, > it's scat. If it's running down your neck, it's shit." > > There's no entry for 'poop' in my (1995) Larousse Dictionary of > Technology. > And the only entries in other dictionaries confine the meaning as > referring > to the aft part of a ship. > > So. Are there any birding-aus biologists out there who regard > "poop' as a > standard scientific term.? > > Does anyone who has read the book, care to comment on whether it's > science > or fiction? > > Cheers > > Syd > > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Late(ish) Koel From: "Roger Giller" <rgiller AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:53:43 +1100 Hi All, My wife has just called my attention to a juvenile Koel in our yard. It scrambled about in a Grevillea bush for a few minutes. A Red Wattlebird feeding in the same bush paid no attention it. This is about a month later than I have seen them previously around here. Must be about time it thought about leaving. Roger Giller Barden Ridge - Southern Sydney ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Dunlin in NSW From: Colin Scouler <colinscouler AT bigpond.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:43:21 +1100 If the Dunlin reported at Tuross Lake Estuary in January is accepted by BARC, will this be the first confirmed record of the species in NSW? Colin Scouler. =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: long overdue trip report - Iron range From: Frank Hemmings <f.hemmings AT unsw.edu.au> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:46:07 +1100 Hi All, I did a trip to Iron Range with Kirrama Tours last December, and managed to almost finish wirting a trip report in January, just before going away again. Having arrived back recently(ish) I've completed it and posted it on Surbirds for anyone who is interested: http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=1786 Now I have to write my other rports. Cheers, Frank Frank Hemmings Curator John T. Waterhouse Herbarium School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales UNSW SYDNEY 2052 AUSTRALIA Tel +61 2 9385 3274 Fax +61 2 9385 1558 CRICOS Provider Code:00098G ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Re: Raptor CD From: "Colin R" <jangles AT fastmail.fm> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:15:41 +1000 Personally I wouldn't bother even recommending, never mind using, a plastic owl. There are dozens of sh*t stained pontoons in the Brisbane river where I kayak and the most stained have a plastic owl standing guard! I think the Silver Gulls see it as a protector rather than a threat - they definitely seem to prefer the pontoons with one. And, no, I'm not imagining things! There was one boat that had a 'mewling' sound coming from it that had me trying to see what bird was lying injured or what young bird was stranded as I circled it on the water. I realised, after a while, that it was the same sound over and over again and heard it again on subsequent mornings. Not sure if it served a purpose, but there were no birds showing any interest - fear or otherwise. Not sure, either, if it was candid camera or a U tube thing - I felt pretty silly... If your friend is going to try to scare birds with a raptor call I imagine it'd have to be loud and at random intervals, I don't think they fall for continuous repetition - much the way birds called in by playback become unresponsive after a while as the 'music stays the same.' Good luck with that! Cheers Colin On Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:23 +1100, "Bill Stent" wrote: > You could always recommend a plastic Owl. They're quite popular here in > Melbourne, although I can only assume people find them aesthetic, as I > can > see no evidence of their actually working (there's one in our city car > park > standing guard over a small colony or feral pigeons). I'm not even sure > what species it's supposed to be - a horned owl of some sort. > > I think the basic idea is that the birds recognise the representation as > an > owl and keep their distance. Of course the same reasoning would suggest > that they recognise statues as humans and stay away. This probably comes > under the heading of "never let the facts get in the way of a good > theory." > > Bill > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "Peter Shute" > Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 10:34 PM > To: ; > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Raptor CD > > > CD number 2 in the BOCA set includes the eagles, hawks, etc. Owls are on > > number 4. They can be purchased separately. I don't know what effect > > playing them might have on non target birds, that live in the area. > > > > Pest control companies sell devices that regularly play various raptor > > calls. I assume they're intended to scare away pigeons and starlings, etc. > > I don't know how well they work - there are still plenty of them in places > > they aren't wanted. > > > > Peter Shute > > > > > > -------------------------- > > Sent using BlackBerry > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au > > > > To: birding-aus > > Sent: Sat Mar 13 22:23:47 2010 > > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Raptor CD > > > > Does anyone know if you can purchase a CD of raptor calls. Someone I know > > is trying to dissuade Cockatoos from roosting around his house and wants > > some raptor calls to fighten them away. I have expressed my doubts about > > whether it would work but he is insistent that he wants to try. > > > > Jan > > ==========www.birding-aus.org > > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > > send the message: > > unsubscribe > > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > ========== > > > > > =============================== > > www.birding-aus.org > > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > > send the message: > > unsubscribe > > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > =============================== > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > -- Colin Reid jangles AT fastmail.fm So many birds, so little time...... -- http://www.fastmail.fm - A no graphics, no pop-ups email service =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Raptor CD From: Bill Stent <billstent AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:23:11 +1100 You could always recommend a plastic Owl. They're quite popular here in Melbourne, although I can only assume people find them aesthetic, as I can see no evidence of their actually working (there's one in our city car park standing guard over a small colony or feral pigeons). I'm not even sure what species it's supposed to be - a horned owl of some sort. I think the basic idea is that the birds recognise the representation as an owl and keep their distance. Of course the same reasoning would suggest that they recognise statues as humans and stay away. This probably comes under the heading of "never let the facts get in the way of a good theory." Bill -------------------------------------------------- From: "Peter Shute" Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 10:34 PM To: ; Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Raptor CD > CD number 2 in the BOCA set includes the eagles, hawks, etc. Owls are on > number 4. They can be purchased separately. I don't know what effect > playing them might have on non target birds, that live in the area. > > Pest control companies sell devices that regularly play various raptor > calls. I assume they're intended to scare away pigeons and starlings, etc. > I don't know how well they work - there are still plenty of them in places > they aren't wanted. > > Peter Shute > > > -------------------------- > Sent using BlackBerry > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au > > To: birding-aus > Sent: Sat Mar 13 22:23:47 2010 > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Raptor CD > > Does anyone know if you can purchase a CD of raptor calls. Someone I know > is trying to dissuade Cockatoos from roosting around his house and wants > some raptor calls to fighten them away. I have expressed my doubts about > whether it would work but he is insistent that he wants to try. > > Jan > ==========www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > ========== > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: re: possible Dunlin at Tuross Lakes From: Justin Jansen <justin.jansen AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:33:06 +0100 Dear all, It is not even a possible Dunlin on ABID, but a 100 % Dunlin. Very straightforward bird. Cheers, Justin Jansen The Netherlands =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Birdline NSW Weekly Update From: "Eremaea Birds" <notifications AT eremaea.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:30:40 +1000 Birdline NSW Published sightings for the week ending 14 Mar 2010. Sat 13 Mar Little Friarbird Bulga Creek beside Putty Rd (NW of Sydney) Janene Luff advised me today that she had 2 Little Friarbirds and 2 Striped Honeyeaters from this location yesterday. Janene Luff via Edwin Vella Black-browed Albatross (2), Flesh-footed Shearwaters Mistral Pt, Maroubra (approx. 10km SE of Sydney CBD) Highlights for a late afternoon sea watch from Mistral Pt on Saturday were 2 Black-browed Alabtrosses (one was an adult Campbell Albatross and the other an Immature bird), 3-4 close in Flesh-footed Shearwaters (amonst 4 Short-tailed and hundreds of Wedge-tailed), 4 Arctic and at least 8 Pomarine Jaegers as well as 3-4 adult Kelp Gulls (including one flying beside my car as I was heading for home). Ediwn Vella and David Mitford Beautiful Firetail Fitzroy Falls (Redhill Fire Trail) One Beautiful Firetail (my first for the Southern Highlands), 2 Pilotbirds and a returning Rose Robin recorded mid-afternoon. Lorne Johnson White-bellied Storm-Petrel, Gould's Petrel Sydney pelagic A well-seen White-bellied Storm-Petrel and two Gould's Petrels which stayed around the Halicat for at least 30 minutes were the highlights of an excellent Sydney pelagic trip where we recorded a good total of 19 species. Roger McGovern Fri 12 Mar Possible Dunlin Tuross Lake Estuary BARC has received a submission on a Dunlin seen by Pattie Parker in the Tuross Lake Estuary, NSW on the 5 January 2010. The bird was in partial breeding plumage with black patches emerging on the belly. Pattie Parker per Mike Carter Lewin's rail University of New South Wales Immature Lewin's Rail found dead at UNSW in student accommodation courtyard! Hazel Watson Regent Honeyeater, Black-chinned Honeyeater, Pacific Baza Werakata (Kitchener) near Cessnock Single Regent Honeyeater seen today in a large Spotted Gum not far from the Abernethy-Kitchener Road. Although there is no blossom in this or any other Spotted Gums in the valley, there is a locally endemic Stringybark (still undescribed to science) flowering at the moment. Interestingly, this is the same Stringybark that Regents were foraging in during July-August last year (at the same site and elsewhere in the locality), so it is fascinating to see it flowering now in March. Quite a few Black-chins, Brown-heads etc and the usual hordes of Little Lorikeets in the area. A Pacific Baza at Pelton this morning also. Mick Roderick Double-banded plover Mason Park One (rather lonesome-looking) Double-banded Plover observed at Mason Park late this morning Robert Griffin Latham's Snipe, Varied Sittella Lilli Pilli Street, Davistown A single Latham's Snipe and six Sittella in Casuaina glauca Saltmarsh off Lilli Pilli Street, seen today. Yesterday up to 4 Snipe at the same site.. Phil Wood & Warren Brown Thu 11 Mar Black-faced Monarch Nepean River, Camden Airport Two immature (1st year) Black-faced Monarchs caught and banded during banding operations adjacent to the Nepean River at Camden Airport, New South Wales. Alan John Leishman Plum-headed Finch, Diamond Fitretail, Black-chinned Honeyeater, Hooded Robin Capertee Valley On a very quick day trip to the stunning Capertee Valley today, 2 separate groups of Plum-headed Finch were recorded along Crown Station Rd - a group of 3 adults in one location, & a flock of 13 birds (6 adults with 7 juveniles) in another spot 3kms away. Here the juveniles were being fed by their parents. 