ADVERTISEMENT OF SORTS - AUSTRALIAN BIRDING SAFARIS

Speckled Warbler

HELLO all, I was hoping for a favour.... 

As some of you may know 2020 was going to be the year when myself and Steve Grainger started our birdwatching tours under the name Australian Birding Safaris. Sadly the pandemic put a quick stop to that. We are hopefull that 2021 will be a great birding year and we are hopeful that some of our birding friends will consider touring with us.

In the meantime however we plan to be out and about a little more in the next six months seeing our wonderful country and its birdlife and we also hope to be posting reports, pictures and videos of our travels on our blog and website.

FINALLY, can I ask you to visit our site and FOLLOW it please and perhaps share it with any and all birding friends?

Thankyou sincerely.

AUSTRALIAN BIRDING SAFARIS WEB SITE AND BLOG.

Check out the following page: Our 2021 Calendar of tours.

Check out the following post: Bring on Birding - an explanation of the joys of birding.

Check out the following post: Bring on Birding - more joys

Check out the following post: A Bit of a Birding Recce for a Brisbane Birding Break

SOME GOOD BIRDS MAY / JUNE 2020

2020, it is fair to say, has been an atypical year.

Very few outings.

Limited travel.

Limited Socialising.

But people have been out and about getting or [in my case] missing some great birds.

Torresian Imperial Pigeon [Carolyn Scott]

The main highlight has been a few sightings of a Torresian Imperial Pigeon near Twin Waters. This is an exceptional find. The bird, as far as I know, was found by Paddy Colley on David Lowe Way on the 7 June. It was rediscovered a few days later by Lori Australis [the Southern Lory?] on the 11th June. And today it was re-found again by Carolyn Scott [14 June]  on the corner of Ocean Drive and Wattlebird Drive. According to locals it has been in that area for the past 12 months!

Kentish Plover [r] with Red capped Plover [Vince Lee]

Another obvious candidate for Bird of the Year - Kentish Plover  -continues to be seen in and around Noosa North Shore mouth. First found by Jane Cooksley early in 2020 this bird has excited more than a few to twitch. 

Kentish Plover [ Vince Lee] 

Yandina Creek Wetland, now fully protected with some of the area available for visitation produces some good species. Hans Erkin got a good view of Lewins Rail while many have seen the Black necked Storks, although not everybody got as good a picture as Gazndeb Quirk!

Black necked Stork [Gazndeb Quirk]

Also over the wetland and at nearby [as the raptor flies] Finland Road raptors have continued; both Harriers, Square tailed Kite [found by Greg Roberts, Kestrel, Hobby, Brown Falcons, White breasted Sea Eagles and Osprey - to name a few. Whistling and Black Kites continue to be common.

Finland Road continues to surprise; this time with Varied Sitella - surely an unexpected species at this location.

Varied Sitella [Brian Gatfield]

Toorbul has had some interesting waders over winter, most notably Terek Sandpiper plus a Ruddy Turnstone while nearby, near Donnybrook, a pair of Brolgas have been seen by several.

the Donnybrook Brolga [John Kooistra]

Yellow Thornbill has been seen near Charlie Moreland in the Conondales while a little further west at Yabba Road in the Jimna Ranges birders have been drifting west to get a good suite of species that  reside there; Yellow tufted and Fuscous Honeyeaters, Speckled Warblers, Brown Treecreepers, Dusky Woodswallows and Jacky Winters. As far as I know no-one has managed to get a Diamond Firetail there this year though.

Dusky Woodswallows at Yabba Road [Ken Cross]

  

Yellow Thornbill [this one photographed at Nanango by Greg Roberts]

Cotton Pygmy Geese have been showing well at Wappa Dam as well as at Parklakes in Bli Bli. Also at Parklakes there has been the occasional Scaly breasted Munia. 

PELAGIC PLANNED FOR JUNE 2020

BirdLife Australia Sunshine Coast is organising a pelagic trip off Mooloolaba on Sunday June 28. People who are not members of BLA are welcome to come along.

Please note that this is a separate trip to the Mooloolaba pelagic being organised by Richard Fuller for Sunday July 12. Because of the logistics involved and careful preparations surrounding Covid-19, people booked on that trip are unable to transfer their booking to the earlier trip.

With recent weather in south-east Australia there is every reason to believe there could be some good birds out there.

The operators, Sunshine Coast Afloat, have gone to a great deal of trouble to ensure that seating and other arrangements on their large vessel are compliant with Queensland Health Covid-19 restrictions, as the company is legally obliged to do.

Cost will be $140 per person.

Please let Greg Roberts know if you want to put your name down. Email friarbird.roberts@gmail.com