Old Acquaintances in the Rainforest

The Christmas-New Year break has often been fruitful for me in the past, as I have sought to fill some gaps in my year list or add another lifer or two before the new year began. This year, I set my sights on some rainforest birds I'd missed when I'd been in the Barrington/Gloucester area with Max in October. At the eleventh hour, I invited Josh who happily accepted, and we were on our way north, with Dad in the driver's seat, early on December 27.

First stop, as is almost always the case with trips to/through Newcastle was Stockton Sandspit, where we were greeted by a very high tide. In spite of this, careful scanning then stalking revealed a number of species, including the usual avocets (alas, no Banded Stilt), Bar-tailed Godwits, Eastern Curlews, Red-necked Stints (but no Broad-billed Sandpiper), Pacific Golden Plovers (but no Grey Plover), Red-capped Plover (but no Lesser Sand Plover) and the pair of Pied Oystercatchers. In addition were more than a dozen Sharpies, an irregular species at the 'spit, a couple of Curlew Sands, a couple of Red Knots, some Blackwits, and a Whimbrel or two. Round by the oyster racks we picked up Grey-tailed Tattlers and Terek Sandpipers. We missed Brahminy Kite (again!), meaning the following day would be our final chance for the year.

One of a number of Terek Sandpipers that were hanging out with the Grey-tailed Tattlers (see left-hand-edge) near the oyster racks.

Up through Seaham, we picked up Azure Kingfisher, Night Heron and numerous others for the trip list, which was already up around 75. We arrived at Cabbage Tree Creek shortly after 12, hoping to kick things off in the rainforest with a Logrunner or two. Cabbage Tree Creek is just down the hill from Yeranda Cottages, where we would be staying. About 15 minutes north of Dungog along the Main Creek/Skimmings Gap roads, we first stayed here in 2006, and in that trip, and the three subsequent visits, we have regularly seen a number of species on the very southern edge of their range, including Paradise Riflebird and Pale Yellow Robin, two of our targets for this visit. Cabbage Tree Creek has been arguably the most reliable of the spots in the vicinity, but today it would not come through with the species we really wanted. That said, we still had a good time, with Spectacled and Black-faced Monarch, Rose Robin and Rufous Fantail, among others, seen.

A (threat?) display or hunting move of a Rufous Fantail.

We headed up the hill and checked in with Ros and Kevin, the lovely owners, before setting our tents outside one of the cabins. A group of Leaden Flycatchers had Josh on edge as he tried to find Satins among them to no avail. It was easily over 30 degrees up in the dry woodland of the hillside, so we retreated to Cow's Head Creek, another nearby rainforest site which I had had luck in before. Here, it was much cooler, but, as rainforest can so often be, birdless. Eventually, as we carefully made our way downstream, things began to pick up, and we got onto another Spectacled Monarch, a young White-naped Honeyeater and Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. Then, from the distance, I picked up the distinctive walk to work of a Noisy Pitta. We turned, and set off back upstream in pursuit. After five minutes or so of walking, we were very close. Josh spotted it calling from a few metres off the ground, and we all got views excellent views of it hopping about on the ground.

With the first of our targets under our belt, we set off back downstream, and not long after, I spied a female Logrunner! She was not very obliging however, and Josh didn't get to see her before she vanished. With nothing else further downstream, we turned back, and at the spot I'd found Logrunner, this time Josh found the other three (it's unusual to see a lone Logrunner, and we'd expected a family group hiding nearby). Returning to our tents (via Nalleeghee Creek which was lifeless), we got dinner together, and Josh had a chance to clean up the tick and leech bites he'd already managed to procure. Not long after dinner, the first White-throated Nightjars called, and we jumped up and went after them. Not long after, we'd seen three in flight, which is not overly impressive,but I had also managed to find a bird sitting on a nest. This little detail we only got after accidentally flushing it due to camera flash, and we hoped it would be back on the nest the next morning.

Barrington Tops Frog - little is known about this species, which,
as you might expect, is confined to the Barrington area.