4 adult Diamond Firetails were seen with the first birds & the larger flock was accompanied by lots of Double-barred Finch. There were several groups of Black-chinned Honeyeater in this area with some also at Glen Davis, where an adult male Hooded Robin was seen harassing the Brown Treecreepers at the camping area. Other good birds seen in the valley on the day were plenty of Little Lorikeets, Jacky Winters, Southern Whiteface, Gang-gang Cockatoos, Rainbow Bee-eaters, Zebra Finch, Dusky Woodswallows, Rufous Songlarks, a Wonga Pigeon & a Pallid Cuckoo, amongst the many other usuals. Martin Cachard Male and Female Cicadabird Little Wheeny Lagoon, Cattai Male and female Cicadabird in same tree. Cumberland Bird Observers Club K Brandwood Pacific Baza, Little Lorikeets Scheyville 4 Pacific Baza, scores of Little Lorikeets and Honeyeaters. There will be some good birding in Scheyville over the next couple of weeks as a good number of the mature Grey Box are in flower, 10 species of Honyeater in the one tree. There are also many caterpillars (not the hairy type) dropping from some of the trees providing another food source for Cuckoos. Whitmore Road side of reserve. Cumberland Bird Observers Club K Brandwood. Wed 10 Mar Common Sandpiper Eastern edge of Mobbs Bay, South Ballina Single non-breeding bird observed working along edge of mangroves and rocks. David Charley Shy Albatross, Long-tailed Jaeger, Kelp Gull & Caspian Tern Mistral Point, Maroubra An early Shy Albatross was seen today along with a flock of 4 Caspian Terns, 2 Kelp Gulls, 2 Long-tailed Jaegers, 1 Arctic Jaeger, 16 Pomarine Jaegers, 19 Flesh-footed Shearwaters and a few Aust Gannets. David Mitford Tue 9 Mar Barred Cuckoo-shrike Wonga Park, Sawtell Two Barred Cuckoo-shrikes seen feeding on figs (probable Moreton Bay Fig) and another unidentified fruiting tree for about 10 minutes before flying off. Two Eastern Koels - an adult female and a juvenile - also present at same time feeding on the figs. I had not heard Koels here since 19 February. (Wonga Park is at corner of First & Third Avenues.) Peter Higgins Mon 8 Mar Black Bittern Cockle Creek, Barnsley (Lake Macquarie) Single male bird seen at dusk last night from a vantage accessed from the end of Macquarie St, Barnsley. Flushed from the bank we were standing on, then alighted on the other side briefly before taking off again. Mick Roderick and Dan Williams Sun 7 Mar Double-banded plover Long Reef Pair of Double-banded plovers at Long Reef, first I've seen there this season, along with the usual culprits - Rednecked Stints (one getting very red), Pacific Golden Plovers, Sooty oystercatchers, Ruddy Turnstones and a Grey-tailed Tattler (nice to see as I hadn't seen one here for a while). Nothing of note off-shore despite the wind. Robert Griffin Little Eagle Adjacent to Mt Annan One adult Little Eagle heading towards Liverpool area from Mt Annan. Alan McBride Sat 6 Mar Australian Hobby Balmain/Birchgrove Australian Hobby soaring in Nth east wind low over rooftops and trees of Wharf Road just before dusk - alarm calls from every Noisy Miner in the district. Co-incidently, this bird or another seen a bit earlier on western side of Louisa Rd by Graham Buchan. Robert Griffin Great Crested Grebe Penrith At least 2 birds present on the ponds to the east of Castlereagh Road a few kms north of Penrith. Eric Finley Australasian Bittern Reed Beds Swamp, Mathoura Observed flying over Reed Beds Swamp. David Kleinert Thu 4 Mar Barred Cuckoo-shrike Fig tree adjacent to boat ramp near Pacific Highway Bridge, Urunga NSW Three birds observed feeding in Small-leaved Fig at boat ramp. One was a juvenile bird and was constantly begging for food from the two adult birds. This suggests that these birds nested in the local area. David Charley Barking Owl Elanora Rd Elanora Heights The barking owl was in the vicinity of Elanora Rd & Woorarra Ave intersection calling repeatedly around 10pm -12pm for several evenings. It is not surprising to have one given the proximity to Garigal NP & Deep Creek reserve & they do occur at Oxford Falls 4km away. However I have never heard one near here before & have lived here since1978. Jacqui Marlow Wed 3 Mar Square-tailed Kite Christmas Bells Plain, south of Port Macquarie NSW Single juvenile bird observed hunting along the edge of the tree line and within the upper canopy of an adjacent Melaleuca forest. Honeyeaters and lorikeets abundant due to flowering Melaleuca. David Charley Pilotbird, Beautiful Firetail, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren etc. Mt Cameron Trail, Wollemi NP [past Natural Bridge] This overgrown fire trail did not produce a great number either of birds or species, but there were some nice ones. Shortly after I had squeaked up a Chestnut-rumped Heathwren to within 8 feet I had even more success with 2 Pilotbirds, a Beautiful Firetail and a male Variegated Wren all within 15 feet of me. Others along the track included a male Scarlet Robin, a flock of Varied Sittellas, and a Crested Shriketit. Dense understorey now shrouds much of the area, making birding difficult at times. Ted Nixon Mon 1 Mar Eastern Koel Courtsportz Tennis Centre, Dee Why During tennis practice this afternoon, an Eastern Koel was heard (they haven't been around for the last month). A few groups of Musk Lorikeets flew over at various times during the 2 hours I was there, along with 2 Aust King-Parrots as well. Joshua Bergmark Sat 27 Feb Common Noddy Flat Rock, north of Ballina NSW Single bird observed foraging / flying along the shoreline and around the rock platform. Mottled crown and buff/brown shoulders indicative of juvenile bird. Photos taken. David Charley and Steve McBride Mon 22 Feb Brown Booby Rock Platform, Woody Head, Iluka, NSW Adult bird observed roosting on rock platform near flock of terns. David Rohweder and David Charley Birdline NSW is sponsored by Birding NSW , Birds Australia - Southern NSW & ACT and Cumberland Bird Observers Club and co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds . =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Birdline Victoria Weekly Update From: "Eremaea Birds" <notifications AT eremaea.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:31:00 +1000 Birdline Victoria Published sightings for the week ending 14 Mar 2010. Sun 14 Mar Little Curlew Bulban Road Werribee/Little River Still present at the same site, on South side of road, 900 m West of Newton Road, with at least 3 Banded Lapwings. Alan Crawford & Elizabeth Shaw Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Solomon Gully Flora reserve,Quarry Hill, Bendigo Pair of CRHeathwren seen along ridge , access off Boyd road. Also Yellow and Brown Thornbills, Brown Goshawk. Simon Starr WTNeedletails, Rose and Pink Robin,Olive Whistler, Red-browed Treecreeper, Satin Flycatcher Toolangi, Quarry Rd & Mt Tanglefoot loop Rose Robins calling everywhere - at least 20 heard. Quite a few birds with fledglings including King Parrot, Pink, Flame and Yellow Robin, Rufous Fantail and Olive Whistler. Lyrebirds pretty vocal and common. Other good sightings : Large-billed scrubwren, Lewins Honeyeater, Needletails 10+, Crested Shrike Tit. G. Santos Wood Sandpiper, Cape-barren Goose, Little Egret Eastern Treatment Plant Amongst the birds seen at the Eastern Treatment Plant were 3 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Cape-barren Goose, 1 Little Egret and a late late Australian Reed-Warbler. Mike Carter Sat 13 Mar Silver Gull, Black-winged Stilt Anderson's Swamp, Derrimut Grassland Reserve,Boundary Rd, Derrimut. Interesting late afternoon sighting of huge number of Silver Gulls on the 15 hectare swamp, which is now full after recent rain. Also congregating on nearby factory roofs. Estimate of up to five thousand Gulls. Fair numbers of White-faced Herons and Black-winged Stilts also present. Peter Gibbons. Blue-winged Parrot Western Treatment Plant, Werribee. Two Blue-winged Parrots observed at 1210hrs, on the track between the T Section Lagoon Ponds 3 & 4. Peter Gibbons Fri 12 Mar Little Corella, Crimson Rosella Norwood Crescent, Moonee Ponds About 6 seen feeding in a front yard cypress tree. One sounded to be a begging youngster. Also 4 Pied Currawongs and a Grey Butcherbird in the grounds of Brunswick South West Primary School, Daly St ,West Brunswick most days during the last week, and 1 Crimson Rosella on the Moonee Ponds Creek nr Brunswick Rd earlier this week- eating Boxthorn berries. J.Flack Little Egret Tullaroop Reservoir Single bird feeding near outlet towe at dam wall Geoff Park Zebra Finch Lock's Lane, Moolort Flock of four birds on irrigated lucerne paddock Geoff Park Wed 10 Mar Brolga Midland Highway Approx 20km west of Benalla close to Goomalibee turn off. Brolga flew into flooded paddock approx. 7pm. Debbie Colbourne White-throated Needletail Wilby 27 birds seen overhead in the late afternoon, flying to the south in clear and calm conditions. Michael Ramsey Tue 9 Mar Rufous Fantail Point Lonsdale coastal scrub between beach and cemetery Angus John Hartshorn Mon 8 Mar Little Curlew Western Treatment Plant 3 Little Curlew at Austin road lagoon number 2 in same area as previously reported. Other species of interest on the day incuded Black Kite, Black Falcon, Peregrine Falcon, White-breasted Sea-Eagle, Stubble Quail and a small number of Double-banded Plover -early returns. Only small numbers of migratory waders remain. Scott Baker, Peter Lansley Ground Parrot Mallacoota - Heathland Walk One bird flushed from knee-high heath. Bird flew away calling, landing about 10m further on. As we walked through the heath a few more metres, it flushed again and flew into inaccessible scrub. Two good views of a few seconds each.. Paul Dodd & Ruth Woodrow Sun 7 Mar Black Honeyeater, Crested Bellbird Bailieston Single female seen in flowering Grey Box and mistletoe at "Birremathool" on the north side of Pontings Lane. Crested Bellbird heard here, and also at Bailieston Quarry and the central block of the Bailieston Historic Reserve. Richard & Margaret Alcorn Black Honeyeater, White-fronted Honeyeater, White-throated Needletail Kamarooka Forest Male Black Honeyeater observed along Campbells Road. The attached photo was taken in the same location back in October 09. Other intersting sightings included White-fronted and Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters, Shy Heathwren and around 6 White-throated Needletail flying high overhead. David Kleinert Sat 6 Mar White-throated Needletail Linton, south-west of Ballarat 8+ White-throated Needletails on 6th March, 12+ on 8th March & 2+ on 9th March. Observed by BOCA campers at Linton. Celia M. Browne et al Crested Pigeon Riverbank Road, Bairnsdale On road to The Cut. Single bird flew from road to nearby wattle tree. Elizabeth Shaw and Alan Crawford. Grey-crowned Babbler, White-bellied Sea-Eagle Barmah A group of three Grey-crowned Babblers seen along Bradleys Road, north east of Barmah. Also an adult White-bellied Sea-Eagle seen perched beside Gulf Creek in Barmah Forest (at intersection of 4 Mile Creek Track and Gulf Creek). David Kleinert Black Honeyeater Wychitella Forest, Tip Block Black Honeyeaters were feeding in flowering Grey Box in the northern end of the Tip Block of Wychitella Forest (north of Wedderburn, intersection of Old Boort Rd and Borung-Wedderburn Rd). Also present were Black-chinned, Fuscous, and Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters. Black Honeyeaters were easily located by their 'seep-seep' call and were also observed further south along Old Boort Rd where Grey Box were flowering. Alistair Stewart and Gregg Müller Fri 5 Mar 25 Black Honeyeater Inglewood/Wedderburn Black Honeyeaters still in numbers through central Victoria. A flock seen in mallee north of Inglewood, plus others recorded widely throughout the area including Wychitella. Lots of Grey Box flowering plus some mallee and mistletoe that flowered in the spring is bursting with buds again! simon starr Tue 2 Mar Fairy Martin Holden Road Bridge over Kororoit Creek About a dozen Fairy Martins nesting beneath the bridge of Kororoit Creek near Toolern Vale. Many old abandoned nests also among the ones in use Daryl Akers Mon 1 Mar Glossy Black-Cockatoo Tambo Upper Pair of Glossies heard on the wing and then sighted heading from the N/E (Bruthen) to the S/W possibly toward Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park. Faye Bedford Birdline Victoria is sponsored by Birds Australia - Victoria and co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds . ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Birdline Central & Southern Queensland Weekly Update From: "Eremaea Birds" <notifications AT eremaea.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:30:18 +1000 Birdline Central & Southern Queensland Published sightings for the week ending 14 Mar 2010. Sun 14 Mar Black Noddy Point Danger, Coolangatta Highlight of sea watch off Point Danger was a Black Noddy feeding just of the rocks with Common Terns and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters - seen twice about fifteen minutes apart, so possibly two birds. The noddy got within 300 metres of NSW, but did not cross the border whilst I was watching. Also a few Pomerine Skuas and one Arctic Skua. A Sooty Oyestercatcher was resting on the rocks. The day started well with two Powerful Owls calling on our property bordering Moggill State Forest, Hawkesbury Road, Anstead, 20 km west of Brisbane CBD. Rod Gardner Sat 13 Mar Common Noddy Point Lookout,Stradbroke Island During a 4 hour seawatch had at least 25 Common Noddys close in .Also 100 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters,3-4 Pom Skuas and lots of Common and Little Terns. stuart Pickering and Andy Jensen Thu 11 Mar Square-tailed kite Bowman Park, Bardon Single over Bowman Parade (-27.45513, 152.97515) Tom Tarrant Sun 7 Mar Glossy Black Cockatoos Cedar Creek, Gold Coast Hinterland, Qld 4 Glossy Black Cockatoos flew over my property about 11.00 am Sunday 7/3/2010 Sandra Gallienne Sat 6 Mar Wandering Tattler Point Lookout, North Stradbroke Island, SE Qld A total of 7 together on the rocks at the point. Stuart warren, Rob Dougherty, Chris Sanderson and Colin Reid Birdline Central & Southern Queensland is sponsored by Birds Australia Southern Queensland and co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds . =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Birdline Tasmania Weekly Update From: "Eremaea Birds" <notifications AT eremaea.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:30:47 +1000 Birdline Tasmania Published sightings for the week ending 14 Mar 2010. Mon 8 Mar Morepork (Southern Boobook) Poatina Village One bird heard calling just after midnight from the Mountainview Chalet. John Tongue Birdline Tasmania is co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds . =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Birdline NT Weekly Update From: "Eremaea Birds" <notifications AT eremaea.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:30:44 +1000 Birdline NT Published sightings for the week ending 14 Mar 2010. Birdline NT is co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds . =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Birdline North Queensland Weekly Update From: "Eremaea Birds" <notifications AT eremaea.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:30:24 +1000 Birdline North Queensland Published sightings for the week ending 14 Mar 2010. Wed 10 Mar Torresian Imperial-Pigeon Townsville CBD: Wills Street 5 birds observed early afternoon: - Wills Street in a Palm tree adjacent to Transport and Main Roads Department, State Government offices. Weather showers and windy. Unusual to have 5 birds in 1 tree. Remained several minutes. Possibly gathering for northward migration. Denise Elrick (per Alexandra Canton) Wompoo Fruit-dove Arlington Court, KIRWAN (suburb of Townsvile) This one Wompoo Fruit-dove has been seen daily at the above residential address since 01 March 2010. The bird is usually seen resting in this back-yard River Cherry tree, as in the picture. A resident Magpi-lark tries continually to anoy the Wompoo, but is generally ignored. Historical: - Resultant from Cyclone Larry devastating the Wompoo's usual Rain Forest habitats to the north of here in March 2006 we did see many Wompoos in Townsville City suburbia. There have been no similar events, except for the usual very wet monsoonal weather. Unusual then to see this bird in the suburbs of Townsville. Constance Smith (submitted by Len Ezzy) Tue 9 Mar Red-necked Crake Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge, Julatten, QLD 2 adults with four chicks observed by a guest, alongside the orchard at Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge. Good breeding record. Melissa Hamilton per Keith Fisher Mon 8 Mar Blue-faced Parrot-Finch Gillies Lookout, near Cathedral Fig, Atherton Talblelands One young bird clearly seen but others heard and glimpsed. Suspect flock size about 5 birds. Alan Gillanders Lovely Fairy-wren Gillies Lookout, near Cathedral Fig, Atherton Talblelands The birds have become less regular at this site over the last few years. Two Females. Alan Gillanders Black-necked Stork Hyde Park (Suburb of Townsville City) One male Black-necked Stork observed (0630 hours today) about 40 metres to the south of the busy Woolcock Street. Geographical Coordinates (Datum GDA 94) 19°16'20" south; 146°47'52" east. The bird was working the inundated drain area above the salt water restriction valve between between the "Hyde Park Centre" and the residences on the east of the drain. First time I've seen this species in busy suburbia. Len Ezzy Birdline North Queensland is sponsored by Birds Australia North Queensland and Townsville Region Bird Observers Club and co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds . ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Birdline Australia Weekly Update From: "Eremaea Birds" <notifications AT eremaea.com> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:30:13 +1000 Birdline Australia Published sightings for the week ending 14 Mar 2010. Sat 13 Mar White-bellied Storm-Petrel, Gould's Petrel Sydney pelagic, New South Wales A well-seen White-bellied Storm-Petrel and two Gould's Petrels which stayed around the Halicat for at least 30 minutes were the highlights of an excellent Sydney pelagic trip where we recorded a good total of 19 species. Roger McGovern Fri 12 Mar Possible Dunlin Tuross Lake Estuary, New South Wales BARC has received a submission on a Dunlin seen by Pattie Parker in the Tuross Lake Estuary, NSW on the 5 January 2010. The bird was in partial breeding plumage with black patches emerging on the belly. Pattie Parker per Mike Carter Regent Honeyeater, Black-chinned Honeyeater, Pacific Baza Werakata (Kitchener) near Cessnock, New South Wales Single Regent Honeyeater seen today in a large Spotted Gum not far from the Abernethy-Kitchener Road. Although there is no blossom in this or any other Spotted Gums in the valley, there is a locally endemic Stringybark (still undescribed to science) flowering at the moment. Interestingly, this is the same Stringybark that Regents were foraging in during July-August last year (at the same site and elsewhere in the locality), so it is fascinating to see it flowering now in March. Quite a few Black-chins, Brown-heads etc and the usual hordes of Little Lorikeets in the area. A Pacific Baza at Pelton this morning also. Mick Roderick Sun 21 Feb Cook's, Gould's, Soft-plumaged Petrel, Buller's Shearwater, Long-tailed Jaeger Eaglehawk Neck pelagic, Tasmania The BOCA Eaglehawk Neck pelagic recorded 27 species including five rarer seabirds - Cook's (1), Gould's (3), Soft-plumaged Petrel (1), Buller's Shearwater (1), Long-tailed Jaeger (1). This may be the first Cook's Petrel recorded on an organised pelagic off Tasmania. Also seen were an estimated 50 Wandering Albatross (including 34 together), 4 other species of albatross and good numbers of White-chinned Petrels Rohan Clarke et al. Sat 16 Jan Radjah Shelduck Bibra Lake , Western Australia Radjah Shelduck (1) Bibra Lake. Graham Armstrong per WA Recent Bird Sightings Sun 28 May Gouldian Finch Arnhem Hwy, Northern Territory A black faced Gouldian Finch was recorded in grassland/ monsoon forest approx. 45 kilometres from Darwin on the Arnhem Hwy - 100 metres east of the from Jabiru 200 km (J200) sign. Another black-faced bird was later seen in the same spot - possibly the same bird. From all indications this is the closest record of a wild Gouldian Finch to Darwin. Tim Dolby, Greg Oakley, Chris Brady Birdline Australia is sponsored by Birds Australia and co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds . =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Raptor CD From: Peter Shute <pshute AT nuw.org.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:34:29 +1100 CD number 2 in the BOCA set includes the eagles, hawks, etc. Owls are on number 4. They can be purchased separately. I don't know what effect playing them might have on non target birds, that live in the area. Pest control companies sell devices that regularly play various raptor calls. I assume they're intended to scare away pigeons and starlings, etc. I don't know how well they work - there are still plenty of them in places they aren't wanted. Peter Shute -------------------------- Sent using BlackBerry ----- Original Message ----- From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au To: birding-aus Sent: Sat Mar 13 22:23:47 2010 Subject: [Birding-Aus] Raptor CD Does anyone know if you can purchase a CD of raptor calls. Someone I know is trying to dissuade Cockatoos from roosting around his house and wants some raptor calls to fighten them away. I have expressed my doubts about whether it would work but he is insistent that he wants to try. Jan ==========www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ========================================= www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Raptor CD From: "Jan England " <janengland AT linkt.com.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:23:47 +1000 Does anyone know if you can purchase a CD of raptor calls. Someone I know is trying to dissuade Cockatoos from roosting around his house and wants some raptor calls to fighten them away. I have expressed my doubts about whether it would work but he is insistent that he wants to try. Jan ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? now Re Poop From: Denise Goodfellow <goodfellow AT bigpond.com.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:14:45 +0930 In "Fauna of Kakadu and the Top End" I used the terms "poo" and "scat" because I wanted to produce a book that would appeal to both visiting scientists (like many of my clients) and lay people. That, by the way, is why I also included humour. Used as a text by the University of NSW summer school it is the only fauna book I know that compares a goanna's hemipene to the tickler condoms one can buy in a sex shop! -- Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 3460 NT 0832, AUSTRALIA Ph. 61 08 89 328306 Mobile: 04 386 50 835 Birdwatching and Indigenous tourism consultant PhD Candidate Research survey: For American birders - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=h3NCqTwur3H_2bPlbFtk_2bSpw_3d_3d For UK and other birders -http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=adx6k4cK_2fqMWzw79jmrmzg_3d_3d http://www.denisegoodfellow.com.au http://www.earthfoot.org http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baby-dreaming http://www.ausbird.com http://birderstravel.com For copies of Birds of Australiaąs Top End or Quiet Snake Dreaming, visit amazon.com on 14/3/10 3:34 PM, Ian Martin at ian.martin AT exemail.com.au wrote: > Hi Syd, >> From Websters - 3rd meaning for "Poop" > --------------------- > poop3 > Slang > n. > [prob. < vulgar poop, to break wind, defecate, feces (< ME puopen: see > POOP2)] > 1. excrement; feces > 2. the pertinent facts, esp. current inside information > vi. > to defecate > --------------------- > > ie definitely slang and not scientific ... even in the US :-0 > > Regards > Ian > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Chris Sanderson" > To: "Syd Curtis" > Cc: "bird" > Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 4:45 PM > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? > > >> Hi Syd, >> >> On the subject of poop, I can only assume this is a localized term >> within >> the US? Regarding the depth perception and head movement, I have >> definitely >> heard that Tyto owls get better location of targets via hearing by >> moving >> their head side to side to "triangulate" the source of the sound. >> Remember >> their face is one big dish focusing sounds to their ears. Not sure if >> it >> would help vision or depth perception though. Perhaps Steven Debus >> can shed >> some light on this one? >> >> Regards, >> Chris >> >> On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 3:16 PM, Syd Curtis >> wrote: >> >>> >>> Is there anyone on birding-aus who has read the book and feels able >>> to >>> comment on this for me, please? >>> >>> I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by >>> Stacey >>> O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in 2009". >>> (First >>> published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, >>> Inc. >>> 2008.) >>> >>> It is claimed that the author trained as a biologist, graduating from >>> Occidental College (in California) and continuing her education at >>> Caltech. >>> >>> The Owl is an American Barn Owl. It had nerve damage to one wing and >>> would >>> not have survived in the wild. The author accepted it as a >>> four-day-old >>> chick and took on the job of caring for it for the whole of its life. >>> (Some >>> 19 years.) The owlet's eyes were still closed at that stage and when >>> they >>> opened he imprinted on Stacey as his 'parent'. She writes: >>> >>> "When Wesley opened his eyes for the first time, he stared right >>> at me. >>> >>> " 'Hello, Wesley,' I said. >>> " 'Screech,' he softly replied, gazing deeply into my eyes.' >>> >>> "Wesley focused on me right away, twittering and chattering, >>> looking me >>> in the eyes and trying to communicate. I was astonished at the >>> intensity >>> and clarity of his focus on me." >>> >>> If the book is fact, written by a trained scientist, one would expect >>> scientific accuracy. I'm not far into the book, yet already I'm >>> having >>> doubts and wondering if some of it is imagination. >>> >>> "Wesley's eyes were fixed in their sockets, so the only way he >>> could get >>> depth perception was to move his head from side to side." >>> >>> I reckon I can depth perception without moving my eyes or my head. >>> (Or am >>> I >>> just imagining this?) >>> >>> Just one other (somewhat unsavoury) quote that bothers me a little. >>> Wesley >>> was not confined to a cage, so his droppings had to be cleaned up, >>> and >>> there's some excuse for dwelling on this aspect: >>> >>> "Wesley observed the cardinal rule of never pooping in his nest. >>> ... >>> When he first started to scoot around on the carpet, he would back up >>> with >>> his rear end high in the air and push backwards, trying to find the >>> end of >>> the rug so he could poop. ... I realized that if I lay down a paper >>> towel >>> behind him, he would notice the change in texture ... and would poop >>> there >>> with a quiet air of dignified relief." >>> >>> But the dissertation upon the word "poop" raises my doubts. It >>> begins: >>> >>> "When describing both the act of defecating and the substance of >>> fecal >>> matter itself, biologists prefer to use the scientific term 'poop'." >>> >>> And it concludes: >>> >>> "So if it's on the ground, it's poop. If it's under your >>> microscope, >>> it's scat. If it's running down your neck, it's shit." >>> >>> There's no entry for 'poop' in my (1995) Larousse Dictionary of >>> Technology. >>> And the only entries in other dictionaries confine the meaning as >>> referring >>> to the aft part of a ship. >>> >>> So. Are there any birding-aus biologists out there who regard "poop' >>> as a >>> standard scientific term.? >>> >>> Does anyone who has read the book, care to comment on whether it's >>> science >>> or fiction? >>> >>> Cheers >>> >>> Syd >>> >>> >>> =============================== >>> www.birding-aus.org >>> birding-aus.blogspot.com >>> >>> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >>> send the message: >>> unsubscribe >>> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >>> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >>> =============================== >>> >> =============================== >> www.birding-aus.org >> birding-aus.blogspot.com >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> =============================== > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: possible Dunlin at Tuross Lakes From: calyptorhynchus AT gmail.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:44:50 +0000 I've been looking at the photos on ABID. Are we sure it isn'ta Broad-billed Sandpiper? That forehead looks very BBS to me, and the depth of the bill is quite noticeable. I can't seem to see any black flecks really low down on the belly. I think they could just be higher up down to the bottom of the breast (consistent with BBS). John Leonard =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? From: calyptorhynchus AT gmail.com Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:41:01 +0000 Another possibility is that the author delivered a perfectly sensible MS to the publisher and they insisted on rewriting because they thought they knew what their readers wanted (or because they could sense a Disney tie-in). This happens all to often, and the public responds by buying fewer and fewer books each year. John Leonard On , Ian Martin wrote: > Hi Syd, > From Websters - 3rd meaning for "Poop" > --------------------- > poop3 > Slang > n. > [prob. > 1. excrement; feces > 2. the pertinent facts, esp. current inside information > vi. > to defecate > --------------------- > ie definitely slang and not scientific ... even in the US :-0 > Regards > Ian > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Sanderson" > chris.sanderson AT gmail.com> > To: "Syd Curtis" sydc AT ozemail.com.au> > Cc: "bird" birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au> > Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 4:45 PM > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? > Hi Syd, > On the subject of poop, I can only assume this is a localized term within > the US? Regarding the depth perception and head movement, I have > definitely > heard that Tyto owls get better location of targets via hearing by moving > their head side to side to "triangulate" the source of the sound. Remember > their face is one big dish focusing sounds to their ears. Not sure if it > would help vision or depth perception though. Perhaps Steven Debus can > shed > some light on this one? > Regards, > Chris > On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 3:16 PM, Syd Curtis sydc AT ozemail.com.au> wrote: > Is there anyone on birding-aus who has read the book and feels able to > comment on this for me, please? > I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by Stacey > O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in 2009". (First > published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. > 2008.) > It is claimed that the author trained as a biologist, graduating from > Occidental College (in California) and continuing her education at > Caltech. > The Owl is an American Barn Owl. It had nerve damage to one wing and would > not have survived in the wild. The author accepted it as a four-day-old > chick and took on the job of caring for it for the whole of its life. > (Some > 19 years.) The owlet's eyes were still closed at that stage and when they > opened he imprinted on Stacey as his 'parent'. She writes: > "When Wesley opened his eyes for the first time, he stared right at me. > " 'Hello, Wesley,' I said. > " 'Screech,' he softly replied, gazing deeply into my eyes.' > "Wesley focused on me right away, twittering and chattering, looking me > in the eyes and trying to communicate. I was astonished at the intensity > and clarity of his focus on me." > If the book is fact, written by a trained scientist, one would expect > scientific accuracy. I'm not far into the book, yet already I'm having > doubts and wondering if some of it is imagination. > "Wesley's eyes were fixed in their sockets, so the only way he could get > depth perception was to move his head from side to side." > I reckon I can depth perception without moving my eyes or my head. (Or am > I > just imagining this?) > Just one other (somewhat unsavoury) quote that bothers me a little. Wesley > was not confined to a cage, so his droppings had to be cleaned up, and > there's some excuse for dwelling on this aspect: > "Wesley observed the cardinal rule of never pooping in his nest. ... > When he first started to scoot around on the carpet, he would back up with > his rear end high in the air and push backwards, trying to find the end of > the rug so he could poop. ... I realized that if I lay down a paper towel > behind him, he would notice the change in texture ... and would poop there > with a quiet air of dignified relief." > But the dissertation upon the word "poop" raises my doubts. It begins: > "When describing both the act of defecating and the substance of fecal > matter itself, biologists prefer to use the scientific term 'poop'." > And it concludes: > "So if it's on the ground, it's poop. If it's under your microscope, > it's scat. If it's running down your neck, it's shit." > There's no entry for 'poop' in my (1995) Larousse Dictionary of > Technology. > And the only entries in other dictionaries confine the meaning as > referring > to the aft part of a ship. > So. Are there any birding-aus biologists out there who regard "poop' as a > standard scientific term.? > Does anyone who has read the book, care to comment on whether it's science > or fiction? > Cheers > Syd > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: > unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? now Re Poop From: "Ian Martin" <ian.martin AT exemail.com.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:04:17 +1100 Hi Syd, >From Websters - 3rd meaning for "Poop" --------------------- poop3 Slang n. [prob. < vulgar poop, to break wind, defecate, feces (< ME puopen: see POOP2)] 1. excrement; feces 2. the pertinent facts, esp. current inside information vi. to defecate --------------------- ie definitely slang and not scientific ... even in the US :-0 Regards Ian ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Sanderson" To: "Syd Curtis" Cc: "bird" Sent: Sunday, March 14, 2010 4:45 PM Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? > Hi Syd, > > On the subject of poop, I can only assume this is a localized term > within > the US? Regarding the depth perception and head movement, I have > definitely > heard that Tyto owls get better location of targets via hearing by > moving > their head side to side to "triangulate" the source of the sound. > Remember > their face is one big dish focusing sounds to their ears. Not sure if > it > would help vision or depth perception though. Perhaps Steven Debus > can shed > some light on this one? > > Regards, > Chris > > On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 3:16 PM, Syd Curtis > wrote: > >> >> Is there anyone on birding-aus who has read the book and feels able >> to >> comment on this for me, please? >> >> I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by >> Stacey >> O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in 2009". >> (First >> published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, >> Inc. >> 2008.) >> >> It is claimed that the author trained as a biologist, graduating from >> Occidental College (in California) and continuing her education at >> Caltech. >> >> The Owl is an American Barn Owl. It had nerve damage to one wing and >> would >> not have survived in the wild. The author accepted it as a >> four-day-old >> chick and took on the job of caring for it for the