It was decided that, with no other night birds in evidence, we should try our hand at "frogging", so we drove down slowly to the creekline at the bottom of the hill, and crawled along slowly, listening for anything. A couple of hundred metres down the road (towards Carawirry), an absolute raucous of frogs brought us to a stop. At least four species of frog were easily audible around a permanent pond, and it was remarkably easy to find Peron's Tree Frogs and Tyler's Tree Frogs sitting on practically any vegetation. They were everywhere! By the edge of the water, Dwarf Green Tree Frogs were "reek-pip"ing away happily, and further back, after some careful searching, the source of the guttural "wahk wahk" was found to be a Great Barred Frog - quite an awesome looking guy. We couldn't make out any more calls, so moved on. At the Cabbage Tree Creek crossing where the birds are best, we found another two species. The first was a pair of small brown froglets amplexing. Without disturbing them, or hearing them call, we couldn't identify them to a species. They were either Common Froglets or Eastern Sign-bearing Froglets. The second was a few small green frogs that we found. A couple had beige-y-brown backs. We took notes and photos but the ID was only confirmed in Sydney by a herpetologist as a BarringtonTops Frog. Interestingly, it appeared to match a Green Stream Frog morphologically, but its call matched Pearson's Green Tree Frog closest. The return drive yielded a Striped Marsh Frog on the road, taking our tally for the night to 7 species, with one other heard a fair distance off but never found.

***

A female Logrunner - one of a group of four seen at Frying Pan Creek.

We were up early the next morning and soon on our way into Chichester State Forest. A brief stop confirmed the nightjar had thankfully returned to the nest. We arrived at Frying Pan Creek Campground, and, after a wrong turn, found the walking track that I've had so much luck on in the past. In 2006 and 07, the track has yielded Pale Yellow Robin, Paradise Riflebird, and many Noisy Pittas. It was rather quiet, as far as good birds went - nonetheless we saw a Pitta and a group of four Logrunners well on the track ahead of us -  and it was really only after we reached the track's end, where there is a beautiful rockhole waterfall, and started heading back, that the route came to life. I spotted a Pale Yellow Robin, which evaded Dad and Josh, and we, at the same location, had a pair of extremely obliging Logrunners which went through their full repertoire of calls. A pair of Whipbirds were spotted in the midstorey, which was rather bizarre. Closer to the campground, I spotted another robin which gave us good views, and was, to much relief, a Pale Yellow. A male Satin Bowerbird seen poorly had Josh and I very excited as we convinced ourselves that, surely, it was a Riflebird, but (of course) it was not seen again.


We returned to Yeranda, packed up the tents and headed off back into Dungog. Because it was still early, and because it would net Josh some good year ticks, we opted to head north-west to Allyn River. I had spent a night camped with Max here in October, and it had given us excellent birds such as Wompoo Fruit Dove and Regent Bowerbird in the figs. Unsurprisingly though, given it was two months later, the figs had finished fruiting, and it was only with much effort that we were able to locate a small group of Topknot Pigeons. A lyrebird and an unidentified Accipter (sparrow/goshawk) were the only other nice birds seen.

We retraced our route from yesterday, out to the coast and then south towards Stockton. While heading east, a big southerly could be seen approaching in the distance, and it was therefore not overly surprising to spot a loose group of needletails passing over (going west, oddly). We counted 27, between first and last, before continuing on, hoping to reach Stockton before the rain arrived. This we succeeded in doing, but, given it was absolute low tide, we took the risk of setting out across the mud to get closer to the waders, and were punished when the southerly struck, leaving us huddled under a lone mangrove tree sheltering ourselves and our cameras and binos from what quickly developed into hail. After 20 minutes getting progressively wetter, the rain finally relented, and we were able to escape our shelter. Bird-wise, we had decent diversity, with extremely low numbers (4 Avocets, 1 Terek Sand, 1 Whimbrel, and a couple of Stints and Eastern Curlews). And, of course, no Brahminy Kite. A Long-billed Corella on the F3 not far south of the Hunter River was an embarrassing but relieving year tick.

When it rains it pours. And hails. The view from our mangrove shelter at Stockton.

The one, only, and last. Male Cicadabird.

This trip more or less wrapped the year up. However, after a few reports of Glossy Black Cockatoos at West Head in Ku-ring-gai, I linked up with Josh again on the 30th, and we headed out for an unsuccessful attempt. The day was saved, however, after a Cicadabird was heard on the Chiltern Track, and we were able to bush-bash to the top of a hill to watch a beautiful male calling. He more than compensated, additionally, for the dip on the "dead cert" (damn you Josh!) Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters on the same track. A last ditch attempt at the pair of Bush Stone Curlews that apparently live at Avalon, just south of Palm Beach, was an abject failure, and this meant that that Cicadabird was the last year tick of 2012, taking me to 374, and it wrapped up what has been by far and away my best year. Now here's to an even better 2013!!