whole of its life. >> (Some >> 19 years.) The owlet's eyes were still closed at that stage and when >> they >> opened he imprinted on Stacey as his 'parent'. She writes: >> >> "When Wesley opened his eyes for the first time, he stared right >> at me. >> >> " 'Hello, Wesley,' I said. >> " 'Screech,' he softly replied, gazing deeply into my eyes.' >> >> "Wesley focused on me right away, twittering and chattering, >> looking me >> in the eyes and trying to communicate. I was astonished at the >> intensity >> and clarity of his focus on me." >> >> If the book is fact, written by a trained scientist, one would expect >> scientific accuracy. I'm not far into the book, yet already I'm >> having >> doubts and wondering if some of it is imagination. >> >> "Wesley's eyes were fixed in their sockets, so the only way he >> could get >> depth perception was to move his head from side to side." >> >> I reckon I can depth perception without moving my eyes or my head. >> (Or am >> I >> just imagining this?) >> >> Just one other (somewhat unsavoury) quote that bothers me a little. >> Wesley >> was not confined to a cage, so his droppings had to be cleaned up, >> and >> there's some excuse for dwelling on this aspect: >> >> "Wesley observed the cardinal rule of never pooping in his nest. >> ... >> When he first started to scoot around on the carpet, he would back up >> with >> his rear end high in the air and push backwards, trying to find the >> end of >> the rug so he could poop. ... I realized that if I lay down a paper >> towel >> behind him, he would notice the change in texture ... and would poop >> there >> with a quiet air of dignified relief." >> >> But the dissertation upon the word "poop" raises my doubts. It >> begins: >> >> "When describing both the act of defecating and the substance of >> fecal >> matter itself, biologists prefer to use the scientific term 'poop'." >> >> And it concludes: >> >> "So if it's on the ground, it's poop. If it's under your >> microscope, >> it's scat. If it's running down your neck, it's shit." >> >> There's no entry for 'poop' in my (1995) Larousse Dictionary of >> Technology. >> And the only entries in other dictionaries confine the meaning as >> referring >> to the aft part of a ship. >> >> So. Are there any birding-aus biologists out there who regard "poop' >> as a >> standard scientific term.? >> >> Does anyone who has read the book, care to comment on whether it's >> science >> or fiction? >> >> Cheers >> >> Syd >> >> >> =============================== >> www.birding-aus.org >> birding-aus.blogspot.com >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> =============================== >> > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:06:12 +1000 We know that races of birds that live in hotter climates are smaller than the races that live in colder climates [ecologists refer to this as Bergmann’s rule]. Just look at your field guide and compare the tropical races with the temperate races. Here are a couple of excerpts from the document: "Decreasing size was associated with warming summer temperatures, at least for species that bred locally. When regional temperature was included along with year in the analyses of breeding adults, mass decreased significantly with increasing temperature in the current and the preceding year (Fig. 2; temperature this year: ..." "Data from population trends indicate that declines in body size were not associated with deteriorating conditions, at least during the winter season or on the breeding grounds." As for your comment regarding climate change, there are very substantial facts outlined in: Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007 • Preface and Foreword • Summary for Policymakers • Technical Summary • Frequently Asked Questions • Historical Overview of Climate Change Science • Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and Radiative Forcing • Observations: Atmospheric Surface and Climate Change • Observations: Changes in Snow, Ice and Frozen Ground • Observations: Ocean Climate Change and Sea Level • Palaeoclimate • Coupling Between Changes in the Climate System and Biogeochemistry • Climate Models and their Evaluation • Understanding and Attributing Climate Change • Global Climate Projections • Regional Climate Projections Nothing in this report has been discredited. You can read it for yourself - download it from http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/contents.html Regards, Laurie. PS, There will still be believers and deniers even when we have "perfect knowledge". That is the nature of humanity. On 14/03/2010, at 3:09 PM, peter crow wrote: > I have no doubt that the data does indicate that song birds are > getting smaller. The problem is whether it is as a result of climate > change. > > It seems that CC is being credited with possibly being involved with > many things when we don't really know. > > i think associating results with climate change in this manner > "possibly as a result of" Doesn't do a lot of good. > > I am not a CC believer, nor am I a denier nor am I a sceptic. I > simply don't have the background or knowledge to make a balanced > judgement. > > I consider it highly likely that the amount of gunk we have poured > into the atmosphere has done no good and is "probably" causing all > sorts of things including "possibly" climate change. > > We need substantial facts (as much as possible) to establish that we > have caused climate change so that we don't have "believers or > deniers." > > We need facts that we mugs can understand and appreciate. Believing > or not believing are not options. We need knowers. > > Peter > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list,send the message: > unsubscribe(in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Re: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? From: Chris Sanderson <chris.sanderson AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:45:18 +1000 Hi Syd, On the subject of poop, I can only assume this is a localized term within the US? Regarding the depth perception and head movement, I have definitely heard that Tyto owls get better location of targets via hearing by moving their head side to side to "triangulate" the source of the sound. Remember their face is one big dish focusing sounds to their ears. Not sure if it would help vision or depth perception though. Perhaps Steven Debus can shed some light on this one? Regards, Chris On Sun, Mar 14, 2010 at 3:16 PM, Syd Curtis wrote: > > Is there anyone on birding-aus who has read the book and feels able to > comment on this for me, please? > > I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by Stacey > O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in 2009". (First > published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. > 2008.) > > It is claimed that the author trained as a biologist, graduating from > Occidental College (in California) and continuing her education at Caltech. > > The Owl is an American Barn Owl. It had nerve damage to one wing and would > not have survived in the wild. The author accepted it as a four-day-old > chick and took on the job of caring for it for the whole of its life. > (Some > 19 years.) The owlet's eyes were still closed at that stage and when they > opened he imprinted on Stacey as his 'parent'. She writes: > > "When Wesley opened his eyes for the first time, he stared right at me. > > " 'Hello, Wesley,' I said. > " 'Screech,' he softly replied, gazing deeply into my eyes.' > > "Wesley focused on me right away, twittering and chattering, looking me > in the eyes and trying to communicate. I was astonished at the intensity > and clarity of his focus on me." > > If the book is fact, written by a trained scientist, one would expect > scientific accuracy. I'm not far into the book, yet already I'm having > doubts and wondering if some of it is imagination. > > "Wesley's eyes were fixed in their sockets, so the only way he could get > depth perception was to move his head from side to side." > > I reckon I can depth perception without moving my eyes or my head. (Or am > I > just imagining this?) > > Just one other (somewhat unsavoury) quote that bothers me a little. Wesley > was not confined to a cage, so his droppings had to be cleaned up, and > there's some excuse for dwelling on this aspect: > > "Wesley observed the cardinal rule of never pooping in his nest. ... > When he first started to scoot around on the carpet, he would back up with > his rear end high in the air and push backwards, trying to find the end of > the rug so he could poop. ... I realized that if I lay down a paper towel > behind him, he would notice the change in texture ... and would poop there > with a quiet air of dignified relief." > > But the dissertation upon the word "poop" raises my doubts. It begins: > > "When describing both the act of defecating and the substance of fecal > matter itself, biologists prefer to use the scientific term 'poop'." > > And it concludes: > > "So if it's on the ground, it's poop. If it's under your microscope, > it's scat. If it's running down your neck, it's shit." > > There's no entry for 'poop' in my (1995) Larousse Dictionary of Technology. > And the only entries in other dictionaries confine the meaning as referring > to the aft part of a ship. > > So. Are there any birding-aus biologists out there who regard "poop' as a > standard scientific term.? > > Does anyone who has read the book, care to comment on whether it's science > or fiction? > > Cheers > > Syd > > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Wesley the Owl - Facts or Fiction? From: Syd Curtis <sydc AT ozemail.com.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:16:25 +1000 Is there anyone on birding-aus who has read the book and feels able to comment on this for me, please? I am reading a book, "Wesley - The Story of a Remarkable Owl" by Stacey O'Brien. My copy "first published in Australia by Bantam in 2009". (First published in the US by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 2008.) It is claimed that the author trained as a biologist, graduating from Occidental College (in California) and continuing her education at Caltech. The Owl is an American Barn Owl. It had nerve damage to one wing and would not have survived in the wild. The author accepted it as a four-day-old chick and took on the job of caring for it for the whole of its life. (Some 19 years.) The owlet's eyes were still closed at that stage and when they opened he imprinted on Stacey as his 'parent'. She writes: "When Wesley opened his eyes for the first time, he stared right at me. " 'Hello, Wesley,' I said. " 'Screech,' he softly replied, gazing deeply into my eyes.' "Wesley focused on me right away, twittering and chattering, looking me in the eyes and trying to communicate. I was astonished at the intensity and clarity of his focus on me." If the book is fact, written by a trained scientist, one would expect scientific accuracy. I'm not far into the book, yet already I'm having doubts and wondering if some of it is imagination. "Wesley's eyes were fixed in their sockets, so the only way he could get depth perception was to move his head from side to side." I reckon I can depth perception without moving my eyes or my head. (Or am I just imagining this?) Just one other (somewhat unsavoury) quote that bothers me a little. Wesley was not confined to a cage, so his droppings had to be cleaned up, and there's some excuse for dwelling on this aspect: "Wesley observed the cardinal rule of never pooping in his nest. ... When he first started to scoot around on the carpet, he would back up with his rear end high in the air and push backwards, trying to find the end of the rug so he could poop. ... I realized that if I lay down a paper towel behind him, he would notice the change in texture ... and would poop there with a quiet air of dignified relief." But the dissertation upon the word "poop" raises my doubts. It begins: "When describing both the act of defecating and the substance of fecal matter itself, biologists prefer to use the scientific term 'poop'." And it concludes: "So if it's on the ground, it's poop. If it's under your microscope, it's scat. If it's running down your neck, it's shit." There's no entry for 'poop' in my (1995) Larousse Dictionary of Technology. And the only entries in other dictionaries confine the meaning as referring to the aft part of a ship. So. Are there any birding-aus biologists out there who regard "poop' as a standard scientific term.? Does anyone who has read the book, care to comment on whether it's science or fiction? Cheers Syd =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: peter crow <corvusp AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:09:45 +1000 I have no doubt that the data does indicate that song birds are getting smaller. The problem is whether it is as a result of climate change. It seems that CC is being credited with possibly being involved with many things when we don't really know. i think associating results with climate change in this manner "possibly as a result of" Doesn't do a lot of good. I am not a CC believer, nor am I a denier nor am I a sceptic. I simply don't have the background or knowledge to make a balanced judgement. I consider it highly likely that the amount of gunk we have poured into the atmosphere has done no good and is "probably" causing all sorts of things including "possibly" climate change. We need substantial facts (as much as possible) to establish that we have caused climate change so that we don't have "believers or deniers." We need facts that we mugs can understand and appreciate. Believing or not believing are not options. We need knowers. Peter =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Channel-billed Cuckoo in Todd Mall, Alice Springs. From: Christopher Watson <roadkill.chronicles AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:37:07 +0930 Our friend the CBC is still lurking around The Alice. Today I was trying to use the ATM when an almighty ruckus erupted from the gum trees in the mall outside the NAB. Got great views before he was seen off by a posse of Ringneck Parrots, Yellow-throated Miners, and a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike. Chris Watson Alice Springs =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: One for the movie buffs From: Alan McBride <amcbride1 AT me.com> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:07:40 +1100 Here's an interesting casting: http://tinyurl.com/ygqxoxg Should at least be better than Marley & Me! Alan ******************************************************************************* Alan McBride, MBO. Photojournalist | Traveller | Writer | Birding Guide + Member: International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance National Association of Independent Writers & Editors American Writers & Artists Inc. Travelwriters . com http://web.me.com/amcbride1 http://www.worldreviewer.com/member/alanmcbride/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmcbride http://www.twitter.com/alanmcbride Good planets are hard to find; until we do, please, be green and read from the screen Tel: + 61 419 414 860 Fax: + 61 2 9973 2306 Skype: mcbird101 P O Box 190 | Newport Beach | NSW 2106 | Australia This e-mail and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender. This e-mail is also subject to copyright. No part of it should be reproduced, adapted or transmitted without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. *********************************************************************************** =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: RE: The birds people keep as pets From: "Tony Russell" <pratincole AT esc.net.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:12:08 +1030 Let's hope it gets a few cats eh. Tony -----Original Message----- From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au [mailto:birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au] On Behalf Of Laurie Knight Sent: Saturday, 13 March 2010 6:41 PM To: Birding Aus Subject: [Birding-Aus] The birds people keep as pets A pet Eagle Owl has escaped from its aviary in the UK. I'm not sure why anyone should be allowed to keep a bird with a 2 metre wingspan as a pet. see http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/lock-up-your-pets-killer-owl -on-the-loose-1920721.html =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: RE: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: "Stephen Ambrose" <sambrose AT pacific.net.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:18:42 +1100 I wonder if the changes observed are a result of habitat clearance and degradation more than just climate change. Plumage coloration, moulting and body growth are all energy-intensive processes. Food is the main source of energy for these processes. If there is widespread habitat clearance and degradation, then maybe the amount and quality of food available to birds is becoming more limited, in turn limiting body growth and plumage coloration. Moreover, in species that exhibit brightly-coloured plumages, those individuals with the brighter and longer-lasting coloured plumage are usually healthier birds (better nourished, lower parasitic loads, fewer diseases). In other words, the bright plumage is a visual cue to conspecifics of a bird's relative fitness and ability to breed. Perhaps the smaller sizes and less bright plumages are a sign that birds are becoming less healthy because of the extensive degradation and clearance of their habitats. Just a thought... Regards, Stephen Ambrose Ryde NSW >> Laurie Knight wrote: >> >> http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8560000/8560694.stm >>> >>> Climate linked to smaller birds >>> By Matt Walker >>> >>> Editor, Earth News >>> >>> Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is >>> suspected >>> as the cause. >>> >>> A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 >>> species, >>> shows that many are gradually becoming lighter and growing >>> shorter wings. >>> >>> This shrinkage has occurred within just half a century, with the >>> birds >>> thought to be evolving into a smaller size in response to warmer >>> temperatures. >>> >>> >>> >>> =============================== >>> www.birding-aus.org >>> birding-aus.blogspot.com >>> >>> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: >>> unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >>> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >>> =============================== >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>> >>> >>> No virus found in this incoming message. >>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: >>> 271.1.1/2742 - Release Date: 03/12/10 19:33:00 >>> >>> >>> >> =============================== >> www.birding-aus.org >> birding-aus.blogspot.com >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: >> unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> =============================== >> > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Sydney Pelagic Report - March 13, 2010 From: "Roger McGovern" <roglou AT bigpond.net.au> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:07:16 +1100 SYDNEY PELAGIC REPORT - SATURDAY MARCH 13, 2010 OVERVIEW A great autumn day's birding off Sydney with heaps of interesting birds for all on board the Halicat to enjoy. Yes, I know that I always say that, but it was a terrific day despite the uncomfortable sea conditions caused by the persistent southerly of the past few days and which caused 4 or 5 people to suffer some sea-sickness - none seriously. We altered our berleying technique today as Hal had been to the fish markets and collected a large esky full of rather smelly and disgusting fish scraps. We started putting this material out shortly after leaving Sydney Heads and we had an entourage of birds following us all the way to the shelf - it made a great difference to our usual somewhat quiet journey over the Abysmal Plain. The birds of the day were undoubtedly a WHITE-BELLIED STORM-PETREL which came quite close to the boat in great light showing all the diagnostic features and two GOULD'S PETRELS which stayed around our slick and occasionally passed close by for at least half an hour. The White-bellied Storm-Petrel is only the second seen off Sydney from the Halicat and will be submitted to the NSW ORAC. The weather for the day was a mix of overcast with some sunny periods staying dry until we approached Sydney Heads in the afternoon to be greeted with a couple of heavy rain showers. Air temperature ranged from 19degC in the morning up to 23degC later in the day. Sea water temperature in the harbour was 20.4degC, outside the heads was around 21.3degc and reached a maximum of 22.6degC at the shelf break. We left Rose Bay at 7.15am and returned at 4.15pm having travelled all day in sea conditions of a 1.5m sea on a 1.5m swell. The wind blew at a constant 12 to 15 knots all day from the south and this caused us to take a more northerly route than usual to avoid the discomfort of fighting into the southerly seas. TRIP SUMMARY We set off from Sydney Heads with about 15 passengers on board from NSW, interstate and overseas and travelled on a heading due east rather than our usual route to the ESE and Brown's Mountain. Initially, there didn't seem to be a lot of birds around except for the odd Wedge-tailed Shearwater. However, after deploying the fish offal, we began to attract some customers and, in fact, stopped about 3 miles off the heads for a berleying session. This brought in good numbers of Wedge-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwtaers, several Pomarine Jaegers and, surprisingly for March, an adult Black-browed Albatross. Short-tailed Shearwaters passed by and a few Australasian Gannets came along to see what was happening. We then continued motoring eastwards and berleying as we went with large numbers of shearwaters and the Pomarine Jaegers travelling with us. This activity brought a second Black-browed Albatross to the wake and then, to everyone's delight, an adult Wandering Albatross (ssp gibsoni) joined us for a short while. A single Hutton's Shearwater was seen by some on board and a Sooty Tern was seen by only one observer - but we were to see another later. The only cetaceans seen for the day approached the Halicat some 6 miles short of the shelf break and turned out to be a pod of about 50 Pantropical Spotted Dolphins, a new cetacean for many on board and one which is seen annually from the Halicat when the water temperatures are high. After a slow ride to the shelf break, we finally started a berleying drift at about noon some 12NM north of Brown's Mountain and, with the contingent of birds that we had 'brought with us' many more began to come to our slick. Great-winged Petrels of the NZ race gouldi appeared in small numbers, a couple more black-browed Albatross appeared, a few Wilson's Storm-Petrels came obligingly close to the boat and then, just as this observer was about to call a Long-tailed Jaeger on one side of the boat, the cry of 'Gould's Petrel' went up on the other! The Gould's (and a second one which arrived soon after) continued to draw everyone's interest since they provided fantastic views and a great opportunity to study the field marks. However, while this was going on, one of the several storm-petrels which were dancing around the back of the boat 'morphed' into a fregetta and, with it flying straight towards us in good sunlight, was clearly a White-bellied Storm-Petrel, a lifer for many on board. The interest continued with good views of a Sooty Tern, the arrival of a Shy Albatross (probably of the Australian nominate race) and another Wandering Albatross, this time a very young bird, again a gibsoni. Since it had taken so much time to get to the shelf, we had to reluctantly leave and set off back to Sydney. On the way, we added a couple of Fluttering Shearwaters and, in the harbour, a dark morph Arctic Jaeger to bring our species tally to a very respectable total of 19. BIRD LIST (Note that the number in parentheses represent the maximum number seen at one time) Great-winged Petrel 8 (2) Gould's Petrel 2 (2) Wedge-tailed Shearwater 300 (150) Short-tailed Shearwater 24 (6) Flesh-footed Shearwater 80 (20) Fluttering Shearwater 2 (1) Hutton's Shearwater 1 (1) Wandering Albatross 2 (1) both gibsoni Black-browed Albatross 4 (2) all nominate race Shy Albatross 1 (1) prob cauta Wilson's Storm-Petrel 7 (4) White-bellied Storm-Petrel 1 (1) Australasian Gannet 26 (8) Arctic Jaeger 1 (1) Pomarine Jaeger 22 (6) Long-tailed Jaeger 1 (1) Silver Gull 60 (15) Crested Tern 5 (4) Sooty Tern 2 (1) CETACEANS Pantropical Spotted Dolphin 50 Next Sydney pelagic trip will be on Saturday 10 April, 2010 departing Mosman Ferry Wharf at 06.45am and Rose Bay Public Wharf at 07.00am. Call Hal on 0411 311 236 to make a reservation. Cheers Roger McGovern __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4942 (20100313) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: "michael norris" <menorris AT ozemail.com.