A Lace Monitor that Josh and I cornered in the open at Ku-ring-gai provided exceptional views and photo opportunities.

Birds with Friends

Since my birthday, I've been up to a lot of things. Sadly, from the point of view of this blog (and you, dear non-existant readers), those things have not included birding. However finally, on the day of the supposed Mayan apocalypse, December 21, I got back out into the field. The location: Eastlakes Golf Course (the closest thing I have to a local patch). The aim: best day list record (the standing record being 76, by yours truly). The company: another young teen birder, Simon Gorta, who I uncovered using the subtle method of google stalking.

Sydney tick: Tawny Grassbird

The day had been organised by Simon, who, having finished school for the year just days earlier, was eager to add to his life list. While he had never seen a crake, I'd been seeing all three Sydney species with relative ease over previous months. And within 15 minutes of arriving at 6am, at the first suitable habitat we checked, we had first Spotted Crake, followed barely a minute later by Baillon's, which was in turn followed by a brief cameo appearance of a Spotless Crake. Even by my standards of crake success, this was incredible. The morning continued in a similar fashion, as we added such good birds as Greenfinch, Night Heron, more crakes (of all three species), Common Tern fishing over the main lake, a very vocal Tawny Grassbird - a very unexpected Sydney tick. A slight drop in water levels (hopefully not a sign of things to come over summer) had exposed more mud than usual, and we resultantly saw many Latham's Snipe very easily, more Sharpies than usual (6), and three Red-kneed Dotterels, an increase on previous sightings on one. As an aside, Red-kneed Dots are definitely one of my favourite birds, so cleanly coloured, and with that wonderful, bobbing motion unique to the plovers.

The record-equaling Swampie

The regulars all continued to turn out for us, and by 9:30, we had leveled my record of 76, when a Swamp Harrier - my first here in at least three years - flew over. Breaking the record from here was a mere formality, as we had yet to see Indian Myna. And sure enough, bird 77 was that species. Thankfully, we continued to grow the list, but at a now significantly reduced pace. Over the following few hours, we added just five more species: Blackbird, White-faced Heron, Buff-banded Rail, Topknot Pigeon and Little Grassbird, the last being Simon's seventh lifer of the day. We wrapped up shortly after as there was no sign of any other birds we hadn't already seen. With 82 species (full list HERE ), and the record well and truly under our belt, the day could only have been called a success.

Common Tern: only the third record for Eastlakes

Two days later (today), I was picked up just after 6am by long-time teen birding mate Max Breckenridge, and, along with Josh and Simon, headed off south to Royal NP. On the way down, anticipation built, as we mapped out the target birds for the day. The plan was to spend a few hours in Royal, ideally breaking the day list record of a measly 62 (set accidentally by Josh, Max and me late last year), before heading off down James Cook Drive through the Sutherland Shire (...) to Boat Harbour. Josh was yet to see Pied Oystercatcher in Sydney, and I promptly put the mockers on him by declaring the pair at Metromix Wetlands a dead cert.

Female White-throated Treecreeper

But more on that later. We pulled in at Audley at about 7am, and set off down Lady Carrington Drive with the aim of finding Logrunner. The bush was alive, and we quickly built a list of 30, including Brown Cuckoo Dove, Owlet Nightjar (heard calling), Striated Thornbill, multiple Lyrebird, breeding Dollarbirds, Shining Bronze Cuckoo (heard only, unfortunately for Simon, for whom it would have been a lifer), Rufous Fantail, many vocal Leaden Flycatchers, and Cicadabird. This last bird was one of my major targets for the day, but we could only hear it calling from the wrong side of the Hacking River, and determined to search for it later.

After an hour or so, we turned back without Logrunner, but already within 20 birds of the record. Driving up to Wattle Flat, we added Azure Kingfisher, Crimson Rosella, and concluded that the Cicadabird, more than 50 metres up a steep, densely vegetated hill was beyond our reach. Along the rainforesty track, I heard and then found a Bassian Thrush, while Max called in a female Shrike Tit, and Simon and Josh spotted a Grey Goshawk. I glimpsed a white morph shortly after, but we could not relocate it, and had to make do with decent views of the other, grey, individual. Incredibly, by the time we set off from Wattle Flat, headed for the coast at Wattamolla, we had broken the record, with our count at 63.