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:58:30 +1100 It's important to realise that substantial climate change has already been recorded in parts of the USA in recent decades, as in some other parts of the world. As the first generations to have had so much data and the resources to study it, we are privileged to be able to know about what has already happened to birds (and much else in the biosphere) associated with such phenomena. The enormous impacts of land-clearing on Australian birds is another well-established fact for this International Year of Biodiversity. This is quite separate from any debates about humans causing climate change and views about future climate change. But, let's face it, there is a "War on Science" in which denialists encourage irrational (not evidence-based) mockery of sound science and its predictions about the impacts of some humans on the rest of the biosphere (including other humans). See Clive Hamilton's recent articles on the ABC's Drum for the way these attacks are orchestrated. I also recommend Professor Stephan Lewandowsky's Climate debate: opinion vs evidence http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2842091.htm. And for a commentary on the fallacies in some major denialist arguments: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11462-climate-change-a-guide-for-the-perplexed.html Michael Norris Melbourne =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:05:05 +1000 The BBC is a solid news source put together by journalists. It is not peer reviewed. Oikos is issued by the Nordic Ecological Society and is a peer- reviewed journal in ecology. I imagine that it is credible as anything published in Australia. LK On 13/03/2010, at 7:22 PM, Peter Shute wrote: > I don't think the BBC should be regarded as grey. They went colour > decades ago. > > > -------------------------- > Sent using BlackBerry > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au > > To: Ian May > Cc: Birding Aus > Sent: Sat Mar 13 19:49:45 2010 > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as > a result of climate change > > C'mon Ian, Laurie didn't write the report! Why attack him for > linking a > possibly interesting article, peer-reviewed or not? Discuss the > content if > you must, but don't shoot the messenger. > > Regards, > Chris > > On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 6:28 PM, Ian May > wrote: > >> C'mon Laurie! It's not April 1 yet. Didn't we read last year >> that birds >> forced up the mountains by higher temperatures are becoming smaller >> too. If >> this keeps going, crows will be smaller than blow flies. >> >> Are these climate change findings an example of robust peer reviewed >> science or just quotes from grey literature? >> >> >> Regards >> >> >> Ian >> >> Laurie Knight wrote: >> >> http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8560000/8560694.stm >>> >>> Climate linked to smaller birds >>> By Matt Walker >>> >>> Editor, Earth News >>> >>> Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is >>> suspected >>> as the cause. >>> >>> A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 >>> species, >>> shows that many are gradually becoming lighter and growing >>> shorter wings. >>> >>> This shrinkage has occurred within just half a century, with the >>> birds >>> thought to be evolving into a smaller size in response to warmer >>> temperatures. >>> >>> >>> >>> =============================== >>> www.birding-aus.org >>> birding-aus.blogspot.com >>> >>> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: >>> unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >>> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >>> =============================== >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>> >>> >>> No virus found in this incoming message. >>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: >>> 271.1.1/2742 - Release Date: 03/12/10 19:33:00 >>> >>> >>> >> =============================== >> www.birding-aus.org >> birding-aus.blogspot.com >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: >> unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> =============================== >> > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: Herdsman Lake, Perth - BAWA Walk From: Syd Curtis <sydc AT ozemail.com.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:03:38 +1000 Highlights? Not a decent songster among the lot! (Just kidding!) 71 species in a single morning. Wow! Syd :-) > From: John Graff > Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:26:45 +0800 > To: Birding-Aus , Birds WA E-Mail List > > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Herdsman Lake, Perth - BAWA Walk > > > Hi all, > > > > For those who might be interested, the BAWA walk at Herdsman Lake this morning > was excellent. The water level is relatively low, so there are a few waders > about, as well as all of the usual suspects. In all, we saw 71 species for the > morning > > Highlights included; > > Little Egret (2+, north end of lake) > > Black-winged Stilt (20+) > > Banded Stilt (1, near the Heron Pl carpark) > > Red-necked Avocet (3, near Heron Pl carpark) > > Common Greenshank (2, 1 in breeding plumage) > > Common Sandpiper (1, near The Foreshore, N end of the lake) > > Black-fronted Dotterel (20+) > > Red-kneed Dotterel (3, near The Foreshore, N end of the lake) > > Buff-banded Rail (4+) > > Spotless Crake (1) > > > > Cheers, > > John =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: The birds people keep as pets From: brian fleming <flambeau AT labyrinth.net.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:12:31 +1100 Wiltshire's inhabitants should refrain from wearing animal-skin hats. The equivalent Great Horned Owl in North America has been responsible for the deaths of hunters wearing coonskin and other animal hats. Or so I have been told. Problem: if you turned a whole possum-skin into a hat, would you be at risk from a Powerful Owl? (This question is theoretical only. No possums have been harmed during the conduct of this thought-experiment). Anthea Fleming Laurie Knight wrote: > A pet Eagle Owl has escaped from its aviary in the UK. I'm not sure why > anyone should be allowed to keep a bird with a 2 metre wingspan as a pet. > see > http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/lock-up-your-pets-killer-owl-on-the-loose-1920721.html > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list,send the message: > unsubscribe(in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > > =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: Peter Shute <pshute AT nuw.org.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:22:18 +1100 I don't think the BBC should be regarded as grey. They went colour decades ago. -------------------------- Sent using BlackBerry ----- Original Message ----- From: birding-aus-bounces AT vicnet.net.au To: Ian May Cc: Birding Aus Sent: Sat Mar 13 19:49:45 2010 Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change C'mon Ian, Laurie didn't write the report! Why attack him for linking a possibly interesting article, peer-reviewed or not? Discuss the content if you must, but don't shoot the messenger. Regards, Chris On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 6:28 PM, Ian May wrote: > C'mon Laurie! It's not April 1 yet. Didn't we read last year that birds > forced up the mountains by higher temperatures are becoming smaller too. If > this keeps going, crows will be smaller than blow flies. > > Are these climate change findings an example of robust peer reviewed > science or just quotes from grey literature? > > > Regards > > > Ian > > Laurie Knight wrote: > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8560000/8560694.stm >> >> Climate linked to smaller birds >> By Matt Walker >> >> Editor, Earth News >> >> Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is suspected >> as the cause. >> >> A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 species, >> shows that many are gradually becoming lighter and growing shorter wings. >> >> This shrinkage has occurred within just half a century, with the birds >> thought to be evolving into a smaller size in response to warmer >> temperatures. >> >> >> >> =============================== >> www.birding-aus.org >> birding-aus.blogspot.com >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: >> unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> =============================== >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: >> 271.1.1/2742 - Release Date: 03/12/10 19:33:00 >> >> >> > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: > unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:52:16 +1000 If you have measured more than 486,203 birds over a period of several decades, then you might be in a position to throw stones, Ian. Declining body sizes in North American birds associated with climate change Josh Van Buskirk 1 , Robert S. Mulvihill 2 and Robert C. Leberman 2 1 Inst. of Zoology, Univ. of Zürich, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland, and: Dept of Zoology, Univ. of Melbourne, 3010 Victoria, Australia 2 Powdermill Avian Research Center, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Rector, PA 15677-9605, USA Oikos Early View Published Online: 2 Mar 2010 DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI) 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.18349.x Recent climate change has caused comparatively rapid shifts in the phenology and geographic distributions of many plants and animals. However, there is debate over the degree to which populations can meet the challenges of climate change with evolutionary or phenotypic responses in life history and morphology. We report that migrating birds captured at a banding station in western Pennsylvania, USA, have exhibited steadily decreasing fat-free mass and wing chord since 1961, consistent with a response to a warmer climate. This confirms that phenotypic responses to climate change are currently underway in entire avian assemblages. Declines in body size were not explained by an index of habitat condition within the breeding or wintering distributions. Instead, size was negatively correlated with temperature in the previous year, and long-term trends were associated with the direction of natural selection acting on size over the winter: species undergoing the strongest selection favoring small wing chord showed the most rapid long-term declines in wing. Phenotypic changes are therefore in line with the prevailing selection regime. Paper manuscript accepted 12 November 2009 On 13/03/2010, at 6:28 PM, Ian May wrote: > C'mon Laurie! It's not April 1 yet. Didn't we read last year > that birds forced up the mountains by higher temperatures are > becoming smaller too. If this keeps going, crows will be smaller > than blow flies. > > Are these climate change findings an example of robust peer reviewed > science or just quotes from grey literature? > > > Regards > > > Ian > > Laurie Knight wrote: > >> http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8560000/8560694.stm >> >> Climate linked to smaller birds >> By Matt Walker >> >> Editor, Earth News >> >> Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is >> suspected as the