Remarkably unobscured: the Heathwren

By this point, the heat was peaking. The forecast was for 28, but it felt already like more than that. Thankfully, an onshore breeze made it more bearable, but did nothing to ward off sunburn, which only Simon, with his darker skin and (probably more relevant) liberal and regular application of suncream, was able to avoid. Out at the crevasse, the going was slow, as we had to make do with Welcome Swallow and, bizarrely, a calling Bulbul. In a matter of minutes, and in a way only birds can achieve, the place came alive, as Simon or Josh spotted a Tawny-crowned Honeyeater (year tick), followed immediately by Josh's call of Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, which offered typically brief and obscured views. With two of our three targets seen within a minute of each other, our focus turned to Rockwarbler. While the other three preferred to stake out a spot where we'd seen them on a previous visit, I wandered somewhat aimlessly, and was rewarded when a Rockwarbler hopped out of a bush right in front of me!

After the others got brief views, we sought shelter back in Max's car, in front of the aircon jets. A quick count gave us our final tally for Royal: 74 species - a new record but by no means unbeatable. From here, it was straight to Metromix Wetlands near Kurnell. Having sworn we'd get Pied Oyk, it was perhaps completely unsurprising that they were not there, for the first time in my visits. On the other hand, a fishing Little Tern, and an Osprey were first records for the site, and were nice consolations (at least, they were to me; Josh may have a different opinion!). Thankfully, I was able to introduce the others to a site I have visited a lot in recent years, in Quibray Bay, which is reliable for Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit, Eastern Curlew, and Red-capped Plover; all barring the Barwit are reasonably difficult to find in Sydney, and Josh got two Sydney ticks out of the stop-over.

White hot: a male Kestrel shelters from the sun at Wattamolla

At Boat Harbour, we coughed up the ridiculously excessive $25 entrance fee, and drove over the dunes, in the process confirming that Foresters are far superior to dodgy Jeep-rip-offs made by Suzuki, which we watched as their back wheels spun, unable to move the car from its sandy prison. At the rock shelf, it was absolute low tide, and most of the birds had retreated from the hoards of Shire-folk and their dogs to an offshore rock platform. Thankfully, with the aid of Max's scope, we picked out all that could be expected at the site, including Common, Crested and Little Tern, Ruddy Turnstone (a lifer for Simon), Pacific Golden Plover, Red-necked Stint, Sooty Oyk and the four cormorants. Josh was on the hunt for something special on our own rocks, and his persistence paid off, after having flushed numerous RNSs and PGPs, he spotted a Reef Egret (year tick). Our views were poor at such a distance, and as soon as we tried to approach, it decided New Zealand was probably a better home, and set off out across the Pacific, soon disappearing over the horizon.

Max had bags to pack for a trip to Europe, so we called time on the day soon after, with a total day list of slightly over 100 - not bad for what was essentially only two visited sites. As ever, it was great to get out birding for a day, with two nice year ticks and a great time had by all (I hope). In particular, the excellent company goes a long way to seeing more, and making those long treks in the sun go by so much quicker. Cheers guys!

Birthday Lifers

WTNT: record shot but personal best

On Wednesday, I headed out by train to Moss Vale to follow up a report of four Painted Snipe from a week earlier. Having already dipped on them five times in the last three months, it came as no surprise that I couldn't find them, although a pair of Shelduck at the site was nice. From there, I cycled 40km east through Robertson to Budderoo NP. At the site on the Budderoo Track where I (and Josh Bergmark and Max Breckenridge, two fellow teen birding friends) had had Ground Parrots late last year, the habitat was markedly different, still only in the early stages of regrowth after a wildfire in early September. As a result, the birdlife was completely different, with a pair of Scarlet Robins, two Latham's Snipe, and, most surprisingly, a Stubble Quail all birds that would not have been there three months earlier. A group of 16 White-throated Needletails, my first of the season, was also cool. Moving down the road to Barren Grounds, I eventually got onto an Eastern Bristlebird and a pair of Southern Emu-Wrens. The Bristlebird, I realised just as I started to try photographing it, was tending a nest, so I beat a hasty retreat. From there, it was straight down the Illawarra Escarpment (on the way hitting speeds of up to 75km/h) then through the rolling hills into Kiama. An excellent day out which brought me two hard-earned year ticks, and 84 species recorded for the day.

However, that little tale is not the point of this report. This is. Saturday was my 19th birthday, and to celebrate, I went out on the Sydney December pelagic. Josh Bergmark took some time out from HSC study to join me, and shortly after 7am, we got underway on board the Halicat (a catamaran) from Rose Bay wharf. After a rough trip out of Wollongong in August (my first real pelagic) on which I was laid low for almost six hours by sea sickness, I was resigned to a similar fate today, especially when it became apparent that the less top level of the boat was the best place from which to see birds, a hawk's nest sort of view. Passing out through the Sydney heads, the waves were rough and the swell much larger than in the harbour. I had to give up scanning for penguins and fix my eyes on the horizon. Thankfully, Josh's promise that the mouth of the harbour was always rougher than out beyond the heads came to fruition, and the boat settled down into a steady path through the waves, heading east.

Mine! Mine! Mine! Just a few of the many many Grey-faced Petrels seen

It was not long before the first shearwaters were spotted and, in a frustrating, but tantalising start to the day, a couple appeared to have light enough underwings to be Sooty Shearwaters, a potential lifer. However, with a low sun, and insufficient views, a positive ID could not be made. Similarly, a call of "Jaeger!" soon went up, and while some said Arctic was most likely, the fact that it was sitting on the water made certain identification practically impossible. Shortly after, we had good views of our first definite Short-tailed Shearwaters of the day, as well as a couple of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. The first majorly exciting (for me) sighting was of a Pomarine Jaeger which gave a close pass, allowing me to see the key identifying features, and gave me my first ever lifer on my birthday!

False Killer Whales

As we pushed further east, we began to cross the Abysmal Plain, so-called because the constant, reasonably shallow sea depth is nutrient and fish-poor, meaning that the birds are subsequently scarce. Indeed, barely half a dozen individuals of any species were seen for well over an hour of travel. To make up for this, a pod of maybe 30 False Killer Whales passed by. Our boat turned and followed them, but they were rather wary. This, in spite of the fact that, apparently, they are the world's most aggressive cetacean, which cannot be kept in captivity with other dolphins, because they will eat them!! A couple of sunfish (in this case, Southern Sunfish, Mola ramsayi), that bizarrely disc-shaped fish that looks like its missing its back end also gave us views, but were not overly approachable.

Lucky photo: the Providence Petrel

The first (and one of only three) Flesh-footed Shearwater of the day heralded our arrival at the edge of the continental shelf, and soon we began to see Great-winged Petrels (race gouldi, aka Grey-faced Petrel). We set up a berley trail and drifted, attracting more Great-winged Petrels and a passing adult Shy Albatross. With the Travacalm have a better effect on me than the Kwells had had in August, I was able to attempt some photos of the Grey-faced Petrels. As I brought yet another into focus, I noticed that there was something different about it. It was greyer, and had a vague pattern on the back. About a second later the call of "Providence Petrel!" was made, and I realised that that was the bird in my viewfinder. This was a good sighting for December, and even better, it was my 450th Australian bird!!

Wilson's Storm Petrel

As more birds began to come in, so our hopes rose. And a shout of "Storm Petrel, Wilson's Storm Petrel" had me jumping for my binos. Over the course of the day we would see up to half a dozen of them, but never more than two at once. Very soon after this, however, the highlight of the day arrived, when "Black Petrel" was called. After six had been seen off Port Stephens just two weeks earlier, and with a couple having been seen on the November Sydney trip, expectations had been high for this species, and Josh and I were delighted to have this yellow-billed beauty show up. As people, including the two of us, began to review our shots, confusion began to lift. The bird didn't have the characteristic dark bill tip, yet neither did it have the white chin of the more unusual (off Sydney) White-chinned Petrel. This was solved when seabird expert Nikolas Haas pointed out that White-chinned Petrels often didn't have white chins at all, and the bill colour was more important. So there it was: a White-chinned Petrel!!!

White-chinless: the White-chinned Petrel

This one individual hung around for a few hours, giving excellent views, and following the boat when we moved to a second berley point, near Brown's Seamount. Here, we had the only Hutton's Shearwater of the day, as well as a fly-by from a definite Arctic Jaeger, my fifth lifer of the day! Shortly after, the first of three Wandering Albatross turned up, to join the young Black-browed and Campbell's Albatross that had followed us from the first stop. Suddenly a Tern was spotted and all eyes turned to the tropical tern in the sky, which, photos revealed, was a Sooty Tern, and not the more unusual Bridled Tern. Immediately after, another tern call of a bird on the distant horizon led to the only Long-tailed Jaeger of the day, which the more experienced birders on board IDed from the shape of the bird. Given that, up until today, I had never seen a Jeager, I was not willing to tick it, and neither was Josh.