cause. >> >> A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 >> species, shows that many are gradually becoming lighter and >> growing shorter wings. >> >> This shrinkage has occurred within just half a century, with the >> birds thought to be evolving into a smaller size in response to >> warmer temperatures. >> >> >> >> =============================== >> www.birding-aus.org >> birding-aus.blogspot.com >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: >> unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> =============================== >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: >> 271.1.1/2742 - Release Date: 03/12/10 19:33:00 >> >> =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: Chris Sanderson <chris.sanderson AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:49:45 +1000 C'mon Ian, Laurie didn't write the report! Why attack him for linking a possibly interesting article, peer-reviewed or not? Discuss the content if you must, but don't shoot the messenger. Regards, Chris On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 6:28 PM, Ian May wrote: > C'mon Laurie! It's not April 1 yet. Didn't we read last year that birds > forced up the mountains by higher temperatures are becoming smaller too. If > this keeps going, crows will be smaller than blow flies. > > Are these climate change findings an example of robust peer reviewed > science or just quotes from grey literature? > > > Regards > > > Ian > > Laurie Knight wrote: > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8560000/8560694.stm >> >> Climate linked to smaller birds >> By Matt Walker >> >> Editor, Earth News >> >> Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is suspected >> as the cause. >> >> A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 species, >> shows that many are gradually becoming lighter and growing shorter wings. >> >> This shrinkage has occurred within just half a century, with the birds >> thought to be evolving into a smaller size in response to warmer >> temperatures. >> >> >> >> =============================== >> www.birding-aus.org >> birding-aus.blogspot.com >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: >> unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au >> =============================== >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: >> 271.1.1/2742 - Release Date: 03/12/10 19:33:00 >> >> >> > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: > unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Re: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: Ian May <birding AT ozemail.com.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:28:54 +1100 C'mon Laurie! It's not April 1 yet. Didn't we read last year that birds forced up the mountains by higher temperatures are becoming smaller too. If this keeps going, crows will be smaller than blow flies. Are these climate change findings an example of robust peer reviewed science or just quotes from grey literature? Regards Ian Laurie Knight wrote: > http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8560000/8560694.stm > > Climate linked to smaller birds > By Matt Walker > > Editor, Earth News > > Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is > suspected as the cause. > > A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 > species, shows that many are gradually becoming lighter and growing > shorter wings. > > This shrinkage has occurred within just half a century, with the > birds thought to be evolving into a smaller size in response to > warmer temperatures. > > > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: > unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >Version: 8.5.436 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2742 - Release Date: 03/12/10 19:33:00 > > > =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: The birds people keep as pets From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:11:02 +1000 A pet Eagle Owl has escaped from its aviary in the UK. I'm not sure why anyone should be allowed to keep a bird with a 2 metre wingspan as a pet. see http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/lock-up-your-pets-killer-owl-on-the-loose-1920721.html =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: US songbirds getting smaller, possibly as a result of climate change From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:53:39 +1000 http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8560000/8560694.stm Climate linked to smaller birds By Matt Walker Editor, Earth News Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is suspected as the cause. A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 species, shows that many are gradually becoming lighter and growing shorter wings. This shrinkage has occurred within just half a century, with the birds thought to be evolving into a smaller size in response to warmer temperatures. =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au =============================== Subject: Herdsman Lake, Perth - BAWA Walk From: John Graff <jgraff2 AT hotmail.com> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:26:45 +0800 Hi all, For those who might be interested, the BAWA walk at Herdsman Lake this morning was excellent. The water level is relatively low, so there are a few waders about, as well as all of the usual suspects. In all, we saw 71 species for the morning Highlights included; Little Egret (2+, north end of lake) Black-winged Stilt (20+) Banded Stilt (1, near the Heron Pl carpark) Red-necked Avocet (3, near Heron Pl carpark) Common Greenshank (2, 1 in breeding plumage) Common Sandpiper (1, near The Foreshore, N end of the lake) Black-fronted Dotterel (20+) Red-kneed Dotterel (3, near The Foreshore, N end of the lake) Buff-banded Rail (4+) Spotless Crake (1) Cheers, John _________________________________________________________________ Looking for a new home? With all the latest places, searching has never been easier. http://clk.atdmt.com/NMN/go/157631292/direct/01/==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: RE: Radjah Shelduck From: John Graff <jgraff2 AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:22:20 +0800 Hi Jan, The bird has been hanging around for a while now, having been seen at a number of Perth metro lakes over the last two months including Bibra, Herdsman and South (see http://birdswa.org.au/sightings.htm and http://birdswa.org.au/sightings/sightings_133.htm). I haven't been to see it, but the general consensus seems to be that it's a wild bird (there have been escapees recorded in the past) Cheers, John > From: janengland AT linkt.com.au > To: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au > Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:39:53 +1000 > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Radjah Shelduck > > Hi everyone, > > Whilst in Perth last week, Tania Ireton and I went to some lakes on the southern side of Perth. Unfortunately most were dry but Bibra Lake had a small amount of water near the jetty. One surprising sighting was of a Radjah Shelduck roosting near an Australian Shelduck. This is way out of range for a Radjah Shelduck. Has anyone else seen this bird there before? > > Jan > ==========www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > ========== _________________________________________________________________ Get the latest jobs delivered. Sign up for SEEK Jobmail. http://clk.atdmt.com/NMN/go/157639755/direct/01/==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Radjah Shelduck From: "Jan England " <janengland AT linkt.com.au> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:39:53 +1000 Hi everyone, Whilst in Perth last week, Tania Ireton and I went to some lakes on the southern side of Perth. Unfortunately most were dry but Bibra Lake had a small amount of water near the jetty. One surprising sighting was of a Radjah Shelduck roosting near an Australian Shelduck. This is way out of range for a Radjah Shelduck. Has anyone else seen this bird there before? Jan ==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: RE: Dunlin in NSW From: Simon Mustoe <simonmustoe AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:27:00 +0000 Hi, For the benefit of those who might want more information about this bird, we've mapped the location at http://www.bird-o.com/. We've also uploaded photos of varying plumages and a description of some of the more obvious field characters to look for to separate this species from Australian shorebirds. Regards, Simon Mustoe. > From: l.knight AT optusnet.com.au > To: pterodroma AT bigpond.com > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Dunlin in NSW > Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:08:33 +1000 > CC: birding-aus AT vicnet.net.au > > I can hear the sound of twitchers grinding their teeth from here ... > > Tomorrow might be a good day for twitcher spotting ... > > On 12/03/2010, at 5:55 PM, Mike Carter wrote: > > > BARC has received a submission on a Dunlin seen by Pattie Parker in > > the Tuross Lake Estuary, NSW on the 5 January 2010. The bird was in > > partial breeding plumage with black patches emerging on the belly. > > This is one of 4 rare or uncommon waders Pattie submitted to the NSW > > rarities committee. The others were Broad-billed Sandpiper, Long- > > toed Stint & Ruff. > > The submission was a hard copy but has been converted to a file of > > 116 Mb that includes video and still photographs. Pattie accesses > > the sand bars in the estuary by kayak. She believes that she may > > have first seen this bird in November. A 'dumpy brown wader' was > > seen next day by Michael Crowley but it has not been seen since. > > It is likely that it is still somewhere in Australia and by now > > should be obvious at a glance. So when you find it, give me a ring! > > > > Mike Carter > > 30 Canadian Bay Road > > Mount Eliza VIC 3930 > > Tel (03) 9787 7136 > > > > =============================== > > www.birding-aus.org > > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: > > unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > > =============================== > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== _________________________________________________________________ Tell us your greatest, weirdest and funniest Hotmail stories http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/==============================www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ============================== Subject: Re: Dunlin in NSW From: Laurie Knight <l.knight AT optusnet.com.au> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:08:33 +1000 I can hear the sound of twitchers grinding their teeth from here ... Tomorrow might be a good day for twitcher spotting ... On 12/03/2010, at 5:55 PM, Mike Carter wrote: > BARC has received a submission on a Dunlin seen by Pattie Parker in > the Tuross Lake Estuary, NSW on the 5 January 2010. The bird was in > partial breeding plumage with black patches emerging on the belly. > This is one of 4 rare or uncommon waders Pattie submitted to the NSW > rarities committee. The others were Broad-billed Sandpiper, Long- > toed Stint & Ruff. > The submission was a hard copy but has been converted to a file of > 116 Mb that includes video and still photographs. Pattie accesses > the sand bars in the estuary by kayak. She believes that she may > have first seen this bird in November. A 'dumpy brown wader' was > seen next day by Michael Crowley but it has not been seen since. > It is likely that it is still somewhere in Australia and by now > should be obvious at a glance. So when you find it, give me a ring! > > Mike Carter > 30 Canadian Bay Road > Mount Eliza VIC 3930 > Tel (03) 9787 7136 > > =============================== > www.birding-aus.org > birding-aus.blogspot.com > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: > unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au > =============================== =============================== www.birding-aus.org birding-aus.blogspot.com To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request AT vicnet.net.au ===============================