The only melanophrys Black-browed Albatross of the day; the few others were Campbell's

At last, we turned west and headed back across the Abysmal Plain. And again, cetaceans broke the boredom when a pod of Common Dolphins was seen. Unfortunately they were not in a playful mood, and, despite joining the boat for five or ten minutes, no nice shots were taken. As the coast emerged from the haze, we went back into high alert, spotting another couple of Pomarine Jaegers, and a young Gannet. Despite Josh's best efforts, he could not transform any of the dark shearwaters into a clear-cut Sooty, or a Buller's. And back inside the harbour, as we dodged yachts, we failed to find a Little Penguin. As we pulled up at the wharf, I was able to celebrate a day of lifers (one of few on board to do so), and of good health (which all but one poor soul had enjoyed). Josh and I have already penciled in March next year as probable, and I am already looking forward to it!

PS. The Phototwitch results came out just a few hours ago, and I can happily confirm that I clinched the win by just a handful of species, with myself on 106, followed closely by scores of 99, 97, 97, and 94. Any of those totals would have won all three previous years of the competition, so the bar has well and truly been raised!

Phototwitch 2012

Since 2010, the first weekend of December has seen the Phototwitch occur. For those who don't know what this is, it draws inspiration from the famous Twitchathons. Run through the fantastic Australian bird photography forum Feathers and Photos, it consists of an eight hour block in which competitors must identifiably photograph as many species as possible. Competitors can choose any eight hours over the course of the weekend.

After missing out on competing last year due to being on Bruny Island, I was especially looking forward to the event. In the 2010 version, I came third with a score of 80, but had been using little point-and-shoot camera. Since then, I had bought a proper photography setup, namely a Canon 50D and 100-400mm lens. In light of this, I set myself the pre-race target of 100 species, despite the fact that no-one had previously cracked the triple figures. And in the two weeks leading up to yesterday, I spent much time out at the sites on my route, checking out what was around. I was feeling confident until Friday evening, when the weather forecast was for 40C+ temperatures and an afternoon storm.

A good start: 9 in 1

Regardless, I set out on Saturday morning, with the planned timing to be from around 11am til 7pm. Dad had the inglorious role of driver, but would in reality be much more than that. We reached our starting location, Boat Harbour, near Kurnell, at about 10am, with enough time to stake the site out. A Pied Oystercatcher was foraging on the beach, while on the rocks, 2 Sooty Oystercatchers, a handful of Ruddy Turnstones, about 20-30 Pacific Golden Plovers and a couple of hundred Red-necked Stints were loafing. A careful scan of the roosting terns gave the usual Crested Terns but also two bonuses in the forms of Little and Common Terns. Spotting a lone Grey-tailed Tattler, I decided it was time to start the clock. I snapped the terns and waders, picked up all four cormorants, and got the only Silver Gulls of the day. The Sooty Oystercatchers were obliging, but the Pied Oyk had vanished. A pair of White-faced Herons was a nice consolation. The hurried walk back to the car yielded Golden-headed Cisticola.



 We headed off to Eastlakes, stopping along the way for Pied Oystercatcher, and to snap up Musk Lorikeet at a site I'd discovered just the week before. The hundreds of Rainbow Lorikeets that had been there then were nowhere to be seen. We arrived at Eastlakes with my tally at 24 (although I didn't know this at the time, only tallying up back at home afterwards). The expected birds were all at Eastlakes, and thankfully, due to the stiflingly heat, they couldn't be stuffed to fly away. Even a Nankeen Kestrel was seen "panting" with its mouth open, while in flight! Dad found a Spotted Crake, while I got onto Latham's Snipe and Baillon's Crake, and three difficult birds went on my list. The Pallid Cuckoo, Red-kneed Dotterel and roosting Night Herons that I had located in previous days/weeks all turned out, and we left Eastlakes 45 minutes ahead of time with pretty much everything I had hoped for, except for a pair of Brown Quail which my reactions had not been up to.

After the comfort of an air-conditioned car, it was tough to get back out at Nepean Weir (Penrith). However a steady stream of birds ensured we were distracted enough to not notice (mostly). The frustration at seeing but failing to photograph Sacred Kingfisher, Bar-shouldered Dove and Goldfinch was lessened by such goodies as Brown Gerygone, Lewin's Honeyeater, Dollarbird, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, White-plumed Honeyeater, Shining Bronze Cuckoo and Mistletoebird. This site proved so good that our 50 minutes of spare time was used completely up right here.

Following a brief stop-off at Cranebrook to pick up Great Crested Grebe (but, surprisingly, no Royal Spoonbill), we arrived at Castlereagh Nature Reserve. It was now well past 4pm but there was no sign of either the thunderstorm or a lessening in temperature. Resultantly, there was little around, however the only Buff-rumped and Striated Thornbills, Rufous Whistlers, and surprisingly, Double-barred Finches of the day were good enough to go on with. A pair of doe and a Lace Monitor were other unexpected sightings.

We fluked onto a Blackbird foraging on the streets of Richmond, before racing round the turf farms on the Richmond Lowlands. Unsurprising given the heat, we saw almost nothing, although a Banded Lapwing adult and three well-grown chicks was a fantastic sighting - Dad's first of the species in 23 years!! Leaving Windsor, I finally got onto Galahs and Goldfinches, although losing sight of a Grey Butcherbird hurt. On the way to Mitchell Park (Cattai), we added Hobby and Intermediate Egret, both unexpected, and the former my first sighting of one in Sydney. With a bit of time up our sleeve, we checked out Pitt Town Lagoon in hope of Pink-eared Ducks. Alas, none, but a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper made up for missing them at Eastlakes. The water level here is really quite low, and given the forecast summer, it could well be dry come autumn.

We arrived at Mitchell Park with 50 minutes remaining, and were quickly onto a Whistling Kite and an Olive-backed Oriole. As the light deteriorated, up went the ISO, and down went the shot quality. I finally found a Sacred Kingfisher and an Eastern Yellow Robin, as well as another Sydney first, a White-necked Heron. Dad found a Common Bronzewing, and down the end of the road, the bush was alive. Brush Cuckoo, Bar-shouldered Dove, and Eastern Rosella were all clicked, but frustratingly, the last 15 minutes were spent chasing shadows, as we failed to track down the calling Scarlet Honeyeaters, White-throated Gerygones, Eastern Spinebills, Leaden Flycatchers, Peaceful Doves or White-throated Treecreepers. Wonga Pigeon and Brown Quail were also flushed before a photo could be taken. The timer buzzed and it was shutters down. Of course, immediately a Varied Sittella showed up, followed by a Grey Butcherbird and one of the aforementioned treecreepers and Peaceful Doves. But such is the nature of birding, and twitcathons in particular.

Back at home, following an ice-cold and much-needed beer at Pitt Town pub, the photos were loaded and counted. After discounting Brown Falcon as the shots were unidentifiable, the total was an amazing 106!! In spite of the heat, we recorded 126 species for the day, seeing 113 within the eight hours. The biggest dip of the day would be a tie between Rainbow Lorikeet (seen but not photographed) and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (not even recorded). Best bird was probably Banded Lapwing - the chicks a really fantastic sight. Final results won't be known until Thursday or Friday, but I am quietly confident. We shall see.

Thank goodness for photoshop (original and after)

Welcome to my blog

Long-time birder, short-time photographer. That pretty much sums up my birding world. Oh and I'm a twitcher. I'm also not the most eloquent guy around, so please don't expect amazing imagery and world-class writing. That's why this is just a free google blog. I'll try to update this site fairly frequently. With the uni year (my first) just finished, I'll hopefully have a lot of time on my hands for birding, processing pictures (the bane of my life and my hardrive), and posting on here.

The title of this blog, I hope is obvious to most people, is a pun on the title of a book I studied in Year 11, Of Mice and Men (someone Stienbeck, his first name awkwardly eludes me). The idiomatic line that the title is drawn from, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" seems to suit birding perfectly to me. Nothing ever works out exactly as you hope, or as you expect. At least in my experience. I guess that's a great attraction; you can go to a site you've been to a hundred times before, and still see something new.

Whether this blog features anything of my life outside birding remains to be seen, but it shall evolve as it goes, and I'll see where that leads me. So, hopefully, enjoy reading, and I should have my first proper post up in the next day or so.